Concurrent Session 4

Wednesday, April 30
9–9:55 am ADT

Dalhousie Student Union Building, Dalhousie University

Room 303

9–9:55 am ADT

Connecting Classrooms to Communities: Leveraging AI for Proposal Development and Community Impact
Interactive workshop (55 minute)
Tavis Bragg (he/him), Acadia University and Dr. Nathan Corbett (he/him), Dalhousie University

  • This interactive workshop, 'Connecting Classrooms to Communities: Leveraging AI for Proposal Development and Community Impact,' explores how AI empowers educators, students, and communities to address societal challenges through collaborative projects. Using the Grow & Go initiative as a case study, participants will discover practical strategies for leveraging AI tools to streamline grant writing, build partnerships, and integrate community-driven projects into teaching. Hands-on activities will provide actionable insights to transform education into a catalyst for meaningful connection and impact.

    Keywords
    Artificial Intelligence in Education, Community Collaboration, Proposal Development, Sustainability in Teaching, Socio-Cultural Learning, Mental Health, Obesogenic Environments

Room 224

9–9:55 am ADT

Building Connections through Accessibility: Considering a Strengths-based Approach
Conversation Circle (55 minutes)
Erin Fredericks (she/her); Amanda Manning; Lulu Larade (they/them), St. Thomas University

  • The “problem” of accessibility and accommodations is a frequent conversation in all universities, regularly fueling disconnection between faculty, staff, and students. As a student, staff member, and faculty member deeply invested in creating accessible and inclusive universities, we will facilitate a conversation that explores the possibility of reimagining accessibility services via a strengths- or assets-based approach. Join us to reflect on a series of questions, including: How does a deficit focused approach to student accessibility contribute to disconnection between and within students, staff and faculty? What would a strengths-based approach look like in a university setting? What role would universal design for learning play in the implementation of a strengths-based approach? And how could it facilitate connections between and within students, staff and faculty? To ground our conversation, we will provide copies of fictional accommodation forms from deficit- and strengths- based approaches so we can reflect on the form itself as an artifact that can facilitate and undermine our connections.

    Keywords
    Accessibility, Strengths-based, Deficit model

Room 307

9–9:55 am ADT

Collaborate, Elevate, Innovate: Leveraging Communities of Practice to Transform Teaching
Interactive workshop (in-person) 55 minute
Stephanie Bernier (she/her) and Corey DeGagne (he/him), Dalhousie University

  • In today’s dynamic educational landscape, collaboration and connection are critical for fostering innovation and sustaining impactful teaching and learning practices. This interactive session highlights the potential of Communities of Practice (CoPs) as powerful frameworks for driving innovation and creating transformative teaching experiences within faculty and interdisciplinary contexts. Grounded in Social Learning Theory (Farnsworth et al., 2016) and the concept of “thinking together” (Pyrko et al., 2016), participants will explore strategies for leveraging creativity, problem-solving, and building confidence within CoPs to implement new ideas.   

    The session focuses on two key areas: (1) Collaboration for Innovation, featuring examples of successful faculty-staff partnerships grounded in shared goals, trust, and support (Borzillo, 2007), and (2) Establishing and Sustaining CoPs, including approaches to fostering professional growth, interdisciplinary connections, and addressing institutional priorities.  Participants will leave with actionable insights to develop and sustain CoPs in their contexts.    

    Keywords
    Communities of Practice, Innovation, Collaboration, Connection

Room 270

9–9:25 am ADT

Utilizing a Generative AI e-Learning Tool in a Business Cases Class to Enhance Students' Performance & Engagement
Research presentation session (25 minutes)
Dr. Susan Graham (University of Prince Edward Island)

  • Cases are a commonly used pedagogical tool in business education. A challenge of teaching and learning with business cases is the provision of prompt/detailed feedback on students’ written assessments of a case. In this research, a generative AI e-learning tool, was trained to provide prompt, detailed feedback aligned with the teacher’s proscribed expectation.

    This research presentation shares the findings from the use of this generative AI e-learning tool in terms of enhancing student engagement and performance by providing rich, real-time, and constructive feedback in a business class focused on marketing cases.

    Results include empirical changes in student performance, empirical evidence linked to student engagement, and students' feedback on their experience in using a generative AI tool in this manner for their course work.

    Key takeaways will include lessons learned, areas for improvement, and further opportunities for the generative AI e-learning tool.

    Keywords
    Generative AI e-learning tool, business cases, student feedback, student engagement, student performance

9:30–9:55 am ADT

Science and Science Education by, with and for Underrepresented Students
Practice session (in-person or online)

Presenters: Jessica Latimer (she/her), Peyton O'Regan (she/her), Rafiah Mir (she/her), Joshua Paris (he/him), Dr. Joseph Bielawski (he/him) Dalhousie University
Non-Presenting Authors: Yuri Kulish he/him), Paul Bjorndahl (he/him), Dr.  Katherine  Dunn (she/her) Dr. John Archibald (he/him) Dalhousie University

  • In this session, we will share lessons from the co-creation of a microbial diversity research study motived by the principles of environmental justice. We will also describe and evaluate its delivery as a high school science education workshop - a Microbial Observatory Science Outreach Module (MOSOM) - for underrepresented students in STEM. The MOSOM program uses inclusive science communication and teaching-as-learning models to highlight diversity and prosocial values while preparing students to communicate their science. With this case study we illustrate how undergraduate students can design and carry out a study of environmental racism within their community through the lens of microbial biodiversity and explore how their pro-social science communication goals shaped their learning. During this discussion participants will be asked to consider who knowledge is produced by, with and for, and how those expectations shape the creation and communication of knowledge.   

    Keywords
    Students-as-Partners, Teaching-as-Learning, Science Communication, Citizen Science, Community-Centered Research