Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard To Teach? – link

In the summer of 2015, the MT faculty team discussed concerns with students’ demonstration of complex competencies involving critical thinking, especially in the clinical environment.  In particular, there was a concern that students were unable to use previously acquired knowledge and skills in new and complicated environments.  This desire to improve critical thinking, and more broadly capability, in students and graduates stimulated a change in the approach to learning within the MT program.

It was decided that an authentic and integrated approach to evaluation was needed to reinforce curriculum change.  In response to this decision, integrative learning activities (ILAs) were created.  In the Fall 2017 semester, there were two ILAs, one to introduce students to the evaluation and a second to reinforce the importance of the foundational courses and of the integration of concepts to enhance learning and future patient care.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• What is the impact of the Integrative Learning Activities (ILAs) in Semester 1 of the Massage Therapy Program on student engagement, perception of and attitudes toward the ILAs, capability, and integration of concepts?

High fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) is widely used in nursing curricula as an alternative to clinical placement and/or targeted learning experience.  Efficacy in HFPS based learning is measured in student level of confidence and competence (Ashley, 2014).  Although HFPS is recognized as an effective learning environment, student formative feedback often reports negative feelings such as being judged, anxiety and fear. Student perceptions of psychological safety and self-confidence has direct impact on learning (Kang & Min, 2019; Turner & Harder, 2018). The use of simulation gaming is a novel pedagogical approach in nursing education. The limited literature on simulation gaming suggests that the team approach to learning, inherent in gaming, supports student perceptions of self-confidence and improved learning outcomes

Currently there is little literature on homework completion in the post-secondary environment, and what there is does not distinguish clearly between homework as non-graded study and homework as completion of assignments for assessment. Our research looks to fill this gap. According to the Higher Education College Quality Council of Ontario’s website, retention rates for college students in Ontario hovered around 65% for the ten years between 2004 and 2014.

In the Media Foundation program, the investigators notice that some students attend class regularly but do not hand in assignments worth a portion of their grade, or hand assignments in so late that they receive a significant grade penalty (sometimes zero.) Anecdotally, students report that they do not really know why they have not completed assignments, or if they have completed them, why they do not hand them in. Some students suggest they are too busy, did not understand the assignment and did not think to seek help, or did not feel that their work was good enough to submit. This study investigated what might be the root cause, or causes, of this behavior, which in many cases leads to course (and therefore program) failure.

Evolving patient simulations are those in which a student manages a virtual patient over a period of time to develop the capacity to identify and respond to emerging clinical problems after an injury. Meta-analysis of student cognition, affect and learning outcomes have shown that skill acquisition gains are higher in gamified  learning then in conventional instruction (Lamb et al, 2018).

The rationalization for pursuing simulation gamification is based on the increasing need for alignment between pedagogical practice and long term, job skill-related outcomes. The document “A New Vision for Higher Education (http://www.collegesontario.org/policy-positions/position-papers/new-vision-for-higher-education.pdf) cites in section 3 that “even with strong immigration levels the Conference Board of Canada estimates Ontario will face a shortage of more than 360,000 skilled employees by 2025 and a shortage of more than 560,000 employees by 2030.” (Page 12 of source document). This report explicitly states that the college system must re-align to meet the new economy. Shortages of apprenticeships are of great cost to the economy. The pedagogical model we are seeking to develop here will provide proof of concept for integration of serious games and massage therapy science content.  This method of serious game integration can then be applied across many subject areas both within the RMT program and across Humber.

Simulation gamification is part of the solution to this problem so that we can make advances in the use of simulations for training in place of traditional apprenticeships and face-to-face job experience for entry into the professions. This study created a simulation training game that can be adapted across wider user groups both internally and externally. It aligns well with the work in virtual reality occurring at Humber, where the role of immersive simulation is being explored. It created a game system that can be used alongside immersive technology to enhance teaching and learning. The focus of this work is on integrative, cross-course learning, where clinical and basic scientific information needs to be aligned.

One of the goals in our Early Childhood Education Program focus on preparing exiting students for success in various career pathways. Embedded within our courses are team building skills, communication skills and building professional relationships.

Collaboration is a fundamental part of program/course goals, generic skills and is an integral part in preparing students for success in the field of Early Childhood Education. Efforts made to embed experiences within assignments offer opportunities for students to engage in practices that will allow for developing and refining collaboration skills while networking and building stronger relationships. Collaboration skills, although essential, can pose many challenges from a requirement of course content to faculty expectations of what students can do (Tucker, 2012).

This project attempted to answer the following:

• How do students perceive their skills in navigating online platforms, specifically Google Docs and Mindmeister, for collaboration, engagement and learning?
• Have students’ perception/attitudes changed, about using on-line platforms in completing group assignments, engagement and learning, after they were introduced to Google Docs and Mindmeister?
• Does on-line or face-to-face dynamic influence: (post-test b provides data for this)
  1. The type of strategies students uses to complete group assignments.
  2. How individual group members’ function or demonstrate collaboration skills, engagement and learning of assignment content?

Since 2013, the investigators have administered two different invigilation-training methods.  The initial training model invited newly hired exam invigilators to an in-person discussion of the Test and Exam Policy; this was followed by a second training model, consisting of an in-person training session, and drawing on both case-based and discussion approaches to instruction. Each invigilator was supplied with a mind map: a one page, at-a-glance document that reminds invigilators of the most common circumstances they are likely to encounter during the examination process (e.g. how to handle students’ electronics, personal items, or breaches of Academic Integrity).

While resources have been built to assist invigilators in identifying academic dishonesty, invigilators have stated in feedback discussion that they are uncertain when dealing with situations that are not specifically outlined in them.

This research study aimed to identify an effective training method to develop stringent and active invigilation skills and to address the processes involved to instill both knowledge and confidence in compliance with academic integrity policies outlined in the Test and Exam Policy, School of Health Sciences.

Invigilators went through a training process. The effectiveness was assessed as follows in combination: objective measures, subjective measures, self-evaluation measures (as outlined in the measures section).

Healthcare professionals are at the forefront of delivery of care. This fact of ignorance among health care professionals with this disease has translated into horrendous experiences, characterized by stigmatization for patients in the healthcare settings (Haywood et al, 2009). Patients with SCD face the greatest risk in health care settings due to the lack of appropriate and timely care. They often state that they know more than the health professionals who are providing care (Hill,1994, Anionwu & Atkin, 2002).Minimal knowledge about SCD among healthcare professionals have led to fatal consequences.

For the past five years, practical nursing students and other students in the School of Health Sciences have attended a Sickle Cell Symposium. Here, expert healthcare providers, patients living with Sickle Cell Disease and members of Sickle Cell community share raw experiences and invaluable knowledge with the students.

This project evaluated if students’ knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of patients with Sickle Disease (SCD) changed after attending this symposium.

Students at the collegiate level are not engaged in instructor-facilitated courses. Some recent studies suggest that large numbers of college students appear to be either academically or socially disengaged or both (Kuh, 2002). It is the opinion of the investigator that there are too many distractions, from social media to the proximity of friends or colleagues among other extraneous factors. Instructors try to solve this issue by using a plethora of tools/aids to garner students’ attention. However, at the same time, these technologies can be harnessed for positive educational outcomes, they can also distract and impair performance when students use them for purposes related to the lesson (L. Darling-Hammond, 2014). Pairing internet-connected classroom tools with computers and mobile devices with classroom teachers who provide real-time support and encouragement boosts engagement and produces significant gains in student achievement. As a result, it is imperative that in this highly distracted era, we need a tool to incorporate, manage and lead lessons to enhance engagement during a lesson by broadcasting content and interactive learning elements to students’ devices in real-time. This project utilized NearPod (https://nearpod.com/) as a tool to do this.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• Does having integrated learning tools along with instructor-led interactive technologies increase the levels of engagement and improve performance in college-based courses?

To date, most educational institutions focus on delivering the classroom experience though traditional models such as lectures, debates, and exercises without a focus on innovative thinking. However, for students to be competitive in their future endeavors, not only their analytical skills but also their creative and innovative thinking must be honed. The current evidence suggests that “the creative competence (…) is one way to help prepare students for an uncertain future” (Beghetto, 2010, p. 447). The study explored the question of how to better prepare students for the practical world while increasing their innovative thinking, creativity, engagement and satisfaction with the learning experience.

To date, most educational institutions focus on delivering the classroom experience though traditional models such as lectures, debates, and exercises without a focus on innovative thinking. However, for students to be competitive in their future endeavors, not only their analytical skills but also their creative and innovative thinking must be honed. The current evidence suggests that “the creative competence (…) is one way to help prepare students for an uncertain future” (Beghetto, 2010, p. 447). The study aims to explore the question of how to better prepare students for the practical world while increasing their innovative thinking, creativity, engagement and satisfaction with the learning experience.

Humber, like other post-secondary institutions, provides an online learning management system for students, and requires professors to populate the sites with course-related content.  Humber has embraced concepts such as Learner-centered Learning, Design for Differentiated Learning, and the Flipped Classroom.  The institution itself advises faculty that students are technically-savvy, use a variety of technology including smart phones, and learn through a variety of media and techniques.

Students, instructed by a professor that preparatory materials will be posted in advance of a class and that use of those materials is necessary in order to be ready for classroom discussion of course content, are largely coming to class without having used the materials.  Lack of use of preparation material leaves students unprepared to engage in the related content, delays the start of a class, disrupts the flow of the planned session, and likely makes the professor seem unprepared for the class – because the professor is expecting to have students pursue the concepts introduced in the advance materials; not to introduce the introductory materials.

This research attempted to answer the following:

Given an expectation that they are required to do some preparatory work before a class, how do students prepare?  When offered a selected piece or set of preparation materials, what types of media are they most likely to engage in as a means of preparation for class?  Do students who engage in preparation materials before class have more successful outcomes in that course than students who do not prepare by using the offered materials?

Expansion of research capacity among practitioners of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) — such as Chinese medicine and acupuncture — has been identified as a key priority by researchers, clinicians and educators in the field. Existing research in this area has focused on promoting and “evidence-based approach to [T&CM] medical education … including use of the evidence pyramid”. However, scholars have pointed to the limitations of evidence-based medicine (EBM)’s scientific conceptualizations with reference to T&CM. For example, the classical randomized controlled trial (RCT) was designed to study the therapeutic impacts of standard, single-constituent pharmaceuticals on specific biological markers, T&CM therapies are typically complex (multi-modal), individualized, and evaluated in relation to patient-reported outcomes. Previous studies of T&CM professional trainees enrolled in research literacy courses have pointed to this methodological incompatibility as a barrier to practitioner research engagement.

Over the last two decades, an international group of T&CM researchers have undertaken to innovate modifications upon conventional clinical research methods that represent a better ‘fit’ with the interventions under study. These methods, termed ‘whole systems research,’ emphasize the principle of model validity, representing the principle of compatibility between intervention and research design. The present author’s scoping review of these research methods (currently in press) represents a first comprehensive collation of these approaches, analyzing with several dozen clinical whole systems research exemplars. It is hypothesized that an emphasis on whole systems research methods within the context of a postsecondary course for T&CM professional trainees may enhance research engagement beyond what occurs using a pedagogy that takes a less critical approach to EBM.

This project attempted to answer the following:

How does a model-validity focused post-secondary course focused on increasing research literacy among traditional Chinese medicine professional trainees impact student research engagement?

Numerous studies have looked at issues regarding assessment and effectiveness of collaborative group work (King 2005), and there have been studies of students collaborating over distance (Smallwood 2017). We have found studies about collaboration between journalism students and computer science students (Pearson 2017) but this study would look at collaboration between journalism and video game students.

As journalism continues to adopt new technologies for the production and distribution of content, journalism education can fail to exploit the potential of new technology (Angus 2015). When teaching Humber students about the potential of Virtual Reality, instructors don’t have the time or resources to teach technical coding skills required to build immersive experiences. At the same time, our Game Programming need exposure to non-traditional ways of using game technology and design skills. This study will look at a collaboration effort between these two programs at Humber, where journalism and videogame design students collaborate on the building of a VR tour experience.

Personal electronic devices are ubiquitous in today’s classrooms. However, with the added usefulness of these devices comes concerns that they are being used in ways that inhibit learning. Some instructors have gone so far as to ban all personal electronic devices in their classrooms to prevent these negative outcomes (Green, 2016). Various studies support these concerns. When tested directly, Wood et al (2012) showed that if students used Facebook while in a lecture, they received lower marks on a related exam than their undistracted peers. Mueller and Oppenheimer’s (2014) experiment produced better performance among the students who hand-wrote their notes rather than those who wrote on laptops. One study (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013) showed that students who could merely see an off-task laptop had their learning negatively impacted. But while banning personal electronic devices can seem like the obvious choice, technology is such an integrated part of many students’ lives, that it can be a challenge. Tindell and Bohlander (2012) found that nearly nine in ten college students had texted in at least one of their classes, and that nearly two thirds felt that they should be allowed to do it. Most college and university students own laptops (Dahlstrom, Walker & Morgan, 2013), and they self-report that they are spending nearly half of their waking life with a laptop in their lap. (Kay & Lauricella, 2014) Laptops for these students can seem like an indispensable tool, or a part of their identity. Some studies also show that laptops can improve attention and engagement for some students when they are used in a positive way. (Samson, 2010). What would be most helpful is if students could develop habits around personal electronic devices that reinforced learning in class. Some researchers have suggested that teaching students metacognitive practices might help with this issue, (Aagaard, 2015) or that de-normalizing negative behaviours among a peer group (Taneja et al, 2014) might change students’ habits.

This project aimed to examine students’ current working habits with personal electronic devices in a series of focus groups.  A future second phase of the project will use the insights gathered to develop test interventions for the English classroom.

Entrepreneurship, BUS 3500, examines current theories and practices of entrepreneurship. Students are introduced to the concepts of new venture creation and small business management. It focuses on the recognition and appreciation of entrepreneurial skills, resource and environmental analysis, sources of venture capital, business planning, the e-environment, strategic planning and franchising. This course helps students appreciate the challenges involved in deciding to create a new venture and the steps involved in starting a new firm.

Existing research tests the integrated nature of experiential learning in entrepreneurship education (Liang, et al., 2016). It contributes to theoretical and practical development of entrepreneurship education. Liang, et al. (2016) designed and implemented an effective assessment instrument as well as a strategic evaluation framework that could be broadly applied in other institutions. Their research explained how experiential learning influences each student’s learning expectations and learning outcomes, and it explored outcomes and effectiveness of experiential learning curriculum. They also linked students’ reflections of learning expectations and outcomes to reveal and stimulate new ideas and “new opportunities to adopt experiential learning in entrepreneurship education across disciplines” (p. 125).

The primary instrument of experiential learning in the course is the experiential group project, Group Micro Venture project. Students completed the project, and changes to entrepreneurship skills and attitudes towards entrepreneurship were measured.

In the recent literature, depth and breadth are associated with acquiring a broad general education, writing clearly and effectively, and contributing to the welfare of communities (Coker, et al., 2017).

Depth is associated with higher order thinking (synthesis and application), as well as overall educational experience. Breadth (number of different types of learning experiences) was associated with a broad general education. Overall, in a five-year study of 2,000 American graduating college students, the authors found that both learning depth (amount of time commitment) and breadth (number of different types of experiences) are valuable and lead to additional learning gains in a range of areas. Both depth and breadth were positively associated with acquiring a broad general education, writing clearly and effectively (Coker, et al., 2017).

The Strategic Management course, MGMT 4502, is characterized by its breadth and its depth. More specifically, the breadth consists of 15 chapters of high level content. The depth is characterized by three major assignments. Two assignments afford students the opportunity to research an organization using the case teaching methodology, the third, is a research project methodology.

This research attempted to navigate the tension between the breadth of course content and the depth of key strategy practices, and explore the constructs to measure learning experience.

This project is concerned with increasing students’ levels of engagement and diploma program completion (student retention).

According to the recent Humber College Business Administration review, we are challenged with the limited information regarding student retention in the programs.    In addition, according to many studies student engagement can be improved at earlier stages within the academic journey, beginning with Orientation.

The focus of this study is to deepen an understanding of how attending the Orientation Session and “meet the faculty sessions” can help develop preventative methods for student engagement and retention.  It is anticipated that, such initiatives could improve engagement, retention, increase graduation rates and improve student success.

High fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) is widely used in nursing curricula as an alternative to clinical placement and/or targeted learning experience.  Efficacy in HFPS based learning is measured in student level of confidence and competence (Ashley, 2014).  Although HFPS is recognized as an effective learning environment, student formative feedback often reports negative feelings such as being judged, anxiety and fear. Student perceptions of psychological safety and self-confidence has direct impact on learning (Kang & Min, 2019; Turner & Harder, 2018). The use of simulation gaming is a novel pedagogical approach in nursing education. The limited literature on simulation gaming suggests that the team approach to learning, inherent in gaming, supports student perceptions of self-confidence and improved learning outcomes

In writing classrooms, especially second language (L2) settings, the use of pair work or small group work to complete tasks is a popular approach. This approach is rooted in Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory (1978), which posits that human development happens through social interaction. One common notion is that when a novice and an expert collaborate, the expert assists the novice as the novice gains independence at mastering a skill. The expert’s support is gradually lessened as the novice’s proficiency develops. In education, this notion is commonly referred to as scaffolding. Scaffolding naturally occurs when students work together in pairs or small groups.

This project’s aim is to add to this body of research by investigating the impact of group writing on the quality of the written product in our teaching context – a first-year composition course that second language learners complete as part of their diploma and certificate studies at Humber College – ESOL 100: College Reading and Writing Skills: ESOL. The course focuses on two types of written products: a summary and a critical analysis of a textual argument. This project used two ways to measure the impact of collaborative writing on the quality of these written products. First, students’ ability to meet the criteria for each written product was measured through the completion of a task rubric (task instructions and rubrics are included in Appendices A-D).  Second, students’ grammatical accuracy was measured by calculating the ratio of error-free clauses relative to all clauses.

The project attempted to answer the following:

1. Does collaborative writing affect the quality of students’ writing in ESOL composition classes?
2. What are students’ attitudes towards collaborative writing?

In the Winter 2018 semester, Survey Monkey was used to allow students in the Introduction to Sociology (GSOC 110) course to complete a voluntary, anonymous survey.  This survey asked students questions that are similar to variety of real and notable sociological studies.  For example, students reported if they’ve ever felt stereotype threat and explore if it has impacted their performance or likelihood to act in a deviant manner.

This project continued in the Fall 2018 semester.  The intent was to present back to them how their group’s anonymous responses align with the responses of the groups that were previously surveyed by “real life sociologists.”  This led to interesting and engaging conversations about why this could be, what influences beliefs and behaviours, how research methods differ, how the validity of findings can be challenged, and how beliefs and behaviours change over time and between cultures.

In the American College Health Association’s 2016 report on the health of Ontario post-secondary students, close to 43% of respondents identified stress as having a negative impact on their academic performance—in fact, stress was identified as the most impactful factor. At Humber College we have counselling freely available to students and a strategic plan that includes the pillar: “A Healthy and Inclusive Community.” But Humber’s most recent Student Success Survey (2018) shows that only a little more than half of Humber students “know where to go for counselling or advising” if they need it. Anecdotally, also, we perceive a gap in students’ need for mental health support and its availability through conversations in which students perceive there are barriers to accessing care or are unclear about the resources available to them. In a 2013 study, Bergen-Cico et. al. noted that there is a growing gap between students with self-reported anxiety and those seeking help for anxiety. They suggest that a brief, curriculum-based intervention may be a way to bridge that gap.

This project introduced first-year Media Foundation students — in the course Success Foundations — to basic mindfulness meditation and other cognitive behavioral skills. This intervention aligns with the learning outcomes “explain various learning strategies and psychological theories related to learning” and “use research-based learning strategies for the development of effective learning skills in the post-secondary context.” The intent of the project was to see the students integrate these skills into their overall learning strategies and enhance their resilience and coping skills in the academic domain.

Developing a sense of community is central for our students within the SSCS. However, there are challenges to building this sense of academic community within our incoming degree students (i.e., diverse backgrounds, not spending time on campus to socialize, no undergrad bar, long commutes, etc.). A Canadian review study discussed that a lack of social support and a sense of social networks with other students can contribute to academic failure and dropping-out of post-secondary education (Silva & Ravindran, 2016). One idea that has been shown to foster a sense of community is sharing one’s history through sharing family recipes (Hancock, 2001; Schermuly & Forbes-Mewett, 2016). Having anecdotally seen disconnected students struggle academically, and pairing this with scholarly literature, we want to explore the impact having first-year students participate in a group cookbook project could have on their feelings of connectedness and community at Humber.

This study hypothesized that first-year students taking part in the Ubuntu cookbook project will have higher levels of connectedness (as measured with survey responses) with their Humber peers than those not taking part in the Ubuntu cookbook project.

Developing a sense of community is central for our students within the SSCS. However, there are challenges to building this sense of academic community within our incoming degree students (i.e., diverse backgrounds, not spending time on campus to socialize, no undergrad bar, long commutes, etc.). A Canadian review study discussed that a lack of social support and a sense of social networks with other students can contribute to academic failure and dropping-out of post-secondary education (Silva & Ravindran, 2016). One idea that has been shown to foster a sense of community is sharing one’s history through sharing family recipes (Hancock, 2001; Schermuly & Forbes-Mewett, 2016). Having anecdotally seen disconnected students struggle academically, and pairing this with scholarly literature, we want to explore the impact having first-year students participate in a group cookbook project could have on their feelings of connectedness and community at Humber.

This study hypothesized that first-year students taking part in the Ubuntu cookbook project will have higher levels of connectedness (as measured with survey responses) with their Humber peers than those not taking part in the Ubuntu cookbook project.

Field work, placement, practicum and internship are some of the names used to describe a course in which a student in Child and Youth Care education has the opportunity to develop skills learned and to practice skills outside of the classroom setting.  The Government of Ontario has published program standards to achieve the following goals: uniformity to college programming, ensuring that graduates have the skills and knowledge needed to practice in the working field irrespective of the educational institution they complete the program from and providing the public accountability for the quality and relevance of college program (Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, 2014).  Program standards contain three specific elements all in which, a student must consistently demonstrate in order to graduate from the program: 1) vocational standard, 2) essential employability skills and 3) general education requirement (Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, 2014).

This project explored the adaptation of the Vocational Learning outcomes in Child and Youth Care programs field placement courses in Ontario diploma programs.  Vocational Learning Outcomes (VLO) will be further investigated as they are learning outcomes specific to CYC, unlike the aforementioned two elements, which are applicable to any programs of instruction.  Given that this is a preliminary study and is only an overview of CYC field placement, further research is needed in order to fulfill a more comprehensive grasp of this key component of CYC programs.

Currently students in ADMH experience stress and concerns about competence as they enter a new field.  Indeed, a recent study of 25,000 Canadian post-secondary students revealed that almost 90 percent said that they felt overwhelmed by all they had to do in the past year.   Humber has identified “Healthy and Inclusive Community” as one of its three strategic pillars and this research can support the journey toward that goal. Students entering the workforce from the ADMH program are trying out clinical skills for the first time and have anecdotally stated that the regular mindfulness practice that currently exists within the ADMH 5009 course increases their feelings of clinical readiness, as a result of feeling more grounded in the present. Therefore, it is critical to explore if regular practice of mindfulness through the Koru program lowers stress levels and increases feelings of clinical readiness

This research attempted to answer the following:

• Do students who participate in the Koru mindfulness curriculum experience lower stress levels and/or greater feelings of clinical readiness than students who participate in the regular ADMH 5009 mindfulness curriculum?

There is mixed opinion on the value of simulation games in academic learning.  Research indicates that simulation games “are superior to other teaching methods for helping students develop skills such as complex problem-solving, strategic decision making and behavioral skills, including teamwork and organizing1” (Pasin & Giroux, 2010, Salas, Wildman, & Piccolo, 2009; Tompson & Dass, 2000).  There is evidence to show that traditional teaching methods can well develop simple decision-making skills, while simulations are better for developing complex decision making skills2 (Pasin & Giroux, 2010).

The Business Management Program at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning has successfully integrated a simulation game into its Introduction to Business course for 1st semester program students.  Implementation of the weekly simulation decisions varies amongst classes based on professor choice:  some classes will make weekly simulation decisions in-class with or without coaching from professors, others will make simulation decisions outside of class (without professor coaching).

Given the increased focus on experiential learning at Humber, determining the best approach to integrate simulation games for 1st year students is a key learning that can support this strategic focus.  This project utilized the business simulation software Biz Café (https://www.interpretive.com/business-simulations/bizcafe/).

This project attempted to answer the following:

Do first year/first semester students obtain enhanced learning from making simulation game decisions in-class assisted with professor coaching and guidance3 (Pando-Garcia, Periañez-Cañadillas, Jon Charterina, 2015)?  Are there any unintended impacts on student attitudes and success in the course from this approach?

The paramedics program at Humber College trains students to be effective while out in the field. Students in their first year are trained to deal with Multiple Casualty Incidents (MCI), which are limited-scale emergency situations requiring a coordinated response from one or more ambulance service(s). Students go through three hours of classroom lecturing and are given a paper-based scenario with ten patients to triage. Students will identify and prioritize multiple patients based on their symptoms and follow steps of assessment. These steps include assessing breathing, circulation, and level of consciousness.

Virtual reality is an emerging technology in education. The technology is used to create simulation-based training to mimic real-life scenarios. In partnership with Humber’s paramedics program, the CTL’s VR & Simulation team developed an MCI simulation. In this scenario, a bomb is detonated at a subway station and there are multiple casualties. Students were expected to properly assess virtual patients within a given amount of time. Students used an HTC Vive headset to view the simulation and will use game controllers to move themselves and interact with the environment. In addition, physiological measures (i.e. heart rate, body temperature, and galvanic skin response [GSR]) were measured using the Empatica E4 wristband.

The paramedics program at Humber College trains students to be effective while out in the field. Students in their first year are trained to deal with Multiple Casualty Incidents (MCI), which are limited-scale emergency situations requiring a coordinated response from one or more ambulance service(s). Students go through three hours of classroom lecturing and are given a paper-based scenario with ten patients to triage. Students will identify and prioritize multiple patients based on their symptoms and follow steps of assessment. These steps include assessing breathing, circulation, and level of consciousness.

Virtual reality is an emerging technology in education. The technology is used to create simulation-based training to mimic real-life scenarios. In partnership with Humber’s paramedics program, the CTL’s VR & Simulation team developed an MCI simulation. In this scenario, a bomb is detonated at a subway station and there are multiple casualties. Students were expected to properly assess virtual patients within a given amount of time. Students used an HTC Vive headset to view the simulation and will use game controllers to move themselves and interact with the environment. In addition, physiological measures (i.e. heart rate, body temperature, and galvanic skin response [GSR]) were measured using the Empatica E4 wristband.

This is a continuation of the PR Business Cases project by Audrey Wubbenhorst.

Currently the Public Relations textbooks on the market are American.  There is a lack of PR case studies, which look at current business problems in the Canadian context.    In the summer of 2017, the following cases were complete:

• A case study of Canadian Tire and how they introduced Facebook @work as an internal communications tool
• A case study of Cisco Canada’s corporate social responsibility work with indigenous communities in Northern Ontario

This project looked at several new cases:

• A case study of TD Bank’s use of digital content as a recruitment strategy
• A case study on the launch of EQ Bank in Canada
• A case study on a technology startup

More current, relevant cases based on Canadian companies will augment the learning outcomes of the course in particular to applying creative approaches to complex communications and problem solving.

The American Heart Association (AHA) Adult Chain of Survival underwent a major change in 2010 for Basic (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life support (ACLS).  The AHA recommends immediate recognition of cardiac arrest with activation of the Emergency Response Team, early CPR and rapid defibrillation followed by effective ACLS. (Hazinski et al. 2010). The AHA goal for early defibrillation in the hospital and ambulatory clinics is for the shock to be delivered within three minutes of the victim’s collapse.

In the Humber Post graduate specialty certificate programs, nurses from both community and academic hospital practice settings can develop added competencies in a safe, simulated environment before they enter their new practice setting.

To develop participants’ ability to effectively manage deteriorating patients requiring defibrillation and advanced airway management the project will use a high fidelity simulator in a clinical lab setting.  Eligible participants were recruited from our specialty programs. Participants can incorporate theoretical knowledge gained in each of the specialty programs. The three specialty programs are designed to assist participants developing the knowledge and skills requisite of the registered nurse to deliver safe, quality patient care in the high acuity, critical care and the Emergency department setting.

The School of Health Sciences Continuing Education department utilizes the learning management system (LMS) Blackboard to support all online and face-to-face course sections offered each term. Over many years, these courses have been exposed to curriculum upgrades. As a result, there are several different course designs in Continuing Education based on either when the curriculum was originally written or last overhauled.

Through the Usability Lab at Humber College, the researchers would like to determine which course design enhances student learning. According to Miller-Cochran and Rodrigo (2006), “a key reason for conducting usability testing is to revise the course to better facilitate learning” (p. 96). Similar to Unal & Unal (2011), the Humber College researchers are striving to build effective and efficient course designs that address the needs of the student learner.

Which course design results in the most positive student experience?

The researchers hope to learn two important lessons in quality assurance. The first, through employment of the think-aloud technique in the Usability Lab, is determining which course design will result in the fastest navigation and least amount of frustration for participants. The second lesson for researchers is assessing which course design participants prefer and find the most visually compelling.

For engineering students, some of the course modules, especially when mathematical skills are needed, are often found to be quite difficult. As a result, students can gradually lose their interest to study. According to the research conducted by Awang et al. (2013), an attractive and enjoyable environment for study will increase student engagement and levels of success. This proposed research studies the effects of whiteboard animation videos on explaining complicated engineering concepts. Compared to traditional PowerPoint presentations, the whiteboard animation software can integrate course content using images, text, narration, and animation into a “storytelling” style video presentation, which is believed to increase engagement in the classroom.

Currently the Public Relations textbooks on the market are American.  There is a lack of PR case studies which take a look at current business problems in the Canadian context.  Further, the cases will be based on first-hand research with business professionals in the field.  Pending availability of participants, sample topics include:

• A case study of Canadian Tire and how they introduced Facebook @work as an internal communications tool
• A case study of Cisco Canada’s corporate social responsibility work with indigenous communities in Northern Ontario
• A case study of TD Bank’s use of digital content as a recruitment strategy

More current, relevant cases based on Canadian companies will augment the learning outcomes of the course in particular to applying creative approaches to complex communications and problem solving.

This project will create business cases based on insights gathered from interviewing individuals from three Canadian companies.

Many students express and demonstrate difficulty with understanding and practicing mathematics. It is normal to initially have difficulty with a subject, although it is expected that throughout the process of taking a course in the particular subject matter, students develop comfort and improve their performance ability with the material. This expectation is built on another expectation, which is that students are engaged in class, complete assigned work and exercises, and seek help when they are struggling with a subject.

An ideal solution would be one that achieves the desired results of the lesson, and of a work periods or practicum session, simultaneously, such that students can be presented with fundamental concepts about the subject matter, while engaged with an interesting activity that allows them to practice the concepts discussed. Gamification presents such a solution.

A numerical card game called quant, has developed by the author in order to improve mathematical fluency. This game utilizes a set of numerical cards, and mechanics based on how to draw cards, the meaning of drawn cards, and what calculations must be performed in what situations.

This research attempted to answer the following:

• Can exercises with cards from the game quant, improve students’ learning, engagement, and enjoyment, in introductory statistics courses?

Feedback is the “most powerful single influence” in student achievement (Hattie in Gibbs, 2005, p. 9) and is central to a student’s learning process (Hattie and Timperley 2007; Housell 2003 in Carless et al., 2010), yet evidence shows that current standard feedback practices do not support this goal (Carless et al., 2010).  Furthermore, students’ perceptions of the demands of the assessment system tend to govern “all aspects of their study,” even above teaching itself (Gibbs & Simpson, p.4).  Thus, feedback and assessment are key factors in student learning.

This project aimed to understand if a process-based assessment structure better supports student learning.  This structure consists of small assignments throughout the semester that build towards the creation of a final product.  It also involves feedback that is frequent, timely, and actionable, conditions that Gibbs et al. found to be central to assessments that best supported student learning (2005).  It is expected that the breakdown of a larger assignment into sub-tasks, in addition to the interdependence of these smaller assignments, will reduce student procrastination. Ultimately this project examined if a process-based assessment structure allowed students to learn how to incorporate feedback, and develop meta-cognition.

To date, most educational interventions created for family caregivers have focused on patients with a single diagnosis (Hughes, 2008). Unlike the aforementioned group, the research acknowledges that family caregivers providing care for chronically ill patients take on greater responsibilities in terms of care provided; and ultimately walk an “unpredictable path” (Mardanian Dehkordi, Babashahi, & Irajpour, 2016). The current evidence suggests that informal / unpaid caregivers of chronically ill patients managing care on a long-term basis endure ongoing stress that prompts them to institutionalize patients prior to their actual need (Hughes, 2008). An overview of the literature indicates that family caregivers can more effectively manage their burden and build task mastery through receipt of multicomponent educational interventions, offered by an interprofessional health care team (Ostwald, Hepburn, Caron, Burns, & Mantell, 1999; Reinhard, Given, Huhtala Petlick, & Bemis, 2009). Suggested interventional topics include: teaching skills related to symptom management, pain management, medication management (and handling related side effects), general problem solving, safely promoting patient independence, achieving illness acceptance, etc., within a supportive group structure (Ostwald et al., 1999). Considered crucial to the foregoing structure is the offer of patient respite and/or concurrent training for the patients, as the literature indicates this further positively impacts rates of caregiver burden (Ostwald et al., 1999).

This project attempted to answer the following:

• What is the effect of a multicomponent curriculum (with the offer of parallel respite / training for patients) on informal / unpaid caregivers of chronically ill patients?
• Will the foregoing educational design improve caregiver burden or wellbeing, compared to those caregivers on a waiting list to participate in the training workshop?

Current literature explores the healthy benefits of implementing positive interventions and increasing the experience of positive emotions. Studies have found happy people report frequent positive emotions, infrequent negative’ emotions and enjoy higher levels of success, health, and social connection (Nelson & Lyubomirsky, 2012; Nickerson, Diener, Norbert, & Schwarz, 2010; Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005). Simultaneously, current literature explores the healthy benefits of nature. However, current literature does not explore the effects on subjective sense of happiness when positive interventions are implemented in nature.

This intent of this study is to explore possible increase sense of wellbeing when positive interventions are implemented in nature. This study focused on experimental interventions in which participants were prompted to engage in positive activities that have been reliably shown to increase positive emotions (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Participants were assigned to two groups, an experiential group and a comparison group. Each group completed the Subjective Happiness Scale as a pre and post-test, weekly positive interventions that have been reliably shown to increase positive emotions and subjective sense of happiness (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). The comparison group implemented positive intervention indoors and the experiential group implemented positive interventions in nature.

Within the last decade, various service industries have addressed the stigma surrounding mental llness in order to support individuals on their road to recovery. Leading mental health organizations, such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association have published a variety of resources to educate the community about mental illness. Some notable documentaries have also captured the experiences of individuals and their families who have mental illness. Voices (2014) looks at three participants and their experience with schizophrenia. Children of Darkness (1983) brings to light the abuses youth with mental illness experience in institutions. Being Black, Going Crazy (2016) showcases Black men in the UK experiencing mental illness. Changing Minds, The Inside Story (2014) is a three-part documentary following mentally ill patients in two Australian hospitals. In addition, one can find online resources (such as through YouTube) to learn more about mental illness.

What is still missing, however, are educational videos geared towards Canadian criminal justice organizations that provide guidelines from survivors and their caregivers about their experiences, and henceforth, their suggestions for interaction and support.

The research questions driving this project are:

1. What are the lived experience of survivors and caregivers?
2.  What suggestions/feedback do they have for the criminal justice/community service industry?

The interactive demonstrations have been created by various individuals (including the Principal Investigator) using the programming language Mathematica. Some demonstrations can be found at: http://anthonyvanhoy.com/demos.html. A free player application is needed to run demonstrations and can be found at http://www.wolfram.com/cdf-player/. Demonstrations are interactive in that they allow individuals (using keyboard, mouse, touchscreen) to effect change on various computer modeled phenomena by clicking buttons, scrolling, zooming, entering specific values, etc. The ability to customize demonstrations is only limited by the author’s skill with the programing language (Mathematica). The ability to interact directly with mathematical phenomenon such as these demonstrations should have a positive impact on learning concepts related to the specific demonstration.

Demonstrations may also create an interest in mathematics (and related fields) where some find confusion and boredom.

Demonstrations will be incorporated into the course in two ways. First, the instructor will be using demonstrations in class as lecture material. Second and most importantly students will be able to go on-line at anytime to interact directly with demonstrations via a link on Blackboard.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• Do students perceive demonstrations to be generally useful and helpful?
• Is student learning significantly affected by demonstrations?

With The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), the provincial government has mandated universal accessibility standards in a wide range of fields including education. Within the Media Foundation Program here at Humber, we are deeply committed to learning how we can make our course content fully inclusive and accessible for all of our students. We firmly believe that Humber has an opportunity to lead the way in universal design, and that looking to the study of media is a great first step.

In our Media Foundation courses, we often look at events and trends as they happen, and we often do so using video content from all over the web. Since this content is new, and tends to be on platforms with unreliable or non-existent captioning (such as YouTube and Vimeo), we are currently unable to make it accessible for our students have a hearing impairment or who are Deaf. What’s more, we do not yet know how to make this content accessible for those who are blind or have other accessibility requirements.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• How does learning how to caption video affect student perception of the importance of universal design in video content?

The multimodal approach has already been demonstrated to deepen the learning process and to respond to authentic communication needs in students’ home, academic, and work lives.  In “The Multimodal Writing Process: Changing Practices in Contemporary Classrooms”, Christine Joy Edwards-Groves (2010) proposes that due to the rapidly changing nature of technology and our increasingly globalized world, students must “design, produce, and present multimodal texts as representations of learning.

Despite all this now widely accepted knowledge about the relevance of teaching multimodal literacy, we have noticed that College Reading and Writing Skills (WRIT 100), Humber’s foundational reading, writing, and critical thinking course for students across multiple programs, does not formally address the importance of multimodal literacy in its course outline. Since we are aware of the current academic discourse on the importance of multimodal literacy (as evidenced above), we have developed an alternative method for teaching WRIT 100 that uses multimodal texts and strategies.

This research focused on the impact of helping Humber College students develop multimodal literacy; the hypothesis was that using multimodal texts in the college composition classroom and asking students to show literacy development by producing multimodal texts promotes engagement and increases student success at demonstrating learning outcomes in Humber’s WRIT 100 classroom.

This project investigates the effectiveness of a popular English as a Second Language (L2) corrective written feedback approach – reformulation – with a different learner group: Native English speaking (L1) college students in a remedial reading-writing course. We have found that some remedial L1 writing students are unable to notice lexical, grammatical, and discourse errors in their own writing, often because they have difficulty distancing themselves from their own writing and observing it systematically. This is supported within the field of rhetorical and composition research, especially within the scope of basic writing error analysis for remedial writers (see Shaughnessy, M., 1976, p. 236; Otte & Williams Mlynaruzyk, 2010, p. 123). We are, in essence, trying to determine effective pedagogical strategies for remedial writers that will enhance their ability to notice and correct certain errors in their writing.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• What are the effects of reformulation and concurrent verbal protocol on the noticing of errors of remedial L1 writing students?

Canada is among one of the most diverse nations where individuals, regardless of their race, gender, class, age, sexual orientation, ability, country of origin and nationality as well as other socially constructed identities are to be protected under the law, policy and practice. The commitment towards diversity is considered as one the first platforms for our societal strength and socio-economic and political inclusion. As a result, many academic institutions including Humber College are currently offering diversity courses within their programs in order to contribute towards socio-equitable practices and eliminate discrimination and barriers that might hinder marginalized individuals and communities from reaching their potential.

Despite this effort, recent reports (Gaudet, 2018; Reasons et al., 2016; Hankivsky, 2014; Saddichha et al., 2014; Langille, 2014; Anthony, 2013; Owusu-Bempah, 2011) suggest alarming results and an increase in incidences of discrimination against various individuals and communities within the criminal justice system.  Other studies (Hayle, Wortley, and Tanner, 2016; Scott, 2012; Henry, Reece and Tator, 2010) highlight discrimination within the justice system from the point of entry to exit from the system. . These findings reveal the need to re-examine the diversity course offered in the Justice Services Program in the School of Social and Community Services (SSCS) at Humber College.

This project interviewed faculty who have taught diversity related subjects in SSCS in order to identify gaps and strengths of the existing pedagogical approaches used in teaching diversity courses within the Justice Services Program.

Little has been written about the best learning experiences of students in a community college (Hatch et al., 2018). This research focuses on courses other than research methods courses. Most of the research is about students in universities taking online courses (e.g., Holweiss et.al., 2014: Zhan & Mei, 2013). This study addresses the research gap. The current research on best learning experiences for students provides some components of great learning experiences for students at the post-secondary level. As a result, it can be used to design this study.

The research methods course, RSMT 1501: Quantitative Methods-Interpretation, can be challenging for students.  The purpose of the study was to help students understand course concepts. Students described what their best learning experience has been in the research methods course and rated how they feel about the experiences described in the focus group.  Insights gathered can be used to improve RSMT 1501 for future cohorts.

Educators are integrating increasingly innovative technology into their teaching practices, including in their online educational content.  One such innovation — the Lightboard — is an illuminated clear glass board used for recording video lectures.  It allows the educator to face the audience while writing out and diagramming concepts, which creates a more personable and interactive learning experience.

This project implemented six Lightboard videos in an Electronic Devices 2nd semester course at Humber College. Engineering lectures usually involve drawings and equations drawn on chalkboards or whiteboards. In capturing lectures on video however, these traditional props become liabilities: the presenter must turn away from the audience to write or draw on the board, and the presenter’s body often obscures the material (Birdwell & Peshkin, 2015). Birdwell & Peshkin (2015) developed the lightboard to, “create visually compelling videotape lectures, avoid the liabilities of chalkboards, and furthermore to be able to produce upload-ready video segments with no post-production.” These are the exact same challenges that led to the utilization of the Lightboard for a 2nd semester Electronic Devices class at Humber College.  This project measured direct (GPA) performance along with student self-reports on engagement with the videos.

There is global interest in content-based instruction (Stoller 2004). Many instructors are intrigued by the idea of integrating language skills and content. Both can inform one another. Nevertheless, there are more challenges to this approach than in, for example, a language-only course (Stoller 2014, Baecher, 2014). There is also the worry that the language objectives will suffer when taught alongside content (Bigelow 2006). This research shifts the focus to the content. In other words, while most research evaluates content according to whether or not it helps language learning, this project used language learning in the service of content.

The rationale for this inversion is threefold. First, it is based on limited utilization of these techniques in our current pedagogy. The hope was that by formalizing these experiences into a research project, it would help clarify and confirm whether or not anecdotal experience maps onto reality. Second, and more concretely, it is believed that the triadic model (Bigelow 2006) utilized has multiple access points, which means that one can leverage language structures in order to build content comprehension. The final reason for utilizing language structures in the service of content is the learning objectives of the course. Currently at Humber, HESL 024 is a compulsory content-based course, which means that students are required to take it. This reality, on its own, restricts the scope of the research project.

This projected attempted to answer the following:

• Does the use of the Triadic Model ESL technique, in the context of a content-based Science and Humanities course (HESL 024-Introduction to Arts and Science), positively impact student comprehension and engagement?

Content-heavy, foundational Health Science courses are often a challenge for students. There is evidence, that students perform better on oral as compared to traditional written examinations. Two types of oral exams are often used in professional schools including medical education: Traditional oral exams (TOE) and Structured oral exams (SOE). TOEs are designed such that students do not know the questions they will be asked before the exam and the examiner has wide latitude in which questions to ask. SOEs by contrast, are those in which the questions are standardized for all students and they may or may not know the questions ahead of time.

Students are also reported to have a positive attitude toward oral assessments, though a drawback of many of these studies is the anecdotal nature of much of this student feedback. Given the resource-intensive nature of oral assessments, it is important to know objectively whether oral assessments facilitate student learning and knowledge retention; this will allow for informed decisions regarding resource allocation for this type of assessment. This project evaluates the efficacy of a one-on-one oral assessment (called the One2One) in student learning of new material and the retention of this new knowledge in both the medium- and long-term. How students experience their learning is also a valuable metric for measuring the efficacy of an assessment method and so the perceived professional value and usefulness of the One2One was evaluated through the solicitation of student perspectives.

In the last 10 years, podcasting (pre-recorded audio files that are downloaded by individuals and listened to largely on portable devices) has become a wide-spread phenomenon in fields as disparate as entertainment and neuroscience.  However, because they are still a fairly recent medium, little is known so far about their effectiveness in communicating information in the diploma-level college environment.  Research has shown there is great potential to this new area (Robinson and Ritzko 2009; McKinney et al 2009) but that there still remains questions regarding what format is the most useful in this setting (Middleton 2016).

As the application of podcasting technology to college instruction is still fairly new, this project aimed to answer the following:

• How can podcasts best be designed, performed and distributed to students in order to maximize the academic utility generated?
• In particular, how can podcasts be created that increase engagement with and grasp of the material of introductory liberal arts and science courses?

This study explores parent perspectives on how time spent in nature and natural settings, including their own experiences with the natural world, might influence their child’s play, learning and holistic development and connections in and to the natural world. Through a survey and focus group, parents identified benefits of participation in a forest nature program including increased time outdoors, play confidence, risk-taking opportunities, improved health, wellness and the developing seeds of environmental stewardship and reciprocity.

Interdisciplinary practice and collaboration in design is recognized by the North American Interior Design discipline’s governing accreditation body, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, as an important aspect of interior design education. (CIDA, 2016) As such, there is evidence in the literature of how interior design education programs design and deliver courses in interdisciplinary design practice. (Greenberg, 2015; Karakaya & Şenyapili, 2008; Russ & Dickinson, 1999) Successful course design has been demonstrated to be project-based, innovation-focused and forward-thinking, with a procedural emphasis on collaboration and teamwork. Indeed, at Humber College ITAL, the Bachelor of Interior Design program has since 2008 required that students complete a course titled Interdisciplinary Practices* in the winter semester of the junior (third) year.

Contrary to studies focusing on other aspects of interior design (Templeton, 2011), or studies of interdisciplinary collaboration that do not focus on interior design (Cobb, Agogino, & Beckman, 2007; Kalyanaraman, Fernandez-Solis, Rybkowski, & Neeraj, 2016), the literature concerned with interdisciplinary practice in interior design does not show evidence of longitudinal studies conducted to investigate the impact of this curricula in the professional practice of interior designers after graduation.

Seeking to remedy the gap, this research project proposes an exploratory study to identify long-term learning lessons from the Interdisciplinary Practices course in the Bachelor of Interior Design degree at Humber ITAL. The objective is to help inform and introduce improvements to the course for future offerings.

Printing is an integral part of design and advertising – it is both technical and creative and can be the difference between the success or failure of a project. Knowledge of different printing technologies helps students to push their creativity by working with different mediums. Mixing old and new printing technologies – both tactile and digital media – opens up the potential for new ideas. Students often poorly understand the importance of printing as well as the required depth of information and its creative potential. It is difficult to create engagement around this topic in a digital classroom as the inherently tactile quality of printing doesn’t lend well to explanation alone. We believe this topic would connect better with students and create improved understanding when taught in a more hands-on manner through the direct use of printing technology that the students can use themselves. By furthering the tactile experience of using print technology in the second year BoCA course, Digital Production, we hope that students will be further engaged and better understand how printing works.

This research project explored students learning experience in Introduction to Managerial Accounting course, in particular the application of the new concepts introduced to students. The current student population that is enrolled in the course varies and comes from different degree programs offered by the Faculty of Business, so the level of understanding and grasping of accounting concepts varies significantly amongst the students. Some of our students are non-accounting majors and struggle with this topic (managerial accounting). Given the complexity of the subject matter, non-accounting students often fail to appreciate the relevance of the many aspects of the course content. Therefore, we see students struggling with the application of concepts in real case scenarios after it is introduced and discussed in class using traditional classroom techniques.

Case study method has been widely used as a teaching tool in various business disciplines (Thomas, L. Ngo-Ye & Jae Choi, 2014). The case study approach enables students to apply concepts learned to practical business scenarios.

Our proposed study was designed to determine a) if students perceive mini-cases improve their learning experience; b) if students perceive that mini-cases motivate them; c) if students perceive they achieved higher outcomes with the mini-case approach.

This research proposal is concerned with increasing students’ levels of subjective well-being and happiness.  According to Lyubomirsky & Della Porta, (in press), wellbeing is defined as high life satisfaction, frequent positive affect and infrequent negative affect. By 2020, the World Health Organization predicts depression to be the most common health problem in the world (Brundland, 2001). The stigma attached to the issue of mental health sometimes holds students back from seeking support, however, even when support is sought the demand outweighs the services (Burns, Lee & Brown, 2011).

The focus of this study is to deepen an understanding of how post-secondary institutions can build in preventative measures for student wellness.  Ultimately, such initiatives could improve retention, increase graduation rates and advance student success.  Each week, for four weeks, students engaged in three self-selected intentional activities.  The experimental group chose from a list of activities that have been reliably shown to increase positive emotions and the comparison group chose from a list of activities that have not been reliably shown to increase positive emotions.  The intent of this project was to discover if regular engagement in positive activities will increase the subjective sense of happiness among students.

In their article Abodor and Daneshfar, 2006 (1.) state most of the leading Business Schools such as the Harvard’s Business School  have introduced simulation workshops or incorporated simulations as part of the content of different courses offered to students.  Abodor and Daneshfar, 2006 have referenced Jennings, 2002, Thomson et al., 1997 and Lane , 1995 (2.) who found that benefits of simulations have been noted include enabling  users to make strategic decisions by applying principles they learn in theory, teaching general management skills because they require users to make a series of strategic decisions, and enabling  users to make errors without any loss of investment.

The Principles of Management course (BMGT152) at Humber College in Toronto examines the roles of the manager and the skills needed to plan, organize, lead and control resources to achieve organizational objectives.

The business simulation software Praxar Golf – Introduction to Management introduced in this study offers students an opportunity to make decisions affecting an entire business comprising a golf course, pro-shop and restaurant. Students will then be able to observe the results of their decisions to such measures as EPS, sales and asset values. Ethical decisions are included as an integral part of decision-making.

Student engagement levels are linked to satisfaction with learning events. There is a large amount of research around student engagement and how the learning environment can improve learner engagement and participation levels.  This project hypothesizes that increased student participation and engagement activities (as measured by student contributions to class discussions, by questions asked in class, or by participation in group activities in class) is positively correlated to academic success.  The classroom environment can also impact student engagement (ie: having more access to white boards for students to write/respond to in-class activities, access to and use of technology such as personal laptops, tablets or cell phones).

This project compares traditional classrooms to redesigned classrooms (HIVES rooms at Humber) to answer the following:

• Does classroom design impact student satisfaction, engagement, participation, and the quality of interactions between students and the instructor?
• Specifically, does the classroom design and access to technology improve the learner experience and improve overall academic results?

The two most common ways post-secondary education promotes entrepreneurial activity is with the creation of incubators and entrepreneurial specific programming (Politis, Winborg, & Dahlstrand, 2010).  However, research findings are inconclusive on whether this close proximity to the school as well as entrepreneurial education has produced an individual better equipped to deal with the day-to-day activities of an entrepreneur (Politis, Winborg, & Dahlstrand, 2010).

In order to paint a portrait of current entrepreneur teaching strategies at Ontario Colleges, this project will focus on entrepreneurship courses and specifically the entrepreneurial education taught in the Entrepreneurial Enterprise Post Graduate Program and will:

• Provide a landscape of entrepreneurship including definitions of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education and common characteristics of entrepreneurs;
• Identify common ways post-secondary institutions and Humber teach entrepreneurship in the classroom; At Humber, my preliminary research indicates that it is mostly taught using business plan development and pitch presentations.
• Present a profile of effective education in developing entrepreneurial skills;
• Provides recommendations for changes to the educational curriculum to better support potential entrepreneurs.

Students at Humber College, both degree and diploma students, are required to take a prescribed number of Electives in order to graduate from their program. A frequent student bias is that they don’t see Electives courses as part of their program. This belief can manifest itself as disengagement. But if Twitter, a popular social media platform, is incorporated into course work, can it help students to respond to and invest themselves in the learning materials of their courses.

This project attempted to answer the following:

• Does Twitter, when used in course work, increase student engagement in the learning materials in Liberal Studies electives?

The BAA-CJ program currently does not use the conflict simulator as a teaching tool within its curriculum. This is partially because many of the scenarios in the library are not conducive to the skills learned in the program and/or the types of conflicts happening within a range of CJ professions. This project aimed to get a better sense of the prevalent conflict scenarios happening in current CJ professions and from there develop ecologically valid scenarios to be incorporated into CJ courses.

The current project developed useful conflict scenarios for the simulator library based on student and CJ professional experience. A follow-up study will incorporate these scenarios into our conflict management course to: 1. Determine if this technology enhances student engagement in course material; 2. If can be used as an evaluative tool to capture student learning of specific conflict skills.

Professional identity is an important construct as it has been previously associated with retention, attrition, persistence, and knowledge construction. This study hypothesized that levels of professional identity will increase across subsequent years in the program. The overarching goal is to identify if and when substantial changes to identity occurs, which can also be described as the point when students stop viewing themselves as students and start viewing themselves as professionals. In particular, the study investigated when professional identity emerges within an accounting program, and whether this differs between the diploma and degree programs at Humber.

There is a large active discussion in education regarding teaching programming fundamentals to students in all levels of education including middle school, secondary school and postsecondary school.

Students enrolled in their first coding course often find grasping the fundamentals difficult and likely don’t understand the importance of a solid foundational understanding. Students often “hack” their way through introductory courses and then struggle in later courses.

This project tries to solve this through introducing an “element of play” to an introductory coding course.  The first half of this course continued learning Java but used it to program Lego Mindstorm robotics ( mindstorms.lego.com).

The project attempted to answer the following:

Does adding a physical element of play to a programming fundamentals course help increase student engagement and result in better learning?