(Re)Considering the Scholarship of Learning: Inviting the Elephant in the Room to Tea

This essay argues that the SoT(L) field has mistakenly equated learning solely to teaching and the teaching classroom, and has systematically ignored the other moments and opportunities within higher education institutes where learning and scholarly learning occurs—particularly within academic support and development programming. Therefore, we endeavour to discuss what we see as the elephant in the SoT(L) living room—learning, scholarly learning, and the Scholarship of Learning—and examine the ways in which learning and the Scholarship of Learning can be brought back into the SoT(L) discussion through an examination of academic support and development programming. Through the creation of a new theoretical and diagrammatic SoTL framework, this essay presents a more integrated, enhanced, and expanded understanding of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and does so to further dialogue and to recognize the Scholarship of Learning as a strong and important contribution to the SoTL literature

Students take the wheel! How a private blog enabled undergraduate researchers to guide a large project.

There is growing advocacy for including the student voice in educational research and initiatives. Students involved in such projects are often transformed through the process, finishing their participation with new insights and awareness of the curriculum they experience. One way to document the students’ experience and activity is through the use of private blogging software. In 2015, a large discrete learning outcomes project was completed with the help of three undergraduate co-op students. The aim of this project was to map the learning outcomes of eight courses into a learning outcomes framework using real assessments from the courses. The logistics of the project required excellent communication, task delegation, and time management of the students. The students used private online blogging software to document their progress on the project. Through a qualitative secondary data analysis, we analyzed the blogs and identified a number of emergent themes that suggest how the blogging software may have contributed to the students’ success in the project. In this presentation, we will share the main findings of our secondary analysis of the students’ use of the blogging platform. Although the sample of students is small, the dataset itself consists of over 100 blog posts. Our intention was to conduct an in-depth qualitative analysis of the use of the blog for a complex project, to explore how blogs could be used by students to work as a productive team. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and reflect on student engagement opportunities within their practice

Struggling first-year science students – who’s gonna fix them?

Research examining the first-year transition experience demonstrates that students struggle in finding a balance between academic, social and personal demands on their time (McInnis, 2001). This results in a misperception of the amount of work and time required to accomplish academic tasks (Watson et al., 2002). Most institutions attempt to ease this transition by offering a variety of academic and non-academic supplemental programs and services. When it comes to improving academic skills, another approach that is commonly used is to intentionally integrate these skills into the first-year curriculum. However, these efforts still occur during the period when students are struggling to adapt to their new social and physical environments, and to cope with the psychological and cognitive demands of higher education. Since there is limited time available in the university semester, a third approach to easing the first-year academic transition is to allow for more practice time between the introduction and the use of a particular academic skill. We will present our SPOT (Science Portal for Ontario Teachers) online module as an example of this third approach to facilitate the introduction of university-level academic skills within the high school curriculum. In this session, participants will identify key skill areas for development among first year students. This will provide the basis for the exploration of mechanisms through which university faculty and staff can work together with high school instructors to communicate the post-secondary academic skill expectations of students prior to their entering university. As a group, we will brainstorm “How can we introduce university-level academic skills into the high school setting?” and “Who is responsible?” McInnis, C. (2001). Researching the first year experience: Where to from here? Higher Education Research and Development, 20(2), 105-114. Watson, G., Johnson, G., & Billett, S. (2002). Ready or not? Results of an orientation week survey of education students. Paper presented at 6th Pacific Rim Conference on First Year in Higher Education, Christchurch NZ, July

The Development of Technology-supported Approaches to the LO Process for Accredited Engineering Programs

Tracking graduate outcomes is a new requirement for engineering education in Canada.  Working closely with curriculum developers and educational technologists, the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph has shown it is possible to put in place an effective process.  The process requires engaged participants, an open-mindedness and integrated technologies to collect and report the data.  Combining people, process and technology provides a way for data analysis to satisfy accreditation requirements and internal quality education metrics.  This paper describes the approach taken and identifies strengths, challenges, and opportunities to be successful, and support the ultimate goal of curriculum improvement

Engaging Student Stakeholders in Developing a Learning Outcomes Assessment Framework

Learning outcomes assessment and alignment contribute to the transparency, quality, and progression of a program. We set forth a learning outcomes framework that aligns learning outcomes at the course, major, program, and university levels. Senior undergraduate students were recruited to analyze assessments from eight core courses required for Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) majors at the University of Guelph. This analysis was conducted to achieve two goals: (a) to develop tools to assess learning outcomes in the MCB Department, and (b) to incorporate insights shared by the student perspective. Almost 1,600 Individual questions and their attributes were coded, compiled, and linked into the learning outcomes framework. The students then connected the questions to course concepts and assigned a cognitive domain indicated by Bloom’s Taxonomy level. After training and calibration, two undergraduate students evaluated all questions in the eight core courses with an average of 93.2% ± 1.6% (n=8) agreement between evaluators. These data were used to generate assessment profiles for individual courses and as an aggregate to provide insights regarding the program. This work makes constructive use the learning outcomes framework and illustrates the importance of leveraging undergraduate student perspectives in discussions of learning outcomes in higher education

(Re)Considering the Scholarship of Learning: Inviting the Elephant in the Room to Tea

This essay argues that the SoT(L) field has mistakenly equated learning solely to teaching and the teaching classroom, and has systematically ignored the other moments and opportunities within higher education institutes where learning and scholarly learning occurs—particularly within academic support and development programming. Therefore, we endeavour to discuss what we see as the elephant in the SoT(L) living room—learning, scholarly learning, and the Scholarship of Learning—and examine the ways in which learning and the Scholarship of Learning can be brought back into the SoT(L) discussion through an examination of academic support and development programming. Through the creation of a new theoretical and diagrammatic SoTL framework, this essay presents a more integrated, enhanced, and expanded understanding of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and does so to further dialogue and to recognize the Scholarship of Learning as a strong and important contribution to the SoTL literature

The Scholarship of Learning: The Elephant in the Room

Arguing for the Scholarship of Learning, this session will outline a framework of learning that is nonremedial, non-counseling based, and not attached to the power dynamics of grading; rather, this research discusses the learning that students experience through academic support programming, and examines how the subsequent learner transformations affect and inform the teaching that occurs in formal classroom settings. The presentation objectives are as follows: 1. to present a theory of learning that occurs in informal academic settings and discuss related experiences and research 2. to (re)conceptualize a new approach to the learning component of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 3. to expand and enhance current definitions and understandings of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 4. to learn from participants\u27 experiences in this area We conclude with a discussion of future research possibilities, and examine how these findings can (re)define and (re)inform teaching and curriculum design and delivery

Using existing assessments to track longitudinal development of students’ problem solving skills

Do we really know how our students develop transferrable skills? Do they? Learning outcomes assessment (LOA) data are most commonly collected via national surveys, alumni surveys / focus groups, and locally developed surveys (MacFarlane & Brumwell, 2016; Williams, 2014). While these methods collect important affective information about students and alumni, they are not well-suited to measure students’ actual achievement and are often disconnected from the classroom where student skills are developed (Campbell & Cabrera, 2011; Gordon, Ludlum, & Hoey, 2008; Porter, 2011, 2013). Detailed LOA data describing students’ actual skills and perceived skills are needed to facilitate targeted improvements to courses and programs and enhance the LOA initiative (Klemenčič & Chirikov, 2015). In this session, we present “The Framework”: a strategy that coordinates three essential perspectives of LOA (intention, achievement, and perception) in the evaluation of a program. Focussing on problem solving for its pilot use, The Framework uses a novel problem solving profile tool to characterize the problem solving challenge of assignments, a program-level developmental rubric for problem solving, and a student survey to collect students’ perceptions of their own problem solving development. To the best of our knowledge, The Framework is original and has not been established elsewhere. Using pilot data from the 2018-2019 academic year, we invite you to explore how The Framework generates both course and program data educators were previously unable to access and how these data can change the questions we ask about our courses/programs and shift our conceptualizations of curriculum mapping. The principles of The Framework are transferrable to any undergraduate context

Using a Project Blog to Promote Student Learning and Reflection

Research on the use of blogs in higher education suggests that students who blog as part of a course requirement demonstrate increased reflection, heightened feelings of connection, and increased course-related knowledge. Blogging provides a promising medium for students to engage in reflection on their participation in a cooperative education work term. Blogging can help guide a project by providing an encouraging place for team members to communicate clearly, document their work and other resources, and brainstorm ideas. In this paper, we describe a qualitative analysis of blog posts written by three students during a co-op placement. The students used the blog extensively and with multiple purposes: to reflect, to communicate, to brainstorm ideas, to evaluate literature, and to document team creations. We discuss the characteristics of the project and blog that may have contributed to its extensive use and provide recommendations for individuals interested in implementing a blog in similar projects.Selon la recherche, les étudiants en enseignement supérieur utilisant un blogue pour satisfaire aux exigences des cours montrent un niveau élevé de réflexion, de sentiment d’appartenance et de connaissances liées au cours. Le blogage fournit aux étudiants un médium prometteur pour s’engager dans la réflexion durant un stage coopératif. Le blogue peut guider un groupe en encourageant une communication claire, une documentation des ressources et un libre partage des idées. Dans ce document, nous décrivons une analyse qualitative des articles de blogue de trois étudiants en stage. Les étudiants ont largement utilisé le blogue : pour communiquer, pour faire des « remue-méninges, » pour évaluer la littérature et pour documenter des créations communes. Nous discutons les caractéristiques du projet qui pourraient avoir eu un impact sur l’utilisation répandue du blogue, avant de proposer des conseils à ceux qui s’intéressent à la mise en œuvre du blogage dans de tels projets

Intention and Perception: Designing questions for online assessments.

During the session participants will be guided through a process to develop and evaluate assessment components that target higher order cognitive skills. Building on this base, participants will engage in a process of creating new questions that align with the learning outcomes (LO) for a course. As a group, we will discuss online quizzes and how we can embrace their unique characteristics while designing questions. Itinerary: I. Relationship between LO and assessment and its significance Activity 1: Recognizing misalignment. II. Question alignment Progress from creation to reflection to revision III. The online perspective Discussion: Characteristics of an online quiz Transitioning current assessments to the online setting Embracing these traits in question design Activity 2: Create a question that aligns with a given CLO, reflect and revise. Discuss