Relationship: A Key Component of Indigenous Student Success

The current reality faced by Indigenous students is the focus of discussion from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary. Across the country, education for First Nation, Inuit, and Métis people is a different experience. Numerous factors contribute to this reality, many of which are within the control of education authorities and classroom personnel. The call to address systemic…

Indigenization and Assessment – Rethinking Traditional Practice

“Education got us into this mess, education will get us out of it.” – Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, December 2015 Higher education is embarking on a journey of Indigenization, decolonization and reconciliation (IDR). Location will impact understanding of how to accomplish IDR and who will be involved in actualizing…

USask spaces that flex with the type of learning

Many USask classrooms have been designed with one thing in mind – successful transmission of information from the faculty member to the students.  Even as technologies changed over time, that model did not – we just added screens, data projectors for our slideshows, and cameras and microphones to capture a lecture. Current theories of learning…

Imagining Reconciliation

The following was created as an introduction to a panel discussion about how to build pathways toward reconciliation. What are the qualities that help people along this journey for a more inclusive society? As a Manager at the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, I have been helping the University move forward in building…

Land Acknowledgements – A Reflection 5-years After the TRC Report

By Stryker Calvez and Rose Roberts Five years after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report, Land Acknowledgements are still gaining strength as an important component of the University landscape. In fact, it is more common to notice when this statement has been missed at an event, meeting or in a course than when it is present. More often than not we…

Graduates with perspectives and approaches the world needs

We often talk about the skills our graduates will need for success in their work and within our communities. As we aspire to be the university the world needs, we can’t overlook how essential perspective taking and cross-cultural competence are in our increasingly diverse world.  In this place, we have a collective commitment to improve…

Taking a Fresh Approach to the Course Design Institute

[social_share/] [social-bio] For more than a decade, the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) has offered the Course Design Institute (CDI). Throughout the CDI, facilitators from the GMCTL work with instructors on developing or redeveloping a course. We go through learning about your students, writing learning outcomes, choosing teaching strategies, developing assessments, and…