Concurrent Session A, May 18, 2017, 10:30-11:20am


1	Concurrent Session A, 10:30-11:20am
2		ENG 103	A1.	Taking steps: Experiential learning through social justice walks (50 mins)
3				Reena Tandon, Arts and Cathy Crowe, Politics and Public Administration.
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5
6
7
8
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10		RCC 204	A2.	Popular, interested, not interested: Learning tools at Ryerson (20 mins)
11				Wendy Freeman, Office of eLearning, Restiani Andriati, Digital Media Projects Office, and Carly Basian, Registrar's Office.
12
13
14			A3.	What does your teacher think, what do you think, and what does your peer think? A student’s perspective on incorporating multiple forms of feedback can benefit everyone (20 mins)
15				Alexandra Marquis, Zahra Vahedi, and Lesley Zannella, Psychology.
16
17
18		LIB 72	A4.	Promoting academic integrity and student engagement through assignment design (50 mins)
19				John Paul Foxe, Andrea Ridgley, Academic Integrity Office and Stephen Want, Psychology.
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21
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24
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26		ENG LG2	A5.	Reflecting on mentorship: Faculty and undergraduate student accounts of successful intellectual partnerships for scholarly writing (20 mins)
27				Margareth S. Zanchetta, Nursing.
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29
30			A6.	Appraising horizontal violence with undergraduate senior nursing students (20 mins)
31				Farha Patel, Marie E. Dumitriu and Sabaa Samuels, Nursing.
32
33
34		ENG LG12	A7.	Experiential learning in the Bahamas: NOT sun, sea, sex and sand (50 mins)
35				Jean Golden, Sociology, Peter Haastrup, Policy Studies, Mykyta Drakokhrust, Jaid Sagadraca and Meschelle Anglais.
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37
38
39
40
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42		RCC201	A8.	Incorporating YouTube videos as creative assignments in a course (20 mins)
43				Emily Agard, SciXchange.
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45			A9.	Designing alternative course assessment methods for enhanced learning evaluation (10 mins)
46				Amira Abdelrasoul, Chemical Engineering and Medhat Shehata, Civil Engineering
47
48			A10.	Use of repetition and feedback to improve first year student writing skills (10 mins)
49				Tom Griffin and Chris Gibbs, Hospitality and Tourism Management.
50		POD370	A11.	Creating global pathways for experiential learning (20 mins)
51				Suhair Deeb, Ryerson International.
52
53
54			A12.	What is open pedagogy? Strategy and tools (20 mins)
55				Kelly Dermody, RULA and Nada Savicevic, Office of eLearning.
56
57
58		POD372	A13.	Engaging with Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson (50 mins)
59				Curtis Maloley, Learning & Teaching Office and Monica McKay, Aboriginal Initiatives.
60
61
62
63
64
65
66		KHS335	A14.	R Ur students engaged for REAL experiential learning? (10 mins)
67				Rick Beutler, Retail Management.
68			A15.	Flexible courses: From grading schemes to assignments and their impact on student learning outcomes (10 mins)
69				William Ju, Chang School.
70			A16.	Engaging conversations: The importance of advising and student engagement (20 mins)
71				Paul Sileika, Office of the Registrar: University Academic Advising.
72
73
74		KHE121	A17.	This is Not Normal: The 21st-century Teach-In (50 mins)
75				Lisa Taylor, Asmaa Malik and Ann Rauhala, Journalism.
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77
78
79
80
81
82		KHE125
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84
85
86
87
88
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90		KHE321A	A18.	Leveling Up our co-curricular recognition program: Discovering, exploring, capturing & storytelling without validation (50 mins)
91				Kait Taylor-Asquini and Jen Gonzales, Ryerson Student Affairs.
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93
94
95
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98		VIC203	A19.	Augmenting education using social media (50 mins)
99				Ahmed Sagarwala, Communication & Design.
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101
102
103
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105


1	Concurrent Session A Descriptions
2
3		ENG 103	A1.	Taking steps: Experiential learning through social justice walks (50 mins)
4				Reena Tandon, Arts and Cathy Crowe, Politics and Public Administration.
5				“Rain or shine, the walk will take place. Dress appropriately for the weather. Gather at Lake Devos.” Since Fall 2013, we have collaborated to develop course-embedded experiential learning in multiple disciplines through the mediation of ‘Social Justice Walks’ in the Community Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT) initiative of the Faculty of Arts. There rarely has been a ‘no show’ for this option in the course, once students sign up. Focussed around issues of homelessness, marginality, poverty and social justice, the walks around the downtown core in Toronto vary each time, as do the disciplines and courses in which these are embedded. In this experiential session we invite you to join us on a walk, to demonstrate that Community Engaged Learning and Teaching opportunities for experiential learning are literally only steps away from the Ryerson classroom. This walk will be a mini-version of a social justice walk that will incorporate learnings related to current social issues. A Q&A at the end of the walk will allow for discussion and brainstorming for how the walk can be adapted to various disciplines. The walk will require a sign-up and the maximum number of participants can be 20; a waiting list may be considered.
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7		RCC 204	A2.	Popular, interested, not interested: Learning tools at Ryerson (20 mins)
8				Wendy Freeman, Office of eLearning, Restiani Andriati, Digital Media Projects Office, and Carly Basian, Registrar's Office.
9				What learning tools are popular for teaching at Ryerson? What are the top five digital teaching tasks and activities among faculty members and instructors? Which are the least favourite? This winter, faculty, contract lecturers, TAs and GAs were invited to provide insight into their use of use current tools such as D2L Brightspace, clickers, and many others for teaching. In this session, the presenters will report the findings from the teaching and learning systems and services initiative and from D2L Brightspace tools usage and discuss next steps for learning tools at Ryerson. Participants will be invited to share their experiences, thoughts, and best practices in the teaching.
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11			A3.	What does your teacher think, what do you think, and what does your peer think? A student’s perspective on incorporating multiple forms of feedback can benefit everyone (20 mins)
12				Alexandra Marquis, Zahra Vahedi, and Lesley Zannella, Psychology.
13				Receiving effective feedback is an integral component of student learning and academic development. Using a graduate-level Psychology course, Practicum in Teaching, as an exemplar, we will present three types of feedback obtained throughout the course: instructor feedback, peer feedback, and feedback through self-reflection. From a student’s perspective, we will review the benefits of receiving and giving feedback in various forms, with particular attention to how this feedback can facilitate a successful student experience. The specific learning outcomes from this presentation are as follows: 1) identify the different types of feedback instructors might implement in their classrooms; 2) assessing the relative strengths and challenges associated with the various types of feedback; and 3) providing recommendations for ways to implement multiple types of feedback in undergraduate and graduate classrooms or in one’s own professional development. We believe that by providing a student’s perspective on the benefits of varying feedback in a single course and using a past course with concrete examples, we hope that instructors will be more willing to employ differing practices in the courses they teach and that students will clearly view the experiential benefits of incorporating these components to a class.
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15		LIB 72	A4.	Promoting academic integrity and student engagement through assignment design (50 mins)
16				John Paul Foxe, Andrea Ridgley, Academic Integrity Office and Stephen Want, Psychology.
17				Ryerson University is committed to fostering and upholding the highest standards of academic integrity, the fundamental values of which are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, courage, as well as trustworthiness. These values are central to the development and sharing of knowledge. All members of the Ryerson community, including faculty, students, graduate assistants, and staff, have a responsibility to adhere to and uphold them in their teaching, learning, evaluation, scholarly research and creative activity. Participants in this interactive workshop will learn how to promote academic integrity and its associated values through the design of pedagogically sound assessments. In addition, members of the Academic Integrity Office (AIO) will be on hand to discuss the expectations of Policy 60 Academic Integrity and to answer any questions that participants may have.
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19		ENG LG2	A5.	Reflecting on mentorship: Faculty and undergraduate student accounts of successful intellectual partnerships for scholarly writing (20 mins)
20				Margareth S. Zanchetta, Nursing.
21				This presentation reflects on mentoring extra-curricular initiative established by three nursing faculty in the last six years related to scholarly writing. As a result, intellectual partnerships were created with almost 40 undergraduate students. A sample of 16 of them co-authored a reflective scholarly paper. Critical awareness in education was the lead pedagogical framework that inspired faculty role modelling and demystification of the scholarly endeavours. Faculty and former students wrote a reflective paper reporting their motivations and commitments to be involved in the initiative, the meaning of building partnership with teachers and co-authors, new acquired learning, immediate impacts on intellectual/academic performance and profile, as well as unexpected benefits for performance and current professional position. Produced texts containing narrative accounts were coded using Atlas ti. Coded texts were submitted to thematic analysis guided for the aforementioned dimensions of the written reflections. Reflections revealed students' wish to increase résumé competitiveness and curiosity about research accounted for students’ motivation while faculty wanted to offer equal scholarly learning opportunities to those students who looked for it. Students’ attitudes toward research and intellectual partnerships with faculties were positively changed. Students revealed total transformation of their self-confidence, increased visibility of their professional profile in job market, as well as an increased awareness of critical thinking and interest for evidence-based practice influencing also their co-workers. Few students are pursuing their plans/actions for graduate studies due to the discovery of inner intellectual potential. Faculty mainly increased the number of peer-reviewed publications book chapters and articles having former students as co-authors. By adopting a socially inclusive educational approach that acknowledged the actual barriers faced especially by socially disadvantaged students, faculty and students invested and trusted on students’ dreams and genuine interest to succeed. Those were the ignition factors to the consolidation of this successful intellectual partnership.
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23			A6.	Appraising horizontal violence with undergraduate senior nursing students (20 mins)
24				Farha Patel, Marie E. Dumitriu and Sabaa Samuels, Nursing.
25				A team of nine fourth year nursing students facilitated a three hour debate-learning modality to stimulate peers’ reflections about psychological capital and horizontal violence (HV). With a sample of 51 fourth year undergraduate nursing students, dimensions of the understudied lived experiences of HV among students were uncovered. Objectives of the facilitation included: a) identify cases of HV lived by nursing students in the diverse context of learning, b) analyze challenging factors that jeopardize physical and psychological wellbeing of nursing students, c) correlate narratives of horizontal violence with compromised social determinants of health (SDOH) and d) utilize leadership strategies to empower nursing students in building psychological capital. A short lecture clarified concepts of HV and incivility/bullying, encouraging class discussion about them in work/study relationships. HV experiences expressed by 42 anonymous anecdotal written reports instigated the collective dialogue including uncounted spontaneous oral narratives during the discussion. A new team of seven students wrote testimonies as raw data regarding their assessment and impressions of achieved learning objectives. Verbatim are under coding with the help of Atlas ti. Upon preliminary analysis, key areas of HV included nursing team-to-students (n=20) and preceptors-to-students (n=11). Education, coping skills, work/learning environment, and social support were identified as affected SDOH. These determinants affect students’ ability to promote the required psychological capital to safeguard their physical/mental health. A manuscript including recommendations to decision-makers, adding to the Canadian knowledge about HV among nursing students will result. Future study with the school of nursing at large should follow to translate knowledge to stakeholders.
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27		ENG LG12	A7.	Experiential learning in the Bahamas: NOT sun, sea, sex and sand (50 mins)
28				Jean Golden, Sociology, Peter Haastrup, Policy Studies, Mykyta Drakokhrust, Jaid Sagadraca and Meschelle Anglais.
29				The Bahamas Project is an evolving international collaborative in experiential learning in a developing country. Since 2011 Professor Golden has fostered a growing institutional relationship between Ryerson University and the Every Child Counts (ECC) School for Children with Special Needs in Abaco, the Bahamas. Ryerson students, through student placements and volunteerism, provide educational support for the ECC School, meet with local community leaders and live in the community. They learn the complexities of working and living in a developing country and bring this knowledge back to their Ryerson studies and into local communities Specifically, Ryerson Early Childhood Studies students are trained in disability teaching and lend direct support in the classroom to the ECC teachers. Social Work and Arts students assist with the creation of new educational resources, community newsletters and disability awareness programmes, and online yearbooks and archival information systems. They identify fundraising opportunities, assist in the vocational programme and planning the new assisted living centre. To date, over 100 Ryerson students have worked with ECC, for five to ten weeks every spring. The ECC School defines how best to use this student labour in the classroom and in the community. The recent addition to this collaboration is the new Faculty of Arts credit course SOC 803: International Community Engagement, in February 2015. This presentation will explore the issues of experiential learning in a developing country, the different forms of experiential learning and include the evaluative voice of students who have passed through the Bahamas Project.
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31		RCC201	A8.	Incorporating YouTube videos as creative assignments in a course (20 mins)
32				Emily Agard, SciXchange.
33				In the past two terms I ran a pilot program incorporating YouTube videos as group assignments for my students. The pilot exceeded my expectations. In this session I will be reporting on the results and providing tips on how to optimize this technology as an alternative assessment in courses. The goal is for participants to appreciate the value of this assessment strategy and be comfortable incorporating it in their courses. By the end of the session, participants should learn how to organize and grade group video submissions in D2L Brightspace, set up a YouTube channel and upload videos, direct students how to optimize their videos for YouTube, and deal with the dynamics of this form of group work. There will also be an opportunity for participants to view some short videos from my classes and discuss some of their own ideas.
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35			A9.	Designing alternative course assessment methods for enhanced learning evaluation (10 mins)
36				Amira Abdelrasoul, Chemical Engineering and Medhat Shehata, Civil Engineering
37				Assessment is a powerful force in schools as well as in tertiary education frameworks. Assessment processes influence the way students learn, as well as the content and the extent of their learning. Alternative approaches to in-depth, authentic assessments represent a profound shift in educational attitudes toward the role of evaluation in learning. In fact, it is a paradigm shift that acknowledges the effects that assessment can have on all areas of the instructional and learning processes. In this new paradigm, critical features are replacing old and outdated standards. Rather than promote a one size fits all understanding of evaluations, new type of instruction is based on individual student needs and goals. This shift toward the practice of authentic assessment can solve the concerns that have become inherent in the traditional and high-stakes assessments. In the new approaches of assessment the emphasis is placed on meaningful tasks, higher order thinking, multiple assessments, positive interaction, integration of knowledge, self-reflection, and lifelong learning. When designing an alternative type of course assessment, it is necessary to be sure that there is a direct correlation between the objectives of the unit/course/lesson being assessed, the teaching/learning activities used, and the assessment tools. The instructors in charge of the course design must consider the objectives of the course/unit/lesson that are being assessed, as well as the levels of Bloom's taxonomy being evaluated such as knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis.
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39			A10.	Use of repetition and feedback to improve first year student writing skills (10 mins)
40				Tom Griffin and Chris Gibbs, Hospitality and Tourism Management.
41				In today’s knowledge economy, writing is an important skill for the future employment success of university graduates. However, large class sizes and limited resources for evaluating first year essays make it difficult to provide students exceptional experiences that help them improve writing skills. With support from the Ted Rogers School of Management Teaching Innovation Fund, two professors from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) sought to improve the writing skills of first year students by providing additional feedback and requiring students to reflect on their writing. Over the course of the Fall 2016 semester, first year HTM students wrote four essays over two different required courses. While the topics of the essay differed, the students received consistent guidance on expectations for writing style, essay structure, presentation and evaluation. In addition, the same group of Graduate Teaching Assistants were hired for both courses. If students scored less than 75% on their essay submission, they were required to address the Graduate Assistant’s feedback, rewrite, and re-submit for an improved grade. Broadly speaking the project was a success, with reduced re-submission rates and positive feedback from most students. The intention of this presentation is to stimulate discussion around improving first year student writing skills. We will share our experience and results from this project, and offer an honest reflection of what worked, as well as areas that proved difficult. We will also solicit discussion from the audience related to improving the engagement and experience for written essays.
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44		POD370	A11.	Creating global pathways for experiential learning (20 mins)
45				Suhair Deeb, Ryerson International.
46				Faculty members play a significant role in the internationalization of education. They have the expertise to design and deliver much of students’ educational programs and add a global dimension to the curriculum. As such, faculty members are the institutional “powerhouse” who have the ability to create pathways to engage in dialogues with international institutions to explore collaborative opportunities and propel greater student engagement. However, the establishment of these linkages could be seen as a complex process, therefore discouraging some faculty members from exploring what is possible. Capacity issues may limit the choices to participate in the process while balancing other teaching and research priorities. Yet, many faculty members have made a commitment for engagement and collaboration. With that said, what is the process to start exploring potential collaboration and what are the initiatives led by faculty members who have made international collaboration as part of their responsibilities as educators? This session is designed to provide an overview of Ryerson’s process for establishing institutional linkages. A “road map” for where to start, who to contact, and what type of support Ryerson International can provide will be presented. The session will also introduce two examples of collaboration. One with a well-established partner institution with which various programs have been developed by faculty members in a number of academic disciplines and another with an existing partner, with which an initiative is currently being explored. Each example will describe the approach that was taken to make these connections.
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48			A12.	What is open pedagogy? Strategy and tools (20 mins)
49				Kelly Dermody, RULA and Nada Savicevic, Office of eLearning.
50				Open pedagogy is a set of teaching and learning practices only possible in the context of open educational resources—free access to resources that can be reused, revised, remixed and redistributed (Wiley, 2013). We will discuss open pedagogy's impact on course design, assessment and student engagement and the tools available for Ryerson instructors.
51
52		POD372	A13.	Engaging with Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson (50 mins)
53				Curtis Maloley, Learning & Teaching Office and Monica McKay, Aboriginal Initiatives.
54				This session offers faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to gather and to discuss ongoing Truth and Reconciliation initiatives at Ryerson. Facilitated by the Learning & Teaching Office in partnership with the Aboriginal Education Council, we will gather to share cross-campus examples of how offices, units, academic programs, staff and faculty are incorporating or embedding the TRC Calls to Action into the fabric of learning and teaching at Ryerson. Finally, we also wanted to provide an opportunity for folks who may be interested in learning more about how you might participate in the practice of Reconciliation going forward. Participants will have an opportunity to check-in, to hear about ongoing initiatives that are being undertaken across campus, and to discuss how we can continue to engage students, faculty and staff in the practice of Truth and Reconciliation through the Learning & Teaching Office at Ryerson.
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56		KHS335	A14.	R Ur students engaged for REAL experiential learning? (10 mins)
57				Rick Beutler, Retail Management.
58				What if I demonstrated to you an innovative way: a) To engage all of your students b) To meet your top community partners/employers in person c) In real time within two hours d) In a safe, inclusive atmosphere e) And contribute toward 99% relevant student experiential employment Welcome to speed networking, in which every instructor can include every student to engage relevant employers in a fun and exciting on-campus event! Here’s the theory and practice: Lumina Spark says we speed read other people's characteristics within minutes even seconds of meeting, so there’s an opportunity to create meaningful connections between students and recruiters within minutes of meeting each other one-on-one. Ryerson wants to double it's experiential learning outcomes within several years, so we need to find innovative ways of matching our students with the relevant employers who have experiential jobs (internships, co-ops, etc.) and careers to fill. Recruiters want to meet the right candidates and not waste their time at career fairs with unpredictable attendance meeting students who lack the required skills/experience – so why not guarantee over 90% attendance of the recruiter’s target students? Students want authentic relevant work experience and are frustrated by inhuman, complicated, and time consuming application portals – so why not teach them how to create a positively memorable first impression by “pitching” themselves while meeting the employers they want to work for? Let me show you what has worked for my RMG799 Internship Practicum students within the past 2 years.
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60			A15.	Flexible courses: From grading schemes to assignments and their impact on student learning outcomes (10 mins)
61				William Ju, Chang School.
62				Recently there has been a renewed interest in understanding how different student learning styles impact the design and implementation of courses, particularly with respect to assessments (Leite et al., 2010). Moreover, due to the nature of courses in the basic and life sciences, there is often very little variation in the assessments of learning that are used, which often causes both the learner and educator a great deal of stress and angst. It is also becoming increasingly clear that different styles of learning and learners would benefit from having a greater variety of assessments used within these courses (Leite et al. 2010), likely by reducing student stress levels. In this talk, a further discussion of the rationale surrounding flexible student assessments, the various types of flexible options for students (from "re-weighting" options to "reduced impact" assessments), how these flexible assessments reduce student stress, and how these types of flexible assessments can be implemented across different courses will be presented. Participants will leave with an understanding of how flexible learning assessments positively impact student learning and engagement from both instructor and student perspectives, and will be able to identify several examples of flexible assessments that could be adapted for use in their own courses to reduce stress and enhance learning.
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64			A16.	Engaging conversations: The importance of advising and student engagement (20 mins)
65				Paul Sileika, Office of the Registrar: University Academic Advising.
66				Academic Advising as a field is well-established in the United States and yet this topic gets much less attention in Canada. This session will explore the impact of advising on student engagement through a combination of lecture and group discussion. Attendees will be exposed to foundational academic advising concepts and strategies. A variety of theoretical frameworks related to advising will be discussed including the notion of the "advising continuum," "intrusive advising" and how effective advising practices can support student engagement. We will also look at the work of Burns B. Crookson, Terry O'Banion among others to understand the current body of knowledge around academic advising and its relationship to student success. This session will be of particular interest to faculty and staff that regularly advise students on behalf of program areas however the content will be generally relevant student advising.
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68		KHE121	A17.	This is Not Normal: The 21st-century Teach-In (50 mins)
69				Lisa Taylor, Asmaa Malik and Ann Rauhala, Journalism.
70				In the wake of the U.S. election, journalism and journalists have been demeaned and attacked. The horrific mosque attack in Quebec City and an increase in hate-fuelled political rhetoric in Canada have shown that our values of multiculturalism, equality and mutual respect are under threat. And the increasing proliferation of fake news has perpetuated a vicious cycle where falsehoods and presented as facts. This spring, the Ryerson School of Journalism interrupted regular classroom programming for This Is Not a Normal, a one-day Teach-In to help our students make sense of our changing world. This dynamic event brought together journalists from news organizations including Vice, Toronto Star, CBC and CTV with academics from across the Ryerson community (from Criminology, English, Journalism and Psychology) for targeted workshops that addressed issues such as privacy and surveillance, refugees and immigration and covering Islamophobia. This session explains how we formulated learning objectives for the Teach-In and created course assignments that made the event not only meaningful, but relevant to our journalism curriculum. We'll also discuss the different discussion and participation formats we used to ensure that key lessons from Teach-In reached students with varied learning styles. While we undertook this project within the School of Journalism, we have identified broad themes and best practices that would assist any school or professional program respond to external current events that disrupt or destabilize its learning community.
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72		KHE125
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80		KHE321A	A18.	Leveling Up our co-curricular recognition program: Discovering, exploring, capturing & storytelling without validation (50 mins)
81				Kait Taylor-Asquini and Jen Gonzales, Ryerson Student Affairs.
82				Considering recommendations generated from interviews and focus groups with students, staff, and faculty, a review of the CAS Standards, consultation with career development professionals, and hiring organizations, we developed a four-level co-curricular recognition program. Level Up: The Student Experience Blueprint focuses not only on student involvement, but is a journey through personal discovery, reflection and storytelling. The program is hosted on our learning management system, Desire2Learn (D2L), and incorporates StrengthsFinder, CollegiateLink, an ePortfolio and a series of workshops designed to assist students with the curation of their student experiences into their storytelling method of choice. The foundation of the Level Up program is comprised of four guiding theories: - Baxter Magolda’s Theory on Self-Authorship: Holding space for students to define their beliefs through personal exploration. - Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle: Encourages individuals to use personal experience as a basis for observation, reflection and application of learning resulting from the progress through the cycle. - Chaos Theory: From a reflection-based learning perspective, chaos theory suggests that experiences often considered unimportant or trivial might have an equal weight in shaping our perspective as the experiences often considered most important. - Martin Seligman’s PERMA-V Model: The theoretical model of happiness (PERMA-V) helps us to understand Positivity, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishments and Vitality and what we can do to maximize each of these areas to live a life of happiness.
83
84		VIC203	A19.	Augmenting education using social media (50 mins)
85				Ahmed Sagarwala, Communication & Design.
86				Social platforms often provide external access to their tools through the form of an API. The session explores the affordances of such systems and how they have been leveraged to automate aspects of EID100, Digital Skills and Innovations for the Global Economy. Attendees will learn how to setup a basic workflow using free tools and integrate social networks into their pedagogy.
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