3.4 Tuning In Sessions

3.4.1 Competency-based learning and radical student agency in first year calculus courses
Micheal Pawliuk, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Mathematical and Computational Sciences, UTM
Eric Hart, Sessional Instructor, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, UTSC
Janelle Resch (co-author), Sessional Instructor, Mathematical and Computational Sciences, UTM

Finding the Frequency: Clarity, Purpose, and What Matters Most

If test scores are the primary “signal” students use to gauge their progress in a first-year large first-year math course at U of T, what happens when we deliberately amplify that signal by allowing students to retake assessments until they demonstrate competency, and by making expectations explicit and iterative? In this presentation, we examine a radical redesign of MAT135 Calculus 1 (offered in the second term) that pairs repeated test-taking with a dynamic, student-responsive classroom model, and we present evidence on how students navigated this structure and what it reveals about learning, pacing, and course design.

We have implemented two versions of a competency-based (sometimes called "mastery-based") learning model across two campuses, which use radical approaches to both in-class learning and iterative assessment. Class time is dynamic, and students choose on a daily basis what they want to learn, and in what form (lectures, group work, problem solving). Tests can be taken multiple times until a prescribed level of expertise is achieved.

Our aim was to increase student agency and confidence, while providing clearer, more transparent expectations for success.

We will present both quantitative and qualitative evidence of how students experienced and navigated these courses, and how those findings inform our future course design. In particular, we draw conclusions consistent with the neuroscience of learning: that test performance decays over time. We also conclude that the large quantity of material in the courses makes it unrealistic for most students to learn in a single term.

Practice Track

3.4.2 Cultivating Relational Competence: Teaching Behaviour Change Through Trauma Informed Pedagogy in Graduate Dietetics Training
Maria Ricupero, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Nutrition and Dietetics, DLSPH
Eric Ng, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Nutrition and Dietetics, DLSPH

Finding the Frequency: Clarity, Purpose, and What Matters Most

Master’s level dietetic students are expected to navigate complex clinical guidelines learned in classrooms, ethics of health professional practice, and practicum experiences with real clients under the supervision of dietitian preceptors in health care settings — these demands can be overwhelming and often contribute to imposter syndrome during clinical encounters.

Despite some undergraduate exposure to behaviour-change counselling, many graduate students continue to report difficulty navigating emotionally charged client interactions that extend beyond technical clinical nutrition interventions.

This 30-minute presentation describes how an identified curricular gap in a graduate course focused on behavioural counselling led to the integration of a trauma informed practice (TIP) framework and a complementary trauma informed pedagogical approach. The course now models core TIP principles—safety, predictability, trust, and relational connection—while explicitly teaching students how these principles inform effective behaviour counselling practice. By “teaching through doing,” students both experience and learn how to apply trauma informed approaches that they will later use in clinical settings. This session highlights TIP as an essential framework that benefits learners, clients, and health care organizations alike.

Practice Track