School of Continuing Education Works

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/34

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    Introduction to sustainability
    (2023) Munro, Tai; Spies, McKenzie; Pilkington, Kalen
    Through the use of a variety of media, Introduction to Sustainability provides a broad overview of the complexity of sustainability through the lens of systems thinking. After a brief look at the modern history of sustainability, it introduces systems thinking and the process of systems mapping. It then moves through the domains of sustainability including environment, economics, social systems, and culture. The latter half of the text applies the learnings from the beginning to specific sustainability challenges and topics such as climate change, fashion, and circular economy. Throughout the book there are links to other resources in order to diversify the voices and expertise provided within the context of the text. In addition, there are reflective prompts and activities that can be used within the context of each chapter.
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    Using self-assessment to extend sustainability competency development
    (2022) Munro, Tai; King, Martina
    One of the key benefits of developing sustainability competencies is that they enable students to pursue future work and study opportunities within sustainability despite diverse fields and challenges. However, if students do not also develop their ability to self-assess their own strengths and weaknesses, we risk creating a situation where students are unable to respond to new situations and evolving challenges. Self-assessment is key to enabling individuals to identify current and future needs for education and professional development once they leave the formal education system. Self-assessments are the most often used tool to assess competency development (Redman, Wiek, & Barth, 2021). This is a subject of criticism as opponents argue that students are not skilled in self-assessment. However, Boud and Falchikov (2007) argue that self-assessment is vital to supporting students in becoming life-long learners. Thus, developing self-assessment skills is a necessary complementary competency that we need to support students in developing. In this session, we’ll look at research from a community engaged learning course where students were asked not just to self-assess but to also reflect on how accurate their own self-assessments were and identify areas for future growth and opportunity. Then we’ll discuss and demonstrate how to incorporate similar opportunities to complement key sustainability competency development.
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    Building capacity and awareness for the UN Sustainable Development Goals through project-based and community-engaged pedagogies
    (2022) Munro, Tai; King, Martina
    Purpose - The key sustainability competencies are fundamental to sustainability transformations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of project-based and community-engaged pedagogies in supporting student development of all key sustainability competencies. Additionally, the study examines whether the UN SDGs provide an appropriate framework to support engagement with the breadth of sustainability topics and increase awareness and support of the goals within the community. Design - This case study triangulates scaled self-assessment, performance observation, and regular course work in an undergraduate interdisciplinary sustainability course to gain insights into how all key sustainability competencies can be developed through recommended pedagogies. Findings - Project-based and community-engaged pedagogies are supportive of key sustainability competencies development. The act of engaging with an interdisciplinary group towards achieving a common goal created effective learning opportunities for students. However, the project-based and community-engaged pedagogies cannot be completely separated from the context of the course. The use of the SDGs to guide community partner participation and project development was effective in increasing awareness of the goals among students and community partners. Implications - These findings support the use of project-based and community-engaged pedagogies to facilitate student development of key sustainability competencies. Originality - This study demonstrates that using the SDGs to guide community partner participation and project development is effective both in facilitating a wide range of projects from the identified areas of sustainability: environment, economic, social, and cultural, and in increasing awareness of the goals among students and community organizations.
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    Remote teaching, a brave new world, and an amber restorative
    (2021) McLean, Terence
    Now, I certainly do not want to sound glib in these troublesome times, but Lord love a duck. Thanks, COVID-19. Right after eschewing my inner Luddite while scrambling to remotely teach my English as an Additional Language (EAL) 2020 winter term courses, I found myself fretting as I made the foray into more remote teaching in the spring/summer/fall terms. If I may borrow from the sentiments of the inimitable PG Wodehouse: if not completely disgruntled, I was certainly far from gruntled.
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    Developing communicative cultural competencies with internationally educated nurses in a Canadian English for Specific Purposes course
    (2022) Yeung, May; Mah, Eaman
    This project was the result of the Teaching Impact Fund, an internal institutional grant, and a collaboration within the university’s School of Continuing Education between the Department of Academic and Language Preparation and the Professional Health Education Unit. The participants were 2 cohorts of internationally trained nurses from India and the Philippines enrolled in the Gerontology and Hospice Palliative (GHP) care program during the intensive 7-week spring and summer terms. This study measured the communicative cultural competencies (CCC) of internationally educated students (IENs) with a pre-survey. This was followed by an educational intervention with culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices. Near the end of the course, a post-survey was administered, and the data indicated a rise of CCC among IENs in both cohorts. This report identifies the study components in depth and offers resources to implement CRT practices in non-health courses.