Spring 2010
Bridges
In This Issue
Pay Attention During
Final Exams
Educate the Educator
Teaching Awards from
the GMCTE and the
Provost’s Office
The Magic and
Meaning of Story
Unpacking the TeachingResearch Nexus and its
Influence on Academic
Practice
Consider an Extreme
Course Makeover to
Rejuvenate Your Teaching
Pull up a Chair Instructional Design
So Much History and
So Little Time
Brian Zulkoskey’s
Teaching Philosophy
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Volume 8, No. 3
Reflecting the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning at the
University of Saskatchewan
Pay Attention During Final Exams
by Rick Schwier, Acting Director of the ULC and GMCTE
It is time for another
story featuring silence,
a tribute to a wonderful
book called “Silences”
that was written by
several 3M National
Teaching Fellows. I
encourage you to pick
up a copy or borrow
one from our library at the Gwenna Moss
Centre. “Silences” is one of those books
that haunt you, and it has made me think
deeply about where silence has played a
role in my life as an educator.
I don’t recognize her, but with 250 students
in the class, I’m not surprised. I am once
again envious of those teachers who are
able to learn everyone’s name, and I remind
myself to learn how to do that.
She sits alone, quietly curled in the corner—
not unusual for a student who is waiting
in a hallway before an examination, but
something seems different about her.
Jen says nothing. She looks down.
There is something awkward about her
position. She looks tired, but it’s more than
that. She looks exhausted, and not the
usual teenage “I’m disgusted with school
and life” exhausted. She looks defeated.
Should I say something to her?
I try to watch her while I pretend to study
the stack of exam papers I’ll hand out when
We’re well into exam fever as this reaches the classroom door finally opens and we
can take the room. She looks up at me,
you, and perhaps it is useful for all of us,
teachers and students alike, to remember and catches me; she turns away, almost
that our lives involve much more than the unresponsive.
evaluations we give or get at this time
I wait for what seems like a long time; it is
of year. It is a time for consideration, for
probably 30 seconds, and I go slump down
kindness, and for understanding each
other. We all face extraordinary pressures next to her.
at this time of year, and this simple fact
was brought home to me a long time ago, “Hi. Sorry, but I can’t remember your name
from class.”
just before an exam I was about to give.
This is a little story about a time when
“Jen.”
silence invited itself into a little drama
with one of my students that played out
“Ah, yes, Jen. I’ll try to remember next time.
during final exams.
I noticed you over here and wondered if
everything was okay.”
1
“I mean, you look a little tired, and I guess
that isn’t unusual before an exam. Were
www.usask.ca/gmcte
you studying late?” And then I sensed it was
time to stop talking.
Spring 2010
Vol. 8 No. 3
The Gwenna Moss Centre for
Teaching Effectiveness
University of Saskatchewan
Room 50 Murray Building
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4
Phone (306) 966-2231
Fax (306) 966-2242
Web site: www.usask.ca/gmcte
Bridges is distributed to every
teacher at the University of
Saskatchewan and to all the
teaching centres in Canada,
and some beyond. It is also
available on our web site. Your
contributions to Bridges will
reach a wide local, national, and
international audience.
Please consider submitting an
article or opinion piece to Bridges.
Contact any one of the following
people; we’d be delighted to hear
from you:
Jim Greer
Director
Phone (306)966-2234
jim.greer@usask.ca
Christine Anderson
Program Manager
Phone (306) 966-1950
christine.anderson@usask.ca
Corinne Fasthuber
Assistant
Phone (306) 966-2231
corinne.fasthuber@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
Not a word from Jen, but a quick glance
over at me, almost curious, almost as if she
is deciding whether I’m worth talking to.
“No. In fact, I haven’t studied at all.”
It’s my turn for silence, because I don’t know
what to say.
We both sit there saying nothing, both of us
staring at our shoes.
More silence...
Finally, Jen squeaks, “I just got out of jail.”
I do my best to put on my concerned face
and hide the shock that must be radiating
from me.
Silence again, but this time it is on purpose.
I’m determined to stick this one out.
“Yeh... drugs.”
A long silence...
Jen finally bursts, “Myboyfriendhadthem,
lotsofthem,andsomeonereportedhim,
andwhenthepolicecametheysearchedhis
roomandfoundthem,andthentheyarrestedb
bothofus,andIdidn’tevenknowhehadthem
butIwaswithhim,sotheythoughtIwasinvol
ved. Pause…then, “WhatamIgoingtodo?
Ican’ttellmyparents.” And then, slowly,
almost to herself, she whispers, “I’ll…
never…get…to…be…a…teacher.”
And the tears started, secretly, almost
silently.
“I don’t know what to say, Jen, but I know
one thing you shouldn’t do now. Don’t take
the exam. Why don’t you go home and get
some rest, and then we can talk about it
later.”
Silence…
For the longest time, she doesn’t do
anything. She just stares and big drops fall
on the backpack she’s holding in her lap.
Jen pulls herself to her feet, drags the strap
of her backpack over one shoulder and
nods at her shoes.
2
I attempt an awkward, comforting smile,
nod at mine, and she walks away.
Yes, this was unusual—in fact, unique to
my experience. But perhaps the really
important silence in this story was the
silence of the other students, the ones I
did not notice or talk to that day. They
were also carrying backpacks full of
difficulties, challenges, needs, fears. If you
are not yet finished with exams when
you are reading this, I invite you to take
a good look at your students when they
arrive and leave your next exam. Take
a good look. Try to offer some words
of encouragement or understanding
where you can. It is a hard time of year for
everyone—you included—and we all can
probably use a little help.
And Jen, if by some cosmic coincidence
you are reading this, I’m very sorry I
couldn’t think of anything better to say.
Green, C. (Ed.), (2008). Silences in teaching
and learning. Hamilton, ON: Council of
3M National Teaching Fellows/Society
for Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education.
“We think of the
effective teachers
we have had over
the years with a
sense of recognition,
but those who
have touched our
humanity we
remember with
a deep sense of
gratitude.”
Anonymous student
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Educate the Educator
Jane P. Preston, College of Education
My son,
Zachary, has
tentatively
been labeled
as learning
disabled,
although his
exact diagnosis
remains
undetermined.
His academic
limitations
were evident during his two years of
preschool, two years of kindergarten,
and, this year, in grade 1. Because I
possess the dual identities of a mother
and teacher, it was only natural for me to
work with him to stimulate, nurture, and
develop his intellectual abilities. When I
was pregnant, I read aloud to my unborn
child. As a baby, I surrounded Zachary
with colorful pictures and text, and, in
the evening, water-proof books bobbed
up and down in his bath water. I read to
Zachary every night before bed.
When he was ready, I formally introduced
the alphabet through a multitude of
games and tactile books. We talked
about the letters and searched for their
existence in the dynamic environment
that surrounded us. I slowly introduced
the concept of phonics. Together, we
discovered how the shape of the mouth
and tongue made different sounds.
We laughed as we punched our bellies
to replicate the short “u” sound. Early
last year, we began Zachary’s first
independent reading endeavor - sight
words. I started by making three
homemade flashcards. After reading
these simple words aloud, he parroted
my actions. We did this flashcard activity
several times a day, and, to date, Zachary
can successfully read 41 sight words. We
also dedicated time to strengthening
his motor skills and improving his
penmanship to assist Zachary in his
attempts to successfully write his first
name.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
A few weeks ago at about 4 o’clock, the
big yellow bus rolled up to our front door.
With two feet clamped tightly together,
Zachary hopped off the last step of the
bus and bustled into the house. He
opened his Bob the Builder bookbag and
proudly delivered a school note. He then
excitedly informed me that the grade 1
class was participating in a spellathon/
mathathon test. Hearing this news, I
faked a smile and weakly commented,
“That’s great.” From the note, I learned
the specifics of the test. This multiconcept test involved Zachary writing his
first name, spelling five words (can, is, like,
the, to), counting forward to 20, counting
backward from 10, drawing a pattern, and
counting a set of dots and writing that
amount in number form on paper. I knew
that the academic intensity of the test
was too much for my son, so I decided to
concentrate on ensuring Zachary could,
computer/game) if he got all five words
right. Having his own DS was something
Zachary had wanted for a long time.
Nonetheless, it was a serious financial
commitment for me.
The morning of the spellathon/
mathathon test arrived, and we had one
last chance to practice before the bus
took him away to meet his fate. On threelined, proper, printing paper, I asked
Zachary to write his name. Then slowly,
deliberately, and clearly, I dictated the
five chosen spelling words. Imagine my
disappointment when he spelled three
of the five words wrong. In addition,
he wrote his name, “Z-a-c-h-o-r-y.” How
did these results make me feel? Gutted,
destitute of a plan, disappointed, angry,
hurt, anxious about my son’s future, a
failure as a teacher, and a failure as a
mother!
As I reflect upon our spellathon/
mathathon trials and tribulations,
I can’t help but describe how the
experience impacted my perception of
teaching and learning. Throughout my
school years, I was an extremely hardworking, A-student, and throughout my
professional teaching career, I strived to
at least, successfully complete parts of the be the best at what I did. During that
test. We focused our energy on writing
time, I believed learning was merely a
his first name and spelling five dictated
matter of how hard an individual tried.
words. (To my delight, these five words
My belief was that everyone could get
were part of his 41 sight words.)
top marks, as long as he/she tried hard
enough. I believed those who failed
As it turned out, the two weeks dedicated only did so because they neglected
to preparing for this test proved to be
to put in the required work and effort.
extremely challenging for both Zachary
Well, Zachary gave it his very best. He
and me. Every morning and evening
tried, and tried, and tried, and then tried
we worked at our goal, something that
some more. Nevertheless, in the eyes of
would have been almost effortless for
formative and summative assessments,
most 7 year olds. We did drill and practice my son failed. I realize now that it is not
(up to three times a day), we talked about Zachary who is learning disabled; rather,
the words, and we created the words in
it is me.
play dough. I praised his successes. I
ignored his almost illegible handwriting.
Education is not about a pass or fail,
In addition to cultivating his intrinsic
and it cannot be rationally represented
motivation, I informed Zachary that I
through some number. Education is not
would buy him a DS (a kid’s hand-held
a process that can be measured through
To bless someone with
a thirst for knowledge
is as important as
being able to
spell your first name.
3
www.usask.ca/gmcte
a particular test or instrument. Education is not solely portrayed through academic
intelligence. Education is not something that can be filtered through an outsider’s
judgment. In most simple and accurate terms, education is the journey of life. During
the process of education, we, as teachers, sometimes lose sight of that statement. As
teachers, it is our responsibility to acknowledge the spirit of the student and draw out
his/her inner potential. To bless someone with a thirst for knowledge is as important
as being able to spell your first name.
For me, education is about what my little boy taught me and continues to teach
me - his 40-year-old mother who thought she could teach anybody. But, really, I am
succeeding at teaching a boy who faces myriad challenges. Incredibly, he continues
to look into my eyes when I am disappointed and say, “Mom, I tried my best.” That
little boy perpetually gives all that he can muster. He can read 41 flashcards. He
can count to 16, most times without a mistake. He can almost write his name. He
knows the names and sounds of most of the letters of the alphabet…but moreover…
he cherishes the time before bed because it means cuddling and reading. His spirit
radiates positive energy. He’s happy, kind, and respectful of others. He’s energetic
and emotionally vibrant. He doesn’t tease or make fun of any of his friends or family
members. His very existence brings ultimate joy to me; nurturing his little soul is my
very reason for life. For me, education is not about what I can teach my son; it’s about
what my son has taught me. I thank Zachary for his patience as he educates the
educator.
Jane Preston is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Educational Administration, College
of Education, University of Saskatchewan. Jane’s educational outlook has been formed
by experiences gained while raising her son and teaching in Canada, Taiwan, Egypt, and
Kuwait. Her graduate research spotlights the topics of community viability, Aboriginal
education, and rural education. Please feel free to email comments to jane.preston@
usask.ca
The STLHE annual conference is being held this year from June
23-26 in Toronto. This conference brings together faculty and
teaching and learning resource professionals from institutions
of post-secondary education across Canada and beyond. The
Gwenna Moss Centre offers grants to cover the cost of registration
for a limited number of faculty each year. Preference will be given
to those making presentations at the conference, faculty leading
curriculum development initiatives, and teaching award winners.
To submit a request for sponsorship, please contact brad.
wuetherick@usask.ca before April 15th. If selected you will be
notified by April 30th.
About the
GMCTE.....
The staff of 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.
Please visit our website to
find out more about our
services and resources for
new faculty, experienced
faculty, sessional lecturers, those new to teaching
in Canada, and graduate
students who teach. We
offer various workshops
throughout the year, host
a book club, coordinate
faculty peer consultations,
maintain a small library of
teaching resources, and
always have a pot of tea
within arm’s reach.
Our website is
www.usask.ca/gmcte
The University of Saskatchewan will be hosting the national
conference in 2011, June 15-18. Information will be available
soon on the STLHE conference web site.
4
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Teaching Awards
from the GMCTE
and the Provost’s
Office
by Corinne Fasthuber, Assistant, GMCTE
The Provost’s Office has endorsed 20
new outstanding teaching awards for the
University of Saskatchewan, one going
to each college for a total of 15, with the
exception of Arts and Science, who have
one for Science, one for Humanities and
Fine Arts, and one for Social Sciences. Five
additional teaching awards go toward
• Excellence in Aboriginal Education,
• Excellence in International Teaching,
• Outstanding Innovation in Learning,
• New Teacher Award, and
• Outstanding Graduate Teacher Award.
Each recipient will receive $2,000 and
can win multiple times. Please refer to
our website for specifics for each of these
awards. Winners will be honoured at the
Celebration of Teaching on April 19th.
Don’t forget the teaching awards that
have been with the Centre for a number
of years now. The Sylvia Wallace Award is
given annually to a sessional lecturer who
exemplifies excellence in teaching. The
Master Teacher Award is awarded twice
yearly and presented at spring and fall
convocation. It was established to honour
those faculty members who excel in
teaching. Details for these awards are also
on our website.
The Provost’s Prize for Innovative Practice
in Teaching and Learning is an annual
prize to be awarded to a University of
Saskatchewan Department or non-departmentalized College for innovation in
teaching and learning.
The Provost’s Grant for Innovative Practice in Teaching and Learning is also an
annual project grant to be awarded to a
University of Saskatchewan Department
or non-departmentalized College to
undertake some innovation in teaching
and learning.
The Gwenna Moss Centre has initiated
a new program to support research into
the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
(SoTL). SoTL research is not new — many
individuals have been and continue to be
interested in the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning and in carrying out research
projects related to their teaching or
their students’ learning. This new grant
program is being launched to support
(financially) new projects that faculty
propose. Along with the grant comes an
honourary designation as a Gwenna Moss
Centre Teaching and Learning Scholar.
In depth descriptions, eligibilities, and
deadlines for nominations for all of the
above can be found on the Gwenna Moss
website www.usask.ca/gmcte under
Teaching Awards and Grants.
“Learning to be an excellent
teacher is a career-long undertaking, because a great teacher
is never a finished product but
rather always in the process of
becoming.”
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Please join us at the
2010 Orientation
to Teaching and
Learning
Tuesday August 31
Wednesday September 1 and
Thursday, September 2
Each fall the Gwenna Moss Centre
hosts an orientation to teaching
for those new to teaching or
those new to the University of
Saskatchewan. We welcome newly
hired teachers including faculty,
sessionals and graduate student
teachers, as well as not-so-new
teachers who may have missed
out on the orientation in past
years.
This year our orientation program
runs for 3 days with a distinctly
different audience for each day.
Day 1, is for newer faculty. The
theme is fitting teaching into your
academic career - how to balance
teaching and research, and how
to be an effective teacher-scholar.
Day 2 is for all new teachers
with little teaching experience.
It focuses on topics pertinent
to the teacher - creating syllabi,
specifying learning outcomes,
planning assessment, using
technology, dealing with students,
managing large classes, etc. Day 3
is for graduate students - helping
new Teaching Assistants prepare
for their first teaching, marking, or
tutoring assignments.
Full information and details will be
posted to our website by the end
of June. Online registration for
this event will be available in June.
For more details visit our website
at www.usask.ca/gmcte
T.E. Cronin
5
www.usask.ca/gmcte
The Magic and
Meaning of Story
An interview with Ron Marken, Profesor Emeritus,
Department of English by Kim West, Educational
Development Specialist, GMCTE
I
n the home of my childhood there was a room we called “The Little Bookroom…Of all the rooms in the house, the Little Bookroom was
yielded up to books as an untended garden is left to its flowers and weeds… That dusty bookroom, whose windows were never opened,
through whose panes the summer sun struck a dingy shaft where gold specks danced and shimmered, opened magic casements for me
through which I looked out on other worlds and times than those I lived in: worlds filled with poetry and prose and fact and fantasy. There
were old plays and histories, and old romances; superstitions, legends and what are called the Curiosities of Literature. There was a book
called Florentine Nights that fascinated me; and another called The Tales of Hoffmann that frightened me; and one called The Amber
Witch that was not in the least like the witches I was used to in the fairy-tales I loved…
…When I crept out of the Little Bookman with smarting eyes, no wonder that its mottled gold-dust still danced in my brain, its silver
cobwebs still clung to the corners of my mind. No wonder that many years later, when I came to write books myself, they were a muddle of
fiction and fact and fantasy and truth… Seven maids with seven brooms, sweeping for half-a-hundred years, have never managed to clear
my mind of its dust of vanished temples and flowers and kings, the curls of ladies, the sighing of poets, the laughter of lads and girls: those
golden ones who, like chimney-sweepers, must all come to dust in some little bookroom or other - and sometimes, by luck, come again for a
moment to light.
Eleanor Farjeon (Hampstead, May 1955)
Author’s Note, The Little Bookroom
“What is it about a good story that creates understanding, engages, inspires,
and transforms us? How can a mixture
of fiction and fact, and fantasy and truth
resonate with us in such an inexplicable
way? What are the magical qualities that
most good stories seem to possess?
I sat down with our former Director of The
Gwenna Moss Centre, 3M Teaching Fellow, and Professor Emeritus of the English
Department, Ron Marken, to find out why
stories play such a significant role in our
lives. 1
The Magic
The telling of stories has been around
since the beginning of time. In Aboriginal,
First Nations, and Métis cultures, storytellers have remembered and retold in their
own words the wisdom and practices
of their ancestors. Stories are a way for
communities to share knowledge, connect, and identify common values and
experiences (Herod 2002). Storytelling is
an amazingly diverse practice in cultures
around the world. For example, in many
cultures stories are accompanied by
In an upcoming issue of Bridges, I will ex- music, song, rhythms, chants, or visual
plore with Dr. Marken what makes a great and interactive components such as
story and how teachers can use the magic string games. In ancient Ireland, an oral
of storytelling to deeply connect with and culture, Marken explains, travelling poets
engage their students.
and story-tellers moved safely from place
to place, tribe to tribe, and to inspire, en6
tertain, and carry the news. They were so
valued, even hostile tribes granted them
safe passage.
Stories are present in our everyday
lives in so many different ways. Almost
everywhere you look you’ll find stories.
They entertain or teach us, help us
remember or understand. Parents
share fairy tales and fables with their
children as bedtime stories. Adults
watch the evening news. Friends and
family listen to each other weave tales
about how their days were. Teachers
and parents teach what they believe
through parables. Authors share their
hopes and experiences through blogs
and autobiographies. Over generations
cultures have sought to understand
what they don’t know about the world
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
through myths and legends; scientists
do the same by creating stories about
what works and doesn’t work (Gass
n.d.). Many of us watch dancers, singers,
and other performers unfold the stories
of their lives on reality television, or
find a sense of entertainment and
fulfillment when relating to the trials and
tribulations of our favorite characters
in fictional and real-life movie dramas,
comedies and tragedies. We laugh at
the stories comedians tell us through
jokes, satires, parodies, and farces.
Accompanied by the rhythm of music,
songs have expressed stories of love,
loss, joy, destruction, compassion, and
understanding through the generations.
As C.F. Herreid so eloquently states,
“Storytelling permeates the
human experience. It is found
on street corners, in bars, in
living rooms, and playgrounds;
it exists wherever people gather,
be it around campfires or TV sets.
Stories set cultural norms, provide
us with heroes and demons, warn
us of folly, and give us reason to
hope for better days. They are
with us from the day we are born
until the moment when we shuffle
off this mortal coil. They make us
human.”
The Meaning
Whether it is through music, dance,
or everyday conversations, stories are
universal simply because everyone has a
story to tell. The story has been called a
cultural icon (Egan 1986) that transcends
time, place, culture, personality, society,
and history. Stories provide a means
for us to connect as human beings to
one another. On their deepest level,
stories can transform us by helping us
to see the world in a different way. For
example, mental models and paradigms
often influence the way we see the world
(Covey 2004). One of my paradigms
when I first started teaching was that
students who sleep through lectures or
otherwise appear disengaged are not
interested in what is being taught. My
mental model changed forever when I
read the story of “The Student From Hell”
in The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
All of a sudden, seeing things from my
students’ perspectives changed the way
I thought about why students may be
disengaged in the classroom. Told from
differing perspectives, stories can help us
examine our assumptions and see things
in a different way.
We often use stories to convey important
messages about others and ourselves.
These messages could be pieces of
wisdom, advice, expectations for
behaviour, the rules of one’s discipline,
or even our own morals and values. For
this reason, Marken explains that stories
may also serve a deeper and more
meaningful purpose. For some, stories
can trigger long-forgotten memories,
deeply held hopes, and beliefs. For
example, about 25 years ago, National
Geographic published an article called
The Intimate Sense of Smell. In it, the
author describes a period of time in
his life after his grandfather died. He
recalls going up into the attic, finding his
grandfather’s leather vest, and pressing
it to his nose to hold onto the memories
of his grandfather. He describes the
release of the scent of leather, tobacco,
sweat, and gunpowder that he associated
with his grandfather and their hunting
trips long ago. Marken says, “Stories can
have a similar, almost primal potential for
teaching as smell has to our emotions.”
If stories can trigger us to connect
this intimately to our memories and
experiences, then storytelling has the
potential to be a very powerful teaching
tool indeed.
we define concepts in relation to things
we already know, for example, personal
experiences or existing mental models,
because they help us to reuse synaptic
connections in our brains that already
exist.
Stories also inspire us by drawing upon
our imagination and engaging our
creative senses. Marken says the most
powerful attribute of the story is “drawing
out the imagination of the listener.” For
example, in the movie, The Princess
Bride, a large part of the story features
the imagination of the boy listening to
the story, drawing upon his five senses
to create in his mind what the characters
look like, how they would act, and the
smells and shapes of the landscape.
Engaging our creative senses in teaching
is important for several reasons. Creative
thinking provides an outlet for students
to express their views, and to use their
imagination to construct meaning for
themselves (Fisher 2004). Creativity
also provides a sense of motivation for
students, reminding them that there is
always more to a subject or story than
what we already know.
In his podcast entitled “Stories about
Stories,” 3M Teaching Fellow Lee Gass, a
high school biology teacher who worked
first at the University of Oregon and then
at the University of British Columbia talks
about how stories are fundamental to
learning even in the sciences. He tells a
story of two students talking outside of
his office, who decide not to take his final
exam in the biology course he is teaching,
There may be an underlying physical
because they haven’t learned anything.
connection as to why stories help us
Gass describes how he discovers what
remember. Several authors advocate that his students actually know- stories
we learn best when given information
constructed from their own words
with a specific context, frame, and
about scientific concepts and principles.
meaning as opposed to isolated facts
Once students know the rules of their
(Palmer 2007; p.130). Leamnson (2000)
respective disciplines, Gass asserts that
advocates that learning happens when
they are able to construct their own
physical connections in our brains
stories, and that’s what he tests them
that are responsible for understanding
on exams. Storytelling, in this sense,
(termed synapses) stabilize over time. It
is constructive and active because it is
makes sense that our synapses may be
students who are not only listening, but
used much more readily when we are
also are telling their own stories.
given a story because of the increased
associations between a concept and its
Whatever the reason, stories inspire and
context, frame and meaning. Stories can engage us, entertain and inform us, and
promote greater understanding when
help us to learn and remember. I still find
7
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myself, daydreaming some days, about
the Little Bookroom that I once read
about as a young girl, and the magic that
still resides for me there.
References
Covey, S.R. 2004. The 7 habits of highly
effective people: powerful lessons in
personal change. Free Press: New York.
Egan, K. 1986. Teaching as story telling:
an alternative approach to teaching and
curriculum in the elementary school.
London, Ont: Althouse Press.
Unpacking the TeachingResearch Nexus and its
Influence on Academic
Practice
by Brad Wuetherick, Program Director, GMCTE
Reprinted with permission (and minor edits) from Academic Matters.
“Students should all be reading scholarly
monographs, not just textbooks,
beginning in their first year,” said
one academic passionately during a
curriculum debate in a Department of
History at a large Canadian research
university. The immediate reply came
Gass, L. n.d. Stories about stories: A
from a colleague across the table, saying,
podcast. Retrieved February 20, 2010,
“All of this (research-based learning) is
from http://www.leegass.com/who-is-lee- applicable at the appropriate level only,
gass/educator/podcasts/.
and that is the graduate level not the
undergraduate level.”
Gibbons, B. 1986. The intimate sense of
smell. National Geographic Magazine,
These varied sentiments, arguing
170(3): 324-361.
about the place of research, teaching,
and the teaching-research nexus, have
Herod, B. 2002. Community storytelling.
reverberated around the “hallowed halls”
Retrieved February 19, 2010, from http:// of many university campuses across
www.thegloaming.net/community.html. Canada and around the world. These
two quotes, taken from a recent study
Herreid, C.F. 2006. Using case studies to
exploring faculty perceptions of the
teach science. Edited by J. Mintzes and
role of research in the undergraduate
W.H. Leonard (pp.177-184). Handbook
learning environment, demonstrate the
of College Science Teaching. National
challenges facing departments, faculties,
Science Teacher’s Association Press,
and institutions as they attempt to come
Arlington, Virginia.
to grips with the teaching-research nexus.
Leamnson, R. 2000. Learning as biological The imbalance (whether perceived or
brain change. Change, 32(6): 34-40.
real) between the research and teaching
roles of university academics has
Palmer, P.J. 2007. The courage to teach:
resulted in several calls for action in the
Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s higher education teaching and learning
life. 10th edition. San Francisco: Josseyliterature, ranging from Boyer’s call
Bass. [Note: The “Student from Hell” story almost 20 years ago to move beyond the
is on pages 43-45].
“tired, old research vs. teaching debate”
_______________________________
(1990, ix) to more recent explorations of
1. Dr. Marken will be delivering a workshop series
on “Teaching as Storytelling” on May 4 & 11 from 2-4 how rethinking the teaching-research
nexus might enhance both the student
p.m. at The Gwenna Moss Centre. Please register at
www.usask.ca/gmcte.
and faculty experience of higher
education.
Fisher, R. 2004. What is creativity? From
Unlocking creativity: Teaching across the
curriculum (pp.6-20). Edited by R. Fisher
and M. Williams. Great Britain: David
Fulton Publishers.
8
Inevitably, as campus communities
struggle with these issues, debates
emerge among all higher education
stakeholders. For example, what is meant
by the “teaching-research nexus”? Do
student and faculty perceptions of the
role of research in the undergraduate
experience align with one another?
What would it mean to integrate
research, teaching and learning at
the undergraduate level? And what
would be the corresponding impact
on academic practice? These questions
formed the basis of a series of recent
studies undertaken during my time at
the University of Alberta attempting to
unpack the teaching-research nexus and
to explore ways of integrating research,
teaching and learning more effectively at
the undergraduate level.
What is the Teaching-Research
Nexus?
Whenever a conversation about the
teaching-research nexus occurs, the
immediate question arises: what is meant
by the teaching-research nexus? In
particular, as such conversations unfold,
both academics and students struggle
with what is meant by “research” in the
context of the teaching-research nexus.
Simplistically, the teaching-research
nexus refers to any aspect of the interplay
between the teaching and research roles
of universities, whether at the level of
the institution, faculty, department, or
individual academic. That said, there are
still multiple ways of defining research,
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
each of which strongly influence how one engaged in discovery research, where
students work (often one-on-one or as
might perceive the teaching-research
part of research teams) with academics
nexus.
to undertake research, but these can also
include students completing dissertations
For a number of years the prevailing
as part of honours programs. Finally,
perception regarding the teachingthe teaching-research nexus can be
research nexus was that correlations
between traditional measures of teaching conceptualized as academics engaging in
the scholarship of teaching and learning.
and research excellence, usually student
evaluations of teaching and publication
rates/citation indices respectively, were
How does the Teaching-Research
positive. This informed the perception of Nexus relate to Academic
many academics and administrators alike
Identity?
that active researchers were the most
effective teachers. A meta-analysis of over
Over a number of years there has
50 different studies using these types of
been a growing consensus in the
measures, however, demonstrated that
the correlation between these traditional higher education literature that an
undergraduate education needs to
measures of teaching and research
ensure that students develop higher
excellence was essentially zero, with
order research and inquiry skills. As a
the authors concluding that universities
result, we have seen a shift towards a
instead needed to explore how research
research and inquiry-based learning
and teaching might be more effectively
environment across the higher-education
integrated (Hattie and Marsh, 1996).
sector internationally. Institutions
are trying to increase undergraduate
Five different ways to conceptualize the
students’ exposure to research and
teaching-research nexus has emerged
inquiry both inside and outside of the
from the educational literature in the
classroom through various individual,
past five years. First, research at the fore
departmental, or institutional initiatives.
of the discipline, as well as the research
of the individual academic teaching in
the classroom, informs the content of the The success of these initiatives is still
highly dependent upon individual
courses being taught. Second, students
academics’ perceptions of the teachingcan be taught research skills. Third,
research nexus and the development
students can be engaged in researchof their own academic identity. A study
based learning, which can be found in
degree programs that are predominantly of academics at two universities in the
U.S. confirmed that individuals with a
structured around problem-based or
inquiry-based learning but which can be fragmented academic identity (where the
implemented at the level of the individual academics perceived their teaching and
research roles as separate) struggled with
course where students undertake a
research project. Fourth, students can be the integration of teaching and research,
while those with a more integrated
academic identity were far more likely
to integrate their teaching and research
The research universities have
activities successfully (Colbeck, 1998).
often failed, and continue to fail,
their undergraduate populations,
Research has also recently explored other
thousands of students graduate
factors related to academics’ ability to
without seeing the world integrate research and teaching, such
famous professors or tasting
as the disciplinary or departmental
genuine research.”
culture, the research-intensiveness
of the institution, or even national
The Boyer Commission, Reinventing
research funding policies that enable
Undergraduate Education: A blueprint for
America’s research universities (New York:
students to be engaged in working
Stony Brook, 1998), p. 3.
with academics on research projects.
These studies conclude that academics
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
9
who perceived a positive relationship
between active research involvement
and teaching were influenced strongly
by the value they place on research as
a part of their academic identity, their
perception of how students’ learning
develops epistemological belief systems,
how research involvement is used as
a teaching method with students, and
how departmental/faculty/institutional
organization and culture supports (and
more importantly evaluates) the link
between teaching and research.
Student Perceptions of, and
Experiences with, Research
Several studies exploring students’
perceptions of, and experiences with,
research have been undertaken around
the world, including three separate
studies that have been conducted at the
University of Alberta. These studies at
the U of A concluded that undergraduate
students are largely aware of research
happening on their campus, with the
proportion of students who report being
aware of research increasing significantly
with the respondents’ year of study. The
relatively high awareness of research
activities does not, however, necessarily
translate into a high level of reported
experiences with research.
Many students reported having their
instructor discuss research in a class, but
relatively few students reported receiving
opportunities to undertake independent
research projects (either inside or
outside of a class), to work as research
assistants, or to contribute to some form
of research output (conference paper/
poster, publication, etc.). That said, in
a recent comparison study between
one Canadian and two U.K. universities,
Canadian undergraduate students
were significantly more likely to report
having participated in a research seminar
outside of a class or having contributed
to a research project/paper/conference
abstract or working as a research assistant
(Turner et al, 2008).
The students’ perception of the positive
or negative impacts of research on the
learning environment, however, may be
www.usask.ca/gmcte
more revealing. About half the students
responded that research positively
impacted their learning by increasing
their understanding or stimulating
their interest in the subject area. On
the other hand, as many as one-quarter
of students responded that research
negatively impacted their learning
environment through their instructor’s
lack of interest in teaching or the
students’ well-being, the instructors’ lack
of availability to undergraduate students,
the distortion of course content towards
research interests, and the inability of
the instructor to communicate at an
appropriate level.
On the whole, students placed a low
importance on research when compared
to other academic priorities, such as
having instructors who are good teachers
or who care about student learning,
and courses or programs that help
prepare them for a future career. Only
40 per cent of respondents in one study
indicated that feeling engaged with
research throughout the undergraduate
experience was important, while just
over 30 per cent responded that it was of
little or no importance. Students largely
agreed, however, that instructors actively
engaged in research are more likely to be
enthusiastic about their subject matter,
that the most effective teaching is when
the lecturer involves them in aspects of
the research process, and that they learn
the most when undertaking their own
research project.
One of the most interesting results of
these studies was the increased positive
perception of research among students
in academic programs (including the
faculties of science and arts) when
compared to professional programs (such
as business, education, nursing, medicine,
or engineering). For example, significantly
more students in academic programs
perceived a positive impact through their
increased understanding, stimulated
interest and enthusiasm, and motivation
to pursue postgraduate studies. As well,
students in academic programs were
significantly more likely to feel that
engagement with research throughout
the undergraduate experience was
important.
Faculty Perceptions of their
Students’ Experiences
or international reputations existed
on campus. While respondents largely
underestimated students’ awareness
of research, they largely overestimated
As the results of these studies exploring
the proportion of students who gained
students’ perceptions of, and experiences
specific experience with research. For
with, research were shared around
example, they significantly overestimated
the University of Alberta, there were a
the number of students who experienced
number of interesting reactions from
having an academic staff member
the academic community. Anecdotally,
lecturing about their research, having
faculty reported that the views of
read a research paper by a faculty
the students they interacted with
member, undertaking independent
were different than what was being
research projects as part of or as a whole
reported out of these studies. This
course, learning research techniques, and
prompted a follow-up study exploring
working as a research assistant.
faculty perceptions and experiences
of the teaching-research nexus to see
Across the board, faculty respondents
how it related to the perceptions and
believed strongly that their involvement
experiences reported by undergraduate
in research had a positive impact
students.
on students’ learning. For example,
roughly three-quarters or more of
“Our view is that university
respondents believed that faculty
research often distracts from the
involvement in research helped increase
quality of teaching. We regret the
students’ understanding in the learning
continuing elevation of research
environment, stimulated student interest
and the systematic neglect of the
and enthusiasm as well as increased
quality of instruction … University
awareness of methodological issues
research … is often specialized
in the discipline, or motivated some
and far removed from the needs
students to continue into postgraduate
of undergraduate students …
study. Over half believed it positively
Universities must come clean about
impacted the development of student
the relationship between teaching
research skills. In each of these cases,
and research.”
however, faculty’s perceptions of the
positive impact were significantly higher
T. Pocklington and A. Tupper, No Place
that than students’ perceptions of the
to Learn: Why Universities Aren’t Working
positive impact.
(Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 2002), Chapter
One.
An inverse pattern emerges for faculty’s
perceptions of the negative impacts
Faculty were asked their perceptions of
of research on the student learning
students’ awareness of research, as well
environment. In each case students were
as their perceptions about the teachingmore likely to perceive a negative impact
research nexus. Most respondents felt
on the learning environment arising
students were aware that faculty wrote
from faculty involvement in research.
for publication, a similar proportion to the
For example, no faculty respondents felt
actual responses of students who were
that research negatively impacted the
surveyed earlier. In other areas, however,
learning environment by making them
faculty significantly underestimated
unavailable to students or by decreasing
students awareness of various researchtheir ability to explain material to
related activities in the institution,
students effectively. While not statistically
including that faculty were supervising
significant, faculty were also less likely to
research students, that research
perceive an increase in the lack of interest
seminars or conferences are held in the
in facilitating student learning, a lack of
department or institution, that faculty
interest in students’ academic well-being,
were undertaking funded research, that
and research interests distorting what
research centres or institutes existed on
they teach.
campus, and that areas with national
10
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Some faculty, however, identified issues
that potentially could have an impact
on their ability to effectively integrate
teaching and research. For example:
“Research need not distort a class
but it has that potential. Often
the problem is one of time –
publishing priorities come before
class time.”
“I am not sure what ‘link’
intended is, but what I research
is too esoteric to have much
influence on undergraduate
teaching. They are not in a
position to understand.”
When positive and negative factors
were explored further some interesting
patterns emerged from the comparison
of faculty and student data. Both faculty
and students agreed (close to threequarters for both faculty and students)
that instructors involved in research were
more enthusiastic about their discipline.
As well, both students and faculty
were more likely to agree that students
learn best when undertaking their own
research project or paper or that the most
effective teaching is when the instructor
involves students in aspects of the
research process.
There are, however, several areas where
students and faculty perceptions differed
significantly. For example, faculty were
far more likely to believe that students
have little awareness of their professor’s
research interests, that students were not
aware of the positive impact research has
on the learning environment, and that
faculty involvement in research has an
impact on the amount of time spent with
students. In only one case was the pattern
“I believe that the main hope for
realizing a genuinely student
centred undergraduate education
lies in the re-engineering of the
teaching-research nexus.”
reversed. Faculty were far more likely to
believe that insufficient attention is given
to developing student research skills.
The survey also provided respondents
an opportunity to reflect more broadly
on the teaching-research nexus. The
major theme that emerged from
faculty responses were related to
the fundamental purpose of higher
education and the purpose of teaching
and learning in the context of higher
education. Examples included:
“In the long run, university
teaching is not about only
conveying information – it is
primarily about teaching students
HOW to learn, ask questions and
find out answers for themselves –
in short, ‘research’ in some form.”
“Our teaching should be, at least
in part, informed by research and
students should be exposed to
some of the debates over how we
collect and use evidence.”
“Universities are fundamentally
teaching AND research
institutions. The education
students receive ought to reflect
that.”
Several secondary themes emerged
from the qualitative responses, including
whether or not being research-active
or not is acceptable to teaching in the
discipline.
“Only research-active scholars can
communicate the most recent
results of research along with
practical knowledge of how to
do research. Scholars who do
not pursue scholarship/research
themselves or at least keep up
with their fields in an active way
will soon be teaching in a way
that reflects a past version of the
discipline …”
Several scholars have argued that the
key to the teaching-research nexus is
to base the curriculum around the idea
of inquiry (for example, Brew, 2006).
Research suggests, not surprisingly, that
senior undergraduates, in particular those
students in honours programs, are far
more likely to have experienced researchbased learning opportunities. More
emphasis needs to be placed, however,
on bringing inquiry-based learning
into the learning environment earlier
in the degree program and expanding
opportunities for all undergraduate
students. Universities need to provide
opportunities for our students to become
scholars in their own right and contribute
to the creation of knowledge across all
disciplines.
One way that we can begin to approach
the idea of involving students in both
inquiry-based and discovery learning
is by providing opportunities for
students to become part of the scholarly
community. The development of
inclusive, scholarly knowledge-building
communities, which engage everyone
from senior faculty through to first- year
undergraduate students, is a model that
has been gaining momentum in the
higher education literature (Brew, 2006).
In order for this to succeed, however,
the hierarchy implicitly built into the
organization of universities must be
challenged, as must the definition of who
can legitimately be a scholar. We must
critically reflect on the ways we enable
undergraduate students to be a part
of this scholarly community. This could
result in a profound transformation of the
nature of universities the nature of how
we construct our academic identity, and
perhaps how we evaluate our academic
practice.
References:
P. Ramsden, “Strategic management of
teaching and learning”, in C. Rust, (ed.)
Improving Student Learning Strategically
(Oxford: OCSLD, 2001), 1-10.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Moving Towards Making
Research-Based Learning the
Norm
Boyer E. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered.
Princeton: Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of University Teaching.
11
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Brew A. (2006). Research and Teaching:
Beyond the Divide. New York: PalgraveMacMillan.
Colbeck C (1998). Merging in a Seamless
Blend. Journal of Higher Education. 69 (6),
p. 647-671.
Hattie J. and Marsh H. (1996). The
Relationship Between Research and
Teaching: A Meta-Analysis. Review of
Educational Research. 66 (4), p. 64-85.
Turner N., Wuetherick B., and Healey M.
(2008). International Perspectives on
Student Awareness, Experiences, and
Perceptions of Research. International
Journal for Academic Development. 13 (3),
p. 199-211.
We are pleased to introduce Brad
Wuetherick as the Program Director for
the Centre. After 18 years as a student
and then academic staff member at
the University of Alberta, Brad saw
the light and came east to Saskatoon.
Having completed a BA in History and
Sociology, and an MA in History, both
at the University of Alberta, Brad is also
currently finishing his PhD in Higher
Education Teaching and Learning through
the Institute for Teaching and Learning at
the University of Sydney in Australia.
Brad’s research interests focus on the
experiential learning and the effective
integration of research, teaching and
learning, including several projects
related to both student and faculty
perceptions and experiences of
research in the undergraduate learning
environment.
Celebration of
Teaching 2010
Award Reception and
Program, April 19, 2010
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
is pleased to host another Celebration of Teaching
to honour our many award winning teachers. This
year we are especially looking forward to recognizing
our newest award winners in the categories of: The
Provost’s College Awards for Outstanding Teaching; and
five Provost’s Awards in the categories of:
• Excellence in Aboriginal Education
• International Teaching
• Outstanding Innovation in Learning
• Outstanding New Teacher
• Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher
Along with these new award recipients we will be
honouring recent Master Teacher Award Winners,
the 2010 Sylvia Wallace Award Winner and other
people who have made significant contributions
to teaching at the U of S.
All are welcome to attend. The reception and program will
begin at 4:30 pm, Monday, April 19th in Convocation
Hall, College Building.
For more information call 966-2231
12
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
CONSIDER AN EXTREME
COURSE MAKEOVER TO
REJUVINATE YOUR
TEACHING
By F.E. Robinson, Interim Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
University of Alberta, frank.robinson@ualberta.ca
What inspires you to step back from what
you have always done in the classroom?
Is it declining enrolment as students
do not register for your course unless
they have to? Is it declining course
evaluations as students register a lack
of satisfaction with the course and or
with you? Or is it that you feel a reduced
motivation in your teaching endeavors?
In an academic world with expectations
for excellence in research and teaching,
it is a challenge to perfect the balance.
Research excellence is perhaps easier
to quantify and it is easy to know if you
have slipped under the bar. Identifying
the quality of your teaching output is
not so simple. It is easy to become a bit
complacent about producing high quality
learning experiences for many reasons.
Some justify that a course only runs for 3
months, and it is a small part of the year
to put too much time into. Some feel
that they are too busy and in some cases
burned out to invest time in revising
learning objectives and outcomes, as
their student teaching evaluation scores
are decent, and after all, some other
faculty do have lower ones. Others may
feel that they are within sight of the
greener pastures of retirement and it is
not worth the time and effort to make
a change for a few cohorts of students.
Still others may have concerns and fears
about risk and potential failure. Having
said all that, it is never too late to try
something that excites you, engages
students and in turn further motivates
you and those around you. I would
like to tell you my story about such a
rejuvenation.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
I have been teaching at the University
of Alberta for 23 years and in that time
I have continued to learn, adapt and try
new things. My former “new things” were
undergraduate research project work,
student presentations to industry groups
and taking my students to conferences.
These approaches worked very well for
my senior-level students (Korver et al.,
2004). In 1995, I took over as the lead
instructor for our introductory Animal
Science course (Animal Science 200). It
included minimal student engagement,
but had positive student evaluations. In
2004 I was a member of the University
of Alberta task force on the integration
of teaching and research. This is where I
first encountered educational literature,
which affirmed what I had learned on
my own in teaching seniors. I did not
realize then that this would be the start
of a teaching transformation which has
led to my extreme course make over
at the introductory level. In particular,
it was the Boyer Commission Report
(Boyer Commission, 1998; 2002) which
resonated well. Six Boyer points seemed
to fit well into my teaching plan:
• Construct an inquiry-based
freshman year
• Make research-based learning
the standard
• Build on the freshman foundation
• Link communication skills and
course work
• Educate grad students as
apprentice teachers
• Cultivate a sense of community
13
What has evolved over the past 11
cohorts of this class (taught both fall
and winter terms) is a beyond what I
had initially imagined. I credit this to
an outrageously creative teaching team
of professors, graduate students and
undergrads, a university administration
that values student engagement, and an
agricultural community that supports
education both financially and personally.
As I look back on this instructional
journey, I would like to demonstrate how
the Boyer points have guided my actions.
Constructing and inquiry-based freshman
year made sense to me, as I thought I
could use this to help reduce the variation
in student knowledge levels in the class.
Many of my students were raised with
agriculture, and some were hard-core
urbanites. Others knew the beef industry
well, but were not familiar with poultry
production. I sought to initiate a project
called “Name that Tool” (Robinson et
al., 2007) that almost all of the students
would find a challenge. Students would
be encouraged to share experiences,
knowledge and names of contact people
who could be a resource. I sought to
make it more than “okay” for students
to ask questions, and I acknowledged
that I had a lot of questions too, as
after all, I was a self-proclaimed chicken
gynecologist teaching beef and dairy
production.
Making research based learning the
standard had worked well for me with
4th year students, but would first year
students have the background to do
www.usask.ca/gmcte
this well? I had other concerns as well:
what about getting through the vast
curriculum content and what about
the diverse student background I had
seen? It occurred to me that if I were to
have my students research the science
behind some of the questions that the
food-consuming public asked me, that
they would learn and at the same time
contribute to educating the public. This
was to become the core value of my new
course.
I knew that our senior courses would
build on the freshman foundation very
well. My challenge was to instill a sense
of inquiry, research logic and scientific
rigor so that students would be well
equipped for these future courses. I
thought that our program’s capstone
course, might some day mirror the
diverse questions my students would be
answering through research in Animal
Science 200. In fact, this has come to be
the case.
Linking communication and course
work has always been a component of
my teaching. That is, if communication
is writing a scientific paper or talking to
researchers and poultry producers. It
occurred to me that if students were
engaged in answering “questions they
didn’t know they had about animal
agriculture” that the communication
should also be directed towards the
public. Initially, I assumed that this
would mean that students would
make Powerpoint presentations. I had
encouraged students to be creative in
delivery. At the time I assumed that this
might mean animations, or short video
clips in the Powerpoints, but within the
first term, some students took this to
mean drama, humor and a very high
level of audience engagement. Student
writing was directed to short magazine
style articles aimed at grabbing the
attention of the reader in popular press.
For many years, I have known that
effective team teaching requires a team
that communicates well, balances out
strengths and weaknesses and shares
respect for learners. Key to my teams
has been educating grad students as
apprentice teachers. In many cases,
graduate students have lots in common
with undergraduates, and they are
often keenly aware of short-comings in
university instruction. My course makeover was carried out as a team, with
two graduate students who contributed
to concept development, helped me
in communicating the transformation
to the first class, helped in designing
assessment guidelines and encouraged
me to stay the course. Commitment
to this makeover has been recognized
by graduate students working with me
receiving six graduate student teaching
awards in the past five years. One of
my former teaching assistants has
taken some of my ideas and instituted
something similar at another university.
Another former one engages the public
in science-based programs in the
community.
I sought to make it more than “okay”
for students to ask questions, and
I acknowledged that I had a lot of
questions too, as after all, I was a
self-proclaimed chicken gynecologist
teaching beef and dairy production.
Since I have been in administrative roles
dealing with teaching and learning for
the past eight years, I have recognized
that building a sense of community
in a class can be a lifeline for students.
Sometimes it is their only recognizable
campus-based support. I have come
to think of this as “warming up the first
year” where students can make friends
through group-work, share experiences
through darker days of project work and
very positive experiences of creative
presentation to the public.
peer pressure of do they like the taste?
• Do double-yolked eggs hatch two
chicks?
Teams of students are instructed to have
a minimum of ten “science points” which
are communicated to the public in a 3.5
minute highly energized presentation.
The presentations have evolved with
music and drama, and in the last term,
to the production of short You Tube
videos. A panel of four to five people
representing media, community leaders,
professors and industry personnel ask
brief questions or inject comments,
often laced with humor after each group
presentation. Since the inception of
this new format for Animal Science 200
in 2004 a total of 559 students have
answered 156 questions in front of a
combined audience of 5700 people.
While initially the HIYT presentations
were considered to be a vehicle to
increase agriculture and food awareness
in urban centres, the three rural
productions served to validate with rural
people the role that agriculture and
food plays everywhere. More details of
each of these specific presentations, and
community involvement can be found at
www.hiyt.afhe.ualberta.ca.
Students enrolled in the Winter
2007 cohort of this class voluntarily
participated in a survey to assess the
impact of the inquiry-based projects
on their attitudes to the project work,
potential benefits and their interest in a
career n research (Robinson et al., 2008).
The initial survey was filled out (on paper)
on the first day of the class, prior to a
description of the course syllabus. The
final survey was carried out online, mid
way through the subsequent semester.
“There’s a Heifer in Your Tank (HIYT)” is the Students were asked to respond to the
culmination of the above core values of
several statements about undergraduate
my extreme course make over (Robinson research (UGR), which were drawn from
et al., 2006). In this six-week experience, the relevant literature on research-based
teams of three to five students research
teaching and learning. For many of the
answer quirky animal science questions
statements, the students were more
such as:
positive one semester after the course
than were at the beginning of the course.
• If your car burned methane how far
Specifically, students came to agree
could you travel on the methane from
more strongly that UGR courses were
one cow? (the original HIYT question)
enjoyable and that they learned more in
them. The content was thought to be a
• Why do cows eat their placenta, is it
good fit and the information learned was
14
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
considered more relevant at the end of
the term than it was considered to be at
the start of the term. Written skills were
thought to be improved in the responses
to the second survey. Another indicator
of value was that the students became
more positive that their UGR course
helped them to meet new people. The
students felt strongly that they would
take more of these courses if offered, and
this was reflected in improved academic
performance.
The data we collected support what I
had in mind when I embarked on this
make over. An additional benefit is that
an increasing number of students from
other faculties are taking this class. I
have made a conscious effort to not let
this new course get stale and I have the
foundation for the course that will appear
in the next make over. After having lived
through this transformation, which has
been successful from the student learning
viewpoint, I am more determined than
ever to expend energy in promoting
change. In hindsight, what has evolved
is much more ambitious, creative and
downright scary, than I ever imagined.
I have a great collection of anecdotal
stories about the positive impact of this
course from students who have gone
through this learning experience and I
am profoundly grateful that I am able to
carry out this type of learning experience
within the confines of a curricular
academic program.
References
Boyer Commission. 1998. Reinventing
Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for
America’s Research Universities. Stony
Brook, New York. Carnegie Foundation for
University Teaching.
Boyer Commission. 2002. Reinventing
Undergraduate Education: Three Years
After the Boyer Report. Stony Brook, New
York. Carnegie Foundation for University
Teaching.
Korver, D., M. Jendral, F., Robinson, R.
Renema and G. Fasenko. 2004.
Optimizing public education: Telling
the world what we do Proc. XXII World’s
Poultry Congress, Istanbul Turkey
(published electronically).
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Robinson, F. E., D. Penrice, N. J. Wolanski,
B. Wuetherick and S. Varnhagen. 2008.
From the classroom to the community:
Advancing inquiry-based learning in
poultry science. Proc XXIII World’s Poultry
Congress, Adelaide, Australia.
Robinson, F. E., B. Wuetherick, N. Wolanski
and S. Greenwood. 2007. Building core
animal science knowledge through
project-based study: Name that tool.
NACTA Journal 51: 33-36.
Robinson, F. E., B. Wuetherick, J. Martin, C.
Strawson, K. Schmid, S. Greenwood and N.
Wolanski. 2006. Experiences in collaborative
project-based study: There’s a heifer in your
tank. NACTA Journal 50: 7-11.
Pull up a chair
By Jaymie Koroluk, Program Coordinator, GMCTE
“Design is a plan for arranging
elements in such a way as best to
accomplish a particular purpose.”
Charles Eames
American designers Charles and Ray
Eames created a great many things, but
they are best known for their furniture
– particularly their chairs, which have
become icons of design. Look around
you – how many different kinds of chair
do you see in a day? If you’re on campus,
you might even see an Eames-inspired
chair. What about the chair you’re sitting
in? Is it comfortable? Functional? Visually
appealing? Or maybe not so much. But
we can end up spending a lot of time
in even the most uncomfortable chairs.
A chair can take an infinite number
of forms, while still retaining its basic
elements, and its basic function – as a
place to sit.
Instructional design (ID) is also a matter
of arranging elements in such a way
to accomplish a particular purpose —
to teach. ID combines elements of
instructional psychology, technology and
instructional media to produce materials
and techniques to communicate with
your students. Instructional theories,
technologies, and media are continually
15
changing, but the basic function of ID
remains the same; to improve teaching
and learning.
ID not only represents a way to
communicate your subject matter,
but also a way to communicate your
enthusiasm and passion for what you
teach. Instructional design is integral
to and an expression of, your teaching
practice. When applied and used well, ID
can represent a way to make things easier
and more effective for you and your
students – in essence, creating a more
comfortable place to sit.
It’s possible to think about design
occurring on a number of levels: from
examining objectives and curricula at
the college level, to designing programs
and suites of courses, right down to the
details of designing the structure of a
lesson and choosing teaching strategies
to match. At any level, it is important
to remember that the ID process is a
systematic one – taking steps to consider
all aspects of materials and systems.
Models are often used to describe the ID
process. These models range from the
complex and specific to the most general.
A model of the latter type that remains a
touchstone in the design field is ADDIE,
which can be summed up as follows:
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement,
Evaluate. While ID is a specialized field,
simply taking the time to consciously
think things through can result in an
improvement in teaching materials.
If you are looking at designing a course
from scratch, or overhauling an existing
course, we offer a one-week intensive
course design workshop. In this course,
we run through the entire process:
from talking about the basic purpose of
The Gwenna Moss Centre is dedicated to teaching, writing objectives, structuring
championing teaching on campus and as your course, choosing teaching strategies
part of that mandate, we offer support for to support your design, and creating
instructional design to help you improve effective assessment materials.
your teaching practice. While we currently
do not offer services to do the actual
This year’s offering of Course (re)Design
design and production work, we can help will run from May 10-14, 2010. For more
you get started. We can consult with you information, and to register, please visit
about the various aspects of curriculum,
our website.
course and teaching design. Depending
on your needs, we can refer you to
If you find yourself thinking about
instructional design services available on instructional design and how it can aid
campus.
and enhance your teaching practice, but
you’re not sure where to start, come to
The Centre has a variety of resources
the Gwenna Moss Centre.
available too, including materials in our
reference library, and we can put you in
Pull up a chair, and let’s talk.
touch with books, websites and so on
that meet your specific needs.
Suggested reading:
As well, we offer workshops on a variety
of course design aspects, from writing
objectives, to creating meaningful
assessment tools, to integrating effective
visuals in your course materials. Check
our website or contact us for information
on upcoming sessions. If there’s
something you would like to see offered,
let us know!
Reiser, R. (2001). A History of Instructional
Design and Technology: Part II: A History
of Instructional Design. Educational
Technology Research & Development. 49,
57-67.
Siemens, G. (2002). Instructional
Design in elearning. Retrieved from:
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/
InstructionalDesign.htm
New Members of the Centre
The GMCTE is pleased to introduce three new members
of the team. Brad Wuetherick, Program Director, Jaymie Koroluk,
Program Coordinator and Instructional Design Consultant, and
Kris Foster, Communication Coordinator. We are looking forward
to benefitting from their expertise and encourage all teaching staff
at the U of S to come by Room 50 Murray to meet them.
Course Design
Short Course
May 10-14, 2010
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
In this workshop a multidisciplinary
group of participants will:
• Focus on the design of a new course
or the redesign of a course they have
previously taught.
• Consider the various elements of course
design and the teaching and learning
process in the context of their own
discipline.
• Engage in collaborative discussion and
peer critique with colleagues from
across disciplines in the design of their
course.
• Think about the course design from a
student perspective.
• Develop an action plan to carry out their
course design.
The workshop will integrate activities
with opportunities for individuals to
design a course in their subject area.
Large group activities will include
presentations of major concepts and
cases illustrating their application to
actual courses. Small multi-disciplinary
groups will focus on course design and
microteaching. A principled approach to
course design is supported by recorded
teaching episodes, self-critique and peer
feedback.
These activities will provide the
opportunity to learn about different
strategies for teaching, and to experiment
with them in a non-threatening and
supportive environment. It is essential
that you bring to the workshop a course
that you intend to design or re-design,
and that you are able to attend all
workshop sessions.
Readings and other preparation activities
are expected in the evenings. There will
be a $100 fee for this workshop.
Registration is required. Please
visit www.usask.ca to register
online. For more information
contact Jaymie Koroluk at
Jaymie.Koroluk@usask.ca
Brad Wuetherick
Jaymie Koroluk
Kris Foster
16
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
So much
history and
so little time
dozens of people who over two centuries
have illuminated our lives. Many of
these people became our leaders as they
sustained their dedication, persevered
and produced contributions recognized
by peers, the profession, and society at
large. For education and professional
contribution occurred under tranquil
times and ideal conditions. For others, it
was the opposite - difficult conditions,
wars, loss of homeland, disruption of their
planned work and austere resources.
By George G. Khachatourians
College of Agriculture and Bioresources
How to go about teaching and learning
about the above? On on hand there
are examples for schematizing people
branches of a few great stems, fed by
George Khachatourians' teaching
who have contributed to a discipline,
commingled and hidden roots.” It is just
career at the U of S began in 1974.
which in some identifiable way one can
that and the stem of IM bears the names
He has taught several graduate and
widely separate them from the rest. On
of countless numbers of women and men
undergraduate courses in genetics,
the other hand, one can approach the
from whose intellects society received
microbiology, biotechnology, toxicology
identification and citations of these
benefits.
and interdisciplinary studies. He is a
people in an illustrative rather than
professor in the Department of Food and
definitive way. Therefore, I avoided a
Since its modest beginnings some
Bioproduct Sciences and is serving as
chronological arrangement or specific
decades earlier, the coverage of
the Chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies
ranking of these historical figures in IM.
teaching of IM has undergone limitless
in the College of Graduate Studies and
I believed that a learner must see the
expansion in its principles, techniques,
Research.
relationships and learn how trial and
research findings, its developments and
error, analysis and continued progress
applications, products with commercial
Introduction to the story
occur. I reminded myself that by and
value, and its interdisciplinary integration.
So much history and so little time! But
large science does not advance by a
really, who cares or should care and why? Yet in terms of theories of learning and
master plan nor by a conductor like a
teaching, we rush to cover all with little
My involvement with the topic, and, as a
symphonic orchestra, but as Santayana
result the beginning of this article, relates time left for the pursuit of its history, that remarked, “... blindly and without a
is the people who created and shaped
to the retirement of my colleague of 34
general as by an army of ants...”
years, W. M. (Mike) Ingledew. Mike taught the field, and whose pedigree became
custodians responsible for nurturing the
Industrial Microbiology (IM), which was
Typically, in a lecture on a particular
many leaves, flowers and fruits to which
passed on to me.
topic we make a brief and occasional
Huxley refers.
mention of names, dates and a one or
Industrial microbiology teaching
two word association of their works.
My particular challenge
presents to the learner the use of
Time constraints force us to omit the
In teaching the class in IM, I followed
naturally occurring or genetically
more exciting aspects of their lives,
the approved course contents. What
modified microorganisms in the
their brilliant intuition, their capture
to do with the history? I had a unique
manufacture of multitude of consumer
of serendipity, and the subsequent
opportunity as how to present some
and environmental products. In IM
history of their contribution. Although
historical perspectives, in a lecture or as
we learn about particular attributes
collectively the people chosen for
some select remarks at the start of each
of these microorganisms that support
their contribution to the history of the
lecture module. Alternately, I could have
our planet's communal dynamism and
subjects in this case were many, I had
let go of it as some say: “if it's behind you to select those that correlated with
survival. You see, we cannot have an
just forget it. “ My choice was clear. I was the course topics, from antibiotics,
aseptic life. Discount microorganisms
and we will see all order fall into disorder fortunate to not only have had a course
biotransformation, and fermentation, to
and chaos. Its true values are global and during my college years on the History
the present day economic achievement
of Microbiology, but I am interested in
are found in daily societal and economic
of IM. The challenge was to remain
development. The foundations of IM and history in general.
focused on the individual, the local and
its continuing presence are best captured
the globally pivotal ones.
by Thomas Henry Huxley: “the thoughts
What to choose - leaders of the
of men are comparable to the leaves,
The people included in the history
field
flowers, and fruits upon the innumerable As with any subject area, IM is indebted to IM were only identified by a list,
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
17
www.usask.ca/gmcte
co-incidentally paralleling the course
lecture topics. Unavoidably, this list
naturally brought together the classicists
who established the foundations as well
as the more contemporary contributors.
There were international and national
figures including one local person,
Professor Ingledew.
The Methodology
It became clear that a different
approach to teaching and learning
could be employed. The learners can
be the teachers and acquire a deeper
appreciation of IM, if they agree to a cooperative approach. Could the students
as a cohort devise varying approaches
and define what makes a discovery novel
and useful? As an interactive group,
they could share their own research and
discovery, as a view of the history of
the IM, and as an appreciation of these
people's lives. I saw the possibility to
humanize the historical narrative to
which I could not devote enough time.
This methodology required that I provide
the list of distinguished contributors from
several countries, eras and generations.
The students had to identify their chosen
champion. The critical caveat was that
it had to be related to the topics of
the course and a significant discovery
or practical contribution that led to a
historical relationship to the course
topic. Following this they would perform
initial inquiries, group discussions, and
exchanges to create the framework for a
Fall 2009
Master Teacher
Award Winner
Dr. Anurag Saxena,
College of Medicine
A professor of pathology and the
assistant dean, postgraduate medical
education in the College of Medicine,
Dr. Anurag Saxena is a true academic
triumvirate – he is a fine example of
the teacher-scholar model through his
learner-focused and scholarly teaching,
and contributions to the scholarship of
teaching.
draft, leading to a final, under 3000 word,
essay.
I provided help by showing how they
could begin a biographical search for
data such as scientist’s vitae: birth date
and place, education, outside travels,
work place, positions, and transitions.
I illustrated how they could find
information on individual career pursuit
and advancement, whether teaching
and/or research. We explored means
of searching for their contemporaries,
mentors, teachers, collaborators and
students from their publication records.
What were the origins of their interesting
idea or question? Did the discovery
accompany an avalanche of other
discoveries? Was there advancement
Many of these people became
our leaders as they sustained
their dedication, persevered and
produced contributions recognized
by peers, the profession, and
society at large.
of an instrument or technique that
helped with their work? Did they have
a "eureka" moment(s)? Were they in
a small or large research setting? Was
it a university, government research
establishment, private sector lab or their
basement? How did they maintain their
research thrust and its duration? Where
did they find financial support, from
public or private sources? Were there
geographical, national or other obstacles
Saxena is a physician
and a highly respected
clinician practicing
hematopathology but
has made significant,
leading and outstanding contributions to
the university’s teaching academic mission. Proficient and
innovative pedagogy, recognizing that
some innovative methods will need to
be modified and adapted locally, is the
cornerstone of his teaching excellence.
Students and colleagues recognize that
he strives for content relevance, strong
learner motivation, active learning and
reflection opportunities.
18
that they had to overcome? Were there
political circumstances, wars, economic
or technological limitations that affected
their science?
The students were asked to present
their discoverer’s impact in the field by
exploring who the early adopters or
opposers were to such developments?
Was there a general acceptance of their
work and scientific awareness of the
utility of what they had done which
would be of benefit to all of society?
Finally, students were to show the human
side of science, by explaining how this
particular mode of learning helped their
understanding of the history of IM and
effectiveness of their learning outcome.
Conclusion
I can now see a way of fostering the
history of IM that teaches its relevance
in the real world, fosters information
literacy, and teaches the integration
of investigator vitae with experiences,
problem solving, and advances in
product development. I would want
to replicate this experiment again
and collate and distribute the whole
collection of essays to every member of
the class. This particular engagement
added value to the course from at
least two contexts: from content and
pedagogy and from both the learner and
teacher perspectives. We were all glad
that we made time for a bit of history!
His superior teaching is evident in a
strong reputation among students and
colleagues; students’ evaluations and
comments reflect recurring themes of
high engagement and motivation and
highly effective teaching and learning,
and numerous teaching award nominations and awards. The students have
nominated him several times for the
USSU teaching award and recognized him
by bestowing on him the title of honorary
president of the student medical society
in 2005.
For more information on the Master
Teacher Award, please visit our
website at www.usask.ca/gmcte
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
Brian W. Zulkoskey,
Recipient of the 2010 Sylvia Wallace Sessional
Lecturer Award
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
use their personal (private) number.
Since I don’t know the students’ numbers,
this allows me to write a reply to the
student via the personal number, without
knowing the student’s identity. These
written responses are made available to
the students in such a way that I do not
see them collect their responses. This
ensures that the students’ comments
are frank and honest while still allowing
a response and creation of an ongoing
dialogue. The students appreciate this
avenue of communication.
I believe that students must
take ownership of learning and
understanding the material that
is presented to them in their
courses and laboratories.
The primary role of the
instructor is to ensure that
the students are provided
an environment in which
learning and understanding are
encouraged.
The instructor fulfils this role in a number
of ways:
The instructor should stress the importance
of each individual student, no matter
how large the class size. Although it
can be difficult at times, I strive to
always consider my students as distinct
individuals, to never treat them as a
single, collective entity (‘the class’).
Each student is unique and of equal
importance. The value of this principle
was made clear to me in 1974 by (the
late) Dr. Ray Skinner, my professor of firstyear physics. At the first class, Dr. Skinner
requested that each student submit a
photo and a short biography, enabling
him to quickly learn our names so that he
could personalize his discussions with us.
Dr. Skinner genuinely wanted each and
every one of his students to understand,
and he went out of his way to provide
opportunities to gain this understanding.
Students were encouraged to visit Dr.
Skinner’s office outside of class whenever
they had problems. It was Dr. Skinner’s
devotion to all his students that led me to
major in physics and, eventually, become
a physics instructor.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3
In and out of the classroom, I emphasize
to my students that we are ‘partners
in learning’. Students, especially those
taking physics after having been out
of school for a few years, often feel
intimidated by the course content. I try to
make all my students feel as comfortable
as possible – encouraging questions and
comments in class and replying to those
questions seriously and politely no matter
how trivial the question or obvious the
answer. I emphasize to my students that
I have an open-door policy – any time
that I am available they are welcome to
drop-in to my office. I encourage students
to talk to me prior to making important
decisions concerning their education,
and many of them take advantage of
this opportunity to get a second opinion
from an interested but neutral party. The
students appreciate my caring that they
make informed decisions.
Another method that I have found very
useful to solicit feedback from students
and maintain a dialogue is the use of
comments forms. At the beginning of
term each student is given a number,
known only to him or her. Students are
asked to submit written comments on
any aspect of the course. The students
do not sign these submissions but rather
19
The instructor should make an effort to
create a stress-free environment in the
classroom and laboratory. I make every
effort to create a relaxed atmosphere for
the students. As mentioned, students are
encouraged to ask questions throughout
the lectures and labs. I brief my lab
assistants on the importance of treating
the students appropriately and that they
should never talk to the students in a
demeaning, condescending, or sarcastic
manner. In my years of teaching I have
found that striving to always be relaxed,
friendly, and well-organized creates an
environment, both in the lecture theatre
and laboratory, in which the students feel
at ease and able to focus on learning.
The instructor should be enthusiastic and
the course material as a way of motivating
the students to do the necessary work to
learn the material. Physics, especially
as taught in a first-year general survey
course, is a wide-ranging subject. Physics
offers explanations of natural phenomena
and has application in a wide variety of
disciplines. I find the ability to analyse
and explain diverse phenomena using
physics to be very stimulating, and I
try to instill in my students the idea
that ‘Everything is Physics’! I found it
particularly rewarding one time when
www.usask.ca/gmcte
a student came to me and said, “You’ve
changed the way I think about the world!
I’m no longer satisfied with observing, I
want to understand; and I’m finding that
I’m able to gain that understanding using
what I’m learning in class.”
The instructor should recognize
that students learn in various ways and
make the best use of the limited time
with students. Over the years I have
incorporated various methods of
presenting the course material to the
students.
In 1997 I designed and created a website
for use by all sections of Physics 111
at the U of S. The website contained a
number of interactive quizzes that I had
created, an online form that I created for
submission of the answers to multiplechoice assignments, and the course
outline, assignment and test solutions
and various other documents in html and
pdf formats.
Currently, I use the Blackboard Learning
System for online distribution of course
materials, online assignments, and
reading quizzes. The reading quizzes
test the students on the material to be
covered in the next day’s lecture, as a
way of encouraging the students to read
the textbook material in advance of the
lecture.
During the lectures, I use PowerPoint
to highlight the points being discussed
and to display photos and figures. I do
example problems from scratch on the
blackboard, rather than displaying a
pre-done example as a PowerPoint slide,
so that students can see the prescribed
problem-solving method ‘in action’. I
also make extensive use of computer
simulations and real-life physical
demonstrations.
This year I have introduced the use of
TurningPoint and audience response
devices (clickers) as a way of encouraging
participation and collaboration during
the lectures and testing the students’
understanding. During each lecture,
I use TurningPoint slides that I have
created that contain key points framed
as questions. The students then discuss
the questions in small groups and submit
their answers individually using their
clickers. Based on the results, I can either
discuss the point further or move on to
the next topic.
Students are also provided numerous
and varied ways to earn marks toward
their grades in the course. Students
have the opportunity to earn marks by
participating (with their clickers) in the
bi-weekly tutorials, by participating
(with clickers) during the lectures, by
doing the reading quizzes, by doing
the online assignments, by doing the
written assignments (for which written
feedback is provided), by writing the
midterm exam, and by writing the final
examination.
Over the nineteen years that I have been
a sessional lecturer, and the twentyeight years that I have been a laboratory
instructor, I have learned that students
desire and deserve an instructor who
is enthusiastic. Although the subject
material may not change significantly
from year to year, each year brings a fresh
set of students. By focusing on the fact
that the students are new, even though
the material is not, I am able to stay
enthused about the courses that I teach
and to bring that enthusiasm into the
classroom and laboratory.
“I am a teacher at heart,
and there are moments in
the classroom when I can
hardly hold the joy. When
my students and I discover
uncharted territory to
explore, when the pathway
out of a thicket opens
up before us, when our
experience is illuminated
by the lightning-life of the
mind- then teaching is the
finest work I know.”
-Parker Palmer
20
Spring Teaching
Week 2010
May 3rd to 7th
Spring Teaching Week is a series of
workshops and presentations offered
by the Centre concentrating on topics
about teaching and learning. The
sessions are generally one and a half
to two hours long and are held at the
GMCTE in Room 50 Murray.
These sessions are free of charge and
are open to faculty, sessional lecturers,
graduate student teaching assistants,
librarians and any other category of staff
member who is involved in teaching
at the University of Saskatchewan. We
encourage you to register for as many of
the sessions that catch your interest and
fit your schedule.
Highlights of topics for Spring Teaching
Week 2010 include:
• Storytelling with Ron Marken
• Building Learning Communities with
Natalie Kallio
• Copyright with Amanda Storey
• Case Files with Kim West
• The Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning with Brad Wuetherick
More sessions will be added to the
schedule so check www.usask.ca/gmcte
for full details and to register online.
Bridges, Vol. 8, No. 3