Winter Academic PD Day ❄️

Building on Ela Smith’s introduction to Indigegogy, Miskasowin, and Indigenous Knowledge Learning Outcomes, I’ll be sharing reflections from my own journey, both as a Haudenosaunee woman and as a researcher exploring how to create safe digital learning spaces for Indigenous students.

My work asks: How do we root safety in Indigenous knowledge, especially in online systems that weren’t built with us in mind? And what does it mean to bring Indigenous curriculum into these digital spaces in ways that are ethical, relational, and rooted in responsibility?

I’ll talk about how trauma-informed approaches, digital sovereignty, and community-guided curriculum design can support not just learning, but cultural wellness. I’ll also invite us to consider the complicated role of technologies like AI; how they can cause harm, but also how they might support Indigenous healing, language, and presence if we lead their design with care.

Through story, reflection, and grounded research, I’ll share how I’ve been trying to find self, spirit, and responsibility in both curriculum and code.

with Jennifer Fournier & Amy Jenne [CTL]

We are introducing a new faculty development program based on the Braiding Learning Framework introduced at the beginning of PD Day. This Framework braids together four pedagogical practices from Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and teachings. Using the rings inside the framework, we have reimagined our professional development sessions to align with specific teaching competencies within those rings. As you participate and grow your teaching practice, you can earn up to 2 micro-credentials. This session will walk faculty through the new program and how you can participate!

This session will introduce faculty to Cooperative Online International Learning (COIL) as a framework for building inclusive, globally connected classrooms. By partnering with colleagues and students from institutions abroad, COIL integrates diverse perspectives into coursework, encouraging students to collaborate across cultures, languages, and time zones. Participants will explore how COIL helps dismantle barriers of geography and privilege, giving all students – regardless of their ability to travel – access to meaningful international and intercultural experiences.

with the First People's Indigenous Centre

Join our friends at FPIC at any point during Academic PD Day. They will have soup (while supplies last) and have drop-in discussions and activities to help build your Indigenous cultural competency.

with Dawn McGuckin and Dr. Lynne N. Kennette

Multiple choice tests are unlikely to disappear from formal education, partly due to their ease of large-scale administration, grading, and similarity to licensing exams in various fields (e.g., nursing). Despite post-secondary instructors’ best intentions in giving students adequate time to complete multiple choice assessments, it can be difficult to judge the amount of time that is actually required by students, while attempting to maintain test integrity and minimize cheating behaviour. This study examined students actual test-taking behaviour to determine how much time students used per multiple choice question and whether differences exist in the time used on two types of assessments: small quizzes with unlimited attempts, and unit tests with only one attempt. These results can help to guide pedagogical decisions (e.g., universal design) but it is also important to consider learner-specific characteristics which might affect how much time they use (or need) to complete multiple choice assessments.

with Dr. Erin Dancey, Howard Umrah, and Corey Gill

This session shares findings from a mixed methods study on the use of Generative AI by Durham College students and faculty. Key takeaways include evidence-based strategies for integrating GenAI into teaching and insights into ethical concerns and program-specific attitudes.

with Corey Gill

This Poster Presentation shares a transformative approach to assessment design in first-year business education, grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and the integration of Generative AI tools.

with Kyle Chapman

In Introduction to Programming in 2023 and 2024, we piloted a tool designed to provide additional exercises and automated grading and feedback related to Python Programming. While the tool was effective and interesting to make use of, we were unable to correlate it with improved retention or positive student experiences. Perhaps the real interest comes from the unusual set of barriers to implementation and data collection, including lockdown, schedules, staffing changes, and the advent of public access to generative AI!

with Michelle Rivers and Dr. Lynne N. Kennette