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Wel Me7 Yews: Steps towards Indigenizing post-secondary curriculum
No full textThis session will provide two examples of Indigenization of Education and Nursing curriculum from the perspectives of a Canada Research Chair in Indigenizing Higher Education, and a National funded CIHR Chair in Indigenous Health in Nursing. The session will also include the perspectives of a Tk\u27emlups te Secwepemc knowledge holder who participated in two course developmental and implementation processes, and two Masters students from Nursing and Education that experienced the courses as students. Utilizing a storytelling approach, this session objectives including helping participants to (1) identify Indigenous frameworks and processes that are used in designing Indigenous curriculum, (2) recognize the use of Indigenous design principles in course design, (3) reflect on curriculum learning objectives, (4) summarize personal learning in this session, and (5) begin to create personal Indigenous learning plans to support Indigenous curriculum development
Silver Linings – Increasing Connection and Building Community in a Pandemic World
Full text linkLearning is social, and a significant piece of the experience is connection, belonging, and instructor presence (Darby & Lang, 2019). Learners are not passive containers waiting for delivery of disembodied content. To make meaning, learners require engagement with peers and instructors who help shape their understanding and support their development of new ways of perceiving the world. Establishing learning communities and connections came with relative ease in the face-to-face pre-COVID world, but that is not our current reality. The declaration of the pandemic in mid-March left us scrambling to meet student needs as we retreated to the isolation of our homes and our classes moved to the online world. We had little experience with online teaching, nor were we versed in the fine arts of Moodle or video conferencing. We did the best that we could and learned much along the way. Summer teased us with the promise of a break, but knowing what lay ahead and feeling alone, we were relieved to see the professional development opportunities offered by our colleagues in Educational Technologies. With their rally cry, we formed our own learning communities and met in virtual summer camps to think outside the box and learn new pedagogical approaches to teaching in a pandemic. We implemented what we knew as fall arrived. There were challenges and there were successes and, in this presentation, we share our experiences in developing a learning community with colleagues, with students, and with the wider community who welcomes us for field learning opportunities. We also invite participants to share their experiences so that we can continue to learn from one another as we navigate these new seas
Learning Design Framework: A Foundation for Practice
No full textWe all found ourselves in a situation far beyond the usual in the spring of 2020. At TRU, we came together as a community to learn from each other formally and informally, perhaps enjoying some lemonade along the way. Much of this collective learning revolved around course delivery, course design, and how to best facilitate learning at a distance. In this session, Open Learning instructional designers share their Learning Design Framework, a collaborative guide highlighting caring, openness, connectedness, and active learning, core values which are at the foundation of their professional practice. Together with practical tips about how to incorporate these values into your courses – virtual or face to face – the designers will also speak to guidelines and expectations that accompany the development of online courses in Open Learning. The classroom will be transformed by the COVID pandemic. This session puts the learner and our shared humanity in the forefront, putting aside the modes of delivery, inviting participants to consider which learning and teaching strategies matter most, with or without walls
S-STEP 2.0 Finding our Way: Teaching in Alternate Modes of Delivery
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to critically re-evaluate teaching strategies. This self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) builds on previous research to compare effective traditional lessons with alternate modes of delivery. In this interactive session, we share several lessons. Participants will be actively engaged. In S-STEP 2.0, we compare and contrast lessons such as ice-breakers, jigsaws, discussions and group activities, utilizing Moodle, Big Blue Button, Padlet, Slido, Google Docs, and other online tools. We critically analyze the teaching of graduate students through S-STEP with the help of a critical friend. In addition, we explore Comparative Ethnographic Narrative (CEN) as another way of knowing within the S-STEP space (Howe, 2010). “A critical friend acts as a sounding board, asks challenging questions, supports reframing of events, and joins in the professional learning experience” (Schuck & Russell, 2005, p. 107). CEN is well-aligned with LaBoskey’s (2004) criteria of self-study: “it is self-initiated and focused; it is improvement-aimed; it is interactive; it includes multiple, mainly qualitative methods; and it defines validity as a validation process based on trustworthiness” (p. 817). Data includes detailed weekly reflections and feedback from students. Students provide written feedback at the end of each class and at the end of term through a survey and course evaluation. E-journal reflections are shared with a critical friend via email and in person over MS Teams. Then, together we make meaning from them. The research text evolves from teacher-to-teacher conversations (Howe, 2010; Howe & Cope-Watson, 2020; Yonemura, 1982)
Is Island Life Turning Birds into Giants? An Assessment of Foster’s Rule Across All Birds
Full text linkThe differences in the body sizes observed in island birds versus their closest mainland relatives have puzzled biologists for decades. First noted in other vertebrate groups by J. Foster, the general trend is usually summarized as small mainland species growing bigger on islands, while typically large mainland species are dwarfed. With many examples in both living and extinct fauna, the overall phenomenon became known as Foster’s rule (synonymous with the island rule). This study aims to examine if members of the class Aves (the group that contains all modern birds) follow the general trends of Foster’s rule and to what extent. One of the most diverse groups of vertebrates, birds are excellent colonizers of island habitats and can be found on most island systems. Using body mass, body length, and wingspan as a stand in for overall body size, data from over 9,000 extant species from around the world will be analyzed. The data will then be compiled and assessed using phylogenetic comparative techniques to account for evolutionary relationships of the main bird lineages
Investigating the Antimicrobial Properties of Cannabinoid Compounds
Full text linkAs bacteria are rapidly developing resistance against existing drugs, cannabinoids present a novel and exciting opportunity as a potential new source of antibiotics. Cannabinoid compounds have become an epicenter of research in recent years with numerous studies elucidating the therapeutic uses of a few of the numerous compounds such as Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG). This study seeks to investigate the antimicrobial properties of these two aforementioned compounds on a number of gram-negative and gram-positive microbes such as Candida albicans, Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using spread plating methods, various concentrations and mixtures of CBD and CBG were applied to selected microbes in order to observe the effects (if any) on colony formation. Initial results have indicated a strong effect on gram-positive organisms and little to no effect on gram-negative organisms. These early results corroborate published literature reports. Ongoing work includes an investigation into the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) layer found on the gram-negative bacteria. Through enzymatic treatment, LPS layer removal will be facilitated, and testing performed to determine the role this layer plays in the observed decreased antimicrobial activity of these organisms
Simultaneous Separation and Identification of Bisphenol Analogues by Capillary Electrophoresis
Full text linkBisphenols are a group of compounds containing two hydroxyphenyl functional groups joined together by a differently substituted bridging atom. Bisphenol A (BPA) is the best known of the bisphenol analogues. BPA is commonly used as the base chemical in polycarbonate plastic production; and has been found to leach out of different products in both acidic and basic conditions and most environmental matrices. BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) and due to BPA’s toxic affects regulatory measures have been put into effect in an effort to limit the use of BPA. Commercialization of BPA-free products is increasing, with the substitution of BPA with its analogues. However, certain analogues have been shown to have nearly identical endocrine disrupting effects (BPS and BPF), while others cause increased concern due to their unstudied effects on health and the environment. The aim of this project is to optimize a method for the separation and identification of 13 bisphenol analogues (BPA, BPAF, BPB, BPBP, BPC, BPE, BPF, BPFL, BPG, BPM, BPP, BPS and BPZ) using the analytical technique of capillary electrophoresis (CE). This method can become a valuable resource in monitoring bisphenol contamination in food and the environment
Teaching and Learning Without Walls: Putting Learners at the Centre in Unprecedented Times
No full textSubtheme: Lemonade from Lemons in COVID Subtheme: Beyond Barriers: OER (Open Educational Resources) The Learning Design and Innovations (LDI) Department includes faculty members across several functional areas who work to support open learning and campus faculty in the design and delivery of courses for on campus, online and alternate modes of delivery. Since the start of the pandemic, LDI have offered workshops, training sessions, and developed a wide range of resources to help faculty and students achieve success as they teach and learn online. In this session, we will present two resources that the team developed in response to the transition — an adapted open resource Teaching without Walls, and new student Moodle and WordPress resources Learning without Walls. We will discuss the resources through the lens of the LDI department’s new Learner Centered Design Framework, which aims to incorporate caring, openness, connectedness, and active learning into teaching and learning experiences. Participants will be invited to share their own experiences adapting to virtual teaching and learning in collegial discussions that will be interwoven into the structure of this workshop. We also welcome feedback to help improve these resources and ensure they are as relevant as possible for our TRU community
Chill Out on the Way Out: Stitch and Craft
No full textWork on your knitting, embroidery, or other craft project and chat with some colleagues to round out the day
Asynchronous: De-Colonizing Logic
No full textWhile efforts to decolonize university curriculum are increasing, one might wonder to what extent a course on elementary formal logic can be decolonized. If we temporarily bracket decolonizing teaching practices that shape the way content is delivered, one might argue the following: since the content of formal logic is akin to a course that explores the mechanics of 2 + 2 = 4, the content of formal logic itself is immune to calls for decolonization. Put differently, the apparent universality and objectivity of the content put forth in a course on formal logic (a proposition is either true or false; something cannot both be true and false at the same time; etc.) means that decolonizing endeavours cannot penetrate very deeply into the course. This presentation advances some initial reflections, stated below, on how one might begin to incorporate decolonizing practices within a course on formal logical at the undergraduate level. Utilizing examples and references that centre Indigenous voices and experiences and intellectual history, as well as those of other marginalized persons. For instance, course content could include Story-Telling traditions as well as concrete examples from Indigenous peoples histories. More importantly, introducing and exploring the limitations and problems inherent in a system of thinking that takes itself to be ahistorical and free from bias. The key point here would be that the categories of true, false, negation, and so forth are often presented as universal truths and the ‘job’ of a course on elementary formal logic is to articulate how best to acquaint oneself with and deploy these categories across a wide variety of human interactions. However, a decolonizing lens would introduce challenges to the purported claims of universality or objectivity that are typically associated with logic. While philosophers certainly have explored and challenged notions of the true and the false, for example, in academic circles, we would like to illuminate way in which concepts that are central to learning logic at an undergraduate level are already reflective of, and contribute to, social narratives and injustices