Ask, Find Out, Act: The Benefits of Inquiry-based Learning

Ask, Find Out, Act: The Benefits of Inquiry-based Learning

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. or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bot

Generative AI. or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bot

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…

“Aiming for the Moon”: Designing Assignments for Mastery-Based Achievement 

“Aiming for the Moon”: Designing Assignments for Mastery-Based Achievement 

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…

A Holistic Approach to Assessment: Integrating Self, Peer, Instructor, and AI 

A Holistic Approach to Assessment: Integrating Self, Peer, Instructor, and AI 

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….

Teaching Through Undergraduate Research: The Transformative Power of Active Learning

Teaching Through Undergraduate Research: The Transformative Power of Active Learning

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…

A Rose by Any Other Name: Competency & Mastery-Based Learning and Assessments

A Rose by Any Other Name: Competency & Mastery-Based Learning and Assessments

Introduction In the ever-changing landscape of Canadian higher education, discussions persist around the “best” pedagogical approaches to student learning, instruction, and assessment. Traditional education often relies on seat time, percentage-based grading, and conventional “pen and paper” assessments like essays and exams (Malan, 2000; Diegelman-Parente, 2011; Sturgis, 2014). Non-traditional education, particularly evolving over the last century,…

Recognize the Whole Person: A Student-Centered Intercultural Teaching Framework

Recognize the Whole Person: A Student-Centered Intercultural Teaching Framework

If we asked our students to tell us what is most important in an intercultural teaching practice, what would they say? That’s the question that came to my mind as I began my doctoral research several years ago. I’d read a number of helpful frameworks that provide guidance for my professional development as an instructor…

From Trauma-Informed Practices to a Compassionate Community

From Trauma-Informed Practices to a Compassionate Community

Trauma-informed practices are not new in education, yet it appears we still have work to do when it comes to creating a compassionate community for all. The impacts of trauma on our students and on the university community as a whole are longstanding issues, but the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic really served to highlight…

Fourteen simple strategies to help KPU educators support Indigenous learners today! Lessons from the BCcampus Pulling together series
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Fourteen simple strategies to help KPU educators support Indigenous learners today! Lessons from the BCcampus Pulling together series

On Feb 6, 2023, KPU’s president Dr. Alan Davis released a video message providing guidance on delivering Territorial acknowledgments that shift away from “a general colonial term to the languages of these First Nations” (President’s update, 2023, 00:32). Positioning yourself through a Territorial acknowledgement should be an integral practice all of us at KPU has…

ePortfolio Matters @KPU:  The Revival Continues

ePortfolio Matters @KPU:  The Revival Continues

Having recently submitted our Summative Report for the 2022/23 AACU ePortfolio Institute, it is in keeping with folio thinking pedagogy to reflect upon the accomplishments and impacts of this year-long learning experience. At the beginning of our journey, I waxed on about the revival of ePortfolios in a previous blog post where I introduced KPUs…