Learning Innovation: The Teaching & Learning Podcast

Doctor Bhuvinder Vaid, an Education Developer from Capilano University, and Doctor Gwen Nguyen and Britt Dzioba who are Advisors on the Learning and Teaching team at BCcampus, join the pod for a sustained conversation around positionality.
This trio dives deeply into this concept, and explores how positionality is a practice that can break down equity barriers and help students feel a greater sense of inclusivity and belonging in their learning environments.
Bhuvinder, Britt and Gwen share how to craft a positionality statement, and how taking this reflexive step in your teaching practice can help you and your students relate with each other, and even foster deeper community in your classroom.

During the episode, Gwen, Bhuvinder, Britt and Donna (host) mention:

• BCcampus
• Capilano University
• Gwen & Bhuvinder’s FLO Friday Webinar: Where to Position Positionality in Your Work
• Positionality versus Intersectionality
• UBC – University of British Columbia
• University of Victoria
• BC Ministry of Children and Family Development
• Instructor Certification Program (ICP) at Lethbridge College
• Universal design for learning (UDL)
• Bringing the Practice of Positionality into Teaching and Learning by Britt Dzioba
• This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (by Tiffany Jewell)
• Haiku – a Japanese form of poetry with 3 lines: the first line contains 5 syllables, the second contains 7 syllables, and the last line contains 5 syllables
• Reflect on Your Positionality to Ensure Student Success by Christine Harrington
• SoTL - Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• “Hope is like a road in the country, there is never a road but when people walk on it, the road comes into existence” a variation of the poem by Lin Yutang
• Community of Practice
• Lillooet (Stʼatʼimc)
• Squamish
• Musqueam
• Sechelt (shíshálh nation)
• Tsleil-Waututh
• Halkomelem (also known as Burnaby, BC)
• Lekwungen
  • Esquimalt and Songhees (also known as Victoria, BC)
• míqәn (Beacon Hill Park)
• See Britt's Digital Positionality Collage below ⤵️

Joshua Hill, an instructor at Lethbridge College, shares about his exciting course-build on Environmental Psychology and Conservation.

Josh explains how this course can help students better understand the psychological motivations in choosing certain behaviours over others in wildlife settings and interactions.

Because the topic is so broad, Josh found it challenging to wrangle his ideas into a manageable course – and this is where he appreciated help from CTLI and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).

Through personalized guidance, and access to SoTL, Josh was able to focus his idea into meaningful and digestible content. This will ultimately enable students to graduate with practical, applicable skills for their industry.

During the podcast, Josh and Donna mention:

• The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
• E19: How the Trades Fosters Critical Thinking and Lifelong Learning in the Community (Josh's last appearance on the LITL-Pod)
• Scenic Drive, Lethbridge Alberta (this roadway connects north and south Lethbridge)
• Runner's Soul
  • ExploreYQL
• Waterton Biosphere Region
  • Alberta invests in program to stop grizzlies from wandering onto farms (CBC News)
• Banff bear attack 2023 (Trigger warning: this article contains details that may be disturbing)
• Tim’s – Tim Hortons
• Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI)
• ChatGPT
• Jaddon Park
• Brianne Hutchinson
• Alberta Parks
• CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• Environmental Psychology and Conservation will be an elective course for the following Lethbridge College programs:
  • General Arts and Science
  • Natural Resource Compliance (NRC)
  • Conservation Enforcement – Bachelor of Applied Science
  • Environmental Sciences degree programs
• Environmental Psychology and Conservation is housed in CBAS – Cognitive-Behavioural Avoidance Scale
• Social Psychology definition (American Psychological Association)
• Are you an instructor who is interested in building a course? You might be eligible for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Reach out to CTLI to chat!

Nelson Lateeph, host of Under The Bridge – Tha Podcast, sits down with Donna and Jordana to talk about his experience moving to Lethbridge with his family from Cape Town, South Africa.

Nelson is passionate about social development in the city, and has some practical ideas on how international students (and newcomers in general) can get more involved with their community to foster a greater sense of joy and belonging.

During this conversation, Donna, Nelson, and Jordana mention:

• Under The Bridge - Tha Podcast
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Motivational speaker in Lethbridge – Kimberly Lyall: Life Is An Adventure | Under The Bridge Tha Podcast | Ep.09
• Downtown Lethbridge: Festival Square
• BRZ - Business Revitalization Zone
• Heart of Our City Committee
• Lethbridge Soccer Association
• University of Lethbridge
• Black History Month
• African diaspora
• Pan-Africanism
• Malcolm X
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Rosa Parks
• Creative videographer & mentor – Michael Worf: Coalbanks' Love Letter To Lethbridge | Under The Bridge Tha Podcast | Ep.05
• Temptations restaurant, Bar, Lounge & Nightclub
• CASA
• The Galt Museum & Archives
• SAE – Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (Multicultural Centre)
• Gatsby (sandwich)
• “If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain” essentially means: “If things aren’t going your way, you’ll have to adjust the way they are.”
• Jarred Garrick from ROVÜ: Spaces That Inspire | Under The Bridge Tha Podcast | Ep.02

Alexander McEwan, an aspiring K-12 teacher set to graduate with his bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Lethbridge, shares about his unique teaching practicum last semester at Chinook High School.

Along with running an AI research project, Alex explored creative ways to introduce his students to generative AI. Using tools like Class Companion and ChatGPT, Alex showed his students how to simplify dense text, clarify concepts through metaphors and analogies, and assess their knowledge through interactive conversations with AI – i.e., his “AI Socratic Seminar Assignment”.

Alex goes into depth about this experimental assignment that, through a creative ChatGPT prompt, sparked conversations that helped students think critically and get targeted real-time feedback.

During the podcast, Alex and Donna (host) mention:

• University of Lethbridge
  • Bachelor of Education
• Chinook High School in Lethbridge, Alberta
• Generative AI – a category of artificial intelligence that creates new content, such as text, images, or music, by learning patterns from existing data and generating output that is similar or inspired by that data.
• Class Companion
• ChatGPT
• Socrates
• OpenAI
• French Revolution
• Alex’s AI Socratic Seminar Assignment ChatGPT prompt to assess students’ understanding: As an expert in the Socratic method, assess my knowledge and understanding by asking me one question at a time about _______. Ask me a series of questions to measure my understanding of _______. Ask follow-up questions when I show shallow understanding or vagueness in my response. Once you are confident you know my level of understanding, please stop the conversation and give me some productive feedback on my responses. Do you understand?
• Treaty of Versailles
• Academic integrity – the ethical practice of honesty, fairness, and ethical conduct in all aspects of academic work, including research, writing, and assessments, to uphold the values and standards of educational institutions.
• "Ableist" refers to discriminatory attitudes, behaviors, or beliefs that discriminate against or marginalize individuals with disabilities, reinforcing prejudices or stereotypes about their abilities and worth.
• “Burstiness” in AI – the phenomenon where a system or model produces a sudden and concentrated burst of responses, often due to the presence of specific input patterns or triggers, rather than maintaining a consistent or balanced output (read Sherice Jacob’s article: Perplexity and Burstiness in Writing).
• 21st-century learner – an individual who embraces digital literacy, critical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration skills to effectively navigate and succeed in the evolving and technology-driven learning environments of the 21st century.
• PIP – Professional Inquiry Project
• Destination Exploration (University of Lethbridge science camp)
• Piikani Nation
• Kainai Nation – Blood Tribe

Dr. Brenda McDermott, Manager of Accessible Testing at the University of Calgary joins us to discuss her team’s research project – Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies. Dr. McDermott shares her thoughts on the possibilities of how AI text generators like ChatGPT have the potential to empower – but also seriously hinder – learners, especially when considering equity, diversity and inclusion.

References:

• ChatGPT
• GPT – Generative Pre-trained Transformer
• Adapted Turing Test
• Brock education researchers put artificial intelligence to the test
  • AI and AI: Exploring the Contemporary Intersections of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity
• Grammarly
• GPT-Zero
• Correction: Edward Tian (a student at Princeton University) created GPT-Zero
• Inferkit
• The Scottish Play, i.e., The Tragedy of Macbeth: “Full of Sound and Fury but signifying nothing”
• One-shot learning
• OpenAI
• Dr. Phillip Dawson
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• CBC News Article: Should students use apps to write assignments? Attitudes on the U of C campus surveyed
• CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
• Bing
• Remix Culture
• The Grey Album
• NVIVO
• Jurassic Park clip “...they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
• Center for Open Science
  • Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies
• Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton
• Dr. Brenda McDermott
• Dr. Jason Wiens
• Dr. Bob Brennan
• Beatriz Moya
• Mawuli Tay
• Helen Pethrick
• Jonathan Lesage