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1.3 Lectures in the Live Age
No full textFlexibility in lecturing practice is sometimes a necessity for academics who must balance a research and teaching mandate. This becomes more of an issue when important conferences occur outside the summer semester. As professors, attending and presenting at conferences and ensuring undergraduate courses are of a high quality are the two most important aspects of the job. This year, invited talks and collaborative work required that I be off-campus and a lack of expertise within the department to “cover” lectures meant I needed to find a creative solution that provided an excellent educational experience, at a distance to my students. Delivering lectures using a traditional streaming service enables universities and other large businesses to deliver webinars to thousands of users but they often require proprietary software that are costly. Whereas more recently developed “live” streaming methods are now available to just about anyone with an internet connection. Popular options like Facebook Live enable simple broadcasting of captured video from portable devices like mobile phones. To broadcast lecture content, the providing a “Skype” lecture was also considered but the complexities of establishing a group video call with an entire class was logistically difficult thus a YouTube Live streaming option was selected. Using freely available webcasting software Wirecast, Moodle, and a YouTube subscription, I remotely delivered lectures in real-time, to students in human physiology. This seminar will focus on the requirements, opportunities and pitfalls that this method of content delivery offers
2.2 Teaching Power Relations in Graduate Education: Reconciling Teacher Social Identity with Authenticity and Credibility
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to apply a self-study research methodology to seek out insights into the relationship between teacher social identity and student perceptions of teacher authenticity and credibility. The research question for this study is: How does teacher social identity intersect with authenticity and credibility when teaching about power relations? The research problem for this study is grounded in the complexity of teaching power relations in graduate education to adult learners. I want to determine if my teaching practices are appropriate for a curriculum that examines diversity, multi-culturalism and social justice education. My social identity is white, woman, cis-gender, with an invisible learning disability (dyslexia), middle class, educated, Christian and English speaking. My social location, linked to my social identity, affords me a privileged space in a complex web of intersecting identities as I hold the privileged position of a university professor. The theoretical framework for this study draws upon self-study literature to inform the reflective and analytical framework of a practice of analysis grounded in self-reflection (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001; Laboskey, 2004; Loughran, 2002, 2004, 2006; Russell & Loughran, 2007; Pinnegar, 1998; Samaras & Freese, 2006). The literature of developing teacher identity in relation to student’s perceptions of authenticity and credibility also supports the analysis in this study (Brookfield, 2002, 2013, 2014; Case, 2007; Cole & Knowles, 2000; Smith et. al, 2017)
1.1 Using YouTube Videos for developing Students’ Critical Thinking and Cultural Awareness
No full textTeaching about culture becomes more and more important in today’s globalized environment. As Matsumoto (2009) points out, the question is, “what do we want our students to learn and how can we deliver that knowledge?” (p. 9). The answer may “lie in a hypothesis-testing type of critical thinking process that helps students engage with cultural differences” (p. 9). Culture stereotypes and racism are some of the basic discussion topics in our classrooms, and yet in many cultures they are not popular or even tabooed. Using these topics in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses can help generate international students’ critical thinking and cultural awareness and provide teachers with a great source of instructional material for developing listening and speaking as well as writing skills. During the session, the participants will be introduced to a few short YouTube videos on cross-cultural topics and practical tips on how they can be used in class
Cannabis-Related Content in North American Post-Secondary Curricula: A Scoping Review
Get PDFOn 11 August 2016, the Canadian government announced the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) outlining reasonable uses of cannabis for medical purposes. Educators teaching cannabis-related content face new challenges, as this legalization requires a shift away from a focus on substance abuse towards incorporating economic, social, and health promotion aspects. I report on what curricula incorporating the concept of cannabis are offered by post-secondary institutions as well as how and for what purpose this content is offered. To do this, I conducted a scoping review of published and grey literature to determine the extent of the available research and content related to the concept of cannabis in post-secondary curricula in North America. Online search engines and multiple databases were mined for relevant data. I found that peer-reviewed nursing articles generally emphasize teaching cannabis in terms of substance abuse treatment rather than knowledge about medical cannabis. In English-speaking Canadian universities/colleges that have a nursing school, various cannabis-related courses are being developed. These include different disciplines such as pharmacology, agriculture, and marketing and are delivered in the format of courses, workshops/seminars, and public presentations in classrooms or online. The results of this review suggest that a limited number of courses about medical cannabis are being offered in post-secondary institutions in North America. As legislation changes continue to impact post secondary education, curricula must be adapted to meet the new requirements
Culture Dependent Analysis of Microbial Communities from Raspberry Rising Cave Soil Samples
No full textThe aim of this study was to elucidate the microbial diversity of soil samples collected from the Raspberry Rising Cave area implementing cultivation dependent approaches. The Raspberry Rising Cave is a marble cave system located in the Glacier National Park of Canada in the Mount Tupper area. In this study, bacterial colonies were isolated from seven different sampling areas from the Raspberry Rising Cave. Bacterial colonies were isolated by taking each soil sample and spinning them in volumetric flasks overnight at 8°C on a shaking incubator at 150 RPM covered by sterile deionized water. The soil samples supernatant was serially diluted and then plated on three different types of media, R2A, Hickey-Tresner, and Actinomycetes the following day using a glass bead spread plate method. These spread plates were incubated at 8°C and underwent sub-culturing to obtain pure bacterial isolates. As a result, a total of 103 bacterial isolates were grown at 8°C for approximately 1-2 weeks. These bacterial cultures were then grown in liquid broth at 8°C for seven days on a shaking incubator at 150 RPM and subjected to DNA extraction, which were resolved on 0.8% ethidium bromide-agarose gels. The amplification of the DNA products from those 103 bacterial samples is currently being performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with subsequent 16S rRNA sequencing to take place to identify the isolates that were cultivated. Antimicrobial screening will also occur against multidrug resistant bacterial strains to identify any antimicrobial activity the bacterial isolates may possess
The Diversity Within Kamloops’ SD73: The Demographics and Experience of Children Attending Schools Within the Rural-Urban Fringe
No full textFor the purpose of our research, we consider the rural-urban fringe elementary and high schools of School District 73 to be located in any areas not connected to the urban core of Kamloops, such as, Barnhartvale, Rayleigh, and the Tk’emlups Indian Band, as well as the outlying schools of Sun Peaks, Pinantan, and Logan Lake. Our principal objective is to highlight the diversity of children and schools within this district; to compare both current and past demographics and what schools were operationalized for these populations; and, both past and present Indigenous students’ experience of schools and curriculum within the rural urban fringe. Our methods consist of a detailed literary review of educational, federal, and historical sources. For our principal conclusion, we expect to find diverse populations attending rural-urban fringe schools, and a population decline in school aged children living outside urban centers; thus, school closures are prevalent in these areas. Furthermore, we expect Indigenous students’ past experiences in fringe schools to be negative due to the lifelong impact of residential schools and settler-colonialism. However, with recent changes in the provincial curriculum there are more efforts to diminish the difference between European and Indigenous education
Site Selection for Parturition by Female Rattlesnakes in Osoyoos, British Columbia
No full textHabitat use and resource selection by individuals is a critical part of population ecology. However, different age classes and genders may utilize different sites for foraging, reproduction, shelter and overwintering. The Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) is a good example of the species that shows variation in the habitat use between genders. Current research has been focused on identifying and describing unique rookery sites which are used by gravid female Rattlesnakes for parturition. Radiotelemetry technique was performed to monitor 9 gravid females from April to September 2017 in Osoyoos, British Columbia. The assessment of the vegetation cover and the topographic descriptions of an area were conducted for the qualitative analysis of located rookery sites. I used matched case-control study design and assessed habitat characteristics at three different scales. Monitored females successfully gave birth with an offspring size ranging from 1 to 5 neonates. Rookery sites had ~80% rock cover and were found on the south facing slopes (26% incline). Selection of rookeries by gravid Western Rattlesnakes was analysed with COXREG revealing that females gave birth at the sites with higher air and surface temperature and the sufficient cover of rocks. Information on the specific rookery sites and behavior assessed in this study can be used to further understand ecology of Western Rattlesnakes and facilitate conservation efforts targeting this species
“Bee City”: A Comparison of Cultivated and Non-Cultivated Habitat for Native Pollinators in Kamloops
No full textPollinators are a critical ecosystem service, although habitat loss due to urbanization is a primary factor contributing to pollinator declines. The purpose of this project was twofold: to determine the abundance of pollinators in gardens vs. natural, non-cultivated areas in Kamloops, and within these areas to determine if particular plant genera correlated with high pollinator diversity and abundance. With the collaboration of the Thompson-Shuswap Master Gardeners Association and local citizens, pollinators were surveyed in both cultivated gardens and non-cultivated, natural sites within Kamloops, BC. The results indicate that cultivated gardens within Kamloops support a greater numerical abundance of pollinators, especially during the months of July and August, than non-cultivated natural areas within the city. Given the increasing urbanization faced by many landscapes, the results of my research provide preliminary evidence identifying that while not necessarily supporting all native pollinators, appropriately planted urban landscapes may play an important role mitigating urbanization’s negative impact
Analysing the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development in the Rural-Urban Fringe in Canada
No full textThe rural-urban fringe (RUF) can be described as the transition zone between primarily urban areas, and those devoted to agricultural land use. However, recently the transition zone has become blurred and the exact boundaries of the rural-urban fringe are more difficult to define. Increased urbanization and sprawl has often resulted in the development of the rural-urban fringe to support industry that either does not fit within the urban city-limits, or to expand those limits. This leads to the main focus of our presentation as to whether or not development of the rural-urban fringe can be classified as sustainable. Within the parameters of sustainable development, the United Nations states that there needs to be a balance between the social, environmental, and economic sectors, or the three pillars of sustainability. After extensive literature review, land policy analysis, and sustainable development framework analysis, we are able to tentatively conclude that with the correct policies and frameworks, the implementation of sustainable development in the rural-urban fringe is possible