Building a Unified and Inclusive Teaching and Learning Community at UPEI
Cheryl Simon, Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
This keynote will address and confront the truths of Canada as a colonizing state. Decolonization is not an "Indigenous issue" and until the scope of the problem is understood by broader society, effective change may remain out of reach.
About our speaker
Cheryl is a proud Mi’kmaw woman from Epekwitk and an Assistant Professor at Schulich School of law at Dalhousie University. She has extensive experience in community-based policy development with First Nations and Indigenous organizations across the country and has worked in developing governance models based on traditional systems. Cheryl’s area of research is Indigenous identity law; she teaches Aboriginal and Indigenous law and Indigenous Governance. Cheryl is also a porcupine quill artist and basket maker and uses land-based knowledge and art to teach Indigenous law. Cheryl recently co-authored A Human Rights and Legal Analysis of the Understanding Our Roots Report critiquing a proposed verification process at Dalhousie University.
Marion Brown, Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University
To focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigenization, and decolonization calls on us to bring our whole selves to the dialogue; it calls on us to be open and raw and willing to shift. And there is no finish line. We learn and we unlearn, with real effects from the actions we have taken. In this talk we will start with the work of the self and move to our role and impact in upholding a change environment. How do we create the conditions that support ongoing revision, refinement, and … revolution, and why must we do so?
About our speaker
Marion is a social worker and educator with over 20 years’ experience in facilitating meaningful conversations in community and university settings. Marion began teaching at the Dalhousie School of Social Work in 2002 and in 2020 was appointed Associate Dean Academic in the Faculty of Health.
Marion has taught in the undergraduate and graduate social work programs, on campus and online. Grounded in relational processes, she uses critical pedagogies, weaving analyses of power and advocacy into politicized teaching & learning processes. In 2019 she was awarded the Canadian Association of Social Work Distinguished Service Award. Her areas of research and writing include projects focused on universal design for learning, culturally responsive pedagogies, trauma informed learning environments, interprofessional education and practice, and health equity.
As Associate Dean Academic in the Faculty of Health she is responsible for strategic leadership in program & curriculum development, implementation, evaluation, & continuous improvement for academic & scholarly innovation.
Recordings
Pride in Business Education: 2SLGBTQ+ Perspectives in UPEI's Faculty of Business
Presenters: Susan Graham and Amy MacFarlane - Faculty of Business and Brittany Jakubiec
This presentation will highlight research from the Faculty of Business that aims to address the pervasive cis-heteronormative bias in business education. Two studies, one focusing on the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ students in the business program and a second that surveyed all business students about their perceptions of inclusivity with respect to 2SLGBTQ+ communities and perspectives, will form the basis of the presentation.
Queering the classroom: Creating opportunities for the creation of Queer Joy
Workshop Facilitators: Kenneth MacKinnon and Elizabeth Blake - Faculty of Education
Often Queer folx do not feel welcome or seen within our learning spaces. When topics of gender and gender identity emerge we might not feel equipped to address them. This discussion will surround how we create spaces in which queer folx feel a sense of belonging through the creation of joyful spaces.
Building a sense of belonging with undergraduate students in learning environments at university
Presenter: Christina Perry - English Academic Preparation Program
During the 2024 winter semester, I led a student discussion group with undergraduate students to explore what impacts forming a sense of belonging in their courses at UPEI. The discussion group is part of a dissertation that I am completing in the Faculty of Education. The study argues that enhancing students’ sense of belonging within learning environments provides opportunities to enact EDIID. This brief presentation shares some of the big ideas learned through students’ conversations.
Exploring Economic Concepts through Hampâté Bâ's African Tales
Presenter: Justin Kakeu - Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts
This presentation delves into the rich intersection of African traditional narratives and economic concepts, centering on the captivating story of Brahima Khalilou and his strategically pivotal water well, as recounted by Amadou Hampâté Bâ (1969) — a seminal intellectual and literary figure of the twentieth century. This narrative offers profound insights into property rights, public goods, and the intricate interplay between economic strategy, social norms, justice systems, and religious beliefs. Through this perspective, we aim to reveal the complex ways in which African traditional stories provide unique viewpoints on economic principles. Our objective is to showcase the significance of these narratives in broadening and diversifying economic discourse, thereby promoting a more inclusive approach to understanding and teaching economic concepts.
Presenters: Ashton Dougan, Adedamola Adedeji, Christina Murray, Kerie Murphy, and Valerie Reddin, Faculty of Nursing
In this presentation we share lessons learned following a standardized mental health nursing simulation that went awry. Through a case study, we will highlight how our standard methods of simulation became not so standard when an experienced actor, was triggered by a simulation scenario. This simulation, focused on suicide, is one that has been taught successfully in our third-year curriculum for many years and was effective in achieving mental health curriculum outcomes. This event awakened us to ways in which our simulation teaching practices immediately needed to change. Through debrief, we learned from one another and came up with student focused, evidence informed solutions. We invited our students to share recommendations for what a psychologically safe simulation learning environment could look like. Further, we had to acknowledge and recognize the power imbalances that exist within student-teacher relationships. These must be dismantled if we are to partner with students and develop nursing curriculum that attends to psychological safety.
Decolonizing the settler colonial mind for teaching and learning
Workshop Facilitator: Neil Forbes - Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research and Applied Studies
As an urban Indigenous academic, I struggle to comprehend and work within the schism between Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and being. For anyone concerned with teaching and learning outside the structures and machinations of colonization, this workshop will explore the cultivation of a plastic brain through the decolonizing action of reading Indigenous stories. With the understanding that we have the power to rewire the brain through the mindful engagement of colonial ontology, we have a unique opportunity to adapt the way we learn and teach.
Presenters: Kim Mears and Katelyn Browne - Robertson Library
Student evaluations of teaching have long been used as a method to determine an instructor's effectiveness as a teacher. At UPEI, this occurs through Student Opinion on Teaching Surveys (SOTs). Given the large body of evidence outlining the harmful impact of SOTs on racialized and minority groups, what other avenues are universities using to equitably evaluate teaching? This presentation will provide an overview of current evidence and practices of student evaluations of courses and instructors.