10:00 am–10:25 am
Using AI in tried-and-tested pedagogical approaches to enhance learning: An exploratory study 

Uthpala Senarathne Tennakoon

Artificial intelligence (AI) took to new heights with ChatGPT release in November 2022, and an immediate impact was felt in the education sector. AI has various potential educational uses, including improving productivity, learning outcomes, personalized instruction, instant feedback, and student engagement. However, since the introduction of ChatGPT, most universities have struggled to understand, monitor, and limit students’ misuse of the technology. As we prepare our students to succeed in this changing world, educators must adopt technological advancements to enhance the student learning experience. Additionally, students need to be made aware of the drawbacks and limitations of these technologies as they navigate these uncertain and emerging trends. There is a lack of empirical evidence on the use of AI tools in undergraduate education and the effectiveness of such use. This session will present the results of an ongoing exploratory study that examines the effectiveness of intentional and strategically designed AI use in the classroom.

1:00 pm–1:25 pm
Embedding Virtual Simulation to Enhance Clinical Experience

Danaiet Teame

The Virtu-WIL project, funded by the Government of Canada, Simulation Canada, and CiCan, is a project that developed over 180 simulated clinical experiences based on defined pedagogical objectives. MRU was one of the institutions selected to develop, implement, and evaluate these virtual simulations. This presentation will offer valuable insights into simulation as a teaching strategy, effectiveness of virtual simulations, development of scenarios, EDI in virtual simulation, student engagement and feedback from learners. Findings from the project were invaluable, highlighting the urgent need to embed innovative approach to clinical teaching.  In addition, the presentation aims to share the greatest challenges to integrating virtual simulation into a program possible solution identified.

10:00 am–10:25 am
Ungrading: Why I started and what I've learned doing it 

Brian Nichols and students

How might we redirect students' focus on grades towards course content, towards curiosity, questioning, and self-reflection? What is ungrading and why should we consider experimenting with it? Discover the answers to these questions while Brian and his students share their experience in two courses where students were allowed to critically self-evaluate their learning and propose their own grades for assignments. They'll explore questions like: Did students learn more? Did they develop a different understanding of what a university education is about? Were there impacts on mental wellness and in turn academic performance?

1:00 pm–1:25 pm
Highlighting Awestruck in curriculum and assessments

Chelan McCallion, Patricia Kostouros

In a fourth-year mental health class Patricia and Chelan talk about being awestruck and how that can be used to help people decrease mental health distress, if even momentarily. Being awestruck is an emotional experience that can transform how we view the world and everything we encounter. We can be awestruck by powerful experiences such as the birth of a child, witnessing the Northern lights, viewing works of art, or these can be everyday activities like watching ants carry large objects or listening to children laughing at the playground. What makes something awesome is an individual experience but is typically associated with a sense of wonder and recognition that the world is greater than us (Paquette, 2020). In this presentation, Patricia and Chelan will share the concepts being taught and the awesome ways that students are taking up being awestruck in assignments, their personal, as well as their professional work. 

10:00 am–10:25 am
Sharing Community Service Literacy Learning Through Visual Storytelling

Jodi Nickel, Bonnie Caldwell, and students

Year 2 teacher candidates in the Bachelor of Education program engaged in literacy tutoring as part of their weekly field experience in schools. This Community Service Learning experience was a High Impact Practice that helped them to apply their understanding of course concepts while also helping a child learn to read. At a visual storytelling showcase, teacher candidates told the story of their experience to peers and external guests. They will share with you their triumphs and challenges and the impact tutoring had upon them as aspiring teachers. They will also share how visual storytelling might be applied in other disciplines as an alternative forum to showcase understanding to an authentic audience. 

1:00 pm–1:25 pm
Teacher Candidates as EDIA Change-Makers through a Departmental Research Initiative

Chantelle Gilmour, Prabkirat Grewal, Kristen Schaffer

The department of education aims to listen to and address community members’ experiences and desires related to equity, diversity, inclusivity and accessibility (EDIA). This research aims to promote conversation, learning, and nurture a sense of belonging in teacher education, which will mean reflecting upon and evolving how we teach. In this conversation, you will hear from teacher candidates/research assistants who have been working with the departments’ EDIA working group. They will share findings gathered from a first-phase survey conducted in Fall 2023, including respectfully reporting on teacher candidates’ experiences of harm and discrimination and their desire for actions that promote safety, transparency, and accountability. The presenters will describe how the department, teacher candidates included, are working to foster a culture of critical care, reconciliation, and belonging. The deparment sees this work as ongoing and looks forward to generating dialogue that continues to move this toward ethical and relational responsibility.

10:30 am–10:55 am
Lightning Talks  

“Why does nobody smile back?”: What an anonymous student forum can tell us about social belonging at MRU

Julie Booke, Nadine Van Wyk, Sara Sharon

University is supposed to be a time of new beginnings: meeting new people, engaging in different opportunities, and figuring out who you are as a person (beyond getting an education).  Posts on an anonymous, student-run social media forum highlight a potential concern that students are struggling to meet people, get involved or find their place on campus.  A study has begun to build on previous research examining student comments in social media forums to inquire into what students say about their university involvement and engagement.  MRUchatter, on Instagram, provides a data source to explore students' specific needs, requests, and interests related to the community on campus. An analysis of this data can provide insight into how faculty, staff and the campus community could respond. In addition, this project will inform teaching research methods in HPED capstone courses by bringing to life content analysis as a research process for students.

Flexible Project Submissions in Education

Robyn Madden

This lightning talk discusses supporting student individuality and autonomy through the allowance of multiformat project submissions in education. Anecdotally, when instructors and teachers provide assessment instructions, specific parameters around submission format is preset, such as “essay format,” “oral presentation,” and “PowerPoint slides.” While this streamlined method supports ease of marking for educators, it may come with underlying detriments towards the student. During this talk, learn how educators can implement flexible multiformat submissions to support student individuality, creativity, critical thinking, and autonomy. Discussion surrounding the types of project submission formats will also be covered, such as traditional text documents, PowerPoints, Prezi, video presentations, and voiceovers. Given the vast array of software programming available, multiformat project submissions supports the technological movement while putting the choice back to the student. 

10:30 am–10:55 am
Lightning Talks  

Co-Creating Knowledge: The Role of Students-as-Partners in Shaping Leadership Education 

Leda Stawnychko, Izza Khatoon, Kiran Qureshi

In this session, two MRU students and the researcher will share insights from a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) investigation that examines transformative learning as part of a Leadership Development course. The student-faculty partnership has not only significantly enhanced research outcomes but has also facilitated a transformational journey for both the students and their mentor. Attendees will gain insights into the benefits of embracing students as equal partners in the research process.

A Small Teaching Change: Introducing Connection Logbooks 

Michele Wellsby, Isabelle Doyle

During the ‘Reboot Your Course’ Workshop, facilitated by the ADC, participants read the book ‘Small Teaching’, which focused on small changes you can make in the classroom to improve student learning. One of the topics in the book is on having students make connections between course concepts which lead Michele to introducing a logbook activity in her third year ‘Topics in Child Development’ course (PSYC3351). On the first day of class students are given a logbook and introduced to seven major themes in child development. As they progress through the course, they use their logbook to document how the themes apply to each topic we cover. In this presentation Michele will discuss the context and purpose of the logbook activity and a former student, Isabelle, will speak to how the logbook impacted their learning.

1:00 pm–1:25 pm
Creating memes in the classroom to celebrate and check learning: A research literacy course example

Erika Smith, Sonya Jakubec

There is no escaping the influence of social media in contemporary life -- including post-secondary education. Critical and intentional use of social media in teaching and learning practices takes a kind of digital literacy and training. Carefully applied, the results of embracing the best of social media can be thought provoking, consciousness raising, and fun for educators and students alike. Specifically, the role of memes in critical digital literacy and research literacy learning is explored in this presentation with a summary of the themes and evidence in the scholarly literature. Often embedding humour, memes signify cultural elements that are remixed, “repeated and transmitted [online] through a process of imitation” (Martínez-Cardama & Caridad-Sebastián, 2019, p. 341). In this presentation we consider how memes can be used for critical engagement that can foster students’ motivation and creativity, and act as a springboard for deeper reflection in undergraduate settings. A teaching and learning practice exemplar from a research literacy course showcases lessons learned in application with discussion and recommendations for future practice across disciplines and in different course contexts. Come for the celebration of creative teaching strategies, leave prepared to bring Bernie, Schitts Creek, and more to a classroom near you.

10:00 am–10:25 am
Self Study Reflections: Child Rights and Practicing Craftivism in Early Childhood Education Settings

Carolyn Bjartveit, Emmie Henderson-Dekort, Emma DeCecco, Alisha Bagshaw

The resurgence of traditional crafts on social media is opening opportunities to engage in conversations and advocate for child rights through “craftivism” (Corbett, 2017), which uses craft-making to address social issues and initiate social and political change. Utilizing a duoethnographic research methodology, Bachelor of Child Studies students and professors discussed their observations of preschool children’s engagement in craftivism to understand how the children came to understand ‘homelessness’ through craft-making. Media and picture books provoked conversations with the children and increased their awareness of social issues impacting marginalized youth who are often silenced and othered. Third-wave feminist ideas related to craftivism (Chansky, 2010) and Fricker’s (2007) “epistemic injustice” provided a scholarly framework for the project. Through this presentation, the researchers aim to advocate for children’s right to explore social issues through play, dialogue, and craftivism and to raise awareness about equity and inclusion of all children and youth. 

1:00 pm–1:25 pm
Breaking Barriers: An Interprofessional Classroom Approach to Harm Reduction and Crisis Response

Gio Dolcecore, Dominique Denis-Lalonde

This presentation explores an innovative class developed by Mount Royal University's Social Work Program's Gio Dolcecore (RSW) and the University of Calgary's Faculty of Nursing Dominique Denis-Lalonde (RN). The class aimed to foster interprofessional collaboration with a focus on harm reduction education and substance-related crisis response and care. Utilizing hands-on training and interactive learning activities, the class allowed students to teach and learn from each other as they explored content on drug education, harm reduction, naloxone/overdose training, crisis assessment and response, and case studies. This approach equipped students with practical skills while providing an opportunity to practice interprofessional collaboration and appreciate its value. This presentation will discuss the structure and outcomes of this class, reflecting on its successes and areas for improvement. Attendees will gain insights into key considerations for interprofessional education as it relates to substance-related crisis response.