THE GWENNA MOSS CENTRE
FOR TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
JANUARY 2014, Volume 12, No. 2
Bridges
Reflecting the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning at the University of Saskatchewan
On Resilience, Perseverance
and Grit
By Jim Greer, Director, ULC
A colleague of mine once pronounced ‘Students need to sit in
their desks and suffer’. My immediate reaction to that comment
was quite negative - teaching should not be inflicting torture,
learning ought to be elating. But the point, though perhaps
not perfectly articulated, was intended to mean that learning
ought not be effortless. Deeper learning is closely correlated
with productive effort on the part of the learner – learning
relies on perseverance and dedication. In order to have real
value, a university degree must indeed be earned. learning experience and they often use failure as a motivator
to hone skills, to practice more, and to improve. Those who
perceive failure as defeat or as a permanent, impermeable
barrier seem to show less grit. John Maxwell’s book, Failing
Forward, should perhaps be a required read for our students.
But can attitudes toward failure and grit be taught to university
students, or is it too late by then?
Instructors erect barriers of rigor for our students; standards
of quality that students must surmount. Sometimes the
hurdles are arbitrary; sometimes they’re based upon
traditions of disciplines; and many correspond to rites
of passage. Competition, normative assessment, quality
assurance of learning outcomes all provide means to sort the
ambitious from the lazy, the gifted from the mediocre, and
those who persevere from those who lose heart.
The Provost’s Prize for Innovative Practice in Collaborative Teaching
and Learning is a prize of $5000 awarded to a team of faculty involved
in the delivery of a successful and innovative collaborative teaching
and learning initiative. Dr.s Michael Bradley and Gap Soo Chang from
the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and Ramaswami
Sammynaiken of the Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre (SSSC)
and Biochemistry were awarded the 2013 Provost’s Prize for their
project called “Innovative Laboratory for Engineering Physicists and
Physicists in the 21st Century.” The project put together two different
upper year instructional approaches in one upper year course, Physics
404, so that students would have an opportunity to apply their technical skills to a real-world consultative problem.
In this issue of Bridges we spend some time dwelling on
the concepts of resilience, perseverance and grit. Angela
Duckworth’s recent Ted talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_
lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html)
speaks to her research on grit and self-control as the most
important success indicators for learners. There also seems to
be some odd relationship between adversity and grit – there
are those who may have experienced too much adversity and
those who have experienced too little for grit to emerge. Paul
Tough’s recent bestseller, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity,
and Hidden Power of Character, speaks to this issue. There is also an interesting relationship between grit and
failure. Those with more grit tend to view failure as a positive
2013 Provost’s Prize and Project Grant Winners
The Provost’s Project Grant for Innovative Practice in Collaborative
Teaching and Learning is a $10,000 project grant awarded to a team
of faculty involved in the development and implementation of a new
innovation in collaborative teaching and learning.The 2013 Provost’s
Project Grant was awarded to an interprofessional team, consisting of
Dr. Jill Bally, Dr. Shelley Spurr, Dr. Lorna Butler, Dr. Mary Ellen Andrews
and Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot (College of Nursing) and Dr. Alyssa Hayes
(College of Dentistry). The project, called “Northern Innovative Teaching and Learning Practice in Pediatric Nursing Education: Caring
For Kids Where They Live,” will engage northern Aboriginal nursing
students in supporting oral health care for northern children.
usask.ca/gmcte
JANUARY 2014
VOL. 12 NO. 2
About the GMCTE...
The Gwenna Moss Centre for
Teaching Effectiveness
University of Saskatchewan
Room 50 Murray Building
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4
1IPOFtt
'BYtt
Web site: www.usask.ca/gmcte
Bridges is distributed to every teacher
at the University of Saskatchewan and
to all teaching centres in Canada, and
some beyond. It is also available on
our web site.
Please consider submitting an article or
opinion piece to Bridges. Your contribution
will reach a wide local, national, and
international audience. Contact any
one of the following people; we’d be
delighted to hear from you:
Jim Greer
Director, ULC and GMCTE
1IPOFtt
jim.greer@usask.ca
The staff at the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness welcomes everyone at the University
of Saskatchewan to visit the Centre and take advantage
of our large selection of professional development
events, courses, resources, and services.
Nancy Turner
Program Director
1IPOFtt
Christine Anderson Obach
Managing Editor (Bridges)
1IPOFtt
christine.anderson@usask.ca
Sharilyn Lee
Assistant GMCTE
1IPOFtt
sharilyn.lee@usask.ca
Views expressed in Bridges are those
of the individual authors and are
not necessarily those of the staff
at the GMCTE.
ISSN 1703-1222
usask.ca/gmcte
Please visit our website to find
out more about our services
and resources for new faculty,
experienced faculty, sessional
lecturers, and graduate
students who teach.
2
Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2
Gritty Ph.D.:
Stories of Making It Through
By Wenona Partridge and Carolyn Hoessler, GMCTE
As a process that pushes students to
conform to a set of high standards and
show that they can retain their ability
to think independently, the doctorate is
challenging yet rewarding for those who
make it through. Lee Shulman thinks,
“[the Doctorate] is both a paragon of
innovation and a defender of the faith.
... both transformation and impediment.”
Viewing the doctorate in this way raises
the question what does it take for a
graduate student to make it through the
process?
“[The Doctorate] is both a
paragon of innovation and a
defender of the faith. ... both
transformation and impediment.”
4IVMNBOYJJOUIFGPSFXPSE
of Walker et al.’s book).
Angela Duckworth and her colleagues
highlight the importance of grit as a
potential quality in making it through.
Grit, claims Duckworth, is “perseverance
and passion for long-term goals. Grit
entails working strenuously toward
challenges, maintaining effort and
interest over years despite failure,
adversity, and plateaus in progress…
the gritty individual stays the course.”
(Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly,
QQ
5IFJSNFBTVSFNFOU
of grit predicted several instances of
educational attainment and retention,
although not specifically doctoral
education. (see The Duckworth Lab
website for full listing of studies https://
sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth).
“Grit entails working strenuously
toward challenges”
%VDLXPSUIFUBMQ
To explore the potential role grit may
have in the process of completing a
doctorate, we asked people who have
completed their doctorates, as well as
www.usask.ca/gmcte
3
current Ph.D. students. The stories they
shared revealed the importance both of
a flexible, rather than rigid, commitment
to a goal, and of access to a supportive
community in making it through the
process.
SUSTENANCE IN
COMMUNITY
We found the importance of community
to making it through the Ph.D. came up
for all of the Ph.D.’s and Ph.D. students we
talked to with a community that included
their peers, family, supervisors, and even
“my very patient dog” (Jamie, Year 4). Also
“The opportunity to become a research
assistant on projects throughout my
program allowed me to gain relevant
skills in practical settings, without
straying from my academic goals.” (Lucas,
5th year)
program than the character of the
intellectual community created by its
teachers and students” (Shulman XI).
Similarly, Barbara E. Lovitts’s research
addresses the role of peers, academic
community and program structure
on doctoral students’ experience and
successes. (see the work of Barbara E.
Lovitts, and other chapters in Wulff, D. H.,
Austin, A. E. & Associates (Eds.). (2004).
Paths to the professoriate: Strategies for
enriching the preparation of future faculty.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.)
We found that the idea of ‘community’
was not, however, limited to that of
an intellectual community. “I was
sustained by the commitment of others
to my completion of the degree. My
husband, my mother, my colleagues at
work all had a stake in me completing
the PhD because they had all made
accommodations to help me have the
time I needed to write. Their commitment
John (completed) said “I was sustained
spurred me on, both out of a desire to
through my Ph.D. by: (a) sheer
achieve my goals with their help, but
determination to complete, (b) tenacity
also a desire not to disappoint,” said Jane
and hard-work, (c) support, care, and
(completed) about what helped her make
love from my good friends and family,
it through. What constitutes a community
(d) financial support from SSRC and the
included not only the personal and
faculty…(e) a strong graduate community intellectual, but even the population
with whom I was able to talk, listen, share studied, in the case of Jamie (year 4),
ideas, read papers, and commiserate,
who said she is sustained by “a belief that
and (f ) strong supervisory support in the my work will make a difference for the
latter two years of the degree.”
population I am investigating.”
“My peers, my fellow graduate
students. Without doubt they have
provided the biggest sustenance.
I have also been fortunate to work
with two supervisors who consider
part of their role is to mentor me.”
(Elizabeth, Year 3)
EVOLVING GOALS
Many of those who shared stories with
us described long-term goals related
to faculty positions, fields of study and
the initial interests that inspired their
work, including Lucas (5th year) whose
“goals for the PhD were to further my
research skills… and become more
knowledgeable about my field of
research.”
These current and completed doctoral
students’ statements echo the sentiments
The idea that focusing on one’s interest
of Lee Shulman, for whom “nothing is
more critical to the quality of a doctoral and long-term goals helped students
make it through came up in many of the
stories we gathered. Natalie (completed),
for example, said, “I think the job market
has changed a lot for PhDs over the last
decade in particular, and my advice would
be to find a way to focus on what you are
passionate about, whether this be teaching,
research, or service, or a combination of all.”
Clarity about a focus on teaching also
occurred for Natalie (completed) “I think
I gained more confidence about who I
am, and what I believe as I gained more
experience as an academic. Now I don’t
apologize for being passionate about
teaching.
Their Ph.D. journeys suggest a
responsiveness to circumstances and
experience that may involve shifting
long-term goals, and a reliance on
community for sustenance that, perhaps,
goes beyond Duckworth’s definition of
‘grit’
The goals of some stayed consistently
on faculty positions or became clearer
as was the case for John (completed),
who said “My goals did not change over
time, however, what did change was my
interest in becoming a professor: at the
beginning, I wasn’t sure whether this
was what I wanted. Now I do.” Similarly,
Marie’s (post-comps) passion has survived
substantial detours:“Originally, I wanted
to do a PhD when I was in my 20s, but
my life course took another direction and
raising a family was my preoccupation.
When life took another turn in my 30s,
and my children were older, I was able to
return to my original goal by returning to
grad school, completing my masters, and
enrolling in a doctorate.”
These shifts in career goals reflects the
four career paths identified by Donald H.
Wulff, Ann E. Austin, Jody D. Nyquist and
Jo Sprague (2004) in their longitudinal
qualitative study of graduate students,
specifically holding onto the goal of
tenure-track faculty position, becoming
flexible, seeking a teaching focus, or
finding work outside academia (or,
perhaps we might suggest, outside
faculty positions within academia).
REFERENCES
For others, their goals shifted throughout
their studies and became more open:
“My goals for the PhD were to finish
and find an academic position in my
discipline. As I near completion in
2014, I’m open now to all types of work
environments whether they be with the
public, private, or not-for-profit sectors.”
(Doris, in progress, post-comps)
Still other shifted their focus away from
the original goal of a faculty career,
such as for Jane (completed) who
shared “Originally, I thought I might be
interested in a full-fledged faculty role…
As time passed, I realized pursuing a
faculty role meant, among other things,
being willing to move … I got married
and had two children, the prospect of
moving became less appealing and less
practical for me. My goal for the PhD then
became clearly focused on roles in the
field rather than strictly in academia. I’m
entirely happy with where this shift has
taken me, working largely in the applied
setting and fitting the scholarly in …
I think I’ve found better balance and
improved reward as a result.”
The nature of immediate Ph.D. tasks
further shifted the focus for Elizabeth
(currently in the middle of comps) who
said, “When I began the PhD program,
my goals were centred toward simply
being able to stay the course, complete
readings, assignments and other taskfocused activities and complete the
program. I think I now am more focused
on my development and how I can
bring pieces together to support my
development.”
The current Ph.D. students shared a
purposefulness in how they worked
to meet their goals, including “Making
time to get my head back into my topic
seems to re-energize my commitment
to finishing the program.” (Jamie, Year 4),
and “Having a work-life balance has been
essential to sticking with my doctoral
studies. Manageable and doable writing
goals has also helped me to regain
my momentum during periods where
dissertation writing seems emotionally
and physically painful.” (Doris, in progress,
post-comps). In addition, Marie (in
progress post-comps) talked about
“Sustaining the social component is more
challenging after coursework, but staying
involved in committees, teaching, and
making deliberate attempts to sustain
social connections with other PhD
students has helped me to create a PhD
life that mirrors the faculty life I aspire to.”
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews,
M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit:
Perseverence and passion for long-term
goals. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychologyo
Lovitts, B. E. (2004). Research on the
structure and process of graduate
education. In D. H. Wulff, A. E. Austin,
& Associates (Eds.), Paths to the
professoriate: Strategies for enriching the
preparation of future faculty (pp. 115-136).
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
4IVMNBO-4
'PSFXPSE*O(&
Walker, C. M. Golde, L. Jones, A. Conklin
Bueschel, & P. Hutchings (Eds.), The
formation of scholars: Rethinking doctoral
education for the twenty-first century (pp.
ix-xiii). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wulff, D. H., Austin, A. E., Nyquist, J. D., &
Sprague, J. (2004). The development of
graduate students as teaching scholars: A
four-year longitudinal study. In D. H. Wulff,
A. E. Austin, & Associates (Eds.), Paths to
the professoriate: Strategies for enriching
the preparation of future faculty (pp. 4673). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
BOOKS MENTIONED:
Walker, G. E., Golde, C. M., Jones, L.,
Conklin Bueschel, A., & Hutchings P.
&ET
The formation of scholars:
Rethinking doctoral education for the
twenty-first century. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Wulff, D. H., Austin, A. E. & Associates
(Eds.). (2004). Paths to the professoriate:
Strategies for enriching the preparation of
future faculty. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
4
Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2
“What works well here?”
A question of curriculum
renewal (and wellbeing)
In our work supporting curriculum
renewal and innovation, my colleagues
Sheryl Mills, Carolyn Hoessler, and I frame
questions from a core belief we hold. We
believe there is overwhelming strength in
current curricula of University of Saskatchewan undergraduate and graduate
programs. We are grateful for the opportunity to see, in our day-to-day work at
the University of Saskatchewan, a commitment to teaching, to student learning,
to continuous renewal of course curriculum. In part, we get to see this because it
is largely what we ask about.
We ask about what it is that works; we ask
why it works so well.
Inquiry Commons “site at: http://
appreciativeinquiry.case.edu.
How does a curriculum process benefit from analyzing what works?
It’s practical to focus on what works. It
helps us to see how we’ve done this
before. When we understand what works
well for us and why it works as it does,
we are analyzing and gathering evidence
of our successes. If our success can be
understood--deeply understood--then
the principles and practices that lead
to success can be applied to solving
problems, filling gaps, and addressing
weaknesses. Discovering what is hapWhy do we ask about what works
pening when our curriculum is at its best
and applying what we learn to other
well?
areas where we are not yet at our best
helps us to take concrete action based on
We ask these questions because we fully
evidence. For practical process guides
expect there is much more “working”
than not, and we aim to assist in expand- to adopting this appreciative approach,
see Watkins & Mohr (2011) and Cockell &
ing and diversifying thinking about the
possibilities for deep learning in curricula. McArthur-Blair (2012).
Asking these questions allow all of us to
shift away from a predominant (and for
And, so what about wellbeing?
some, sole) focus on problem seeking,
gap finding, and weakness identifying.
Appreciating our selves, our colleagues,
This is not to deny the existence of prob- and our work helps us to be resilient in
lems, gaps, and weaknesses--but many of times of uncertainty and change. Martin
us need little encouragement to generate Seligman, known for his founding role in
such lists. Strengths-based questioning
the field of positive psychology, identifies
encourage faculty to describe what they
five measureable elements that condo want in addition to what they do not
tribute to well being: positive emotion,
want in their programs. Faculty can then engagement, relationships, meaning,
explicitly articulate the vision they hold
and achievement (2011, pp. 24-26). Curfor themselves and their students in the
riculum processes that direct the intelform of program goals or graduate atlectual attention and analytical abilities
tributes. Studying what works is the fun- of our teachers to their successes and the
damental principle of the organizational
sources of those successes, build substandevelopment approach of appreciative
tive recognition and appreciation in each
inquiry. For a rich web resource on this
of these wellbeing domains.
approach, explore the “Appreciative
www.usask.ca/gmcte
5
For a conversation about getting a curriculum process going, or for fostering
more appreciation into a process that is
underway, please contact me, Carolyn,
and/or Sheryl at the Gwenna Moss Centre
for Teaching Effectiveness.
References:
Cockell, J., & McArthur-Blair, J. (2012). Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A
Visionary New Understanding of Happiness
and Well-being. New York, NY: Simon and
Schuster.
Watkins, J. M., Mohr, B, & Kelly, R. (2011).
Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed
of Imagination (2nd Ed.). San Francisco,
CA: Pfeifer.
How do international students
achieve their resilience?
by Yina Wang, Ph.D
WHY?
Much of the literature about the
adaptation of international students
focuses on challenges and stresses they
experience in their adjustment to the
host country. International students are
found to have five domains of stressors—
language barriers, academic problems,
psychological-social-cultural issues,
financial concerns, and miscellaneous
PUIFSCBSSJFST1BOFUBM
4UVEFOUT
are viewed as passive recipients of these
challenges who do not take actions to
change the adverse situations they face
(e.g., Chapdelaine & Alexitch, 2004; Ku,
-BINBO:FI$IFOH)TJFI
Yeh & Inose, 2003). They are perceived to
be vulnerable to the negative effects of
challenges, such as depression and other
mental health issues, and to be incapable
of bouncing back from the adverse
situations caused by the challenges and
stressors (Popadiuk & Arthur, 2004). As
a result, the contemporary image of
international students was often drawn to
be negative and pessimistic (Yeh & Inose,
2003).
adaptation in the face of adversity
(Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).
A SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL
4.
APPROACH TO RESILIENCE
Within last decades, resilience has been
described by three paradigms with
different emphases when approaching
resilience: trait, developmental, and
cultural/contextual approaches.
t Trait approach concentrates on
identifying personal qualities related
to resilience(Connor & Davidson,
2003)
t Developmental approach views
resilience as a protective immediate
context in which an individual
resides(Masten, 2007)
t Socio-ecological approach moves
beyond the immediate context to
include more distal factors, such as
culture and values. Additionally, the
socio-ecological approach suggests
resilience is a dual processes of an
individual’s navigating resources and
negotiating identities within their
As an international student myself, I could
DPOUFYUT6OHBS
not help asking if that negative image
This
study specifically employed the
really looks like me or my peers. Like
socio-ecological
approach to study
many other international students, I have
international
students’
resilience given its
gone through challenges with linguistic,
four
major
implications:
social, cultural, and psychological
adaptations. However, abilities gradually
emerge during the process of working
1. Understanding how individuals
through challenges – invaluable abilities
navigate resources helps us to
that I continue to cherish. They are
understand how resources can be
not only accomplishments related to a
maximized.
particular life stage but also continuing
2.
Individuals’ identification of helpful
positive impacts on my life. Existing
resources in their navigating
research (e.g., Hsieh, 2007; Zhang &
process helps us to understand
Brunton, 2007) also revealed some
what environments would likely
traces of international students actively
be facilitative and how individuals
overcoming challenges. In contrast to
interact with their facilitative
the traditional approach of focusing on
contexts.
an individual’s stresses and challenges,
3.
Describing the negotiation occurring
my research studied the adaptation of
between individuals and their
international students through the lens of
contexts should lead us to a better
resilience, which emphasizes successful
understanding concerning the
complexity of what values and
identities have been changed and
why
Rather than applying a universal
measurement of resilience to
different populations, this definition
reminds us of the importance of
paying attention to culturally- and
contextually-specific resilience
and allows us to access resilience
previously undiscovered by
researchers in mainstream Western
studies.
Resilience involves a dual process of
navigation and negotiation (Ungar, 2010),
specifically in this study individuals’
navigation of resources, and individuals’
negotiation of values and identities was
another dimension of this study. Given
the wide variety of resources available
for individuals, patterns of individuals’
navigation can be diverse. However,
there is a dearth of studies revealing the
patterns of individuals’ navigation of their
resources.
THIS STUDY
The purpose of this study was to gain
an understanding of how Chinese
international students conceptualize
their resilience and how they navigate
resources and negotiate their beliefs and
behaviours to overcome challenges.
I chose to focus on Chinese international
students for two reasons: First, the
majority of international students in
Canada are from Asia with Chinese
international students being the largest
group (Association of Universities and
Colleges of Canada, 2007), and second,
as a Chinese international student myself
I was interested in the experiences of
other Chinese students dealing with
transitional issues and challenges, and
what they have learned from their
experiences.
6
Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2
PARTICIPANTS
The 16 Chinese international students
I interviewed encompassed female
and male undergraduate and graduate
students from several different academic
disciplines. They were given pseudonyms,
often selected by the participant. Quoted
in this article are undergraduate students
Claire, Lan, Mei, Julia, Qiang, and Liang,
and graduate students Yan, Lin, Mary,
Ting. Tao, Wei, and Bo.
The 14 interview questions were divided
into three parts:
t
t
t
Three initial questions to get to know
participants’ general background
and experiences since they came to
Canada.
Seven intermediate questions to
get to know how the participants
viewed their challenges, and what
resources and what cultural beliefs
they thought helpful for them to
overcome challenges.
Four concluding questions where
participants could provide further
insights and comments.
FINDINGS
Patterns of Navigation:
In this study, the patterns of navigation
embody the theoretical concept of
navigation of resilience in three different
concrete ways reaching out to extrinsic
and contextual resources, reaching
in for religious or personal resources,
and integrating personal resources
or religious resources with extrinsic,
DPOUFYUVBMSFTPVSDFT4FF'JHVSFQ
Patterns of Negotiation:
Although Ungar (2012) and other
researchers (e.g., Schoon, 2012) have
suggested that negotiation proceeds
in the matrix of different values and
identities, they failed to further describe
the potential patterns of negotiation
during the process of the value shifting
and identities restructuring. This study
showed three general patterns of
negotiation among both female and
male students: reinforcing, replacing, and
complementing. (See Figure 2 p. 10)
www.usask.ca/gmcte
7
IMPLICATIONS:
The findings of this study show that Chinese students actively navigate their
resources either by reaching out, reaching in, or integrating. To help students who
navigate these resources more smoothly, different associations that provide resources
directly or steer students to seek for specific resources should build effective
intercommunication and work collaboratively. In addition, the findings reveal that
Chinese international students have subjective differences in terms of their identity
changes. They do not have identical thinking, behaving, and adjustment patterns with
regard to their study skills, living abilities, and ideologies. As for counsellors, service
providers, and facilitators who want to provide Chinese international students with
effective and efficient assistance, it is important to develop more efficient, updated,
and human-centered assistance. Such assistance should be emphasized on listening
to students’ personal experiences and building a thorough understanding of their
individual backgrounds, social attitudes, characteristics, and changes.
REFERENCES
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada [AUCC]. (2007). Canadian
universities and international student mobility. AUCC 2006 internationalization
survey update. Retrieved from www.aucc. ca/_pdf/english/publications/student_
mobility_2007_e.pdf
Chapdelaine, R. F., & Alexitch, L. R. (2004). Social skills difficulty: Model of culture shock
for international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 45, 167EPJDTE
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003) Development of a new resilience scale: The
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and AnxietyoEPJ
10.1002/da.10113
Hsieh, M. H. (2007). Challenges for international students in higher education: One
student’s narrated story of invisibility and struggle. College Student Journal
,V):-BINBO.,&:FI)5$IFOH:$
*OUPUIFBDBEFNZ1SFQBSJOH
and mentoring international doctoral students. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 56, 365-377.
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical
evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543-562. doi:
Masten, A. S. (2007). Resilience in developing systems: Progress and promise as the
fourth wave rises. Development and PsychopathologyEPJ
4
1BO+8POH%',$IBO$-8+PVCFSU-
.FBOJOHPGMJGFBTBQSPUFDUJWF
factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural
comparison. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 505-514. doi: 10.1016/j.
JKJOUSFM
Popadiuk, N., & Arthur, N. (2004). Counselling international students in Canadian
schools. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 26, 125-145. doi:
#"%$0
Schoon, I. (2012). Temporal and contextual dimensions to individual positive
development: A developmental-contextual systems model of resilience. In M. Ungar
(Ed.), The social ecology of resilience: A
handbook of theory and practice (pp. 143156). New York, NY: Springer.
6OHBS.
1VUUJOHSFTJMJFODF
theory into action: Five principles for
intervention. In L. Liebenberg & M. Ungar
(Eds.), Resilience in action (pp. 17-36).
Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto
Press.
Ungar, M. (2010). Cultural dimensions of
resilience among adults. In J. W. Reich, A.
J. Zautra., & J. S. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of
adult resilience (pp. 404-423). New York,
NY: The Guilford Press.
Ungar, M. (2012). Social ecologies and
their contribution to resilience. In M.
Ungar (Ed.), The social ecology of resilience:
A handbook of theory and practice (pp.1331). New York, NY: Springer.
Zhang, Z., & Brunton, M. (2007).
Differences in living and learning:
Chinese international students in
New Zealand. Journal of Studies in
International Education, 11, 124-140.
“Certificate of
Participation” for
Indigenous Voices
There are many reasons why you might
want to create a record of your time spent
with Indigenous Voices. We are delighted
to communicate that at the end of its
programming year, Indigenous Voices will
offer those who have attended gatherings
(totaling 20 hours or more), the opportunity
to receive a “”Certificate of Participation.”
Participants will request this certificate by
contacting Tereigh Ewert-Bauer (tereigh.
ewert-bauer@usask.ca).
Alternatively, if you have attended fewer
than 20 hours, you may still document your
participation by following this link, http://
ihelp-ulc.usask.ca/eventsRegistration/auth/
participants/myPastRegistrations?syste
m=gmcte signing in, and printing off the
information, which will detail the gatherings
you have attended.
8
Bridges, Vol. 11, No. 3
www.usask.ca/gmcte
9
10 Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2
2013 MASTER
TEACHERS –
QUESTIONS AND
RESPONSES ABOUT
TEACHING
The Master Teacher award has been
recognizing faculty who excel in their
profession and invest in outstanding
UFBDIJOHBUUIF6PG4TJODF&BDI
year, two new Master Teachers are
named. This year, Dr. Norman Sheehan
from the Edwards School of Business
was named in the spring and Dr. Debbie
Pushor from the College of Education
was named in the fall. To give the
campus community some insight into
the teaching styles and philosophies
of our latest Master Teachers, we asked
them each three questions about
teaching:
incorporate instructional methods
tailored to each mode. Every class
includes a reading, lecture, concept
application, and discussion. I find
that the upside of this approach is
that all students receive some value
each class, whereas the downside is
that some students may become less
engaged when using instructional
methods that are not directed to their
preferred learning style. My challenge
is then to provide the right balance of
materials for each mode, a balance that
I am continually fine-tuning based on
feedback from students.
1. What is the most important
characteristic of a good teacher?
2. What is the appropriate balance
between teaching practical skills that will
benefit the student professionally and
core academics?
Debbie Pushor: I believe that being a
good teacher is about who you are, more
than it is about what you do.
Being a good teacher is about who you
are in relationship with your students –
the side by side stance you take, open
to being a listener and a learner, open
to the knowledge, experiences, ideas,
and possibilities which your students
present as a complement to your own
contributions.
Being a good teacher is about who
you are in relationship with the subject
matter you teach – how passionate and
excited you are about it, and how able
you are to engage in it with students in
ways that are meaningful and relevant
to them.
Norm Sheehan: The ability to provide
a variety of interactive and relevant
learning opportunities that appeal
to students’ different learning styles.
I believe that students have different
preferred learning modes, so I try to
Debbie Pushor: Working in a professional
college, educating students who are
or are becoming teachers, my starting
place tends to be facilitating students’
examination of their conscious and
unconscious beliefs and assumptions –
about such things as teaching, learning,
children, and the contexts in which
children learn and grow. Once students
have a sense of who they are or want
to be as teachers, based in their beliefs,
we attend to what they will do to live
out those beliefs in their practice, and
why. Learning to translate beliefs into
lived action – the how and the why –
is where the balance comes in. Such
learning requires an understanding of
core philosophical and pedagogical
underpinnings in a disciplinary area and
the development of the knowledge,
skills, and strategies to realize them in
practice.
Norm Sheehan: I facilitate classes for the
Accounting Department at the Edwards
School of Business. Students in the
accounting major wishing a career in
accounting are required to master a set
of professional competencies outlined
in the Canadian accounting profession’s
competency map in order to enter the
profession’s professional education
program. Given this, I favor teaching
students professional skills that are
supported by academic research.
3. How transparent are you with your
students about the teaching challenges
you encounter in the classroom? (E.g.
low class participation, bad exams, etc.)
Debbie Pushor: I believe that building
a sense of community in my classes
is core to teaching and learning. I
introduce myself in some depth as a
course begins and I ask students to
do the same. I determine a number of
aspects of the syllabus together with the
students– such as options, due dates
and weightings for assignments or the
selection of experiential elements. As
students come to know one another
and know me, and as we learn and work
together with care and commitment,
making decisions, solving problems,
and negotiating changes to the planned
curriculum becomes the shared work of
all of us.
Norm Sheehan: There are a couple
opportunities that I use to discuss
teaching challenges with the students.
In the first class, after reviewing the key
points of the course structure and its
outline, I review the trade-offs I have
made when designing the course.
At the half-way point, I ask students
to fill in an anonymous survey that
gauges what is going well and what
needs improvement. I aggregate the
results across all sections and feed
the aggregated results back to the
students in the next class along with a
commentary that includes a discussion
of some of the teaching challenges
they have noted. Lastly, I have students
keep track of their contribution to the
classes’ learning on a class-by-class basis,
which provides an opportunity for me to
provide regular feedback to individual
students on the quality and quantity of
their class participation.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant
teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our
human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw
material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing
plant and for the soul ...
Carl Jung
Teaching Award News
By Sharilyn Lee, GMCTE
Happy New Year from all of us at the Gwenna Moss Centre! I am one of the newest members of the Centre
having started in October, replacing Corrine Fasthuber who has retired. Happy retirement Corrine! We
miss you and wish you all the very best. In addition to the many exciting events and workshops coming
up this term and year at the Centre, there are also some important deadlines that are quickly approaching
for several Teaching Awards. The Centre, in cooperation with the Office of the Provost, offers the following
awards for excellent teaching practice:
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5IF1SPWPTUT"XBSETGPS&YDFMMFODFJO"CPSJHJOBM&EVDBUJPO
5IF1SPWPTUT"XBSEGPS&YDFMMFODFJO*OUFSOBUJPOBM5FBDIJOH
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The deadline for nominations to be received by the Gwenna Moss Centre is February 15th. If you need
more information on these or any awards managed by the Gwenna Moss Centre, please consult our website
www.usask.ca/gmcte/awards.
t
5IF4ZMWJB8BMMBDF4FTTJPOBM-FDUVSFS"XBSEOPNJOBUJPOEFBEMJOFGPSTVCNJTTJPOTJT'FCSVBSZUI
The Gwenna Moss Centre also promotes other teaching awards. Teachers at the U of S are eligible under
most circumstances to apply for the following national, and international awards: The 3M National Teaching
Fellowship, the Alan Blizzard Collaborative Projects Awards and the D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and
Learning. Further information on these awards can be found on our website at http://www.usask.ca/gmcte/
awards/national. If you know of someone who you feel deserves recognition for their excellent teaching,
please take the time to nominate them for one of these awards. They have made and continue to make our
University an excellent institution.
*GZPVIBWFBOZRVFTUJPOTSFHBSEJOHUIFTFBXBSETGFFMGSFFUPDBMMNFBUPSFNBJMNF4IBSJMZOMFF!
usask.ca
12 Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2
Teacher Scholar Doctoral
Fellows:
Implementing Innovative
Learning Strategies in the
Classroom
By Amelia Horsburgh, GMCTE
During the 2012-2013 scholastic year,
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Teaching learned, developed, and
implemented innovative teaching and
learning strategies, a sampling of which
they detail in their own words below. As
part of their fellowship, these graduate
fellows attended classes in term one
where they learned to refine and assess
their teaching styles and approaches
by discussing and applying innovative
course design principles, teaching
strategies, assessment, and evaluation
approaches. In term two, they put
those skills into practice and taught an
undergraduate course in their discipline
under the tutelage of a teaching mentor,
BMPOHXJUIUIFTVQQPSUPGUIF(43
UFBDIJOHUFBNBOEUIFJSGFMMPX(43
classmates.
While their teaching successes are
numerous and varied, the teaching
team—Dr. Kim West, Melanie
Rozwadowski, and myself—were
particularly pleased this year with our
students’ willingness to experiment with
innovative learning strategies in their
classroom practice. For instance, in a
reflective narrative assignment, our PhD
students detailed an innovative learning
strategy that they had implemented
in the classroom in term two of their
fellowship. From a snowball activity
that made students’ knowledge a key
ingredient to the learning experience, to
a self-portrait exercise as student icebreaker at the beginning of term, you will
be inspired by the thoughtful reasoning
the doctoral fellows give for trying a
learning strategy that was new to them,
and perhaps even outside their comfort
zone. Let us not forget either that many
of these PhD students were the instructor
of record for the very first time. It is
commendable indeed that they would
www.usask.ca/gmcte 13
but were active and student-centered.
I sincerely hope you find these entries by
our PhD students inspiring for your own
classroom practice. As you develop or
revamp your courses and lesson plans,
think about putting into practice some
of these learning strategies or how you
could tweak or refine them to meet your
needs and those of your students.
Jan Gelech, PhD Candidate with the
Department of Psychology:
Preparing for my first large class was
EBVOUJOH5IBOLGVMMZNZ(43UFBDIing team challenged me to confront my
anxiety and engage in a creative attempt
to tailor my personal teaching approach
to a larger class. I designed an active
learning project for our research methods unit wherein students were asked to
record two psychological variables on a
piece of paper. They were then asked to
scrunch their papers into ‘snowballs’ and
toss them around the room.
'JHVSF1BQFS#BMMCZ"SNZ4PVSDF8JLJNFdia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
License
Each student then hunted for a ‘snowball’
to take with them into small groups.
After choosing one set of variables, each
group worked through a set of questions
to design a correlational or experimental
study intended to explore the relationship between these variables. I felt a
sense of anxious hopefulness, fearing
a lack of student engagement or the
eruption of utter chaos. To my relief,
students enthusiastically engaged with
the activity. ‘Snowballs’ sailed through
the air and ideas soon followed. As I wandered around the room, I found students
engaged in creative and critical thinking.
I also witnessed acts of peer learning as
students worked together to clarify concepts: “the independent variable is
put into practice strategies that not
only spoke to their authentic teaching
self, the one we will mess around with!”
Student feedback revealed that the
activity was enjoyable and effective in
deepening their understanding of key
concepts. Was it a bit chaotic? You bet!
But it was a wonderful teaching and
learning moment which emboldened
me to push the limits of the large class
environment and think creatively about
how to bring my own authentic teaching
practice to a larger audience.
Colleen George, PhD Candidate
with the School of Environment and
Sustainability:
One assignment that was a success in
(&0("OBMZTJTPG&OWJSPONFOUBM
Management and Public Policy Making,
that I taught last year, was the ‘Group
Rant,’ inspired by the charismatic and
comedic political aficionado, Rick Mercer,
and his popular rants on CBC’s Rick
Mercer Report.
Figure 2 Rick Mercer by Robin Wong; Source
Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 License
This assignment was given out towards
the end of the semester to encourage
students to critique a contemporary
environmental issue using the concepts
and tools discussed in class. After
watching 3 or 4 of Mercer’s rants, I
directed students to get into groups, pick
a Canadian environmental policy issue
that was significant to them. They were
instructed to choose a side on the issue
and develop a persuasive rant, touching
on the environmental implications,
the framing environmental policy, and
challenges associated with power, justice
and environmental governance. Finally,
they were to suggest action items – what
could we do to help address the issue?
The presentations were AMAZING. Many
groups took the time to memorize their
rants, get creative with camera action,
and some even found walls tagged
with graffiti in Saskatoon to serve as the
background for filming. Most importantly,
students chose issues that were
important to them. This was reflected
in the content, level of synthesis, and
connection with class material imparted,
as well as the passion that came through
as they were presenting. The students
liked the assignment because it gave
them an opportunity to operationalize
class material to tackle an issue they were
passionate about. It also encouraged
them to work together to practice their
written and verbal presentation skills,
as well as their ability to be persuasive
while being concise. I couldn’t have been
happier with the result.
a short memo, 12 out of 13 students in
my BPBE 342 class agreed that learning
is improved when students are asked
questions in class.
Mohammad Torshizi, PhD Candidate
with the College of Agriculture and
Bioresources:
Figure 3 Torshizi’s Teaching Goal Diagram
The ultimate goal of many economics
courses such as Industrial Organization of
Agricultural Markets is to enable students
to, first, recognize economic phenomena
and pick the right theory to analyze the
phenomena; second, apply the theory to
the phenomena; and third, analyze the
phenomena using the theory that they
have learned in class. These were my
three teaching goals that could also be
combined as Recognize-Apply-Analyze
learning outcome. This learning goal
was the general theme of the whole
course as well as each individual lesson.
Teaching strategies, learning activities,
and assessment and evaluation strategies
were aligned with this goal.
Teaching
Strategies
Recognize-ApplyAnalyze Teaching Goal
Learning
Activities
Assessment
& Evaluation
As for evaluation, students were given
problems based on or similar to a real
world economic phenomenon to test
for the Recognize-Apply-Analyze skill
that they have developed in class.
My students’ high average on their
assignments and midterm exam is the
evidence of achieving the RecognizeApply-Analyze learning outcome.
Mitch Daschuk, PhD Candidate with the
Department of Sociology:
Having been granted the opportunity
to develop and instruct a special topics
course on Sociology and Subcultural
Studies, I thought it best to develop an
introductory class activity which would
serve as a suitable ‘ice breaker’ while,
so too, inspiring students to consider
One of my teaching strategies was use
how their own tastes in music, art and
of story-telling and real world examples.
Going through good examples and well- popular culture might contribute to the
designed stories helps students recognize development of their own identities.
As such, the course syllabus included a
the economic phenomena and choose
stick figure that students were asked to
the right theory to analyze them in
accessorize in rendering a recognizable
assignments, exams, and real world. This
‘self-portrait’.
is the first, and perhaps the most critical,
stage of the Recognize-Apply-Analyze
learning outcome. Another effective
strategy that I used was interactive
teaching through well-designed
questions. This helps the instructor
constantly correct and guide students in
the Recognize-Apply-Analyze process. In
Figure 4 Daschuk’s Syllabus Stick Figure
I was quite pleased when students
subsequently admitted that the selfportrait assignment was a surprisingly
difficult task. At the beginning of the
following class period, I explained
that the assignment was designed to
demonstrate how difficult it is to put
forward a representation of oneself based
purely on aesthetics, as much of ‘who we
are’ is bound up in our preferred cultural
tastes. In having students consider how
their own cultural tastes may not only
inform their self-perceptions, but so too
the beliefs and values through which
they come to understand the realities of
the world around them, my aim was to
inspire students to begin to perceive of
themselves as the products of cultural
forces. As the course continued, I was
pleased to discover that a number of
students successfully engaged with the
class materials at a personal level, and
had successfully situated themselves into
the course materials by virtue of better
appreciating culture’s role in shaping the
evolution of their own identities.
14 Bridges, Vol. 12, No.2