345 research outputs found
Ecological saints: Adopting a green gaze of the life and writings of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys
No full textDuring this time of ecological crisis, spiritual guides are needed to provide inspiration and impel action. In the Roman Catholic tradition, saints act as role models and are associated with particular causes, locations, or professions. Who, then, are the ecological saints, whose witness can inspire hope and action in support of the environment? This article explores that question in two ways. First the writings and accounts of saints who are traditionally connected to the environment are examined to produce six indicators of the beliefs, characteristics, and actions of ecological saints. Second, a green gaze is applied to Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, a seventeenth-century educator who lived in what would become Montreal, Canada, by comparing her writings and accounts of her life to the six indicators of an ecological saint. Identifying more ecological saints can promote environmental responsibility, and the six indicators of an ecological saint can be the lens through which beloved saints are re-examined
The nature of nature: Interpretations of Teilhard de Chardin’s ecological eschatological views
No full textIn the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the word “nature” occurs more than a thousand times, though this term is not listed in the Teilhard Lexicon by Siôn Cowell. A qualitative analysis of nature throughout Teilhard's writings produced 13 distinct definitions that can be summarized into five categories; nature can be an inherent way of being, sacred, an object, or that which is not artificial. The multivalent term has produced different interpretations of Teilhard's work, specifically in the ecological eschatological question of whether living organisms will be included in the final transformation. Theologians’ responses to this question range from affirmation to dissension, with varying levels of certainty, demonstrating the variability that can be caused by ambiguous language
Effective use of logbooks in engineering education: Enhancing communication through short design activities
No full textPublishing student-generated problems in an OER: Student perceptions
No full textFundamental engineering courses provide learning opportunities for students to develop problem solving and creativity skills, connect theoretical course material to the real-world, and solve complex, abstract problems such as those found in the workplace. Through a mixed methods study of students in a statics course in a small Canadian university, we explored student motivation and perception of composing and publishing their own course-relevant problems in an open educational resource (OER) textbook. We found that generating and solving their own problems for each of the six homework assignments helped students to anchor theory in the real-world, be creative, and understand the material more fully. In total, 93% of students in the course created at least one student-generated homework problem, and after the semester ended, 58% of students submitted a combined total of 59 high-quality, interesting, real-world examples to be included in the OER textbook. Of the 28 study participants, 26 students (93%) felt the activity should be repeated in future years. Students were motivated to publishing examples in the OER textbook by a desire to help future students and gain understanding of the material. Students found generating problems time-consuming, but enjoyed expressing their creativity
Unordinary: An evaluation of lecture-free activities using a repertory grid
No full textLecture-free activities afford students with an engaging approach to knowledge acquisition and integration. When peppered throughout a course, experiential activities inject spontaneity, break up familiar patterns, and empower students to take responsibility of their learning. For an instructor, iteration is required to develop effective lecture-free engineering activities, necessitating thoughtful evaluation. The paper adopts Kelly's personal constructs theory, using repertory grid analysis to consider the effectiveness of six unordinary, lecture-free activities. Through a structured comparison of activities, 29 constructs were elicited with inherently subjective, dichotomous poles. The grid was populated ranking each activity between the poles of each construct such as directed learning or creative expression. Using a cluster analysis and descriptive statistics, various themes emerged revealing the author's preference, and connections between seemingly unrelated constructs such as how summative actives use the entire building whereas formative activities are in the classroom. Recommendations are made to generalize the tool to aid instructors in activity evaluation and development through understanding and challenging existing patterns
Teilhard De Chardin: A book of hours
No full textThis Book of Hours is divided into eight days, and further subdivided into Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Dark. The first seven days follow weekly evolutionary themes and conclude with an eighth day, “Tomorrow,” to honor Teilhard’s vision of the future
Embracing co-design: A case study examining how community partners became co-creators
No full textCo-design increases the number of voices in a design project, which enhances the experience for all co-creators and produces a better product. A case study is presented of a ten-month co-design project-based learning experience between two engineering design students and two community partners during a first-year engineering design course, which resulted in the implementation of the device across campus. This paper evaluates the elements of co-design in the design process that was employed, documents the design product that was produced, and examines the experience of the community partners through a qualitative study. Through a retrospective examination of artifacts and files, the design process demonstrated an increase in the amount of collaboration between co-creators as the project progressed and identified 15 iterations of the design. Comparing the experience of community partners throughout the design process, five themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews: (1) emotional effects, (2) physical and mental effects, (3) productivity, (4) safety, and (5) job satisfaction. Documenting the experience of community partners throughout the design project can encourage educators to adopt co-design practices in project-based learning
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