Events

1.2.1 Translanguaging as Learning Strategy: Moving Beyond “English-only” YaseenAli, Learning Strategist, Learning Strategist, Intercultural & Community Learning, Centre for Learning Strategy Support (CLSS), Division of Student Life “Translanguaging” refers to multilingual users’ transcendence over the boundaries historically maintained between socially constructed language systems (Otheguy et al., 2015). This dynamic practice can include moving across “named languages” (e.g., French, Japanese, Urdu) and leveraging environmental materials (e.g., writing instruments, assistive technologies, semiotic resources) to express ideas. This session provides findings from a study examining the language frames (i.e., beliefs and attitudes) of 22 graduate students who identify as English as an additional language users [...]

1.3.1 Indigenization of Environmental Science courses: Challenges and Insights from a Pedagogical Perspective Tanzina Mohsin,Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Physical and Environmental, UTSC This session will present an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiative focused on the Indigenization of Environmental Science courses. The integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and perspectives remains significantly underrepresented in Environmental Sciences and related fields. To address this gap, experiential learning elements have been incorporated into climatology courses within the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at UTSC. These courses explore Indigenous Climate Change experiences through an applied pedagogical approach, introducing students to the impacts of climate on [...]

Kathleen Scheaffer, Strategic Initiatives and Liaison Librarian, University of Toronto Mississauga, Paulina Rousseau, Liaison Librarian, University of Toronto Scarborough Faculty, librarians, staff, and students are increasingly expected to understand and integrate emerging technologies within our teaching, learning, and researching activities; however, the rate in which they emerge and evolve does not afford us the time to critically assess their educational, political, social, global, and environmental impacts. In an effort to facilitate and cultivate critical lenses, this community chat will encourage participants to share and explore contemplative pedagogies and practices. Through anti-oppressive and inclusive discourse, this session provides a venue for discussing how contemplative [...]

Alison Thompson, Associate Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Nasim Niknafs, Associate Dean, Research; Associate Professor, Music Education, Faculty of Music Student Members of the Provost’s Working Group on Civil Discourse: Lydia Dillenbeck, Undergraduate Student, Haidy Giratallah, Recent Graduate Student, Hugh Considine, Undergraduate Student, Valentina Bravo, Graduate Student In this session, student members of the Provost’s Working Group on Civil Discourse explore the student experience of classroom discourse including how they perceive risk, power dynamics, and social pressures when participating in discussion-based learning. This conversation will center student experiences and ask: How can we better support students in engaging with difficult [...]

2.1.1 The Social Justice Classroom: Dismantling racism and Destabilizing Power Structures in Curriculum with Students as Partners Leanne De Souza-Kenney, Assistant Professor, Global and Public Health in the Human Biology Program and Health Studies Program, Faculty of Arts & Science, Yuchen Jia, Undergraduate Research Student, Nutritional Science Department, Human Biology Department, Statistical Sciences Department This session explores the transformative potential of anti-racist, inclusive curriculum development using a students as partners (SaP) partnered approach. Rooted in social justice principles, this project highlights how co-creating curriculum with students can dismantle systemic inequities and foster empowered learning environments. By engaging diverse voices, from students [...]

2.2.1 A Just-In-Time, Blended Approach to Prerequisite Review Lisa Zhang, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Mathematical and Computational Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Alice Gao, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science Many upper-year courses have prerequisites, but students often struggle to retain prerequisite knowledge, e.g., due to gaps in time and difficulty transferring knowledge to new contexts. While prerequisite review is a well-established educational practice, we believe that its timing, modality, and level of support help ensure that no one is left behind. Thus, this session describes a teaching strategy used in our third-year machine learning courses [...]

Gurnit Kaur, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michelle Arnot, Professor, Teaching Stream & Associate Chair, Undergraduate Education, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Raveen Christian Joy Rajakumar, Graduate Student, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine Nurturing learning systems that are respectful and welcoming to diverse individuals is a step towards improving the experience of all students. This roundtable discussion will focus on strategies to re-evaluate the undergraduate curriculum with a critical lens towards the incorporation of content that is Equitable, Diverse, Inclusive, acknowledges Indigeneity, and is Accessible (EDIIA). We will share how a curriculum mapping approach examined the undergraduate Pharmacology and Toxicology [...]

2.4.1 Developing Students’ Economics Writing Skills through Scaffolded AI-Assisted Feedback Nazanin Khazra, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Economics, Faculty of Arts & Science, Victoria Sheldon,Faculty Liaison Coordinator, Generative AI Pedagogies, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation This session introduces an innovative assessment method for a Microeconomics theory course (ECO200) that combines economic analysis with reflective writing, supported by critically engaging with AI-assisted feedback. The assessment includes pre-exam preparation, a pre-test assignment with reflection on AI feedback, and an in-person writing exam on real-world economic scenarios. This approach leverages generative AI to provide personalized feedback on students' pre-exam essays, with the aim of [...]

Jessica Dere, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Psychology,Ashmita Mazumder, PhD student, Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student-centered approaches are an integral part of inclusive and equitable pedagogies. At the same time, promoting flexibility, sustained engagement, and student participation alongside considerations of assessment integrity, fairness, and workload is often daunting. Balancing these factors in the context of a Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) course raises unique challenges and opportunities. Without traditional grade incentives, how can we ensure students remain engaged? In this roundtable discussion, we will share insights into how an approach of structured flexibility - including scaffolded assignments, flexible grading structures, and student-driven [...]

3.4.1 The ‘wellness complex’: Studying graduate education in Ontario through a critical disability studies lens Dr. Lori Ross, Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Dr. Savitri Persaud, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough In Canada and internationally, high rates of poor mental health reported among postsecondary students have raised concern; however, research on this topic has primarily centred on undergraduate students. Our study aimed to address this gap through a critical disability-informed examination of graduate student mental health in three Ontario universities. A critical disability studies orientation turns our attention away from the individual [...]

3.2.1 Our Journey to "Noor's Journey": Documenting our multi-year process of flourishing while creating a learning game focused on diversity, resiliency, and empowerment Kosha    Bramesfeld, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, Denise Ysabel Silva, Project Manager, Authentic Learning Lab, Master of Social Work Student (Combined Degree HBSc & MSW), Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work Learning games provide an effective tool for teaching about complex social issues (Bramesfeld & Good, 2016). The creation of these games can also create high-impact experiential learning opportunities for students across a range of disciplines (Burling et al., 2020). But engaging students in [...]