InspirED 2026

Location: Nicol 4050

Facilitators: Julie Caldwell (Sprott), Edward Cyr (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Martha Mullally (Biology) and Laura Pickell (Health Sciences)

Description: This interactive discussion session is a chance to dig into what it takes to build learning communities in large classes. Four instructors will share four different approaches grounded in their own teaching contexts and experiences. Participants can join small-group conversations about each approach and move between groups to discuss what interests them most. The focus is on open conversation, reflection and learning from one another.

About the facilitators: Coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4030

Panelists: Peter Coffman (Art and Architectural History), Jodie Medd (English Language and Literature) and Steven Pong (Industrial Design)

Description: What happens when learning moves beyond the classroom and into the city itself? In this panel session, three instructors will share how they brought students into neighbourhoods, public spaces, cultural sites and community settings to support learning in real‑world contexts. Panelists will talk candidly about successes and challenges, and about what they saw their students gain from learning together “out in the world.” The session will include plenty of space for audience questions and sharing ideas.

About the panelists: Coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4040

Presenter: Duncan McCue (Journalism and Communication)

Description: Prof. Duncan McCue explores how Carleton University’s Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities (CJIIC) is rooted in relationships with First Nation community partners, Knowledge-Keepers and Indigenous journalists who guide its curriculum and mentor students. By centring trust and reciprocity, the program creates an educational environment where learners are encouraged to foster connections to community, land and self.

About the presenter: Duncan McCue is an Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication and the founding director of the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities (CJIIC). An award‑winning Anishinaabe journalist and a citizen of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, Duncan brings more than 25 years of experience at CBC News to his work at Carleton, where he focuses on Indigenous journalism, storytelling and decolonizing media practices

Location: Nicol 4038 (limited to 20 participants; first come, first served)

Facilitators: Caroline Andison, Lorraine Godden, Erika Rice, Aviva Segal

Description: This session is facilitated by TLS team members who are certified facilitators of the Lego® Serious Play® methodology. Leveraging hands-on building and storytelling to support reflection, dialogue and shared understanding, participants will explore how relationship-rich education can be cultivated in learning environments. Through guided individual builds and group sharing, participants will reflect on experiences of connection, belonging and collaboration in education, fostered through dialogue, perspective-taking and co-construction of meaning.

In this workshop, you will participate in brick building activities that will enable you to:

• Describe personal experiences of connection and belonging in learning environments
• Identify and articulate factors that promote relationship-rich learning
• Demonstrate collaborative problem-solving by co-constructing a shared brick build

About the facilitators:

• Caroline Andison is the program coordinator for Carleton’s FUSION skills development program, and she is a certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. Caroline supports students in developing cross-disciplinary skills for the future economy and active citizenship in 21st-century society.
• Lorraine Godden is the FUSION National Lead, and is a qualified teacher, certified career development professional and certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. Lorraine manages, teaches and researches skills development, work-integrated learning and career development within learning spaces and places.
• Erika Rice is an Instructional Designer with Carleton’s FUSION Skills Development Program. In addition to curriculum design, Erika has 15 years of experience as a facilitator of programs for adult learners.
• Aviva Segal is an educational developer, instructional designer, researcher, instructor and presenter with over 20 years of experience in postsecondary education, specializing in trauma-informed pedagogy and inclusive learning. As a trained LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator, Aviva designs workshops that use hands-on building to foster reflection, dialogue and collaboration.

Location: Nicol 4050

Facilitators: Lane Bourbonnière (Centre for Indigenous Support and Community Engagement) and Krista Craven (Equity and Inclusive Communities)

Description: This is a discussion-centered session designed for instructors who are committed to embedding equity and inclusion in their teaching practices. Following a brief opening to establish some key concepts and shared language, the majority of the session will be devoted to facilitated small- and large-group dialogue that draws on participants’ teaching experiences and strategies. Session participants will be encouraged to engage in critical reflection and to share insights drawn from their own teaching contexts. They will also have an opportunity to ask questions about how they can further implement Indigenous and equity-based pedagogies in the spaces they take up.

About the facilitators: Coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4030

Panelists: Coming soon!

Description: This session offers an opportunity to hear directly from students about their current experiences with teaching and learning. A panel of students from across faculties and levels will respond to questions submitted by symposium participants, offering perspectives “from the learner’s seat.” The format is designed to be open and conversational, giving participants a chance to hear directly from students and reflect on what supports learning from their point of view.

Location: Nicol 4040

Presenters: Ali Arya (Information Technology), Troy Anderson (Sprott), Madi Hunt (Nursing) and Leonard MacEachern (Electronics)

Description: This lightning round session brings together a range of presenters, each sharing a snapshot of how they use AI in thoughtful, creative, and sometimes unexpected ways to connect learners with one another and with communities beyond the classroom. Each contribution highlights a different approach, context or experiment. Expect a series of short, engaging presentations that will spark plenty of ideas and reflection.

About the presenters: Coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4038 (limited to 20 participants; first come, first served)

Facilitator: Martha Attridge-Bufton (Library)

Description: Coming soon!

About the facilitator: Coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4050

Facilitators: Rebecca Schein (Sociology and Anthropology) and Alexis Shotwell (Sociology and Anthropology)

Description: This session will be a facilitated discussion of the way that alternative approaches to assessment — including “ungrading,” “specs grading,” “contract grading,” and other variations — productively reframe our relationship as teachers to our students, students’ relationships with each other and students’ intra-subjective account of their own learning goals and strategies. We will share some of our own strategies and experiences designing assignments and classroom practices that push grades out of the centre of these relationships, even as we continue to comply with university requirements to deliver a grade at the end of the semester. Our discussion will also touch on the way that chatbots have intensified the utility of using practice-based approaches to teaching and assessment. We hope the room will include participants who can share their own experiences with alternative assessments, as well as those interested in learning more about how to incorporate these approaches into their teaching, whether at the assignment or activity level or across an entire course syllabus.

About the facilitators: Rebecca Schein and Alexis Shotwell (both Sociology and Anthropology) have many years of experience with alternative assessment strategies, with a particular focus both on teaching writing and using writing as a technique for learning. They received the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award for their project “Writing as Thinking,” which explores the relevance of teaching writing in the context of widespread chatbot use.

Location: Nicol 4030

Panelists: Cathy Allison (Communication and Media Studies), Katie Lucas (Nursing), Kester Dyer (Film Studies) and Beth Martin (Social Work)

Description: Curious about the Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundles and how and why they are used by your Carleton colleagues? In this panel, you’ll hear how instructors in Science, FGPA and FASS have incorporated Bundles into their courses, what they learned from the experience and how students reacted to and applied the content. These insights, along with a Q&A period, will help you consider how these flexible online modules can introduce or enhance Indigenous perspectives and content in your own face-to-face or online courses.

More about the Bundles: Choose from 17 discrete online modules to integrate Indigenous knowledge with your own expertise, in any course format. Each Bundle provides a series of short videos and knowledge check questions on history and perspectives from Indigenous scholars and Elders. Knowledge rooted in the importance of relationships with people and with the natural world encourages students to critically reflect on their assumptions, worldviews and inherited narratives. You can use the suggested extra resources, activities and assessments to help students apply what they learn to your course content.

Location: Nicol 4040

Presenter: Amanda Montague (Digital Humanities)

Description: Discover how community partnerships can enrich graduate learning while generating meaningful local impact. This session shares insights from the SWOOS–Carleton Social Connections Project, in which graduate students collaborated with seniors in Old Ottawa South to explore social isolation and loneliness. Students facilitated participatory workshops using creative, arts-based methods, co-designed with the community partner. The session highlights how relationship-rich education unfolds across multiple levels between instructor, students and community partners. Perspectives from both the community partner and participating students will illuminate the learning, challenges and opportunities that emerged, offering practical strategies for fostering collaborative, relationship-centered and community-engaged teaching.

About the presenter: Amanda Montague is a postdoctoral fellow in Community‑Engaged Digital Humanities and the lead of StudioDH. Her teaching and research focus on relationship‑rich, community‑partnered learning through digital storytelling, participatory methods and collaborative project‑based pedagogy. Amanda will be joined by her students and SWOOS partners – details coming soon!

Location: Nicol 4038 (limited to 20 participants; first come, first served)

Facilitators: Caroline Andison, Lorraine Godden, Erika Rice, Aviva Segal

Description: This session is facilitated by TLS team members who are certified facilitators of the Lego® Serious Play® methodology. Leveraging hands-on building and storytelling to support reflection, dialogue and shared understanding, participants will explore how relationship-rich education can be cultivated in learning environments. Through guided individual builds and group sharing, participants will reflect on experiences of connection, belonging and collaboration in education, fostered through dialogue, perspective-taking and co-construction of meaning.

In this workshop, you will participate in brick building activities that will enable you to:

• Describe personal experiences of connection and belonging in learning environments
• Identify and articulate factors that promote relationship-rich learning
• Demonstrate collaborative problem-solving by co-constructing a shared brick build

About the facilitators:

• Caroline Andison is the program coordinator for Carleton’s FUSION skills development program and she is a certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. Caroline supports students in developing cross-disciplinary skills for the future economy and active citizenship in 21st-century society.
• Lorraine Godden is the FUSION National Lead, and is a qualified teacher, certified career development professional and certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. Lorraine manages, teaches and researches skills development, work-integrated learning and career development within learning spaces and places.
• Erika Rice is an Instructional Designer with Carleton’s FUSION Skills Development Program. In addition to curriculum design, Erika has 15 years of experience as a facilitator of programs for adult learners.
• Aviva Segal is an educational developer, instructional designer, researcher, instructor and presenter with over 20 years of experience in postsecondary education, specializing in trauma-informed pedagogy and inclusive learning. As a trained LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator, Aviva designs workshops that use hands-on building to foster reflection, dialogue and collaboration.