In Progress

by Dr. Natasha Ramroop Singh

 

Simmons (2020) analyzed the dynamics affecting *SoTL practitioners and outlined the 4M framework which identifies factors that either encourage or hinder scholars from pursuing SoTL. Four levels of influence were identified – the Micro or individual level, the Meso or department/program level, the Macro or institutional level, and the Mega or beyond the institutional level. In this blog post, I will explore the micro level – factors intrinsic to the individual which affect ones ability or desire to explore research within the classroom.

Effective teaching is a performance art. In the classroom, the instructor must be vibrant, powerful, excited, passionate, knowledgeable, and dare I say, happy. Students now are hyper attuned to when they are bored, and can easily resort to scrolling on Instagram to get that hit of dopamine they crave. Long gone are the days when students were responsible for the level of interest placed upon course content for their own success. It is now the instructor’s responsibility to sing, dance, act and tic-toc our way through classes.

I can be funny and outgoing under the right suite of conditions, but generally, being in front of a group of students, especially in CT 200 on a Friday at 4:00 pm where I seem to always get scheduled, makes me a downright swamp animal. But, I am a professional, so I always get the job done. Do I think I operate at full capacity at all times? Perhaps not. My students’ evaluation of teaching certainly tells me I can do more – more practise questions, more images, less words on slides, write slower, talk slower, smile, be more approachable, perform Act 5 Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth…..It is clear I have things to work on and improve.

But guess what? I love my job. I thoroughly enjoy the dynamics of being an academic and the opportunities that come my way. As someone who is always striving for excellence, I care deeply about my student’s perception of me, and I want to be able to make a positive impact on their learning and ultimately their lives. That’s why it’s ok for me to be a SoTL Scholar. It’s ok for me to reconcile the fact that I am imperfect, and study my imperfect techniques in the classroom.

SoTL represents an opportunity for me to engage with teaching in a more intellectual and reflective manner. It allows me to apply research methodologies to my teaching practices, critically analyze the outcomes, and contribute to the broader academic discourse on education. SoTL offers a way to blend my passion for teaching with my interest in research, potentially leading to innovations in pedagogy that benefit students.

This is to me, a very conscious and personal decision – to want to critically reflect on what I do, and how I do it, all towards the goal of being more effective, more respected and more fulfilled, as I leave CT 200 on a Friday evening at 5:30 pm.

By striking a balance between research and practical teaching, educators can ensure that our scholarly efforts translate into meaningful improvements in the classroom, ultimately benefiting the students we aim to serve. As the law of dialectics states – truth emerges from the clash of ideas – so if you are thinking about exploring SoTL, and you know you are an imperfect educator, I urge you to embrace the paradox.

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Interested in learning how to engage in scholarly inquiry on teaching and learning, or seeking research funding to support your SoTL scholarship? Watch for exciting announcements from CELT coming out this Fall!

 

* TRU’s definition of SoTL is: A research-based approach to investigating and improving teaching and learning practices in postsecondary education. Faculty members who conduct SoTL contribute to the field of teaching and learning by using rigorous research methods and disseminating their findings, making them available for critique and replication.

Reference:

Simmons, N. (2020). The 4M framework as analytic lens for SoTL’s impact: A study of seven scholars. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 8(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.1.6

by Rhonda McCreight and Diane Janes

Emotional Learning

The experience of both teaching and learning can feel like a roller coaster ride for both the instructor and the learner. In Pekrun’s book Emotions and Learning (2014), he prefaces the general anxiety and emotional state of learning across the board professing that “the classroom is an emotional place” (p.6). No matter what type of institution, delivery mode or learner demographics, as educators it is essential that we understand and embrace the emotional journey of learning so that we can truly engage the teaching and learning process. Here are a few tips and resources to consider in your journey towards understanding your students’ emotional learning needs.

Pekrun (2014) explores the topic of emotions and learning through a series of ten principles which are organized under three main concepts:

1. Understanding the nature and diversity of learner emotions – what emotions are and why they play a part in learning.
2. Addressing functions, antecedents, and regulation of emotions – the consequences of emotions in the classroom, what causes them and how they can benefit or create barriers to learning.
3. Understanding the role of education on modifying or influencing emotions in the classroom – how educators directly impact, mitigate or enhance positive emotional reactions in the learning experience.

He bases his research on four main types of learning-related emotions – achievement, epistemic, topic and social emotions (Petruk, 2014, p. 8). Achievement emotions relate directly to the success or failure of learning, such as a terrible exam score or a killer oral presentation. Epistemic emotions are the cognitive impacts triggered by a learning task such as delight at seeing a problem solved or curiosity to see how the lightbulb turns on. Topic emotions, conversely, are the emotions triggered by the affective domain like empathy for the main character of a book. Finally, social emotions are the human connections and relationships made within the classroom.

Each of these categories describes how or where the emotion is manifested. This resource, although ten years old, provides pragmatic suggestions for improving the “cognitive and motivational quality of classroom instruction” which in turn can lead to an “increase of self-confidence and enjoyment, and a reduction of boredom and anxiety” in the learner and fosters the ability to self-regulate their learning (Petruk, 2014, p.20).

Finally, as we navigate the post covid space, it has been observed that in today’s world “Emotional complexities are rampant. [There is] Declining wellbeing. Increased polarization. Burnout. Lack of retention. How can colleges & universities utilize social emotional learning to support students, faculty, staff & community to build a healthier context for learning and work? The last two years have brought to light key challenges in colleges and universities — given the emotional complexity of this moment, is it important that we infuse more emotional intelligence development?” (Six Seconds, 2022).

To help us examine what we are seeing in higher ed with respect to social emotional learning post covid, watch this panel of university and colleague educators discuss how to support themselves and their learners on navigating emotions and learning. Sponsored by Six Seconds, The Emotional Intelligence Network. Six Seconds is a global network with a mandate to help everyone grow their emotional intelligence. This video is 60 minutes long. Six Seconds Website https://www.6seconds.org/

• Social Emotional Learning in Colleges & Universities: Livestream https://youtu.be/V1tAGD0SDMY

If you are not able to spend time today on a longer video, then consider this shorter video produced by Edutopia. While it does focus on K-12 teaching, the conversations and ideas in this video are very translatable to the university classroom. This video is 4:28 minutes long. Official Website: https://edutopia.org

• Building Adult Capacity for Social and Emotional Learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cht0Lm0rBAY

 

As you plan your Fall and Winter terms, can you think of ways to engage your learners’ emotional journey in your classrooms?

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Resources

 

Edutopia. (2020). Building Adult Capacity for Social and Emotional Learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cht0Lm0rBAY

Pekrun, R. (2014). Emotions and learning. International Academy of Education. International Bureau of Education. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227679

Six Seconds. (2022). Social Emotional Learning in Colleges & Universities: Livestream. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1tAGD0SDMY

by Alexis Brown and Carolyn Ives

Teaching the Whole Student: Incorporating Spiritual Learning

Educators have long relied on learning taxonomies to help them determine and articulate what learners should be able to know, do, and value by the end of a lesson, course, program, or credential. One such taxonomy is one developed by Bloom (1956) and updated by Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia (1964), which outlines three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor and affective. It’s a taxonomy many at TRU use to develop curriculum.

At the Interculturalizing the Curriculum workshop offered by Kyra Garson in May 2019, I was introduced to a different taxonomy: noting a gap in the domains posited by Bloom, Marcella LaFever (2016) reimagined Bloom’s taxonomy and added a fourth domain — the spiritual domain — and aligned all four learning domains with the Medicine Wheel, explaining that the spiritual domain was “essential for balance in . . . support[ing] students in their learning goals” (p. 409). The levels of learning in the spiritual domain LaFever introduces include honouring, value/d, connect/ed, empower/ed, and self-actualize/d. The reimagined taxonomy appears on page 417 of LaFever’s article, and the associated verb list appears on page 418.

LaFever also notes the challenges of assessing these kinds of learning outcomes, and she offers possibilities, such as reflection work, oral storytelling, demonstrating a commitment to relationship-building, role-playing and articulated plans for self-growth (p. 419). As many of us are intentionally striving to teach the whole student, considering learner spiritual growth is one way to acknowledge that students have multiple dimensions of learning beyond the cognitive.

LaFever also acknowledges her positionality as a non-Indigenous researcher and shares her challenges of and approaches to doing this work (p. 410-11). However, if post-secondary institutions wish to decolonize the curriculum, it will have to be taken on as everyone’s work, not only that of Indigenous staff and faculty. Considering the spiritual learning of students is one such approach we all can take.

Link to LaFever’s article: “Switching from Bloom to the Medicine Wheel: creating learning outcomes that support Indigenous ways of knowing in post-secondary education”

The second resource we have selected for you in the spiritual domain is a video by Secwépemc storyteller Kenthen Thomas. Spirituality is the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, being attached to mother earth (RCMP Aboriginal Policing Services, 2010 as cited in Lafever, 2016). The domain of spirituality underpins and connects all other domains and is focused on rising above self to attend to others. Thomas’s video is a way to begin considering how to incorporate the spiritual learning domain through honouring Secwépemc teaching on the interconnectedness of storytelling and land, the laws that emerge from these stories, and how stories guide us to make ethical decisions in all disciplinary fields.

Link to Thomas’s video: Kenthen Thomas: Storytelling and the Link to the Land (youtube.com)

We’d like to invite you to consider one or more of the courses you teach:

Is there a way spiritual learning can be integrated?

If you’re designing a new course, could learning outcomes be included from the spiritual domain?

If CELT can support you in integrating learning in the spiritual domain into your courses, please reach out to us at celt@tru.ca.

References and Resources

Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Longmans, Green, & Co.

CRICKET: Course renewal in a kit. (2019).

Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S. Bloom, & Masia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook II: The affective domain. New York: David McKay.

LaFever, M. (2016). Switching from Bloom to the Medicine Wheel: creating learning outcomes that support Indigenous ways of knowing in post-secondary education. Intercultural Education, 27(5), pp. 409-424. DOI: 10.1080/14675986.2016.1240496.

Thomas, K. (2020). Storytelling and the Link to the Land. YouTube. Last retrieved July 3, 2024.

by Brett McCollum and Wei Yan, CELT

This week, we offer two professional development activities to rejuvenate your mind. Creating space in your mind to reflect on your teaching is a valuable practice for scholarly teaching. It is part of the cycle by which educators move from anecdote to evidence-based teaching. Whether you choose to engage with one or both of these activities, or select one of your own choice, we encourage you to create opportunities for you to improve your mindfulness.

The first activity is a mindfulness practice that you can easily fit into your day, anywhere that you can sit, rest, and breathe. This 10-minute guided meditation focuses on listening to your thoughts, acknowledging them, and then shifting your attention to sounds outside your mind.

With practice, you may find this exercise useful to draw upon year-round when you are finding it difficult to prioritize your actions and need to create some head space.

https://soundcloud.com/mindfulnessuvm/sets/resilience-practices?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The second activity is called “Gratitude Giving”. Engaging in work-community gratitude is an effective strategy for conditioning your mind to see the positives in your work environment and bring that attitude into your classroom.

To help you with this activity you can use a pen and paper. Think of a TRU colleague (faculty, staff, or administration) who made a difference for you this past year. Write down their name. Now think about what they did and the reason behind your appreciation. Capture those thoughts in a sentence or two.

If you would like to, we invite you to send your message of gratitude to celt@tru.ca using the subject line “Gratitude Giving”. We will prepare a thank you card with your short message of gratitude and send it to the intended recipient by interdepartmental mail. Indicate if you would like your message of gratitude to be sent anonymously. We will continue sending your cards of gratitude all summer.

by Carolyn Ives and Rhonda McCreight, CELT

The Connection between Movement and Learning (Carolyn)

When I lived in Edmonton, I was a regular attendee at free outdoor workouts hosted by November Project, an international fitness and community-building movement. I noticed that although the workouts started at 6:00 AM, and even through the harsh Edmonton winters, people still attended in droves, so a colleague and I decided we could learn a lot about fostering motivation in the classroom from these gatherings. We decided to bring a group of faculty members to six November Project workouts spanning two weeks and, after each, host a workshop to discuss what learning from this community we can apply to classrooms. The workshops focused on the value of building classroom community, fostering student motivation, creating classroom rituals, integrating movement for deeper learning, and using the city as a living lab or classroom space—all things that had been modelled in the November Project workouts. We shared our results at the POD Network Conference in 2018. 

What we learned from this project about movement and learning is supported by research, which has shown that physical movement can have a profound impact on learning (Ferrer & Laughlin, 2017; Medina, 2014; Hrach, 2021; Ratey, 2008). In her book Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning (2021), Susan Hrach argues that we should no longer treat students as “brains on sticks” (ix)—meaning rather than focusing on only their cognitive engagement, we should approach learning holistically, engaging students in their bodies as well as their minds to support deeper learning. MacLean’s magazine has posted an article about this book, called “Why Movement Is Critical to Learning.” 

Although Hrach’s book isn’t available as an open access resource, there are several online sources for ideas about how to incorporate movement into your classroom. While some of them focus mainly on K-12 classrooms, some of them, such as this page from the University of Michigan and this article from Times Higher Education, offer strategies appropriate for a post-secondary classroom. 

Additional Examples of Integrating Movement into Learning (Rhonda)

The use of gaming in educational development has been widely researched and celebrated for its ability to engage learners in the kinesthetic domain, amongst other significant attributes (Hu-Au & Lee, 2017). The educational YouTube video What can teachers learn from gaming design? challenges the viewer to consider “how game design helps us fundamentally understand classroom design.”   

Hu-Au and Lee (2017) describe virtual reality (VR) as “an immersive, hands-on tool for learning that can play a unique role in addressing passive and disengaged students” who may otherwise struggle to see the value of what they are learning (p. 217).  VR can address essential skills in the learner such as “empathy, systems thinking, creativity, computational literacy, and abstract reasoning” (p. 217). 

Here is an introduction to some VR training videos that you might consider in your curricula: 

Electrical Safety 

Intracellular Journey 

Fire & Evacuation Safety 

Chemistry Lab Overview 

 

How Can This Work for You? 

The resources linked below include strategies you can use in your own context. As you plan your courses for the fall semester, consider how you might take advantage of the deep learning that can accompany movement: How might you incorporate movement into your classroom? 

 

References and Resources 

Braybrook, S. (2022, Mar 22). Why and how to bring physical movement into the classroom. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/why-and-how-bring-physical-movement-classroom  

Digital Engineering Magic (2020). VR Safety Training for Electric Power Industry.  Retrieved at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AsksACwdDE 

Ferrer, M.E., & Laughlin, D.D. (2017, Feb. 26). Increasing college students’ engagement and physical activity with classroom brain breaks. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 88(3), 53–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2017.1260945 

Hu-Au, E. & Lee, J.J. (2017) Virtual reality in education: a tool for learning in the experience age. Int. J. Innovation in Education, Vol. 4, No.4.   

https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/teaching_resources/docs/virtual_reality_education_tool_learning_experience_age.pdf 

Hrach, S. (2021). Minding bodies: How physical space, sensation, and movement affect learning. West Virginia UP.  

Human Restoration Project (2022). What can teachers learn from video games? https://www.youtube.com/@HumanRestorationProject  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMCpT671c9k 

Kong, S.L. (2021, July). Why movement is critical to learning. MacLean’s. https://macleans.ca/education/why-movement-is-critical-to-learning/  

The Learning Centre. (n.d.). Movement and learning. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/movement-and-learning/  

LSA Learning & Teaching Technology Consultants. (2021). Using movement to increase student engagement and learning. LSA Technology Services. University of Michigan. https://lsa.umich.edu/technology-services/news-events/all-news/teaching-tip-of-the-week/using-physical-movement-to-increase-student-engagement-and-learning.html  

Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Pear Press. 

Random42 Scientific Communication (2019). Intercellular – an interbody VR experience. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aogLFedcnTI 

Ratey, J. (2008). Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. Little, Brown, & Co. 

Stem-urpbl (2020) VR Chemistry lab overview.  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md-ijiH9Q_0 

1000 realities studio. (2020) Fire and Evacuation VR Safety Training. EHS Virtual Reality Training. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VizQzKjzUHk   

 

By Reshma Santhakumari Isman, Student, Master of Education and Alana Hoare, Assistant Teaching Professor, School of Education

It started as a conversation in a Philosophy and History of Education course among Master of Education students about community-centred teaching and how an aspiration to create more relevant learning environments was hampered by the realities of the system (e.g., time constraints, space limitations, mass education, grades over outcomes, content-driven curriculum). The bubbling hope to be better teachers persisted and we regularly returned to the concept of community-centred teaching during the semester, adding more aspirations, inspirations, and limitations.

Table 1: Comparison between teacher-, student, and community- centred teaching paradigms

Teacher-centred	Student-centred	Community-centred
Teacher as authority figure Structured learning environment Formal lecture format Emphasis on discipline (rules, expectations) Teacher-led activities Exams and quizzes Limited student autonomy Standardized curriculum Minimal student collaboration	Focused on the individual Personal growth and development Learner interests Teacher as facilitator Incidental education (things that happen along the way) Learner-initiated Experiential Non-competitive	Search for social relevance Interdisciplinary and integrative Community-engagement Co-creation, project-based Experiential learning Leadership opportunities Intergenerational pedagogies Cooperative efforts Real world as learning laboratory

Note: Adapted from A. Hoare EDUC 5020 Philosophy and History of Education, Lecture (2024, Winter).

A commitment to excellence in teaching and research hinges on a university’s ability to create and disseminate knowledge and for that knowledge to have a positive impact on the surrounding community. Community-engaged learning has gained significant attention in recent years, as universities aim to adapt research and service activities to meet the needs of community – with a focus on ‘research as service’ and collaborative efforts between groups linked to the university by location, interests, or similar circumstances to tackle issues impacting their well-being (Bidandi et al., 2021). Research suggests that community-university partnerships can be facilitated by enhancing knowledge mobilization activities, such as seminars, workshops, and conferences (Jackson et al., 2022).

Drawing on her combined experience as an international student in Canada and as a professor and student of engineering in India, Reshma had an idea about how to bring students and community together to tackle real-world problems. She reached out to Alana to see if she would consider supervising her master’s research project, which Reshma believed (and Alana agreed) had the potential to realize community-centred teaching through university-community knowledge mobilization activities. Reshma envisioned a conference designed for students and community to connect over shared dilemmas. During their conversations, Reshma and Alana wondered: How might knowledge mobilization activities help to connect community members with graduate students? Can graduate student conferences be leveraged to strengthen student-community partnerships and facilitate connections between students’ research pursuits and community needs?

Reshma has witnessed that fewer opportunities exist for international students in Canada to engage with community or to disseminate their research. International students experience various barriers that fall under the umbrella problem of not “fitting in” (Nguyen & Sharma, 2024). International students have lower capital, mobility, and power in comparison to their domestic peers due to systemic barriers within the educational system and labour market, which often includes lower levels of cultural, linguistic, resource, social, and symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 2001; Pham et al., 2019; Tomlinson, 2017). International students struggle to participate in national conferences and competitions, secure grants and scholarships, and find employment opportunities, which limits their ability to share their research and contribute to the needs of the local community.

While pursuing her Master’s in Embedded Systems at the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology, in Calicut, India, Reshma became aware of the power of combining community-engaged learning and student knowledge mobilization activities. Reshma’s university hosted the Product Design Conference – a place for industry, community, students, and faculty to gather and envision and pilot products to address local issues. Along with three classmates, Reshma presented “What Women Want (WWW)” – a product designed to protect women. Her project was selected for the Imagine Cup 2010 contest in Bangalore, hosted by Microsoft, and was recognized as the best design!

Extant research suggests that community-university conferences have the potential to bridge the divide between the academy and community. Conferences provide graduate students the opportunity to share their master’s project or thesis research with community and industry partners. The purpose of such a conference is for students to generate innovative ideas, present their ideas to community and industry partners, make connections beyond the university, and receive valuable feedback to enhance the impact of their work. The hoped-for outcome is to enhance student engagement with community, improve students’ employment opportunities, and foster research projects that address the current issues and priorities of the local community.

Community-engaged learning benefits students and the community through reciprocal exchanges of resources and knowledge. It has helped increase students’ social responsibility, openness to diversity, understanding of course content, and employment opportunities (Bidandi et al., 2021; Jackson et al., 2022). By linking theory with practice and classrooms with communities, community-engaged learning can offer real-world exposure and engagement with meaningful local and global issues through concrete, hands-on practices (Hou, 2014).

Call to Action

As we embark on this research project, we seek to break down barriers between the academy and local community, particularly for international students, to make research more accessible as we strive to engage students and community as co-creators of solutions to local problems. If you’re interested in learning more about Reshma’s research and facilitating graduate student knowledge mobilization efforts, please reach out to us. You can reach Alana at ahoare@tru.ca

References

Bidandi, F., Ambe, A. N., & Mukong, C. H. (2021). Insights and current debates on community engagement in higher education institutions: Perspectives on the University of the Western Cape. Sage Open, 11(2).

Bourdieu, P. (2001). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.). Handbook for theory and research for the sociology of education. Greenwood Press.

Hou, S. I. (2014). Integrating problem-based learning with community-engaged learning in teaching program development and implementation. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(1), 1–9.

Jackson, D., & Tomlinson, M. (2022). The relative importance of work experience, extra- curricular and university-based activities on student employability. Higher Education Research and Development, 41(4), 1119–1135.

Nguyen, T. & Sharma, M. (2024, June 16). Calling for equitable access to Canadian labour market: Exploring the challenges of international graduate students in Canada [conference presentation]. Canadian Association for Social Justice Education (CASJE), Montréal, QC.

Pham, T., Tomlinson, M., & Thompson, C. (2019). Forms of capital and agency as mediations in negotiating employability of international graduate migrants. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(3), 394-405.

Tomlinson, M. (2017). Forms of graduate capital and their relationship to graduate employability. Education+ Training, 59(4), 338-352.

By Chelsea Corsi (she/her), Senior Wellness Coordinator

In my role as Senior Wellness Coordinator, it feels like I use the term mental health all the time, so… what exactly is mental health?  “Mental health is the state of your psychological and emotional well-being. It is a necessary resource for living a healthy life and a main factor in overall health” (Government of Canada, 2020, para 1). Positive mental health allows us to build resilience, develop and utilize coping skills, and enjoy life. Mental health can flourish when we are able to develop strong connections with family, friends, and community members; set realistic goals for ourselves; and accept ourselves and others. Our mental health is also boosted if we have access to opportunities that allow us to create a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives (engage in activities we enjoy, volunteer, etc.).

The status of our mental health can be influenced by many factors, including but not limited to, our life experiences, relationships with others, work/school environment, physical health status, our community connectedness, structural conflict, and the social determinants of health, which include the personal, social, environmental, and economic systems in society that can create inequities in health, such as one’s gender, income, educational status, experiences of/structural racism, culture, access to health services, food insecurity, etc. (CCSDH, 2015; Government of Canada, 2020; WHO, 2024).

I have been in my wellness role on campus for the past 20 years, and in that time, I have felt a palpable erosion in student and faculty mental health at both the individual and community levels. I started to sense a real shift about eight or nine years ago, however, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global mental health reckoning, that is directly impacting the lives of students, faculty, and staff at campuses across Canada.

For example, a report entitled The New Abnormal: Student Mental Health Two Years Into COVID-19 commissioned by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and the Mental Health Commission of Canada (2022), identified key findings about students’ experiences of mental health and well-being:

• 3 in 4 students reported experiencing negative mental health during their studies.
• More than 1 student out of 4 reports their mental health as poor.
• Three-quarters of students reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, on par with 2021 levels.
• 70% of students reported their ability to maintain social connections has been negatively impacted.
• Students who identified as a visible minority, 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous, living with a disability, or living with a pre-existing mental health concern were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
• 68% of students indicated that the pandemic has worsened their overall health, negatively impacting their physical activity levels, diets, and ability to maintain social connections (p.7).

While available research on faculty specific mental health needs is limited compared to that of students, in a narrative review of the literature related to faculty well-being, Hammoudi Halat et.al. (2023) pointed to a myriad of intersecting and complex factors that can significantly impact faculty mental health. High expectations of faculty work in academia which requires rigor, scholarship, publishing, grant acquisitions, collaboration with peers, teaching, mentoring, leadership, service, and innovation, as well as tenure, promotion, and a culture of competitiveness, can contribute to a pressure-filled environment that has the potential to result in negative mental health symptoms for faculty. Also, being seen as responsible for ‘student success’ and required to continuously provide extra support to students who are struggling with their academic and personal wellness, can be exhausting for many faculty, who might start to feel overwhelmed with their own work-life balance. In multiple studies reviewed by Hammoudi Halat et.al., (2023), faculty reported feelings of “depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, unfulfillment, frustration, isolation, difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation, irritability, and sadness” (p.4). These symptoms can influence how faculty members are able to navigate their multi-faceted roles and how they contribute to the academic/work environment. Sprinkle in a little global pandemic, and faculty are struggling too.

Considering mental health is influenced by numerous intersecting factors, and we as faculty are not immune to the global mental health crisis, is there a way we can endeavor to create classroom environments that are conducive to well-being and contributes to a caring, compassionate, and flourishing campus community?

Before I provide my insights on this, let me be totally transparent – I am an instructional support faculty member who does not spend as much time in official ‘classrooms’ compared to those of you who are in teaching faculty roles. I honour the work you do every single day and acknowledge many of you are leaders in creating environments that support mental health and wellbeing (if that is you, let’s talk so we can collaborate!). With my background in health and wellness, I know a few things about a few things, so I will offer some ideas for your consideration and a few resources that might support and enhance the work you are already doing.

1. Let’s start with a little self-reflection – how is YOUR wellness? – I say this with true kindness and compassion – no one can draw water from an empty well; if we are not nurturing our own health, it will be very challenging to support others. Research finds that faculty often do not come forward to seek support with their own mental health due to lack of awareness about resources, shame, stigma, and fear of discrimination and negative career impacts (Hammoudi Halat et.al., 2023). I personally know how hard it is to prioritize our own wellness as faculty when there are individual, family, and systemic barriers at play, so no judgment here if you are struggling to make yourself a priority. I might suggest that a baseline action could be spending time reflecting on how you are feeling. Are you feeling joy? Do you feel like you have energy? Do you feel overwhelmed a lot of the time? Are you ready to make a change to support your wellness? Here to Help BC has some great self-screening tools on mental wellbeing, anxiety, depression, body image, and substance use, etc., you can easily access online if you are interested in a personal wellness assessment. https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/screening/online/

2. Learn more about the mental health and wellness resources available for you and for students – Knowledge is power. The more you know about what resources are available, the better chance you have in accessing those services and supports. I do acknowledge, however, that based on one’s own level of privilege and positionality in society, some faculty and students may still experience barriers when attempting to access resources. Also, based on what I already mentioned about the social determinants of health, there are oppressive systems at play that can have more impact on our overall wellness than any individual choice we make. With that being said, if there are barriers impacting your access to resources, I might suggest that you contact Sam Nielson, TRU Campus Wellness Advisor (snielson@tru.ca), or Megan Gerow, Disability, Wellness & Accessibility Advisor (mgerow@tru.ca), as it is within their roles to support you in navigating the health and wellness information, education, and engagement opportunities you are entitled to as a TRU employee. TRUFA is also available to support you if you are experiencing work-place conflict, harassment, harm, or any breaches in the collective agreement (trufa.ca).

For student-related resources, the various offices under the Faculty of Student Development (FSD), TRUSU, TRU World, etc. have numerous faculty and staff available to support students struggling with personal or academic related issues. FSD provides direct mental health supports for students such as counselling, accessibility services, student affairs, and the medical clinic. You can call 250-828-5023 or email fsd@tru.ca if you are concerned about a student and need support. Don’t forget about the spaces and places that have been designed with student health in mind – the Wellness Centre (OM 1479), Cplul’kw’ten (House 5), and the Intercultural space (House 4) which all offer a variety of supports and people connection points for students. Students can also access a 24/7 mental health service called Keep Me Safe by downloading the Telus Health Student Support App. Keep Me Safe provides counselling supports as well as a plethora of prevention and wellness information.

If at any time you or a student need mental health crisis supports, there is the new national mental health crisis line you can access 24/7 by calling or texting 988. You can also try the local Mental Health and Substance Use Line by calling 310-MHSU from anywhere in the Interior of BC.

3. Enhance your literacy and understanding about wellbeing in learning environments – Classrooms are vital mini-communities within the campus context, and as such, are the perfect place to nurture health and wellbeing. Luckily for us, Simon Fraser University’s (SFUs) health and wellness team worked with faculty over the course of a few years to create an award-winning model that connects classroom faculty’s engagement with campus wellbeing. In their research they found 10 key classroom practices that boosted wellness: social connection, optimal challenge, civic engagement, instructor support, inclusivity, personal development, services and supports, positive classroom culture, flexibility, and real-life learning (SFU, 2024, p.1). An example of instructor support could be telling students that you care about them and their success, while validating their concerns and lived experiences. Inclusivity can look like prioritizing universal design, using inclusive language, and creating a classroom that honours diversity and respects differences. Through these intentional strategies, a reciprocal wellness relationship is fostered between faculty and students. If you are interested in accessing SFUs model and vast resource library, please see this link:

• https://www.sfu.ca/healthycampuscommunity/learningenvironments.html
• The University of British Columbia (UBC) also got in the game, so here is their Wellbeing in Teaching and Learning Environments resource guide: https://wellbeing.ubc.ca/wble

4. Look no further than our own backyard! – The hardworking folks at TRU’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) continue to provide fulsome education, support, and engagement opportunities to nurture and enhance faculty’s growth and development. I am amazed at the breadth and depth of workshops and engagement CELT provides that directly connects to the creation and enhancement of classrooms conducive to wellbeing. For example, they offer workshops on decolonizing and Indigenizing the classroom and curriculum, universal design for international students, supporting international student’s academic success, wise practices in collaborative work, etc. Check out their on-line guide to see what upcoming learning opportunities await! https://www.tru.ca/celt.html

If I can leave you with one last thought it is this, if you are struggling with your mental health and wellness you are not alone. Life is really hard right now, however, please remember that you and your health do matter. Because our mental health and wellbeing directly impacts our ability to find joy, peace, adventure, and engagement in life, if you find yourself wanting to improve your mental health, starting with one small shift you can control can be very powerful. Small changes can equal big impact to our overall wellness; a total life revamp isn’t necessary. If we have the capacity to engage with our wellness and take steps to integrate even one of the aforementioned strategies into our lives and in the classroom, it could truly shift the wellbeing of our community for the better.

 

References

Canadian Alliance of Student Associations & The Mental Health Commission of Canada (2022). The new abnormal: Student mental health two years into COVID-19. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/casaacae/pages/3470/attachments/original/1664377984/Abacus_Report_2022_%281%29.pdf?1664377984

The Canadian Council on the Social Determinants of Health. (2015).  A Review of frameworks on the determinants of Health. http://ccsdh.ca/images/uploads/Frameworks_Report_English.pdf

Government of Canada. (2020).  About mental health. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/about-mental-health.html

Hammoudi Halat, D., Soltani, A., Dalli, R., Alsarraj, L., & Malki, A. (2023). Understanding and fostering mental health and well-being among university faculty: A narrative review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(13), 1-28. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10342374/pdf/jcm-12-04425.pdf

Simon Fraser University (2024). Creating conditions for well-being in learning environments. https://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/healthycampuscommunity/PDF/WLE/Creating%20Conditions%20for%20Well-being%20in%20Learning%20Environments.pdf

The University of British Columbia (2024). Wellbeing in teaching and learning environments. https://wellbeing.ubc.ca/wble

World Health Organization (2024). Mental health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health#tab=tab_1

By Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, Professor, Biological Sciences, and 3M National Teaching Fellow

For me, there is no one particular way to incorporate cave microbiological disciplinary research activities into my teaching. I have no rules when I tell stories. My passion is to share with students and to tell them stories about our research team–the progress of the research projects, the failed experiments, the accidents, my and my students’ struggles, and the fun and the excitement of discovery–both in the field and the laboratory, often come naturally and organically. I love using narrative pedagogy (Avraamidou & Osborne, 2009; Landrum, Brakke, & McCarthy, 2019) in my teaching to bridge the gap between real-world application and experience, and the specific content introduced in classes. Bringing in the human side of scientific teaching (Beardsley, 1992; Elmesky, 2021) and discovery is a critical part of my teaching philosophy. As I reflect on my past teaching, I have used storytelling in my classes for a long time dating to before I even knew the term “narrative pedagogy” in education and pedagogy terminology.

I strongly believe that stories, when linked intentionally and purposefully, can bring about humanity, humility, and intricate interconnections with all lives. Such relational teaching practice (Hickey & Riddle, 2023) can help our students make sense of what is taught in class: it has also been shown that the relation to emotional level enhances information retention (Kensinger, 2009; Landrum, Brakke, & McCarthy, 2019; Tyng, Amin, Saad, & Malik, 2017). Through stories from my personal and professional experience, I can connect with my students in a meaningful way. The students can also tie their reality and the world around them through their narratives. With the stories of my research experience, my urge to link and close the full circle–the students, the contents covered in classes, and the real-world experience–is untiring. Throughout my teaching career, anecdotally students often remember a story I told them more than the specific content of lectures. I believe that relevancy is critical for students to retain knowledge throughout their courses. That is one reason I have always tried to self-improve and am continually experimenting with what I can and cannot do in classes to help my students connect and stay curious.

In addition to stories about my research and when I go to the caves and collect cave samples with students I draw to get students’ attention before launching into related lecture topics, I also draw upon the failures and mistakes I have encountered during my career, and great stories about my students’ success through their discoveries/research activities. I do not shy away from making fun of myself and self-deprecating acts, and my experience learning applied microbiology in my master’s and doctoral programs in Japanese, my third tongue.

Taken together, I do not have a particular itinerary, the lecture topics often lead me to share stories that tie to such knowledge with students. Besides narrative pedagogy, driven purely by the desire to connect and make microbiological content relevant to my students’ daily lives, I often use TEDTalks and short videos from sources such as National Geographic to draw students’ attention to the lesson topic of the day. At times, I also use short letters to editors, commentary, and/or short communication types of peer-reviewed journal articles as reading assignments. For example, I have used the Tokyo Metro Subway map to start microbial metabolism in the BIOL 2160 Introductory Microbiology class. More to the point, besides grants and teaching scholarly findings, I have always kept a personal journal to keep quotes, thoughts, books of interest, ideas, and people’s names and what they do that I could include as stories to augment my classes.

One recent example of how I spearheaded, conceptualized, and co-designed to develop a course to meet with what is happening in the world was my International Field School in Thailand in the spring of 2023. The field school theme was on microorganisms, human impacts, and climate change. We centered the course on the “One Health” concept and the impacts of climate change within the certain context of microorganisms and climate change.

Formally, I also now augment courses I teach (BIOL 3800 Fermentation, BIOL 2160 Introduction to Microbiology, and BIOL 4130 Molecular Evolution) with mandatory course exit reflection essays on climate change and its consequences (positive, neutral, detrimental, unknown) related to the context and topics covered in the courses.

Curiosity is naturally intrinsic to all of us: we remember how good we all were at being curious when we were younger. When and how did we lose that natural ability to just be curious? Curiosity is the key fuel that drives scientific thinking and the discovery process. The scientific methods are composed of making observations, formulating questions, using hypotheses to predict the outcome and/or guide the experimental design, testing the research questions/conducting experiments, and analyzing and interpreting the data. I aim to bring back the natural curiosity that some of my students may have lost throughout the rigid and prescriptive educational system–one class at a time.

 

References:

Avraamidou, L., & Osborne, J. (2009). The role of narrative in communicating science. International Journal of Science Education, 31(12), 1683–1707. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802380695

Beardsley, T. (1992). Teaching real science. Scientific American, 267(4), 98–109. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24939259

Elmesky, R. (2021). Humanizing science education, wellness and a more just world. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 16, 857–866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-021-10077-1

Hickey, A., & Riddle, S. (2023). The practice of relationality in classrooms: beyond relational pedagogy as empty signifier, Teachers and Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2023.2202389

Kensinger, E. A. (2009). Remembering the details: Effects of emotion. Emotion Review, 1(2): 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073908100432

Landrum, R. E., Brakke, K., & McCarthy, M. A. (2019). The pedagogical power of storytelling. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5(3), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000152

Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N. M., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8: 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454 .

By Wei Yan, CELT

This post was also shared internally via TRU Connect.

The center for Teaching and Learning at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis published a Scholarly Teaching Taxonomy on their website after extensive review of the literature on teaching and learning. I found this to be a useful tool for professional development and growth. The taxonomy comprises five dimensions of scholarly teaching, including 1) evidence-based practice, 2) reflective practice, 3) course/curricular design, 4) ethics and responsibility, and 5) subject-matter expertise and pedagogical knowledge. As faculty members, this tool provides a great concept map for us to reflect on current practice and set new goals and make improvements for our teaching practice.

In each of the above five dimensions, three levels are clearly defined with examples. Take “evidence-based practice” for example, this dimension focused on the use of evidence from research on teaching and learning in teaching practices. At Level 1, faculty should demonstrate application of research findings in their course materials. Faculty who achieve Level 2 should be able to adapt their evidence-based practices to fit their instructional contexts and student needs. Student learning outcomes, student feedback and peer review should be viewed in the context of research literature to make improvements on teaching. At Level 3, faculty become the experts in this dimension. They should be able to create new ways in their practice to improve student learning. Their practice would have impact beyond their classrooms and reach community partners. They would conduct and disseminate their research and be recognized by fellow faculty. All five dimensions compliment each other and help us grow as scholarly teaching faculty.

On our pathway from a good scholarly teaching faculty to a great one, “Student as Partners” in higher education teaching and learning has become more and more important particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic (Walker and Prosser, 2023). Student learning experiences are first-hand essential evidence for our teaching practices. A student survey at the end of the course does not provide enough information for the rapid change and growth students experience during the course. Inviting student as partners and learning their experiences throughout the course will better help faculty make instructional decisions and changes and at the same time increase student engagement, motivation, and agency. If you are interested in incorporating students as partners in SoTL activities, Healey et al. (2014) describe a number of examples and its conceptual foundations, which could be helpful: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/engagement_through_partnership_1568036621.pdf .

 

References

Center for Teaching and Learning at IUPUI (2024). Scholarly Teaching Taxonomy. Retrieved from https://ctl.iupui.edu/resources3/scholarly-teaching-taxonomy/

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher

Waller, K.L., Prosser, M. (2023). The rapidly changing teaching and research landscape: The future of SoTL and the teaching-research nexus. In: Coleman, K., Uzhegova, D., Blaher, B., Arkoudis, S. (eds), The Educational Turn. Rethinking Higher Education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8951-3_3

By Alexis Brown, CELT

My name is Alexis, and I just joined the CELT team in January as a Learning and Faculty Development coordinator. I have always been passionate about teaching and learning, determined I would become a teacher in grade 10 after two days of ‘job shadowing’ my favorite elementary school teacher. I spent 9 years in the high school classroom teaching English Language Arts and Social Studies. I had the privilege of working with youth in rural, urban, and alternative school settings.

My work in the K-12 system within the various settings and communities has informed my education and research practices today. I have an MEd in Language and Literacy practices that focused on ways to incorporate students’ identities, interests, and cultures into developing critical media literacy. My PhD in Curriculum and Instruction was focused on ways educators can develop culturally sustaining and revitalizing curriculum with/for Indigenous learners.

Over the last eight years, I have also been fortunate to teach and learn from undergraduate and graduate students in BEd and MEd programs, instructing courses such as Social Studies Methodologies; Adolescent Learning and Development; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; and Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning. My current research projects continue to be in partnership with colleagues and school programs focused on supporting Indigenous learners, and ways we can continue to develop more culturally inclusive, sustaining, and revitalizing teaching and learning practices.

I am looking forward to learning and developing new skills with all faculty as I step into my new role. It is my hope that we can all continue to learn and incorporate best teaching and learning practices into our curriculum that increase the success of all our students; as well as create welcoming environments that prospective students will choose. If you are interested in individual discussions, strategies, or group workshops on creating curriculum with/for all students, increasing student participation, increasing active learning, decolonizing practices, and culturally relevant/responsive/sustaining practices, please contact me: albrown@tru.ca.