Schedule
The conference will be held in the Centre for Learning at 1000 KLO Rd, Kelowna, BC.
Visit the Venue & Parking page for more information about the conference venue location and parking options. Check back in April for complete schedule. Tentative schedule below subject to change.
Updated April 15, 2026
8:00 – 8:30 am
Registration & Coffee
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8:30 – 9:00 am
Opening Remarks & Welcome
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9:00 – 10:00 am
Keynote by Elisa Baniassad
AI and our Educational Existential Crisis
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10:00 – 10:20 am
Break
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10:20 – 11:20 am (Concurrent Session 1)
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Presentation 1 (10:20-10:40)
Title: Impact of Student Commuter Status on Sense of Belonging in First-Year Chemistry: A Two-Campus Comparison
Presenters: W. Stephen McNeil & Lindsay Blackstock
Description: Sense of belonging among university students impacts both academic outcomes and student well-being. The two authors are chemistry educators at different institutions: one is a destination campus whose students primarily live on or immediately proximal to the campus, while the other is a commuter campus. Will present an analysis of survey data from first-year chemistry students on both campuses, exploring differences among the two student cohorts in their commuter status, commute methods and times, and living arrangements, and correlating these factors against reported senses of self-efficacy, disciplinary belonging, social belonging, and course performance.
Presentation 2 (10:50-11:10)
Title: Discussing Mental Health Through Creative Writing
Presenter: Mark Zhang
Description: Join Mark Zhang as he discusses how his collaboration with the Writing Centre at Thompson Rivers University uses creative writing as an expressive tool for students to discuss mental health topics in a more relaxed setting to establish peer-to-peer learning while creating connections and a sense of community.
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Presentation 1 (10:20-10:40)
Title: Supporting Inclusive Engagement in Today’s Post-Secondary Classrooms: Reenvisioning the Think-Pair-Share in the World of AI
Presenters: Dr. Christie Fraser & Dr. Manu Sharma
Description: The Think-Pair-Share is a familiar strategy for supporting active engagement in university discussions. Research has shown increased student engagement, critical thinking, and communication skills when using this strategy. When students feel unprepared to consider unfamiliar topics or are uncomfortable sharing with peers, the strategy is not effective. This session showcases two instructorsâ experiences redesigning the Think-Pair-Share through a pedagogically innovative, digitally supported, and critical lens. Students do more than think, pair, and share — they also read, record, reflectively engage with their own thoughts and listen to othersâ perspectives. Join us as we analyze design decisions and discuss inclusive elements of this reenvisioned strategy.
Presentation 2 (10:50-11:10)
Title: Dancing Chromosomes: Using Cognitive Tools of Imaginative Education
Presenters: Dr. Brad Mladenovic & Dr. Ivona Mladenovic
Description: The Imaginative Education (IE) framework argues that imaginative engagement is a necessary condition for educationally meaningful learning. This presentation explores innovative ways of implementing IE principles in everyday teaching. We offer effective strategies for engaging studentsâ cognitive tools of understanding and explore practical ideas about transforming studentsâ hopes, fears, and passions into pedagogically relevant narratives, sense of mystery, extremes and limits of reality, and humanizing of meaning. Finally, we propose some ideas for reenvisioning assessments that include imaginative approaches to evaluation, emphasizing studentsâ individualities and unique ways of knowing.
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Workshop 1 (10:20-11:20)
Title: Getting Started in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Presenters: Carolyn Ives & Paul Martin
Description: If youâve ever had a question about your courseâmaybe something new youâre trying, student perceptions of their learning, or something elseâthat youâd like to formally investigate, you might be ready to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). In this session, we will explore how approaching your courses as a SoTL researcher can provide you with interesting insights about what is happening in your course. Weâll share options for SoTL approaches that will help you consider what to investigate and how to do so ethically. Youâll have an opportunity to develop your research question, think through your data collection strategies, contemplate your data analysis methods, and consider your SoTL research dissemination options. Join us to start your journey as a SoTL researcher!
11:20 – 11:40 am
Break
11:40 – 12:40 pm (Concurrent Session 2)
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Presentation 1 (11:40-12:00)
Title: Student Perceptions of a Participation-Based Collaborative Quiz Format in an Undergraduate Biology Course
Presenters: Solmaz Irani, Christine Eligwe & Sarmin Sultana Joya
Description: Collaborative learning improves academic performance and studentsâ attitudes toward course material and peers. This study examined undergraduate studentsâ perceptions of collaborative quizzes designed as a one-stage, small-group activity with immediate feedback and graded only for participation. Eleven students in a plant physiology course at TRU completed pre- and post-surveys using the Likert scale, and a focus group at the end of the term. Survey results showed significant increases in reported learning effectiveness and perceived exam performance, with a rating of 4.5/5 for preparation for lecture material. Focus group analysis revealed themes of enhanced peer collaboration, engagement, and awareness of learning progress.
Presentation 2 (12:10-12:30)
Title: Designing Game-Based Learning to Increase Engagement in a Fact-Intensive Fourth-Year Biochemistry
Presenter: Summer Xia Li
Description: Upper-year biochemistry courses are inherently content-dense and often rely on instructor-led lectures. In a recent fourth-year cohort, in-class participation during traditional lectures was particularly low – a pattern informally observed across multiple instructors teaching the same group. To address this, I redesigned portions of the fourth-year course BIOC 402 to incorporate intentional game-based learning activities. Activities were embedded across course topics to challenge studentsâ conceptual understanding while promoting active retrieval, peer explanation and inclusive learning communities. Games were designed to be simple and scalable, often adapting familiar board game formats. These included Guess Who, Two Truths and a Lie, TicTacToe Bingo and escape room.
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Presentation 1 (11:40-12:00)
Title: Using Modern Validity Theory to Guide the Revisions of a Course Evaluation Survey
Presenters: Lauren Gilowski, Kyle Schlitt & Wei Yan
Description: Last spring, Thompson Rivers Universityâs Faculty of Science embarked upon a quality improvement project to improve our existing course evaluation survey. Modern validity theory informed this process. A committee was formed consisting of faculty members from various departments, a student representative, and an educational developer. After making revisions, think-aloud sessions were conducted to gain insight into impressions from both students and faculty outside of the committee. After feedback was incorporated, the new survey was piloted in winter 2026. We will share the methodology used in our rigorous survey revision and report on the successes and lessons learned along the way.
Presentation 2 (12:10-12:30)
Title: From Participation to Practice: Examining the Impact of Online Faculty Development
Presenter: Helena Prins
Description: The Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) program offers post-secondary educators experiential, facilitator-led professional learning focused on effective online and blended teaching and represents one of the most established examples of open, scalable professional development in Canada. While participant satisfaction with FLO programming has consistently exceeded 95%, this study moves beyond satisfaction metrics to examine the impact of FLO participation on teaching practice over time. The presentation will share the findings and their implications for the design of professional learning initiatives that support lasting improvements in teaching approaches. This study provides encouraging evidence that sustained professional learning can positively shape instructional practice.
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Workshop 2 (11:40-12:40)
Title: Quick Sculptures to Show Learning
Presenter: Norah Bowman
Description: In this workshop everyone will participate in a group sculpture activity that allows students to discuss, question, and show their understanding of complex, abstract ideas, through material assemblage. This workshop works well for people teaching large classes with enough time for small group work and could be adapted for online or multi-modal teaching. It is based on learning from Liberating Structures, Theatre for Life, and the artist Senga Nengudi.
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Workshop 3 (11:40-12:40)
Title: Practicing Positionality in the Everyday Classroom
Presenters: Britt Dzioba, Gwen Nguyen & Bhuvinder Singh Vaid
Description: Educators in post-secondary can struggle to connect with the plurality of the learners present in our classrooms. The practice of positionality among educators is a process that can help educators address this struggle and deepen connections in learning communities. This session offers a focused introduction to positionality within current conversations in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Through guided reflection and structured discussion, participants will focus on practices of framing their dynamic relationship with others in the classroom, and recognizing and renewing their pedagogical choices.
12:40-1:45 pm
Lunch
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1:45 – 2:45 pm (Concurrent Session 3)
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Roundtable 1 (1:45-2:00)
Title: When Text Becomes Talk: Modality, Cognitive Load, and AI-Generated Academic Audio
Presenter: Gul-e-Rana Mufti
Description: When scholarly texts are converted into AI-generated audio summaries, engagement shifts from self-paced reading to sequential listening. AI-generated audio can make listening feel equivalent to reading, though the two place different demands on attention and processing. Less attention has been given to what this shift means for learning in AI-mediated classrooms. This presentation considers AI-generated academic audio through cognitive load theory and multimedia learning research. Audio may support access and streamline material; however, listening unfolds over time and may shape understanding differently than reading. The session explores how modality reshapes academic reading practices and outlines strategies for integrating audio with primary texts.
Roundtable 2 (2:05-2:20)
Title: Teaching Strategic AI Use and Critical Thinking
Presenter: Adrian Nieoczym
Description: This roundtable will look at how to incorporate AI into our teaching practices in ways that get students to use AI strategically to help them create original work while developing their critical thinking skills. Roundtable participants will learn about a new Strategic Communications and AI course and then discuss the ways AI is impacting their own teaching practices, how they approach AI, and share strategies for teaching students how to appropriately and ethically use AI.
Roundtable 3 (2:25-2:40)
Title: Institutional AI Adoption in Real Time: Progress, Challenges, and Regional Dialogue
Presenter: Salli Carter
Description: Institutions across higher education are navigating generative AI within rapidly evolving technological and pedagogical contexts. This Conversation Café shares emerging lessons from ongoing faculty development work within a Centre for Teaching and Learning focused on AI literacy, ethical integration, and assessment design. The session highlights institutional progress, implementation challenges, and tensions between innovation, academic integrity, and faculty autonomy. Participants will engage in structured dialogue exploring where their institutions are situated in the AI adoption journey and how regional collaboration can strengthen faculty confidence and capacity. The session aims to support collective institutional sense-making around responsible AI integration.
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Presentation 1 (1:45-2:05)
Title: Using GenAI to Support Systematic UDL Redesign in Graduate Education
Presenters: Frederic Fovet, Tony Park & Rubina Siddique
Description: This session shares a SoTL project exploring how generative AI can support the systematic UDL redesign of two Master of Education courses. UDL adoption is growing, yet implementation can be constrained by complexity and limited instructor time. The study prompts GenAI to generate redesign options for course activities and assessments, then applies manual review aligned with course objectives, institutional Equity, Diversity and Equity priorities, and UDL scholarship. Student discussions examine perceived accessibility, flexibility, and inclusion.
Presentation 2 (2:15-2:35)
Title: Guided GenAI for Critical Biology Learning: A SoTL Inquiry in a First-Year Gateway Biology CourseâŻ
Presenters: Natasha Ramroop Singh, Kate Verdurmen & Presley Kitamura
Description: This study examines human-centred integration of generative AI in a first-year biology gateway course to strengthen conceptual learning and critical digital literacy. AI-enhanced activities across molecular structure function, metabolic pathways, and Mendelian genetics required students to critique AI outputs, verify claims using peer-reviewed sources, and articulate evidence-based revisions. A mixed-methods design analyzes targeted assessment performance alongside student reflections and feedback to investigate impacts on higher-order thinking, self-regulated learning, and student agency. The session shares a transferable framework for ethical, transparent GenAI use that scaffolds, rather than substitutes disciplinary reasoning.
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Workshop 3 (1:45-2:45)
Title: Design Thinking as Pedagogy: Making Career Skills Visible in WIL and Career Development
Presenters: Alison Gibson & Mariana Souza
Description: This workshop explores how design thinking can be used as a pedagogical approach to intentionally surface and strengthen transferable career skills within Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and career development. Drawing on a national Skills for Success Hackathon, the session shares a practice-based case study where experiential design activities, collaboration, and guided reflection helped students actively practice, recognize, and articulate key skills. Participants will engage in selected hands-on activities and examine facilitation strategies that make skills development visible, meaningful, and transferable. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for applying design-thinking pedagogy in WIL and career-focused learning contexts.
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Workshop 4 (1:45-2:45)
Title: TBL 101: An Introduction to Team-Based Learning
Presenter: Richard Plunkett
Description: If you would you like your students to perform better on exams and assignments, and come to class prepared to solve complex problems while working effectively in teams, Team-Based Learning (TBL) may be for you. TBL is a framework for student-centred collaborative learning using a proven set of in- and out-of-class activities that foster increased learner engagement and deeper learning. In this participatory and interactive workshop, you will learn the basics by doing TBL. The goal of this session is for participants to leave with an understanding of the fundamental components and sequence of events and benefits of TBL.
2:45 – 3:05 pm
Break
3:05 – 4:00 pm
Poster Sessions
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View Digital Posters
Title: Academic Integrity in the Disciplines
Presenters: Amanda Brobbel, Dr. Rina Garcia Chua, & Dr. Robin Young, Sajni Lacey
Description: The poster shares the impacts of an innovative project to embed discipline-specific academic integrity education in a biology course, which was designed collaboratively with faculty. While most university students receive only general instruction, the project originated in response to literature suggesting increased learning from discipline-grounded education. Completed by 509 students, the module results indicate strong student engagement and learning gains related to biology-specific integrity education. Survey results suggest improved understanding of academic integrity, and instructors observed fewer citation-formatting errors. Highlighting the outcomes from initiating this module, the poster will also share insights into the scalability of developing disciplineâspecific integrity education.
Title: Practicing Linguistic Equity by Using the PRISM Framework
Presenters: Anita Chaudhuri, Jordan Stouck, Jing Li, Steve Marshall
Description: In this poster presentation we share a new PRISM (plurilingual, raciolinguistic, Indigenous and relational, social justice for multilingual learners) framework. It centers research on multilingual learnersâ experience in academic writing classrooms to shape diverse pedagogical pathways that advance anti-racism and decolonization work in Canadian higher education.
Title: Mapping Our Way, Relational Approaches to Land as Pedagogy
Presenter: Bridget Orsetti
Description: This poster explores how educators can prepare for learning and teaching grounded in land as pedagogy. Drawing on literature and the 4 Râsârespect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, we present an approach that understands learning as a journey with a beginning but no end. Using a floor map exercise, shared food, and guiding principles, we illustrate practices that foster deeper relational engagement with land and with one another. The poster and final visual materials depict this ongoing pathway, inviting participants to consider how their own teaching can be reshaped through sustained, land centered reflection and connection.
Title: Industry Signals to Classroom Practice: Professional Identity Outcomes from a Practical Cloud Computing Curriculum Redesign
Presenters: Esteban Flores, Sina Keshvadi
Description: Cloud computing education faces a persistent mismatch between taught content and applied competencies required for entry level roles. In software engineering programs, this gap is exacerbated by CScentric models that prioritise theory over practice. Beyond skills alignment, the mismatch shapes professional identity development, including clarity of field expectations, confidence in authentic work, and capacity for continued learning. We redesigned a senior undergraduate course by triangulating competency signals from curricular guidance, sociotechnical drivers, and workforce data (job postings and certifications). Focus group findings confirmed authenticity and perceived entry level readiness, while revealing a remaining gap in professional community belonging.
Title: Usability Testing Insights from the Development of the Genetic Odyssey Virtual Escape Room: Reflections from a Research Assistant Experience
Presenters: Fazil Padaniya, Anila Virani
Description: The Genetic Odyssey Virtual Escape Room is a web based educational tool designed to support undergraduate learning in genetics through interactive, problem based activities. This poster presents a scholarly reflection on my role as a research assistant involved in usability testing to evaluate the tool as a pedagogical resource. The experience provided insight into the application of human centered design in health education and highlighted the contribution of undergraduate researchers to educational scholarship. Findings suggest that targeted refinements can enhance usability and learning effectiveness. The results support the continued development of the tool and demonstrate how iterative usability testing can strengthen alignment between digital learning resources and student needs within SoTL initiatives.
Title: Enhancing Student Learning and Optimizing Course Design in Hybrid Environments: The Roles of Student Study Processes, Epistemic Curiosity, Cognitive Load, Metacognition, Grit and Usage of GenAI and OER
Presenters: Jessika Daniels, Zoë Soon
Description: This study investigates the impact of hybrid and online learning environments on student learning, including the factors contributing to the usage of OER and GenAI. By applying educational psychology constructs, the research examines the interplay between instructional formats and student characteristics, such as grit, curiosity, and metacognition, in STEM-specific courses. Surveys assessed cognitive load during the use of course videos and open educational resources (OER). Correlational analyses explored how these factors influence students’ engagement with supplemental resources and GenAI. Findings provide evidence-based insights for instructors aiming to optimize instructional design and facilitate effective student learning in modified educational settings.
Title: A pilot qualitative assessment of course content development for a 3D VR-capable video wall
Presenters: Max Martin, William Graham, Shubhneet Shubhneet, Lucas Weigert, Tareq Yousef
Description: Institutions are increasingly investing in immersive and virtual-reality (VR) technologies, but faculty lack guidance on how to meaningfully integrate these tools into their curriculum. This poster reports on a pilot qualitative study examining instructorsâ experiences and a studentâs perspective on the use of a 3D, VR-capable video wall at UBC Okanagan. Using survey data, the study explores how instructors approach curriculum design with emerging media, the challenges they encounter, and how students perceive engagement and learning. Findings aim to inform professional development and institutional planning that better support sustainable, pedagogically grounded technology integration.
Title: Researching Indigenous Nations and Topics: An Instructional Module for Undergraduates
Presenters: Talia Greene, Sajni Lacey
Description: As academic institutions increasingly recognize the need to integrate Indigenous histories and perspectives into curriculum, libraries are seeing increasing demand for reference and instructional support for these topics. At UBC Okanagan, librarians responded to this increased demand by developing an online instructional module to support undergraduate students researching Indigenous topics and Nations. This poster will address the background, process, challenges, and considerations in developing this resource, and will provide other library workers with information to help them think through developing similar resources for their context.
View Digital Posters
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Social & Networking
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8:00 – 8:30 am
Registration & Coffee
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8:30 – 9:00 am
Opening Remarks & Welcome
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9:00 – 10:00 am (Concurrent Session 4)
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Presentation 1 (9:00-9:20)
Title: Navigating NMR: Shifting Toward Expert Thinking Through Representational Competence and Disciplinary Discourse
Presenter: Ashlynn Jensen
Description: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a cornerstone of chemical practice, essential for structure determination and problem-solving in both academic and industrial contexts. Yet, for many learners, mastering NMR remains one of the most challenging aspects of organic chemistry, a course often regarded as a gatekeeper in STEM education. These challenges stem from the cognitive demands of interpreting, translating, and constructing representations from spectral data, skills collectively known as representational competencies.
Learning chemistry is akin to learning a new language: it requires fluency in specialized visual and symbolic systems and participation in disciplinary discourse.2 Representational competency develops across three levels: (1) interpretation, (2) translation, and (3) construction, but research shows that novices often struggle to progress through these stages, leading to persistent misconceptions.3 In contrast, experts demonstrate efficient visual strategies and precise discourse moves when analyzing spectra.4
Our work investigates how experts process NMR data and enact disciplinary discourse, using think-aloud protocols and interviews with faculty specialists. By situating expert reasoning within frameworks of representational competence and scaffolding theory,5 we aim to illuminate what expert-like engagement looks like and why it matters for instruction. Understanding these processes is critical for designing evidence-based strategies that make expert practices visible and accessible, supporting learners as they transition from novice to competent practitioner.
This research contributes to ongoing conversations in chemistry education about inclusivity, cognitive load, and disciplinary literacies. By foregrounding the interplay between representational competency and discourse, we seek to advance pedagogical approaches that reduce barriers and foster equity in STEM learning.
Presentation 2 (9:30-9:50)
Title: From Accommodation to Pedagogical Innovation: A Duoethnographic Study of Speech-to-Text in Diverse Post-Secondary Classrooms
Presenter: Shahzad Yazdanpanah
Description: Speech-to-Text (STT) technology is commonly used as an accessibility accommodation for students with hearing impairments, yet its broader pedagogical potential in diverse classrooms remains underexplored. This duoethnographic study examined how STT shaped classroom engagement and participation for two international graduate students in post-secondary classrooms: one hard of hearing and the other with a background in audiology. Through dialogic and reflexive analysis, researchers explored how STT influenced comprehension, confidence, and participation. Findings suggested that real-time captioning functioned not only as an accessibility support but as a pedagogical innovation benefiting multilingual and hearing-impaired learners, with implications for inclusive teaching in diverse classrooms.
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Workshop 5 (9:00-10:00)
Title: Rediscovering the Power of Play in Learning
Presenters: Jeannine Kuemmerle & Linda OâDonoghue
Description: Despite perceived incompatibility of âplayâ with adult education and academic rigor, pedagogy of play offers a research-backed approach to foster curiosity, resilience, and authentic engagement to create post-secondary learning environments that feel safe, joyful, and meaningful. This workshop invites participants to explore ways to adopt a pedagogy of play to incorporate creative, affirming, inquiry-based, and fun learning in their teaching contexts. The facilitators will engage participants in playful learning and innovative thinking to address barriers to and opportunities for âplayâ in their discipline/context.
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Workshop 6 (9:00-10:00)
Title: Rethinking Assessment in Generative-AI Enabled Learning Environments
Presenters: Carolyn Ives & Salli Carter
Description: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and challenges for post-secondary assessment. This workshop will support participants in rethinking assessment design in response to AI-enabled learning environments. The session will focus on creating inclusive and authentic assessments that promote the learning process rather than a final product and that reduce reliance on easily automated tasks. Faculty will experiment with AI to explore UDL-aligned approaches, and we will also discuss in small and large groups how AI can be used ethically for feedback and formative assessment. Attendees will leave the session with a revised or newly designed assessment.
10:00 – 10:20 am
Break
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10:20 – 11:20 am (Concurrent Session 5)
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Roundtable 1 (10:20-10:35)
Title: Unlocking Experiential Learning: Using an Escape Room to Teach Policy Manual Development in Tourism SMEs
Presenter: David Knapp
Description: This roundtable explores how escape room design can serve as an innovative pedagogical tool for teaching policy development in tourism SME education. Building on a 60-minute experiential activity where students decoded puzzles linked to elements of a policy manual, the session demonstrates how gameĂąâŹâbased learning transforms policy content from static text into an interactive problem-solving environment. Participants will examine the structure and learning outcomes of the activity, discuss the value of experiential approaches for policy literacy, and consider how similar designs can be adapted for classrooms, labs, simulations, and work-integrated learning contexts. Practical frameworks for implementation will be shared.
Roundtable 2 (10:40-10:55)
Title: Holding Uncertainty: Designing Post-Secondary Education for the Real
Presenters: Danielle Robinson & Ellie Mullen
Description: Post-secondary programs frequently claim to cultivate judgment and adaptability, yet often structure learning to eliminate ambiguity. This session proposes a reframing of uncertainty as a pedagogical resource rather than a risk. Drawing on a community-engaged Social Entrepreneurship course, we explore three commitments: designed uncertainty, shared sense-making, and relational learning under ambiguity. Student reflections suggest that structured encounters with not-knowing foster agency, responsibility, and professional judgment. Participants will consider how to intentionally design uncertainty that supports equity while preparing students for complex, AI-shaped professional environments where clarity is rarely guaranteed.
Roundtable 3 (11:00-11:15)
Title: Extending a Faculty Learning Community Through a Conversation Café on Inclusive Classrooms
Presenters: Jessica Allingham, Wei Yan, Mridula Sharma, Sheryl-Lynn Lewis & Shan Zhao
Description: This session shares insights from a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) focused on inclusive teaching practices and invites participants into a Conversation Cafe modelled on the collaborative learning that shaped the FLC. Through structured rounds of dialogue, attendees will explore themes such as supporting diverse learners, navigating challenges of inclusion, and the value of community-based professional development. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, the session fosters reflective, peer-supported exploration of inclusive pedagogy and highlights the role of collective inquiry in shaping meaningful instructional change.
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Presentation 1 (10:20-10:40)
Title: Belonging and Co-Creation in Research: TRU Research Hub Online Learning Modules
Presenters: Alana Hoare, Sukh Heer Matonovich, Bensly Pierre, Olubukola Bosede Osuntade & Rumana Patel
Description: âIâm interested in research but Iâm not sure if I belong in the academic community.â Learners across disciplines and stages regularly express this doubt. Beginning with an undergraduate research journey-mapping initiative in 2019, we identified gaps between how students described their research experiences and how faculty perceived them. Studentsâ lived experiences provided a critical corrective lens. In response, we co-created open-access research modules. Launched in June 2023, the TRU Research Hub Online Learning Modules Project provide a virtual landmark that fosters belonging and supports research-informed learning at TRU. During the presentation, we will share the process of co-creation and modules.
Presentation 2 (10:50-11:10)
Title: Consent Café Mentors: Reflecting on the Value of Innovative Relational Pedagogies in Classrooms and Peer Mentorship Programs
Presenter: Dr. Tanya Pawliuk
Description: In this presentation, we will use participant narratives and visual representations to reflect on the findings of a Consent CafĂ© mentor study that suggest that the Consent CafĂ© experience was overwhelmingly impactful and indeed provided a transformative learning experience because the mentorsâ identities were changed through the accrual of professional and academic learning, nuanced and critical understandings of consent, personal learning and personal connections, and ultimately a sense of empowerment, courage, and confidence. Together we will also consider how these findings encourage the adoption of innovative relational pedagogies and peer mentorship programming for the benefit of adult learners.
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Workshop (10:20-11:20)
Title: Centering Student Voice and Choice in AI-Enhanced Teaching and Learning
Presenter: Gwen Nguyen
Description: As AI becomes an integral part of teaching and learning in higher education, an important question emerges: how can we, as educators, integrate these technologies in ways that empower, not limit, students’ voice and choice in their own learning? This workshop begins by clarifying what student voice and student choice mean in technology-enhanced teaching and learning context. We will then examine examples and discuss pedagogical strategies — grounded in a human-centred approach and aligned with the guidelines for Technology-Enhanced Learning in B.C.’s Digital Learning Strategy — that promote and preserve students’ agency throughout the learning process when teaching with AI.
11:30 – 12:30 am
Student Panel – AI is my TA: Intentional Integration of AI Assisted Assignments within an Innovation Course
Panelists: Kerry Rempel, Arianna Fillion, Emily Petry, Thiam Laverdure, Joel Kongsdorf
Moderator:
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Description: What happens when we intentionally include AI as a teaching partner in our courses? In this session, the professor and students will discuss the approach and outcomes of an experimental course redesign where aspects of learning were accomplished through AI supported assignments. Students were trained in the use of AI and asked to critically examine both the tool and their approach through the semester. Students also engaged in a real-world assignment which required AI to be used as an active writing partner. Come hear about the good, the bad, and the unexpected of this class experiment, from four different student perspectives.
12:30 – 1:00 pm
Closing Remarks
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