A Transdisciplinary Review of Research into Spatial Reasoning
Catherine Bruce, Trent University
Synopsis:
Spatial reasoning is vitally important for people of all ages, and equips Canadian students to succeed in school and beyond. Strong correlations have been demonstrated among spatial reasoning abilities, academic success and career choice.
This project will engage in a complex network analysis that maps current studies in spatial reasoning across disciplines. It will assess where links are beginning to be forged, and where they are needed.
“Strong correlations have been demonstrated among spatial reasoning abilities, academic success and career choice.”
Visit researcher's website
Enhancing Key Digital Literacy Skills: Security, Information Privacy, and Information Ownership
Jacquelyn Burkell, Western University
Synopsis:
The skills and knowledge required to understand and manage online information ownership, control, and protection are critical for an adaptable, productive, modern, and effective workforce.
This project will provide a comprehensive overview of the need for training in these areas, including documentation of workplace demands, and an integrated overview of training curriculum requirements.
A model curriculum will then form the basis of planned postgraduate training in digital literacy, and will inform other educational and training initiatives.
“The current, fast-paced, online information environment, for example, requires that workers understand copyright and intellectual property issues, effectively manage the privacy of their own online information, understand the risks of disclosure, and know how to protect online data that is under their care and control.”
Visit researcher's website
Teaching in French immersion and in Canadian Francophone minority communities: knowledge synthesis concerning the challenges and their repercussions on teacher training
Martine Cavanagh and Laurent Cammarata, University of Alberta
Synopsis:
The promotion of bilingualism in Canada has led to the creation of two separate educational models: French immersion programs supporting the development of bilingualism among members of the Anglophone community and Francophone schools in minority communities.
In order to improve these models, the research was focused on the learning results as well as on education strategies that can optimize teaching. Although these are important topics, we know little about the role that teacher training plays in meeting the challenges of implementing French immersion and programs of Francophone schools in minority communities.
The main objective of this project consists of filling a gap in our knowledge of teacher training in these two contexts using an as yet unpublished knowledge synthesis, including not only research on training itself, but also on the challenges related to teaching in an immersion and Francophone minority environment. The result of this work and its conclusions have major implications for teaching.
This knowledge synthesis is intended to identify innovative learning methods and approaches related to teacher training and to determine essential themes for future research. This dual-objective approach helps to improve the quality of training programs for teachers in immersion and Francophone minority environments.
“There are very few knowledge syntheses on the topic of teacher training, which is so important to the improvement of programs in these respective educational contexts.”
Visit researcher's website
Aboriginal Workplace Integration in the North
Ken Coates, University of Saskatchewan
Synopsis:
This project examines the literature on Aboriginal integration into the northern workplace, drawing on the comparatively limited literature on the northern experience, the large body of scholarly work on the circumpolar world, and the extensive academic and professional research on skills, training, employment and education programs targeted at Aboriginal and minority groups.
The goal of the project is to evaluate the degree to which current practice is informed by scholarly and professional research, to identify best practices as validated by substantial research, and to provide policy and program recommendations relevant to Aboriginal workplace integration in the Canadian North.
Given the current extensive investment of resource firms in new and emerging technologies, this project will also consider policy and program alternatives to assist northern Aboriginal Peoples and communities with impending transitions related to technological change in the resource sector.
“The goal of the project is to evaluate the degree to which current practice is informed by scholarly and professional research, to identify best practices as validated by substantial research, and to provide policy and program recommendations relevant to Aboriginal workplace integration in the Canadian North.”
Visit researcher's website
“Soft Skills are Hard:” The “Skills Gap” and Importance of “Soft Skills”
Wendy Cukier, Ryerson University, and Jaigris Hodson, Royal Roads University
Synopsis:
In recent years, substantial research has been done on, and industry attention paid to, the perceived gap between the skills possessed by new university graduates and the requirements of employers in Canada's fastest growing sectors.
Building on extensive research, as well as work with employers and community organizations, this study will analyze industry and academic literature on "soft skills" demanded by employers, compared to the proficiencies of recent graduates. It will explore the knowledge gaps and present steps for future research and practice in this area, with a core aim of informing targeted government and community programming. This study places particular emphasis on marginalized communities, who may be disproportionately affected by "soft skills" gaps.
The findings from this study will be shared with academics, employers, postsecondary institutions, community organizations and policy-makers in an effort to advance knowledge, policy and practice. The findings will be published in and presented through traditional academic vehicles (conferences and journals), but also in a final report and executive summary, and through a series of webinars and other multimedia formats.
“Building on extensive research, as well as work with employers and community organizations, this study will analyze industry and academic literature on ‘soft skills’ demanded by employers, compared to the proficiencies of recent graduates.”
Visit researcher's website
Focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Initiatives in K-12 Education: STEM Education in Canada
Isha DeCoito, Western University
Synopsis:
According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, students in many countries, including Canada, did not demonstrate significant gains in math and science between 2003 and 2013. Elementary school science education has come under scrutiny as educators, researchers and policy-makers unite around the notion of the important foundational role elementary science plays in high school course choices, as well as postsecondary and, eventually, career choices. Across Canada, many movements have been initiated to generate more interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
No comprehensive overview has been conducted on these STEM initiatives’ impact on teaching/learning outcomes in K-12 education.
This project will undertake a comprehensive knowledge synthesis of STEM initiatives and their impact on STEM teaching and learning in K-12 education across Canada, to identify existing gaps/barriers in the current approaches in engaging students and increasing interests and skills in STEM, and to provide insights into the efficacy of STEM initiatives.
“Despite the STEM initiatives implemented across Canada, no single or comprehensive overview has been conducted that takes into account the impact of these STEM initiatives on teaching/learning outcomes in K-12 education.”
Visit researcher's website
Canadian Post-Secondary Education and Aboriginal Peoples of Canada:
Preparation, Access, and Relevance of Post-Secondary Experiences
Frank Deer, University of Manitoba
Synopsis:
Preparation and access to postsecondary education, along with relevant experiences within postsecondary education, for all students are key ingredients for developing an innovative, sustainable and diverse labour market within Canada.
A lack of these ingredients for Aboriginal students adds to the deficit of Aboriginal people in the current labour market. This lack of participation significantly contributes to the economic marginalization and relatively poor quality of life among Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.
The goal of this project is to summarize the literature related to the learning experiences of Aboriginal students in Canadian postsecondary institutions, and identify the delivery methods that best ensure the successful completion of postsecondary education among Aboriginal Peoples, and how current models of delivery are informing the future postsecondary teaching and learning experiences of urban, rural and remote Aboriginal communities.
“Preparation and access to postsecondary education, along with relevant experiences within postsecondary education, for all students are key ingredients for developing an innovative, sustainable and diverse labour market within Canada.”
Visit researcher's website
Organizational models for the most effective services to encourage student access, retention and success for learners with disabilities or those with special needs
France Dubé, UQAM
Synopsis:
In a context where Canadian provinces must provide policies to guide the organization of educational services and where services are increasingly decentralized to teaching establishments, it is essential to be familiar with the organizational models for the most effective services to encourage student access, retention and success for learners with disabilities or those with special needs.
The method used involves systematically reviewing the published Canadian and international scientific literature of the last ten years in English and French.
Finally, the results could lead to a review of service organization policies intended for disabled learners or those with special needs.
“This knowledge synthesis will help guide future research and influence decision-makers since it will help establish organizational practices that take into account the effectiveness of the prescribed service models.”
Visit researcher's website
Strengthening Deeper Learning Through Virtual Teams in E-Learning:
A Synthesis of Determinants and Best Practices
Martine Durier-Copp, Dalhousie University
Synopsis:
E-learning has transformed traditional ways of learning in higher education, and has the potential to fuel social and economic development and innovation. The increased access and flexibility offered by elearning is a fundamental vehicle for fostering a lifelong learning society. However, Canada is trailing behind the efforts of other countries in e-learning, and e-learning in workplace training is not yet a standard feature of professional development. Research on e-learning is lacking in Canada.
This project will systematically survey and then interpretatively synthesize academic literature and research concerning virtual teams and e-learning across multidisciplinary fields in higher education. The project will develop a framework of key determinants of effective e-learning, and will develop an open website through which key stakeholders will be asked to comment on preliminary findings. The project will then organize a colloquium to validate the initial findings and framework. The project will also present a report at a major international conference on e-learning, and prepare a final report based on all of the above. Findings will also be disseminated to government departments mandated with higher education, as well as those engaged in e-training.
“Most e-learning practices merely replicate traditional, existing teaching methods, and have not fully exploited the interactive and social components of peer learning.”
Visit researcher's website
Citizen Science as a Platform for Experiential Learning and Collective Action on Climate Change
Christopher Lemieux, Wilfrid Laurier University
Synopsis:
For decades, a central goal of environmental education was the promotion of environmentally responsible behaviour through environmental literacy. However, faced with burgeoning global environmental risks, there is growing concern that environmental education is underemphasizing critical issues such as why and how society continues to operate as through it were separate from ecological systems, or what the implications of that behaviour might be.
We will explore citizen science as a form of transformative environmental education that has a mandate to promote scientific and environmental learning, promotes a place-conscious approach to education, and directly challenges conventional notions of scientific knowledge production.
We hope to develop a clearer understanding of how transformative environmental education can promote collective action around key environmental issues by fostering a deeper sense of ecological identity, challenging embedded worldviews, and promoting knowledge co-generation. The proposed project emphasizes a partnership with the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, which offers environmental education and citizen science programming to the public, as well as students at multiple levels of the Canadian educational system.
“Faced with burgeoning global environmental risks, there is a growing concern that environmental education research guided by this individual change paradigm is underemphasizing critical issues…”
Visit researcher's website
Global Learning in a Canadian Context: A Knowledge Synthesis
Roberta Lexier and Melanie Rathburn, Mount Royal University
Synopsis:
An increasing number of students are participating in global learning, and Canada is poised to become the next leader in global education.
This project will bring together academic literature, available statistics, and a survey of existing definitions of global citizenship used by Canadian universities to develop a shared vocabulary of what characterizes a global citizen in a Canadian academic context. It will also offer some methods through which institutions can evaluate their efforts to create global citizens. The project will produce a report summarizing its findings and identifying areas where knowledge may be lacking. The report will be shared with private sector stakeholders, government and universities. Project participants will also have direct meetings with key individuals with the ability to effect change in the academic environment.
“Global citizenship is rarely explained and, even within the scholarly literature, there is little consensus on the definition of a global citizen.”
Enhancing the Academic Literacy Skills of ESL Adult Students in Health Professional Education
Lillie Lum, York University
Synopsis:
The ability to read and communicate clearly in writing in the health workplace is critical to the professional advancement of the individual and the effectiveness of their profession. It’s essential that postsecondary learning institutions ensure their students develop the necessary skills.
Writing presents a challenge for many Canadian-born students, but it is an even greater challenge for immigrant students educated outside of Canada, because they may be unfamiliar with communicating in a Canadian professional context.
The importance of teaching students how to write in academic programs is well documented, but much less is known about how to improve the writing ability of the English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learner.
This project will identify and summarize current published literature about teaching and learning strategies that promote effective academic writing in professional education. Professional education program websites will also be examined to identify gaps between the findings in the literature and current program expectations. The information gained will assist in identifying recommendations for changes in the way the writing needs of ESL students are being addressed in Canadian higher education.
“The importance of teaching students how to write in academic programs is well documented, but much less is known about how to improve the writing ability of the English-as-a-second-language learner.”
Interaction between students: An impediment to distance education or path to success?
Cathia Papi, TÉLUQ
Synopsis:
Since various technical and educational plans based on distance interaction between peers as part of a mentoring approach or collaborative work already exist, though they are scattered, we propose reviewing and analyzing these existing plans.
The lack of coordination between services or establishments limits the dissemination of practices that support learning and student retention, which is especially harmful since studies are generally carried out on these specific plans.
It seems fitting to study the research on distance education plans that involve media-based interaction between learners. This meta-analysis is mainly intended to discover the various types of interaction devices between students and their impact on distance education in higher education in Canada. The secondary objective consists of producing a synthesized view of the research in the field in order to broaden interesting perspectives and open new pathways.
“The lack of coordination between services or establishments limits the dissemination of practices that support learning and student retention, which is especially harmful since studies are generally carried out on these specific plans.”
Visit researcher's website
What is the Potential of Mobile Learning Technologies (MLTs) and Their Applications to Support the Needs of Indigenous Learners in Canada?
Siomonn Pulla, Royal Roads University
Synopsis:
This research will synthesize existing research knowledge and identify knowledge gaps relating to mobile learning technology (MLT) and its applications to urban, rural and remote indigenous communities and learners in Canada.
Mobile learning (or m-learning) is a natural extension of e-learning, and has the potential to make e-learning even more widely available and accessible.
In Canada, we still do not have a comprehensive or coherent approach to align the incredible potential of e-learning and the fast-developing area of m-learning with an informed understanding of what it could or should accomplish.
This project will contribute to a broader vision of the possibilities for building sustainable, collaborative partnerships across the public, private and non-governmental organization sectors to better understand the potential applications of MLTs in supporting e-learning and m-learning for indigenous learners in Canada.
“The use of wireless technology has the potential to revolutionize e-learning, helping to create, deliver and facilitate learning regardless of the location, and enabling the delivery of comprehensive, individualized and dynamic learning content in real time.”
Visit researcher's website
Management of the Arts and Culture: Something Borrowed, Something New …
Wendy Reid, HEC Montreal
Synopsis:
The arts and cultural sectors are sources of community social well-being, international recognition, and employment and economic impact in a community. In the performing arts, the study of management of the arts and cultural field is important to ensure stability and innovation in the field. However, the study of arts management is fragmented across a number of academic disciplines.
Despite the range of arts-related research, arts management is often taught by practitioners from the field, and they have little exposure to the study of creative industries that have evolved within the last 10-15 years. Cut off from theorizing roots and recent research in the creative industries, instruction in the classroom is often very practical, and reinforces institutionalized thinking that dominates the field. On the other hand, some entrepreneurial innovation is underway, as artists and managers seek independent solutions to the challenges of changing revenue models. Critical thinking needs to be directed at both older models reflected in many arts management text books, and recent practice, to generate grounded, innovative developments in the field.
This synthesis of arts and culture management research is intended as a “taking stock” of the range of disconnected related disciplines, focusing on how these might provide enhanced understanding of management in the sector's organizations, as a basis for innovation.
“Cut off from theorizing roots and recent research in the creative industries, instruction in the classroom is often very practical, and reinforces the institutionalized thinking that dominates the field.”
Visit researcher's website
Leveraging Peers in the School-to-Work Transition for Women in STEM
Brian Rubineau, McGill University
Synopsis:
Increasing the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) university graduates is a key national goal for innovation and economic growth. Promoting the participation and success of women in STEM is a singular opportunity for achieving this goal.
Research into the obstacles faced by women in STEM careers implicates informal social processes, such as peer influence and social capital dynamics. Surmounting these obstacles requires universities and employers to look beyond traditional educational delivery methods and engage directly with these outside-of-the-classroom, informal-but-consequential social processes.
The proposed knowledge synthesis will describe new and implementable evidence-based opportunities for promoting the participation and retention of women in STEM careers during the school-to-work transition.
“We commonly seek our friends' guidance on life decisions. Engaging peers to support women's participation in STEM careers is a potentially effective but under-used tool for schools and employers.”
Visit researcher's website
The digital textbook in the postsecondary context: learning strategies, new learning methods, potential and limits
Ghislain Samson, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Synopsis:
This project consists of a knowledge synthesis on the integration of the digital textbook in the postsecondary context. More specifically, we would like to take stock of the research knowledge and needs concerning learning strategies and new learning methods associated with digital textbooks.
In our previous work, which is still under way, we determined a certain potential for, or added value of, the digital textbook. We also established limits of its use and the technical and teaching skills of teachers. Some disadvantages are the distraction caused by the various functions of digital media, eye strain from prolonged reading and compatibility issues with reading devices (e-reader, tablet, etc.)
The learning issues and effects have been less documented in the research and raise the following questions: how are teachers and students using the various functions that the digital format offers? More precisely, what is the added value of hyperlink functions and annotations?
“In our previous work, which is still under way, we determined a certain potential for, or added value of, the digital textbook.”
Visit researcher's website
Strategies and Best Practices for Data Literacy Education
Michael Smit, Dalhousie University
Synopsis:
We are a data-rich society, but governments, corporations, schools and even individuals are struggling with making the best possible use of the volume of data available to them. In addition to the deep technical expertise needed, analysts agree there is a need for a data-literate workforce, and that this need is not currently being met. Data literacy is the ability to comprehend, create and communicate data, and includes a wide range of skills and knowledge. Data-literate individuals are capable of connecting people (including themselves) to data, effectively making use of this vast resource. Given this need, how can postsecondary institutions in Canada best equip graduates with the knowledge, understanding and skills required for the data-rich knowledge economy?
Our team, each from a different research and teaching background, proposes to identify and assess existing strategies and best practices for teaching data literacy, producing an overall synthesis of this existing knowledge and identifying areas where additional research is needed.
The results will be communicated broadly to scholars (to identify open research questions in this vital area) and to educators (to leverage strategies and best practices in curriculum development), through a final report, academic papers, a public website releasing all of the results under a creative commons license, and various symposiums and workshops.
“Data-literate individuals are capable of connecting people (including themselves) to data, effectively making use of this vast resource, but there is not yet a systematic approach to teaching data literacy across a broad array of programs, or to certifying data literacy.”
Visit researcher's website
Community Service-Learning (CSL) in Canadian Higher Education
Alison Taylor, The University of British Columbia
Synopsis:
Research suggests community service-learning (CSL) in higher education is an innovative pedagogical approach that helps students integrate theoretical and practical knowledge. The significant growth in these programs in Canadian postsecondary educational institutions since the 1990s has been mirrored by the growth in scholarly literature and practitioner resources in North America.
This knowledge synthesis project will focus on the following questions:
- How can CSL enhance student engagement and outcomes in universities and colleges?
- How can CSL encourage students to think critically and to advocate for social change?
- What institutional structures and processes are necessary to achieve the development of effective university-community learning networks?
- What role does CSL play in ensuring access to and/or mobility within Canadian education for a diverse student body?
The project will distil the main themes and issues, identify gaps in knowledge and areas for future research, and share resources with others interested in this form of pedagogy, including policy-makers, administrators, instructors, students and community partners.
“As students cross the boundaries between postsecondary educational institutions and community sites, they potentially become more self-aware, more focused in terms of further education and careers, and more critically engaged citizens ….”
Visit researcher's website
Bridging the Theory/Practice Divide: Experiential Learning for a Critical, People-Centred Economy
Janice Waddell, Ryerson University
Synopsis:
Experiential learning is an innovative, rapidly expanding teaching strategy in higher education proposed to bridge the divide between the classroom and the working world.
The proposed knowledge synthesis project will assess the state of knowledge about experiential learning, specifically in terms of its impact on bridging the theory/practice gap in community services professions such as nursing, social work and urban planning. The project will clarify the outcomes of experiential learning process, with the goal of improving experiential practices and student learning.
Project participants aim to understand the extent to which experiential learning bridges the knowledge gap between theory and practice, broadens career prospects, and contributes to the development of students’ critical thinking skills, which are necessary to the knowledge economy.
“We aim to understand the extent to which experiential learning bridges the knowledge gap between theory and practice, broadens career confidence, and contributes to the development of students’ critical thinking skills ….”
Visit researcher's website