Inclusivity
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Mental Illness, Disability, and the Inclusive Classroom
[social_share/] [social-bio] By Adam Pottle, Graduate Fellow In its Campus Climate survey report, which was released in November 2014, the University of Saskatchewan identified a number of areas it needs to improve in terms of making students feel safe and comfortable. The survey summary, which can be found at http://www.usask.ca/ipa/documents/Assessment/Surveys/2014_campusclimatesurvey_summaryreport.pdf, reports that [s]ome students in minority groups had less positive experiences when compared to their counterparts, especially some Aboriginal students, other visible minority students, sexual minority students, and some students with a disability. On average, those indicating a mental health condition generally had fewer positive experiences than all other students. (4) The survey goes on to state that “57% of…
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Where Are You From?
[social_share/] [social-bio] By Colleen Charles Academically speaking, when you first meet a professional on campus, you state your name, job title and credentials accordingly. However, for First Nations people, and I speak for myself as a Woodland Cree, Treaty Six Territory, from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, La Ronge, Saskatchewan, I have been raised to ask the question, “Where are you from?” when being introduced to new people. This is to find out if you have relations to the individual and their family. Also, I used this technique in a presentation that I did for the GSR 989 Philosophy and Practice of University Teaching. According to Kim West, Educational…
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Visual Note Taking As A New Way of Listening
[social_share/] [social-bio] Text notes are not the best method of note taking for many students. Some do better simply listening and taking it in, while others thrive on visual representations of what is being said. I just watched Giulia Forsythe at Brock University describe her visual note taking. The video is about 4 minutes long and brings together the why and the how of this technique. It makes great sense from a “how the brain learns” perspective, and can be viewed below. After watching the video I did a little digging and came upon this resource that is indeed comprehensive if you want to learn more—a LOT more about visual note-taking using…
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Observations From a Returned Prairie Girl
By Carolyn Hoessler This month marks a full year since arriving on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. After growing up in the Red River Valley area of Manitoba and spending over a decade in Ontario, I was back to the Prairies. In arriving here, I came to a land familiar in landscape but distinct in the people and places. What was different and why does it matter to a University? The land around us shapes who we are if we stay still long enough to listen to what the seasons can teach us. This is what I have noticed. Inspired by the winters, our buildings are connected. Even…
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Signal or Noise: what do I really want to assess?
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler “The essential requirements of a course/program are the knowledge and skills which must be acquired or demonstrated in order for a student to successfully meet the learning objectives of the course/program.” (University of Saskatchewan policy) When I was in undergrad, I thought I was a good student. I would take notes during classes, remember the material, tutor my classmates, complete assignments, and so on. Then would come the final exam including the multiple-choice section with its numbered bubble sheet. I could read, circle the right answer, even write a rationale, but I could not fill in the correct bubble – I actually could not…
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Schooling the World
[social-bio] What is the purpose of modern education? What do colleges, universities, and schools prepare the children of the world to learn how to do? In his blog, 2 cents worth: Teaching & learning in the new information landscape, David Warlick, a self-proclaimed “35-year vagabond educator,” both asks and responds to the following question in his post entitled, “What is the purpose of education.” He suggests that: “The purpose of education is to appropriately prepare our children for their future.” There are some implied, but essential questions in that answer: What will their future hold? What will they need to know? What are appropriate method, materials, environment, activity? Who are…