MRFA Faculty Retreat

DAY ONE – April 30, 2018

ARRIVAL AND COFFEE – 8:30 – 9:30AM

KEYNOTE 9:30-10:30

Exploring a Passage to Community Engagement

Lynn Moorman, Professor, Earth & Environmental Sciences

As an invited “geography expert on board”, Lynn travels on expeditions exploring the eastern and Arctic coasts of Canada, most recently on a special Canada 150th voyage with Parks Canada through the Northwest Passage in the fall of 2017. While teaching passengers about the Arctic environment and landscapes, she has come to appreciate the reciprocity of teaching, learning, research, and service involved with such community engagement. Lynn will unravel this complex web through the guiding principles of Inuit Qaujimaningit (traditional knowledge and epistemology) and explore how external community engagement can serve to re-engage within and across our own academic community.

 

COFFEE BREAK 10:30-10:45

 

SESSION I – 10:45-12:15

Predatory Publishing and the Rise of Fake Scholarship. Presented by Richard Hayman

Time and Location: 10:45 – 11:45 in the Mount Allan Room

The world of scholarly publishing is constantly changing. New technologies and evolving models of engaged and networked scholarship are the new normal for scholars looking to disseminate and promote their research through journals, books, conferences, and other venues. However, such evolutions challenge us to be critical about how we share our scholarship. The “publish or perish” system of academic publishing, as well as tenure and promotion requirements and contemporary demands to reach broader audiences with our research, have all paved the way for publishers to take advantage of our achievements.

In today’s scholarly context, exploitative and damaging predatory publishing is on the rise. This unethical publishing practice preys on academics, and includes false venues of dissemination, such as predatory journals and fake conferences. These usually require authors to pay exorbitant fees to publish or participate, but offer little or no peer-review, editorial oversight, quality control, or other mechanisms that ensure rigorous academic standards are met.

This session will address the rise of predatory publishing. Participants will discuss how to recognize and ways to avoid predatory publishers and conferences, as well as ways to apply these strategies in their various teaching, service, and scholarship roles.

 

Learning from Failure: Evidence to Practice. Presented by Darlene Dawson, Deanna Wiebe, Dennis Valdez, Erika Smith, Genevieve Currie, and Liza Choi.

Time and Location: 10:45 – 11:45 in Mount Kidd C

Members of a Faculty Learning Community Group will share their insights on how to help students learn from failure. Learnings will be shared by various faculty members within a number of professional programs, on their experience and engagement with research on helping students learn from failure and how this can be applied to teaching and learning practices. Concepts to be discussed will include: fostering a growth mindset, understanding the concept of “grit”, and practical strategies to help students see the benefits of learning from their mistakes. Strategies on supporting students on adjusting their ‘mindset’ and finding different ways to learn will be shared within the classroom and clinical setting. Classroom supports such as pre-class strategies, first class strategies, and resources will also be presented.

Join us as we apply evidence on how we can learn from failure and have better teaching and learning outcomes.

 

The MRFA – Where Might We Go from Here? Presented by Outgoing MRFA President Marc Schroeder.

Time and Location: 10:45 – 11:45 in the Wildflower Room

Our Faculty Association continues to evolve to meet the changing needs and interests of its members, in tandem with the ongoing evolution of our University, and in response to changes in the broader provincial, national and sectoral environments.  The Association hasn’t been just a reactive organization – we have been an influence.  As much as possible, we have been intentional.  There have been successes and advances in many aspects of our work, but still many where attention must be paid and work is needed.  Come to hear the thoughts of the outgoing President, and to share your own, as we reflect together on where we’ve (temporarily) arrived, how we got here, and what might lie ahead.

 

Reflective Teaching Practices. Presented by Natalie Badenduck.

Time and Location: 11:45 – 12:15 in Mount Kidd A

Presentation on my practices for reflection in the classroom starting with annotations to course syllabus for individual class/lecture reflections, markups of course documents for future years and the final class “wrap-ups” which involve a comprehensive review of the course from the students point of view.

 

Teaching with primary sources in the Archives and Special Collections. Presented by Peter Houston.

Time and Location: 11:45 – 12:15 in the Mount Allan Room

How do you teach students who have never been to an archives before about the evidential value, potential uses, and challenges of archival sources? This presentation describes two active learning-inspired group exercises that the presenter has recently developed for classes visiting the Archives and Special Collections for archival research sessions. Groups of students are assigned primary sources from the Archives’ holdings which they examine together before (depending on the exercise) conducting a source analysis or designing an educational activity based on the source, which they then present to their peers. The presenter will assess the exercises’ effectiveness at engaging students, stimulating class discussion about primary sources, and fostering the development of archival awareness and source criticism skills.

 

Student Evaluation of Teaching: Origins and causes of false beliefs that students learn more from more highly rated professors. Presented by Bob Uttl.

Time and Location: 11:45 – 12:15 in Mount Kidd C

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) ratings are used to evaluate faculty’s teaching effectiveness based on widespread but false belief that students learn more from highly rated professors. This false belief was sparked by a highly cited but fatally flawed meta-analysis of so called multisection studies (Cohen, 1981; see also Feldman, 1989; Clayson, 2009). We demonstrated that the actual correlation between SET and learning in multisection studies is zero (Uttl, White, & Wong Gonzalez, 2017). Looking at the SET’s validity from another angle, we showed that undergraduate students are not at all interested in taking quantitative vs. non-quantitative courses (Uttl, White, & Morin, 2013). Not surprisingly, we also found that professors teaching quantitative vs. non-quantitative courses receive lower SET ratings and are far less likely to pass any kind of common standards/cutting scores on the SETs (Uttl & Smibert, 2017). Finally, we discovered that multisection studies authored by individuals with the highest conflict of interest reported the largest SET-learning correlations whereas studies authored by individuals with no discernible conflict of interest reported zero or nearly zero SET-learning correlations. These findings have a number of implications for use of SET ratings in high stakes personnel decisions (i.e., hiring, firing, promotion, merit pay, awards) as well as on their validity as a measure of faculty’s teaching effectiveness vs. student satisfaction (i.e., “a happy or pleased feeling because of something that you did or something that happened to you”, www.merriam-webster.com).

 

Delivery of a first-year experience course: The effectiveness of a course redesign. Presented by Breda Eubank, Julie Booke, and Nadine Van Wyk.

Time and Location: 11:45 – 12:15 in the Wildflower Room

The Health and Physical Education (HPED) degree was designed to include a core set of courses, after which students split off into specific major areas.  One of the goals of the HPED degree is to help students recognize and understand how all four majors work together, overlap, and build a community of professionals.  One strategy to work towards HPED program goals was the development and inclusion of a first-year experience course in which all students would be required to take in their first semester of their HPED degree.  The course is designed to introduce students to current issues in the field of HPED and to explore how each major would approach various issues; the other goal of the course is to prepare students for success during their university tenure.  In the first few years of the course’s delivery, the course received unfavourable feedback from students and those faculty teaching the course.  In 2016/2017, we received an ADC course redesign grant, and working with ADC we performed an in-depth examination on what students and faculty thought about the course.  Next, we then spent the majority of 2016/2017 year redesigning the course.  This redesign included changing the delivery method into one lecture and one tutorial per week.  The lecture would require all students to enroll a lecture section (~100 students) and a tutorial (~25 students). The lecture set the foundation for case studies delivered in the tutorials.  Following the implementation of this new course design all HPED 1000 instructors set out to research the impact of the redesign.  This presentation will share the findings from the course redesign.

 

LUNCH 12:15 – 1:15 in the Rockies Dining Room

 

SESSION II – 1:30 – 3:00

Sparking a deeper passion for teaching, learning, and scholarship. Presented by Nancy-Angel Doetzel.

Time and Location: 1:30 – 2:15 in the Mount Allan Room

An increased passion for teaching, learning and scholarship may be sparked when more insight is gained about the benefits of practicing altruism.  The father of Sociology, Auguste  Comte coined the term “altruism” and suggested a number of ideal ways of practicing being a good sociologist and synergizing heart  and mind within education.  Altruism suggests living for others; it is the definitive formula of human morality and gives a direct sanction exclusively to our instincts of benevolence, a common source of happiness and duty.  Comte’s version of the term suggests that “altruism” is an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, and if necessary at the sacrifice of self-interest; altruism calls for living for the sake of others.  This presentation would honor some of Auguste Comte’s work, by suggesting ways students, scholars and professors can practice altruism and being a good sociologist throughout their semesters.  Being altruistic coincides with being a good sociologist and endorses the studies introduced within Post and Neimark’s book titled: “Why Good Things Happen To Good People. Through an active teaching and learning strategy that incorporates altruism,   students, professors and scholars may attach more meaning and purpose to curriculum.

 

Exploring Diversity: an FLC journey. Presented by Al Fedoruk, Frances Widdowson, Liza Choi, Miriam Carey, Pearl Herscovitch, and Rajbir Bhatti.

Time and Location: 1:30 – 3:00 in Mount Kidd A

Diversity is a hot topic in universities these days, with many controversies, questions, and imperatives attending it. This Faculty Learning Community began its journey of exploration in the fall semester and continued through the winter, inquiring into what various perspectives on diversity look like and what they imply for us as faculty. We wish to share some of our learnings and our continuing inquiries with other interested colleagues.

We began our exploration by talking about diversity issues at MRU and brainstorming some of the additional themes and topics we wanted to explore this year. Our conversations were deepened by examining some of the current controversial cases and actors in relation to the tensions between academic freedom, free speech on campus, and the boundaries that attend to both. We also engaged some experts in the field to guide us through particular conversations and experiential pieces to open our eyes to other ways of seeing the many facets of diversity.

The conversation is not an easy one to have. Many people have particular views on diversity and its many related topics which they assert are the only correct way to both understand and act upon these issues. Others feel a profound lack of confidence as to how to engage authentically and respectfully, especially when disagreements are obvious and challenging. Still others remain afraid – afraid to say or do the wrong thing, afraid to unwittingly insult others, afraid to be behind the conversation rather than out in front of it, afraid to be ridiculed. And finally, we all want to do what is right to create the environment in which diverse persons and diverse perspectives flourish — after all, isn’t that what higher education is supposed to be about?

We are not experts. We are your colleagues who, admitting both our ignorance and our desire to learn, engaged in this exploratory journey this year. Join us as we share what we discovered, the hidden treasures on the subject of diversity, which we hope will allow us to have this conversation more freely and productively with each other here in our community.

 

Aristotle’s Metaphysics of Education. Presented by Duncan MacLean.

Time and Location: 1:30 – 2:15 in Mount Kidd C

Does Aristotle have a metaphysical theory of education? Principles like potency and act could provide an account of how teaching and learning are possible, and Aristotle does make a few comments about it in the Metaphysics. We can see him arguing at 9.6 that knowledge and ignorance are respectively potencies to teach and learn. Aristotle emphasizes that educational potencies in humans are different from potencies in non-living beings. For example, circumstances permitting, fire must heat those thing that are potentially heated; however, the knower must have the desire and the will to teach before teaching occurs. Aristotle doesn’t expect much from the student, mentioning only her ignorance. He thereby fails to sufficiently distinguish educational acts from other acts of nature, since if the teacher wills it and there are no external hindrances, the student learns. This seems, in practice, to be false. The problem at 9.6 is that Aristotle’s account of the student is too passive, since he treats them like vessels that are potentially filled with knowledge. We get a more realistic account of their potential at 2.3, where he says that to understand lectures, learners must first prepare themselves by becoming familiar with the kinds of arguments that distinguish the sciences. The lecturer, however, conforms to the manner in which the science is delivered. Passivity now seems to shift to the teacher and Aristotle does not ask whether there is anything she can do to facilitate the student’s learning. Could the Rhetoric help us to deliver lectures? Apparently not, since Aristotle says at De Interpretatione 4 that rhetoric does not concern statements, and lectures, for Aristotle, consist of the delivery of true statements. So there is something of a shifting ‘problem of passivity’ that needs to be addressed in figuring out an Aristotelian metaphysics of education.

 

Discovering the Boundaries: Important Insights into Interpersonal Relations Between Faculty and Students. Presented by Ben Kusi-Sekyere, Charles Hepler, Darlene Dawson, Evelyn Field, Jennifer Solinas, and Justine Huet.

Time and Location: 1:30 – 3:00 in the Wildflower Room

The boundaries of student and teacher relationships can seem ambiguous and faculty may not be clear on what is considered appropriate with students. While Canadian universities offer some guidance as to what is appropriate behaviour between a student and a teacher, information is still scarce and fragmented compared with universities in the United States where boundaries are clearer. No Canadian university follows the same guidelines which can further create confusion and unnecessary grievances on both the student and teacher’s part.

A worthwhile aim is to bring greater faculty awareness of the professional responsibility that arises from the power imbalance between faculty and students, and the current state of policies designed to guide this relationship. As teachers, while we should be cognizant of our position of authority over students, this heightened, this heightened state of awareness should not inhibit us and prevent us from developing strong connections with our students that will help them along their learning path. As teachers, we should strive to strike a balance between respect and compassion.

Join us in exploring the multifaceted and complex nature of our unique relationship with our students. Let us consider best practices and personal experiences. During this hands-on roundtable, participants and speakers will work through various scenarios (including conflict of interest, harassment and human rights policies) which they may be confronted with, and develop strategies on dealing with various issues at hand.

 

Product Justice – A Guidance System for Teaching, Service, and Creative Scholarship. Presented by Patricia Derbyshire.

Time and Location: 2:15 – 3:00 in the Mount Allan Room

Using three public scholarship case studies – Otahpiaaki, #notinmycity, and the Paul Brandt Legacy Collection project, this photo-editorial presentation offers a rare view of the operationalization of product justice as a highly productive organizer, driver, and integrative force in Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation at Mount Royal that optimizes opportunities for teaching, service, and creative scholarship at the university.   First conceived at the Bissett Research Retreat in 2016, product justice has become a platform for academic exchange and collaboration within and across disciplines and a pedagogical anchor for student engagement in curricular and co-curricular projects that have impacts for communities intellectually, creatively, socially, economically and, in some cases spiritually.   In it’s second year, Otahpiaaki 2017: Indigenous Beauty, Fashion and Design Week (–and the research beneath it) reached over 10,000 audience members driven by a core team of 1 Elder, 7 students, and 120 student volunteers. #notinmycity launched in July 2017. Led by a core team of 4 students, the project earned $250K and has spun off as a social enterprise that will mirror and integrated ‘wrap-around’ care model similar to the Sheldon Kennedy Centre for Child Advocacy for survivors of sex trafficking. Over the past two years, a team of 6 students have diligently taken the entirety of  Paul Brant’s Legacy Collection, digitized and organized it. Set to launch over 3 key dates in 2018, the project offers close to 2000 learning objects at both the National Music Centre and through Mount Royal’s Special Collections and Archives in the Riddell Library and Learning Centre.

 

Inquiry based approach to learning: Fact or fiction? Presented by Norm Vaughan.

Time and Location: 2:15 – 3:00 in Mount Kidd C

What is an inquiry-based approach to learning?  This session will explore the history and theoretical frameworks for an inquiry-based approach to learning.  The focus will be on a collegial debate and discussion about this learning approach.

 

COFFEE BREAK 3:00 – 3:15 

 

SESSION III – 3:15 – 3:45

Conflict at MRU. Presented by Randy Genereux.

Time and Location: 3:15 – 3:45 in the Wildflower Room

What are the dynamics and key drivers of conflict at MRU? How do we typically handle conflict? According to the conflict theory and research, what do we do well, and not so well, in terms of analyzing, resolving and preventing conflict? Are there hidden treasures out there in the conflict resolution literature and the collective wisdom of the audience that can help us better deal with conflict at Mount Royal? Or, taking a step back, should we view conflict not as something to be prevented, handled and reduced, but as an inevitable, constructive dynamic central to academic life and social change? The purpose of this interactive session is to explore such questions, with a focus on faculty-administration and faculty-faculty conflict at MRU. My interest in this topic comes from several sources. These include many years of first-hand experience with academic conflict at MRU and elsewhere (as department chair, dean, faculty association president, negotiator, etc.), my recent development and teaching of a fourth year social psychology course on conflict and its resolution, recent high-profile cases of conflict at Mount Royal, and my interest in what lies ahead for Mount Royal. Given our upcoming transition to a new university President and the opportunities this may afford for fresh starts, I believe this is an ideal time for us to take a closer look at core issues such as conflict and how we wish to approach them moving forward.

 

Smartphone Addiction:  On Banning Cell Phones and Computers in My Classes this Semester. Presented by Elaine Mullen.

Time and Location: 3:15 – 3:45 in the Mount Allan Room

In this session, I will present my process, my experiences, and share feedback from my students on the banning of all digital devices in all my classes this winter 2018 semester.  This will be followed by a discussion of our concerns and experiences with this issue.

 

Decreasing Risk of Surgical Infections in Benin, West Africa. Presented by Olive Fast.

Time and Location: 3:15 – 3:45 in Mount Kidd A

Background: Proper sterile processing is fundamental to safe surgical practice and optimal patient outcomes.  Sterile processing practices in low and middle-income countries however, fall short of recommended standards. The impact of education and training on sterile processing practices in low and middle-income countries is unknown. We designed a sterile processing education course, including mentoring, and aimed to evaluate the impact on participants’ personal knowledge, skills, and practices. We also aimed to identify institutional changes in sterile processing practices at participants’ work places. Methods: A mixed methods design study was conducted using a Hospital sterile processing assessment tool, knowledge tests, and open-ended interviews. Results: Education and mentoring improved how workers understood and approached their work and what they paid attention to. Sterile processing workers were also better able to identify resources available to do their work and showed improved understanding of the impact of their work on patient safety.  Conclusions:  Health care organizations seeking to improve surgical outcomes can find easy wins requiring minimal cost expenditures by paying attention to sterile processing practices. Investing in education and low-cost resources, such as cleaning detergents and brushes, must be part of any quality improvement initiative aimed at providing safe surgery in low and middle-income countries.

 

Well-being in the Learning Environment. Presented by Glen Ryland and Mirjam Knapik.

Time and Location: 3:15 – 3:45 in Mount Kidd C

Post-secondary communities have been identified as playing a central role in the development of persons, communities, societies, and cultures both at home and abroad, and, therefore, as having a responsibility to be themselves health promoting. ​In October 2016, Mount Royal University President, David Docherty, joined 5 other presidents of Canadian Universities in formally adopting the Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges. The internationally developed Charter provides a framework for health promotion, identifies guiding principles, and lists two calls to action. The Charter is referenced in MRU’s Academic Plan and the question now is how to meet the calls to action. To that end MRU’s Healthy Campus Office has initiated a project that engages faculty members in describing how they promote well-being in the learning environment. An initial proposed definition of well-being in the learning environment is defined as “making students feel they are heard, safe, and included,” and the hope is that students will therefore be “more engaged in their learning.” Unpacking these terms, identifying underlying assumptions, and engaging faculty in critical dialogue about what is being proposed, is an important part of this process. This session will provide information about the Charter and invite discussion on how to conceptualize well-being in the learning environment.

Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges. http://internationalhealthycampuses2015.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2016/01/Okanagan-Charter-January13v2.pdf, Published 2015. Accessed June, 2016.

 

GROUP PHOTO 3:50 – 4:00PM

Group Photo at the Pond: This will only take a couple minutes then we can go do the fun stuff!!!

 

FUN STUFF

Meet up at Locations provided between 4:00 – 4:10pm

 

A Street-dance Lesson:  Shuffle and Charleston Dance: Young Cheol Jung

Young has been learning Street-dance from YouTube videos since 2015. Even though he is not an advanced dancer, he can instruct you in several basic steps for Shuffle and Charleston Dance.  Charleston Dance was a popular dance shown frequently in the movies of the 1920s and is the origin for Street-dance such as Shuffle and Hip-hop.

Street-dance is an excellent exercise to lose weight and to improve agility and flexibility of your body. Learning the basic steps will make your dance experience more enjoyable. View Young’s youtube page link:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdLWP2-rU6T_eyZboJr8Sfg

Preparation:  Comfortable clothes and shoes (no heels), a water bottle and a towel. Meet up in the Wildflower Room at 4:00pm.

 

Yoga & Mindfulness in the Mountains: Maurie Maclennan

Join Maurie for a combo of mindfulness and gentle yoga. Members are asked to bring their own yoga mats. This will be held outside, weather permitting. Meet up in the Mount Allan Room at 4:00pm (session will be held in this room in the case of inclement weather).

 

Mountain Biking in the Rockies: Dawn Rault

Have you ever wanted to try Mountain Biking but don’t know where to start? Let an NCCP-certified mountain bike coach introduce you to the sport in a fun, relaxed, and social environment. Topics covered will include bike and gear selection, bike setup, bike balance, control and maneuvering, trail safety and etiquette and basic maintenance and repair. The clinic is designed for new and novice riders, no experience necessary. Bring your own bike or rent one from Kananaskis Outfitters. Email drault@mtroyal.ca if you have any questions.  Meet outside of Kananaskis Outfitters by the pond at 4:00pm.

 

Hiking: Jim Fischer

Join Jim Fischer for a 2 hour hike and take in some nice views of the Kananaskis Valley. Bring appropriate footwear for a hike on trails, not paved routes, suitable clothing for the weather, and water. There will be some elevation gain but we’ll keep it to less than 500 feet. Jim is a hiking guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and the Interpretive Guides Association. Contact Jim at 6835 or jfischer@mtroyal.ca for details. Meet up in the Mount Kidd Manor Foyer at 4:00pm.

 

Mountain Climbing: Raphael Slawinski

Since the beginning of time humans have had the ambition to conquer what others cannot, to go where others have not and to push themselves to their physical limits. Perhaps there is no better example of this than mankind’s fascination with the sport of rock climbing. Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, comes to mind, and Mount Royal’s own Raphael Slawinski took on this challenge in attempting a new route without fixed ropes or oxygen in 2015, but his expedition was cut short by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. Prior to that, Raphael earned a nomination for National Geographic’s 2014 Adventurer of the Year for the first ascent of K6 West (7040 m) in Pakistan in 2013. While climbing big mountains is dangerous, rock climbing isn’t; so, please join Raphael for an afternoon of climbing in Kananaskis country. Helmets and other safety gear will be provided to those who register in advance by emailing rlawinski@mtroyal.ca; no experience is required. Meet up at the registration table at 4:00pm.

 

DINNER BANQUET 7:00pm MT KIDD BALLROOM

 

EVENING ACTIVITIES 8:30pm

Music, Dancing and Karaoke – 10:00pm – 1:00am – Mount Kidd Ballroom

Self-directed – Wildflower room (bring your own board games – space provided)

 

DAY TWO – May 1

 

BREAKFAST 8:30-10:00 MOUNT KIDD BALLROOM

Faculty Lightning Talks 9:00-10:00

Introducing…“the Newbies and the Oldies”

 

BREAK 10:00-10:15 – Please take this time to check out of your room. A space will be provided for luggage storage – see signage at registration table.

 

SESSION IV – 10:15-11:45

Socred Confidential:  Premier Manning and the Attempted Takeover of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. Presented by Bruce Foster and Duane Bratt.

Time and Location: 10:15 – 11:00 in the Mount Allan Room

Using newly uncovered internal documents, specifically, a detailed plan launched in the mid-late 1960s to unify the Alberta Social Credit and the Progressive Conservative parties, combined with established party papers and scholarly research, this submission by Duane Bratt and Bruce Foster undertakes to identify and explain the factors underlying the heretofore secret attempt by Premier E.C. Manning to virtually assimilate the AB PCs, then led by Peter Lougheed, into the Socred fold. Additionally, we theorize that this 52 year-old attempt at uniting the right has become a fairly typical strategy for right-of-centre political parties, particularly in western Canada.

 

Turn and Face the Strange* – Keeping Courses Hip and With it. Presented by Alana Gieck and Karen Owen

Time and Location: 10:15 – 11:00 in Mount Kidd A

This presentation will share the challenges of keeping course content relevant amid a culture of rapid change that may sometimes feel uncomfortable and strange. Our particular focus is media, however, other faculty and departments are confronting similar challenges. Course material must keep pace with innovation, so must the way new technology and social media infiltrates the learning environment.   In this case study, we focus on Broadcast Media Studies and how our program can reflect the rapid changes in the media landscape. “As media platforms and products proliferate, it has become more difficult to teach the media.” (Graeme Turner – Re-inventing the media) The first-year broadcast writing courses have traditionally been separated into journalism and broadcast advertising. However, the focus of the new Broadcast Media Studies degree is to incorporate both disciplines into one field of study.  We call ourselves “The Odd Couple”. One instructor has a background and passion for advertising, the other has spent a career in news. One instructor specializes in rhetoric; the other strives for impartial, unbiased language. This wacky duo has come to appreciate not only the common ground but the differences between the two approaches to media writing and production. We want to discuss how we are combining best practices from both news and creative media to inform our pedagogical approach in Broadcast Media Studies. The goal of the presentation is to engage MRU faculty in a lively discussion about their experiences in keeping course content up to date.  How are you facing the strange?  *Changes by David Bowie

 

Working Better Together: An Interprofessional Learning Activity.  Presented by Genevieve Currie, Lisa Semple, Monica Pauls, and Scott Hughes.

Time and Location: 10:15 – 11:00 in Mount Kidd C

Collaborative practice and education (CPE) in the Faculty of Health, Community and Education at Mount Royal University (MRU) is carried out through opportunities, internal or external, to learn and work collaboratively.  A multidisciplinary approach in the helping professions, empowers students, faculty and practice partners to improve outcomes in people’s lives.  This framework provided the foundation for a collaborative learning activity involving third-year students from the Bachelor of Nursing and the Bachelor of Child Studies at MRU.  Through an analysis of a case study involving a vulnerable family with a range of health and social challenges, students were assigned discipline-specific roles and worked together to develop a plan of care, considering theoretical and practical content related to programs of study.  This presentation will discuss the process of developing and implementing the activity, the impact of the experience on student learning, and the challenges and successes of undertaking CPE in the classroom.

 

Caring About Student Self-Care. Presented by Deb Bennett & Patricia Kostouros.

Time and Location: 10:15 – 11:00 in the Wildflower Room

Effective teaching and learning in the post-secondary context requires teachers to concern themselves with more than academic expectations. As students enter the university system, it is easy for them to become overwhelmed and taxed. Student wellness and its impact on academic success requires attention. It is possible that the burdens associated with academic achievement in undergraduate studies can trigger or aggravate mental health difficulties. The National College Health Assessment survey, for our university, showed that students expressed high levels of stress and mental health concerns. For example, 40% stated their stress was affecting their health which was impacting their academic achievement. In addition, 30% stated they were experiencing anxiety and 28% stated sleep difficulties. As members of the educative community who were already concerned about student wellness, we saw an opportunity to use an existing stress reduction and resilience building tool as part of our course curriculum. The BreathingRoom™ is an award winning mental health program developed by the Canadian Institute for Natural and Integrative Medicine that was adopted by our university and is available on the Wellness Services webpage. There is limited discussion in the literature about using self-care as a pedagogical tool. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the experiences that were shared by students during our SoTL project. Themes that emerged from our qualitative study which utilized an interpretive approach will be described. By sharing what we learned from students we hope to contribute to a dialogue about student wellness and pedagogical choices.

 

Decoding 2.0: Re-Thinking Decoding the Disciplines in the Face of Decolonization. Presented by Lee Easton and Roberta Lexier.

Time and Location: 11:00 – 11:45 in the Mount Allan Room

Decoding the Disciplines (Pace & Middendorf, 2004) was designed to help faculty articulate their own thinking about a difficult concept in order to make it more visible and explicit and, in turn, enable them to better help their students move toward a transformed understanding of the concept. However, there are problematic assumptions that undergird the decoding process; decoding privileges a particular way of knowing connected to Eurocentric, Enlightenment notions of knowledge. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has called upon educational institutions to engage with indigenous communities and be leaders in reconciliation. David Barnard, chair of Universities Canada, recently argued that: “We begin to decolonize our universities by integrating indigenous knowledge, perspectives and worldviews into curricula, programs and services, and providing relevant training for those teaching and interacting with our students. When understanding of First Nation, Métis and other indigenous cultures is woven through all of our campuses, then real change will occur not only within the institution, but within the many areas of society that we reach” (op-ed, June 8, 2015). Indigenous ways of knowing, whose recognition is central to the reconciliation process, are rooted in a tradition of storytelling and language that, at its core, “is based on verbs,” or “descriptions of movement and activity,” as opposed to “European languages that are based on nouns and are concerned with naming things, ascribing traits, and making judgements” (Alfred, 2004). Acknowledging indigenous ways of knowing requires that faculty members grapple with questions of what constitutes knowledge, its stability, and even its own knowability. While decoding has largely been used to understand a particularly Eurocentric and Enlightenment conception of knowing, we raise questions about its potential usefulness in this endeavour. Is there a possibility for Decoding 2.0, which might expose assumptions about knowledge and challenge the way faculty members understand their own position within the construction of a particular way of knowing?

 

Making assignments whose solutions aren’t on the Internet (yet). Presented by Charles Hepler.

Time and Location: 11:00 – 11:45 in Mount Kidd A

Many courses have standard assignments. For example, some years ago when Sudoku became popular, many universities gave Sudoku solvers in their programming paradigms courses. Consequently, source code for Sudoku solvers in a wide variety of languages can be found online. In courses that use common textbooks, complete (mostly correct) solutions are often available online. A significant part of the learning that a student gets from a course comes from attempting to solve problems themselves rather than slightly modifying a found solution. Thus, I feel a need to come up with new assignment problems that don’t have online solutions. I have found that board games provide a wealth of such problems. I will describe both my successes and some pitfalls that I’ve encountered using board games in my classes.

 

The Unplanned, Underprepared, AND Paperless Course. Presented by Evelyn Field.

Time and Location: 11:00 – 11:45 in Mount Kidd C

Have you ever wanted to walk into the first day of class without a course outline? Without any idea, other than the course title, of what your lectures will cover or what your assignments will be? If so you are not alone! For the last several years I have used this approach when I teach the third year Psychology of Sexuality class. In this class the students and I work as partners the first day of the semester to determine the course structure, the assessment format and the assignments they will complete as part of our course. As the course progresses we check in with each other to determine if we are still on track to complete the goals we set out for ourselves in our collaboratively designed course. As this process has evolved I have found that all of us in the classroom are more engaged and deliberate in our intentions and work in this class. In this presentation I will highlight what I have learned from the process of letting go of ‘control’ as a faculty member.  Warning: This approach may not be suitable for all classes or faculty however if you think this approach (or part of this approach) may be right for you please attend this presentation!

 

The Kinaesthetic Classroom. Presented by Heather MacLeod.

Time and Location: 11:00 – 11:45 in the Wildflower Room

The predominant model of education continues to emphasize a ‘sit and receive’ modality despite evidence that movement enhances learner engagement and improves achievement (Shovel 2011; Ploughman 2008).  By making classrooms more kinaesthetic educators can not only support a healthier lifestyle for students but, as research indicates, they can also, “1) strengthen learning, (2) improve memory and retrieval, and (3) enhance learner motivation and morale.” (Jenson, 2005). Current brain research talks about the connection between mind and body and how movement actually influences the brain. Evidence indicates it is time to break with tradition models of instruction by incorporating more movement into learning processes (Jenson, 2005; Shoval 2011). We need to go beyond passive learning to much more active learning. For this shift to happen instructors need to first increase their comfort level with adding movement to their repertoire of teaching strategies.   This evidence-informed presentation explores the question: How can post-secondary educators create environments that promote kinaesthetic learning experiences that support academic content? Participants will develop their comfort level and knowledge of strategies they can employ to strengthen learning for their students.   Note: If possible I would prefer a 45-60 minute time slot, but can do a 30-minute one if necessary.

 

LUNCH 12:00 – 1:10 in the Rockies Dining Room

 

SESSION V – 1:15 – 1:45 / 2:15

Strangers in the New Homeland: The Personal Stories of Jamaican Canadian Adults who migrated to Canada as Children. Presented by Marva J. Ferguson.

Time and Location: 1:15 – 1:45 in the Mount Allan Room

Maintaining family relationship between immigrants is critical to people living apart from their family and home due to the immigration process involved. Referred to as sequence, process or step migration, this has been the generational  and historical experiences of families who in their quest to make and create a better life in a developed country, migrated to Canada. Sequence migration impacts the Jamaican family through this form of migration system where families due to their economic circumstances choose Canada as a new home (Smith, Lalonde & Johnson, 2004; Suares-Orozco, Todorova & Louie, 2002).  The objective of this presentation is to provide a theoretical understanding of how these patterns of family reunification have transformed the Jamaican family in Canada. The intended research builds on Crawford-Brown, (1999) work on “Barrel Kids” that describes the experience of children waiting to be reunited with their parents in North America. “Barrel Kids” is a term used to describe children who live in Jamaica and depend on goods or monies arriving in barrels or parcels from their parents living in North America (Crawford-Brown, 1999). Over the last decades, many scholarly articles, publications and newspaper articles, anecdotal information have cited and discussed this phenomenon. The intent is to unravel how adults who as children experienced Canada from arrival to settlement.

 

Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom: The Lindsay Shepherd Case. Presented by Frances Widdowson.

Time and Location: 1:15 – 1:45 in Mount Kidd A

In November 2017, discussions about freedom of expression and academic freedom increased in intensity.  This was in reaction to the case of Lindsay Shepherd, a teaching assistant at Wilfrid Laurier University, who was reprimanded for neutrally showing a debate on a controversial topic to illustrate a point about communication.   While most of the media coverage of the case was supportive of Shepherd’s actions, a number of professors took issue with them on ethical and professional grounds.  This presentation will critically analyze these responses and examine their implications for academic freedom and freedom of expression on university campuses.

 

Towards our Shared Humanity: Exploring the work of the Arts Diversity Committee. Presented by Alan Antioquia, Frederick Ulmer, Gabrielle Lindstrom, Harpreet Aulakh, Maria-Jesus Plaza, Mirjam Knapick, and Verna Raab.

Time and Location: 1:15 – 2:15 in the Wildflower Room

Geared towards a campus-wide MRU faculty audience, the purpose of this interactive presentation session is two-fold: 1) to highlight the past work and current direction of the Arts Faculty Diversity committee members; 2) and provide participants the opportunity to dialogue around issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion from their particular disciplinary lens. The format of our presentation is divided into two parts with the first part outlining past work related to addressing issues such as hiring policies and our current endeavor of repositioning the concept of “diversity” in higher education through fostering an understanding and recognition that there are other ways of being and knowing in the institution that are counter to what has been defined as normal. The second half of the session invites participants to offer up their own interpretation of “diversity” as informed by both their personal experience and disciplinary frame of reference. Topics for discussion will include issues related to equity, awareness, safe spaces, sensitivity and dialogue whilst connecting these to teaching, service and scholarship in higher education. We aim to confront the reality that, very often, any physical, social, or linguistic features that deviate from hegemonic normalcy has been categorized as “diverse” and demonstrate how critical issues related to diversity can be respectfully illuminated in higher education in a way that is reflective of the array of lived realities that constitute MRU faculty.

 

Building Resilient University Leaders. Presented by Janet Miller, Jodi Nickel, Ruth Seltner, and Yasmin Dean. Time and Location: 1:15 – 2:15 in Mount Kidd C

Application of resilience theory has potential to build leaders who can withstand strain, weather the storms, hold up over time and approach their role with vision, skill, and compassion. In this interactive session, we fulfill three objectives:

1. Exploration of practical strategies to bring resilience theory to life within leadership roles
2. Demonstration of an adapted resilience model derived from biology, psychology, education, and social work.
3. Invitation to participants for feedback about, and refinement of, this emergent model of resilient leaders.

Participants will leave the session with information on how to develop a personalized strategy, articulate intentions, and measure resilience in our leadership roles.