Eleven Experiential Learning Projects Awarded Funding Through CUELF

Alan Steele and colleagues Michael Feuerherm and Shulabh Gupta are expanding experiential learning in undergraduate student labs in the Department of Electronics with new surface mount technology equipment and training.

Dean Laplonge is providing students in GINS 4090F: Addressing Gender Based Violence Risks in Global Private Sector Business Operations the opportunity to work with Singapore-based Factive Consulting to create user-friendly tools that real businesses can use to help them manage gender-based violence risks linked to their operations. Students will identify gaps in existing tools, and then design, pilot and revise a new tool for public release with input from Factive’s consultants and communications team.

Sujit Sur is integrating the FUSION curriculum into BUSI 3103: Organizational Theory and Design to enhance the course’s experiential learning design that includes a flipped classroom, case analysis, gamification and reflection.

Laura Pickell and colleague AnilKishor Gollapudi are integrating an applied research component into HLTH 2004: Microbiology & Virology that will be submitted to Tiny Earth, a global network of 10,000 students/year from 27 countries. Over the course of a term, HLTH 2004 students will collect soil, generate hypotheses about antibiotic-producing bacteria in the soil, and test their ideas through culturing, screening, and characterization techniques to identify previously undiscovered candidates of antibiotic activity. Their findings will be submitted to the Tiny Earth database.

Stéfy McKnight is preparing her fourth-year Bachelor of Media Production and Design students for future employment in event planning, curation and public programming, to name a few. Students in MPAD 4000: Capstone Projects will curate, organize and facilitate a group exhibition to share their final group projects, which can take the form of digital media art, website development, VR experiences, podcasts, videos, documentaries, animation and more.

Katie Graham and colleagues Vicky McArthur and Stéfy McKnight are using the format of the “Create-a-thon” to address the need for out-of-classroom learning and growth for students in Media Production and Design. Students will develop digital media (games, films, software, AR/VR, etc.) over four days to address a design challenge and create a project proposal or prototype with the support of a professional mentor from the media production and design industry.

Kathleen Moss is developing SOCI 3210: Teaching Sociology to High School Students, a new Sociology course that offers students the opportunity to present an interactive, Ontario Curriculum-aligned sociology lecture to a high school (Grade 11 and 12) social science class. Students will research, develop and deliver the lecture, then participate in self-assessments to evaluate learning outcomes and reflect on competencies gained through the experience.

Anna Hoefnagels and Geraldine King are working with colleagues Macho Commonda, Eva Keeshi, Benny Michaud from the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives and Anita Tenasco, Director of Education for the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, to develop a new course, INDG 4015: Land as a Relation.

This course involves collaborating with knowledge keepers of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation to develop a land-based learning course for senior-level students in the Indigenous Studies program that will serve as a model of best practices for other land-based learning projects created in partnership with local Indigenous communities.

Gregory Bulté and colleagues Sean Landsman, Vivian Nguyen and Steven Cooke are training the next generation of scientists through hands-on field biology training. Students enrolled in courses relating to freshwater ecology will learn to operate small aluminum boats that will allow them to practice common sampling techniques and gain confidence working on the water during local fieldwork.

Janice Schroeder and colleagues Nadia Bozak, Jody Mason, David Stymeist, Sarah Pelletier, Judy Katz, and Larry Thompson, Master Printer at the Book Arts Lab in the MacOdrum Library, are developing an integrated experiential learning initiative for students in the Department of English Language and Literature.

Students in the creative writing concentration will be invited to submit their best work to a literary magazine designed, edited and digitally produced by fourth-year students in the ENGL 4135 seminar. Students enrolled in the department’s book arts and publishing courses will produce print supplements to the digital magazine, such as ad posters for the annual magazine launch and spoken word performances. Community partners in Ottawa’s literary scene will also be invited to participate at various stages.

Hollis Moore is exploring best practices for courtroom observation, interview methods and auto-ethnographic analysis to develop experiential learning activities including field experiences and case-based learning for students in LAWS 5903W: Everyday Experiences of the Law – An Ethnographic Lens.