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…
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,…
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…
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…
Nishan Perera is a regular faculty member of the KPU Marketing department, the Educational Consultant for Course Design and Assessment with the Teaching and Learning Common, and the former Chair of Marketing. For this edition of our Faculty Spotlight, Nishan shares his story with us. Also known as “the Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” Sri…
ePortfolios are experiencing a quiet renaissance at KPU and, with this post, I hope to turn up the volume by highlighting some key milestones and a few of the many great ePortfolio initiatives that I have had the privilege to support in my role as Educational Consultant for ePortfolio Advancement in the Teaching and Learning…
The implications of the Metaverse are ubiquitous and will alter many aspects of our lives. In this blogpost I focus on two ways the Metaverse will change teaching and learning in higher education. But first, a question: What is the Metaverse? a) a Digital Disneyland where we can escape from the banality of lifeb) self-referential…
As 2021 was drawing to a close, I found myself reflecting on the challenges and successes of the past year and anticipating a more normal 2022. As we began the New Year, it was clear that it would not be normal, and I began to wonder what normal even is? The pandemic continues to challenge…
As we enter each new semester, we look forward to greeting our students, anticipating their journey of learning and development, hopeful for what our students will achieve. In the midst of that hope, our expectations may be tempered with our knowledge, gained from past experience, that some of our students may not succeed. If only…
“Do I really have to buy the textbook?” That question echoed in my ears in my first semester of teaching at KPU. I lost count of how many times students would ask me if they really had to buy the textbook. Each time I answered “yes,” I felt uncomfortable. The textbook was expensive (around $100),…