Science labs. Rock climbing. Student-led projects. The Amazon Field School. What do these have in common? They are all taught at KPU with an inquiry-based learning model. Or have the potential to be. Inquiry-based learning puts students in the driver’s seat, and has them explore and share an experiential research or creative process/project that holds…
Generative AI (GenAI) is a thing! If you’ve read the news lately, it seems to be one of the only things we should be paying attention to, with headlines like: “Cutting edge AI raises fears about risks to humanity” “Artificial intelligence poses “risk of extinction,” tech execs and experts warn” “How ‘freaked out’ should we…
A Mastery-Based Grading (MBG) assignment is an educational assessment designed to evaluate a student’s proficiency in specific competencies that are critical to their field of study. MBG assignments challenge students to go beyond rote memory and instead apply their knowledge to practical, real-world scenarios—encouraging them to reach for the moon in every endeavor! This educational…
As educators, finding better ways to measure learning is always on our agenda. While we’re familiar with traditional assessment methods and the valuable insights they offer in measuring students’ mastery of specific content knowledge, we recognize their limitation in capturing the full range of students’ abilities and experiences, such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration….
After the invasion of ChatGPT into our classrooms, you probably asked yourself, “What assignments can I give my students to defeat such an appealing tool, especially for students who have to work extensive hours per week besides studying?” In this piece, I will give you one effective and exciting suggestion: research projects. I will present…
Teaching and Learning’s continuing endeavor to create more active intentional partnering has me engaged in more conversations with faculty and staff. In some of our conversations, I asked instructors to share their thoughts and feelings regarding their practices and perception of the educational landscape from the start of the pandemic to now. Responses varied from…
Access the FSH notebook here! At KPU, our faculty and staff in the Faculty of Science and Horticulture play a critical role in the education and training of the next generation of scientists. The work of our students will no doubt be needed in the future to tackle some of the biggest challenges humanity has…
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we (as humans) are flexible beings and various examples show there is increased flexibility coming out of the pandemic. Remote and hybrid work models provide flexibility in work and life balance, telehealth enables patients to access healthcare in remote and hard to access areas, and…
I first stood in-front of a class in the early 90’s. This was back when we still had chalkboards, and “no smoking” signs in the classrooms. Having a handful of papers (remember paper?) shoved in my face accompanied by the imperative, “here, teach that!” represented the totality of my training. So, I did what we…
One of my most enduring memories from my undergraduate years is a reading break project I participated in during my first year. I was assigned to a team of science students who would be volunteering in an elementary school in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood, close to the Downtown Eastside. I remember feeling surprised when I saw…