2020 University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grants recipients announced

Since 2014, the University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grants have awarded over $4 million in funding to 223 projects to support the implementation, critical examination and dissemination of evidence-based approaches to student learning. Funded by the Provost’s Office and supported by the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, the grants seek to enhance student learning experiences across campus. This year, approximately $640,000 was provided to a total of 36 projects.

“Teaching excellence is at the heart of a rich learning experience for students, a commitment that the University of Calgary continues to work toward every day,” says Dr. Dru Marshall, provost and vice-president (academic). “I am pleased to extend congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Teaching and Learning Grants, and look forward to seeing how these innovative projects will develop enhanced approaches to educating our students.

Innovating online course content

Dr. Astrid Kendrick, EdD, partnered with Dr. David Scott, PhD (photo above), and Stephen Hurley, founder and chief catalyst at voicEd Radio Canada, for their project, Using Podcasts and Developing Livestream Projects to Engage Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Students with Understanding Online Content. Their scholarship of teaching and learning study has two main purposes; the first focus concerns how, and to what extent, the creation of podcasts relevant to learners in rural, remote and Indigenous settings improves the learning experiences of students in the Werklund School of Education's (WSE) community-based BEd program.

“To investigate this question we will develop high-quality, orally mediated instructional content in the form of podcasts for three online courses within the WSE bridging and community-based programs,” explains Kendrick.

The second aim of the study involves developing students’ confidence with effective oral communication in ways that position WSE students to advance one of the key BEd program goals, to contribute actively to knowledge in the field of education.

There are currently more than 200 students in two community-based programs offered by WSE, including a growing number of Indigenous students living in rural and remote settings. Students are able to complete their degree almost entirely in their home community through a blended delivery format.

As online course delivery is an integral part of each program, Kendrick and Scott note that instructors are always looking for orally mediated course content that speaks to the unique realities and needs of rural, remote and Indigenous people and contexts, and that these voices and perspectives are often absent or misrepresented in podcasting and media broadcasting.

In line with the study focus, educational experts with experience in rural, remote and Indigenous communities will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and insights of course-related theories and concepts through the creation of multiple podcasts. In addition, students will develop podcasts around a chosen course theme or concept as part of one of their assignments.

“The grant will support the creation of these podcasts, including needed technical support from voicEd Radio Canada — the premier Canadian education-focused podcast station — who will additionally act as a key partner by providing a reliable platform to host these podcasts,” says Kendrick.

“Beginning in the summer, money from this grant will allow us to hire former students to create a number of exemplar podcasts to inspire the incoming students taking part in this innovative approach to online instruction. It will assist in positioning students as creators of educational knowledge, rather than only consumers of educational theory that generally has a bias towards urban contexts.”

2020 Teaching and Learning Grants recipients

The following is a complete list of recipients with projects across two streams: development and innovation, and scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

Cumming School of Medicine

• Dr. Meaghan Edwards, PhD: The Development of Guidelines for Transformative, Equitable, and Impactful Community Engaged Learning
• Dr. Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci, PhD: Developing and Evaluating the Impact of Professional Experiential Learning Opportunities for Thesis-Based Graduate Students
• Dr. Pamela Roach, PhD, Dr. David Keegan, MD, Kenna Kelly-Turner, and Dr. Amanda Lee Roze des Ordons, MD: Practical Leadership for University Scholars 3I: Indigenous Leadership

Faculty of Arts

• Dr. Gwendolyn Blue, PhD, Dr. Cynthia Weijs, PhD, Dr. Jason Coe, PhD, and Dr. Serge Desmarais, PhD: 
  Making Space for Democracy in the Science Classroom: Can Critical Reflection Enhance Learning About Science-Based Public Controversies?
• Dr. Maria Victoria Guglietti, PhD: Reflecting to See? An Exploratory Study of Student Learning of Visual Literacy Through Reflective Visual Journals
• Dr. Pil Hansen, PhD: Networked and Neurodiverse Strategies for Teaching Performance Creation Online
• Dr. Miao Li, PhD, and Dr. Devika Vijayan, PhD: Blended-Learning: Response to Various Learner Profiles in the French Intermediate-Advanced Language Classes
• April Viczko, and Andrew North: Technical Theatre in the 21st Century
• Dr. Jason Wiens, PhD, and Dr. Rain Prud'Homme-Cranford, PhD: Exploring Indigenous Pedagogical Approaches to Literary Archives

Faculty of Law

• Lisa Silver and Nickie Nikolaou: Creating the ‘Whole Advocate’ Through Experiential Learning in the Law Classroom

Faculty of Nursing

• Heather Bensler, Carla Ferreira, Dr. Lorelli Nowell, PhD, Dr. Kathleen Ross, PhD, Joshua Broughton, Adrian Wolfleg, and Una Weich: Locating Ourselves in the Story of This Land: A Participatory Learning Experience for Undergraduate Nursing Students
• Tracey L. Clancy, Carla Ferreira, Krista Wollny, and Dr. Graham McCaffrey, PhD: Exploring the Influence of Debriefing on Metacognition in Undergraduate Students
• Kathleen Davidson, Carla Ferreira, Dr. Lorelli Nowell, PhD, Pat Morgan, and Cynthia Thomas: Simulating a Highly Interruptive Environment – Helping Nursing Students Navigate Distraction and Interruptions 
• Dr. Lorelli Nowell, PhD, Dr. Sandra Davidson, PhD, Dr. Catherine Laing, EdD, Dr. Zahra Shajani, PhD, Dr. Sarah Dewell, PhD, Tiffany Conroy, Dr. Didy Button, PhD, and Sandra Fritz: Evaluating Fundamental Care Knowledge in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Faculty of Science

• Dr. Lauren DeDieu, PhD, and Dr. Jerrod Smith, PhD: A Resource Bank for Writing Intensive Mathematics Courses
• Dr. Belinda Heyne, PhD, and Dr. Elise Fear, PhD: Building Undergraduate Students Understanding of Abstract Concepts One Brick at a Time
• Dr. Rodolfo Meyer, PhD, and Dr. Rajeev Nair, PhD: Transforming Geoscience Field Learning in a Tech Savvy World: Implementation of Digital Geologic Mapping in Field Courses
• Dr. Erin Sullivan, PhD, and Dr. Amanda Musgrove, PhD: Creating OER Textbook with Embedded Activities for First-year Chemistry Courses

Faculty of Social Work

• Dr. Ralph Bodor, PhD, Dr. Leona Makokis, PhD, and Stephanie Tyler: An Evaluation of the University of Calgary Social Work with Aboriginal Peoples Course

Haskayne School of Business

• Dr. Alice deKoning, PhD, and Dr. John McArdle, EdD: Implementation, Assessment, and Dissemination of Street Challenge Pedagogy Across Disciplines
• Rosalynn Peschl, and Victoria Reid: Effective Feedback for the Development of Entrepreneurial Thinking

Libraries and Cultural Resources

• Melanie Boyd, Jason Nisenson, and Aritha van Herk: Integrating Library, Archives and Special Collections into Creative Writing Pedagogy: An Experiential Symposium
• Christie Hurrell, Susan Beatty, Jennifer Lee, Caitlin McClurg, and James Murphy: Meeting Graduate Students' Needs Around the Scholarly Communication Process: An Investigation

School of Architecture Planning and Landscape

• Dr. David Monteyne, PhD, Luisa Felix Dalla Vecchia, and Dr. Jon Weller, PhD: Redesigning the Architectural History Sequence

Schulich School of Engineering

• Dr. Kim Johnston, PhD, and Dr. Melissa Boyce, PhD: Mental Health and Lifelong Learning Interventions in First Year Engineering Curriculum
• Dr. Kazi Sumon, PhD, Dr. Md Kibria, PhD, Dr. Melissa Boyce, PhD, and Dr. Kimberly Johnston, PhD: Implementation of Course-Based Undergraduate Research in ‘ENGG 319: Probability and Statistics for Engineers

Student Enrolment Services

• Dr. Jessica Cohen, PhD, Stephanie Lee, and Roxanne Ross: Intrinsic Learning: A Study of Assessment Practices in the Scholars Academy Service Projects

Werklund School of Education

• Dr. Jaime Beck, PhD, Dr. Barbara Brown, PhD, and Dr. Janet Groen, EdD: Virtual Community of Support for Masters of Education Student-Researchers
• Dr. Barbara Brown, PhD, Verena Roberts, Dr. Michele Jacobsen, PhD, and Christie Hurrell: Examining the Use of Open Pressbooks for Student Engagement and Learning through Co-Design Participatory Pedagogical Processes
• Dr. Amy Burns, PhD, Michael Holden, Shirley Pepper, and Dave Morris: Collaborating to Create a Professional Learning Community for Instructional Design
• Dr. Aubrey Hanson, PhD, and Jennifer MacDonald: Investigating Student Experiences Learning in Indigenous Education with and through the Land
• Dr. Astrid Kendrick, EdD, Dr. David Scott, PhD, Stephen Hurley: Using Podcasts and Developing Livestream Projects to Engage Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Students with Understanding Online Content
• Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn, Dr. Patricia Danyluk, PhD, Teresa Fowler, Dr. Aubrey Hanson, PhD, Jennifer MacDonald, Jennifer Markides, and Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt, PhD: Relational Pedagogies for Engaging Students in Online Indigenous Education
• Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew, PhD, Kerri Murray, Louise McClelland, Dr. Sarah Nutter, PhD, and Dr. Jessica Saunders, PhD: From Plenaries to Podcast: Advancing Student Learning in EDUC 551
• Dr. Soroush Sabbaghan, PhD, and Dr. Gregory Tweedie, PhD: Evoking the Micro-Modularity Design Principle in EDER 600
• Dr. Meadow Schroeder, PhD, and Dr. Erica Makarenko, PhD: Development of a Recommendation Bank for School Psychology Practicum