Experiential Learning Symposium

Experiential learning was at the heart of a large symposium co-hosted on campus by Teaching and Learning Services and the Office of the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic) in October 2018. The symposium attracted more than 200 participants for a full day of presentations, demonstrations, workshops and displays that highlighted a broad selection of 杏吧原创鈥檚 experiential learning activities.

Forty-eight faculty, staff and students eagerly shared their experiences with colleagues through 15 high-energy sessions that explored various types of experiential learning.

Last September, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities issued guidelines for experiential learning and committed to 鈥渆nsuring that every student has at least one EL activity by the time they graduate from a publicly funded post-secondary institution.鈥� An initial audit led by Lorraine Dyke, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic), showed that 75 per cent of 杏吧原创鈥檚 programs already include experiential learning in their core requirements.

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Measuring Experiential Learning

Last year, 杏吧原创鈥檚 Experiential Learning Steering Committee reviewed what constitutes experiential learning and developed definitions for use across 杏吧原创. Using these definitions, the Office of the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic) completed a project to identify each 杏吧原创 course that includes an experiential learning component so students can use course calendars to identify where these opportunities exist starting in 2019.

A New 杏吧原创-specific Degree Level Expectation

Senate approved a proposed 杏吧原创-specific Degree Level Expectation (DLE) on Experiential Learning, effective Fall 2019. The DLE aims to enhance experiential learning across campus and better position the University in meeting provincial requirements. All academic programs at Ontario universities are currently required to meet six Degree Level Expectations, which are mandated by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance. This 杏吧原创-specific DLE requires that experiential learning is incorporated into all undergraduate and graduate academic programs at 杏吧原创.

杏吧原创 University Experiential Learning Fund

Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Jerry Tomberlin announced that a new $50,000 fund will provide faculty, instructors and learning support staff with financial support to integrate experiential learning components into academic courses or programs at 杏吧原创. The fund will help to increase the number of experiential learning opportunities available to students and build more awareness of experiential learning activities happening across 杏吧原创.

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2018-19 Recipients

• Deborah Conners (Sociology and Anthropology): Developing a new international study course 鈥� SOCI 3210/3220: Working Toward a Violence-free Society in Nepal.
• Melissa Frankel (Philosophy): Developing a new fourth-year seminar on the philosophy of education.
• Julie C. Garlen (Interdisciplinary Studies): Developing two new courses: Experiential Learning in Childhood, and Youth Studies.
• Dominique Marshall (History): Connecting students in the History of Humanitarian Aid course with an Ottawa-based international humanitarian organization.
• Mathew Sorley, Cheryl Harasymchuk and Anne Bowker (Psychology): Developing experiential learning modules that can be integrated into any first-year seminar in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
• Matthew Sorley and Danay Novoa (Psychology): Developing and piloting a series of experiential learning modules for the tutorial sections of Introduction to Psychology course.
• Julia Wallace (Physics): Introducing a new experiential learning component to the third-year Modern Physics course

A Founding Partner of Canada鈥檚 First National Skills-Development Innovation Network

杏吧原创 is one of six Canadian universities that have joined forces to focused on encouraging experimentation and scaling effective approaches to skills development.

FUSION, the Future Skills Innovation Network, is a collaboration of Canadian universities focused on innovative skill development to prepare students for the future economy. The Government of Canada鈥檚 Future Skills Centre is investing $2.5 million to support FUSION鈥檚 network model for an initial two years.

杏吧原创 is joined by five partner institutions: Simon Fraser University, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, Concordia University and Memorial University.

The network鈥檚 pilot projects will focus on a common set of challenges facing universities: integrating more skills development into formal and informal learning; creating more flexible learning formats to better facilitate skills acquisition; and increasing access to, and success within, post-secondary education for underrepresented students, targeting such groups as Indigenous, disabled and racialized students, and women in the STEM fields.

Spotlight on Experiential Learning

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杏吧原创 University Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Committee (CUISIC)

The 杏吧原创 University Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Committee (CUISIC) was formed in Fall 2018 to devise a concrete response to the federal government鈥檚 Truth and Reconciliation Commission and forge stronger relationships with Inuit, First Nation and M茅tis on campus, in the Ottawa region and across the country.

Led by co-chairs Benny Michaud, Kahente Horn-Miller and Jerry Tomberlin, the committee is more than halfway through its mandate and has conducted more than 30 consultations 鈥� on campus and off 鈥� that included more than 370 people.

CUISIC was endorsed by 杏吧原创鈥檚 Board of Governors and Senate, which both passed formal motions showing full support of the committee鈥檚 work.

Supported by Special Projects Officer Theresa Hendricks, the committee is comprised of 33 members, which includes a broad representation of people from across campus and Indigenous communities.

Hiring Indigenous Faculty

In January 2019, 杏吧原创 University and 杏吧原创 University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) issued a joint statement on working in partnership toward the goal of recruiting ten additional Indigenous tenure-track faculty members over the next two years.

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Collaboration and partnership have been integral to 杏吧原创鈥檚 culture and success for many years. Opening our doors to our community is a priority and remains an integral part of our identity. 杏吧原创 actively encourages and facilitates partnerships at all levels, from community engaged learning to joint research initiatives and beyond.

杏吧原创 Remains at the Forefront of Community Engagement with Carnegie Pilot Project

杏吧原创 was among 16 Canadian institutions that were represented at a national conference on community engagement in March 2018.

Held at Simon Fraser University, the conference was the first meeting of the Canadian pilot of the Carnegie Classification on Community Engagement. Open to a select group of Canadian institutions, this comprehensive assessment of university community engagement will highlight 杏吧原创鈥檚 strengths and identify opportunities for further development of its community engagement strategy.

The elective classification is awarded in recognition of a university鈥檚 deep and pervasive commitment to its community.

For the past 13 years, the Carnegie classification has been the leading framework for higher education assessment and community engagement recognition in the United States. The purpose of the pilot is to tailor the Carnegie classification to the Canadian context.

Following a national call for expressions of interest, 杏吧原创 was selected as one of 16 institutions across Canada to participate in the pilot in recognition of our record of community engagement as a university founded by the community for the community.

As a member of the pilot project, 杏吧原创 has the opportunity to shape the new Canadian protocol for Carnegie certification. The focus of certification is the university鈥檚 corporate record of support of community engagement and the development and maintenance of strong, mutual relationships with partners.

Hub for Good

杏吧原创 is expanding and formalizing its community engagement efforts through the creation of a public-facing website and portal called the Hub for Good. The development is led by the Department of University Advancement under the guidance of the Community Engagement Steering Committee. The Hub will serve as a web platform to promote and broker collaboration with the community. It will provide a mechanism to support 杏吧原创鈥檚 existing community engagement activities by offering a variety of supports in a centralized location, clarifying points of contact for different types of initiatives and providing engagement and partnership services. Read more about the Hub:

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Indigenous Initiatives
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Quality Assurance

Quality assurance of university academic programs has been adopted around the world and is widely recognized as a vital component of every viable educational system. Every publicly assisted Ontario university that grants degrees and diplomas is responsible for ensuring the quality of all of its programs of study, including modes of delivering programs and academic and student services affecting the quality of the respective programs under review, whether or not the program is eligible for government funding.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Senate recently approved 杏吧原创鈥檚 updated Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP). The IQAP is an implementation of the Quality Assurance Framework that was developed by the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents. 杏吧原创 follows the Quality Assurance Framework and its own IQAP to provide innovation and improvement of its programs while cultivating a culture of transparency, accountability and continued quality enhancements for student success.

Teaching and Learning Services Initiatives

In collaboration with the Faculties, Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) is supporting student success through the following initiatives.

• Supported by TLS, the Student Success in the Classroom working group will develop recommendations and guidelines as part of a long-term plan to support student engagement and will work closely with academic staff to pilot and evaluate a number of interventions.
• With the goal of improving student engagement and retention, TLS is transforming strategic courses in each Faculty. Last year, 10 courses adopted a blended teaching approach and the instructors formed a Community of Practice around blended teaching. Improvements are also being incorporated into seven additional first-year courses, including chemistry and engineering, which will impact thousands of first-year STEM students. In collaboration with 杏吧原创鈥檚 Centre for Student Academic Support, an online learning skills module has been developed, which can be embedded in any course to help students develop skills related to participating in an online course for the first time.
• TLS supports the University鈥檚 Indigenous initiatives by supporting the development of curricular resources, including the Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundles. There are currently six Bundles available and an additional nine that will be released next year. Produced and delivered by Indigenous experts, this award-winning collaboration provides an avenue to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing into all 杏吧原创 courses.
• A substantial classroom renewal project is underway with Facilities Management and Planning. Over 20 classrooms are being updated, 10 of which will include active learning elements. A student-centred learning space, similar to the Discovery Centre, will be developed in the Herb Grey Lounge (Loeb Building) space.

Dedicated Career Curriculum Support

In collaboration with the Faculties and the Office of the Vice-President (Students and Enrolment), a pilot project was implemented to provide course instructors with dedicated career curriculum support. Career Services hired a Career Curriculum Specialist to collaborate with faculty in the Faculty of Public Affairs to incorporate employability skills into academic curriculum. The role was then further leveraged to work closely with course instructors across all Faculties.

The Career Curriculum Specialist works with students to identify employability skills gained through projects and assignments offered in their courses. The role also works with course instructors to support them in helping students identify transferable skills through course content and implementing career development through experiential learning activities. Next year, this support will be expanded to explore how career-readiness competencies can be incorporated into course learning objectives.

Professional Development for Graduate Students

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA) continued to expand its range of professional development opportunities and resources:

• A series of alumni interviews discussing career advice for graduate students was introduced on the Professional Development website.
• In partnership with Writing Services, FGPA expanded its graduate student writing support. In addition to leading writing support workshops and retreats, a dedicated Writing Support Teaching Assistant offered one-on-one sessions with students working on theses or dissertations.
• Several new workshops were added to Grad Navigate, an online hub of graduate-specific workshops offered across campus. Workshops are available to graduate students in the areas of career planning, professional and teaching skills, research and writing, and wellness.

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Experiential Learning
Indigenous Initiatives
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