Teaching Strides

An interdisciplinary discipline: How women's studies connects topics beyond gender

Politics, socio-cultural climates, oppression, and anti-racism are all disciplines that come into play in a women's and gender studies course. But Maki Motapanyane, an associate professor in Mount Royal's department of women's and gender studies, takes the conversation beyond readings and lectures and asks her students to position themselves within the context of the issues.

Thinking spatially: How geography interacts with our everyday lives

How much do we rely on Google Maps to get around? How do we track the way viruses spread? Can Twitter be used to address local issues? These are all questions Dr. Lynn Moorman, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and in the Department of General Education, says can be answered by thinking spatially — a concept you don't need a background in science to get behind!

Truth and reconciliation: how libraries can change the way we think about colonization

Libraries may be a space for keeping knowledge, but how often do we think about who is creating it? Jessie Loyer is the anthropology and Indigenous studies relations liaison at the Riddel Library and Learning Centre. She's worked with students to help them develop their research skills but goes beyond that and asks them to think ethically about their sources. In this episode, we explore truth and reconciliation, interconnectedness and how libraries have played into both.

Flipped: how this "read first, lecture second" model makes Chemistry accessible

All aboard the Medieval school bus: making Old and Middle English Literature come alive in the classroom

For more information, visit teachingstrides.ca You can follow Dr. Olsen on Twitter @KennaOlsen SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Meg Wilcox: (00:00) I'm Meg Wilcox and this is Teaching Strides, MRU faculty daring greatly. In this episode, how Twitter can better help students understand medieval literature.  What do popular culture and old English literature have in common? Well, an MRU classroom. Dr Kenna Olsen is a professor in the department of English Languages and Culture. She teaches Old a...

You Belong Here: celebrating and encouraging diversity, accessibility and good teaching at MRU

For more information, visit teachingstrides.ca You can follow Dr. Rahilly on Twitter @TimRahilly SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Meg Wilcox: I'm Meg Wilcox and this is Teaching Strides—MRU faculty daring greatly. In this episode, what exactly is good teaching and how can we support it? It's Dr. Tim Rahilly's first year at school—here at Mount Royal at least. But our new president and vice chancellor has worked across the country from his days studying in Montreal at McGill and Concordia to tea...

Runways and reconciliation: how classroom-based projects can shape their communities

For more information, visit teachingstrides.ca To learn more about Otahpiaaki, check out their website. SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Meg Wilcox: I'm Meg Wilcox and this is Teaching Strides—MRU faculty daring greatly. In this episode: how fashion can fuel resistance reconciliation and entrepreneurship. The word “Otapiaaki” is a Blackfoot term for the moment the vamp and moccasin are sewn together, and it's this togetherness that the project hopes to promote. When Spirit River Striped Wolf an...

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Season 3, Episode 6: Integrating Research into the Science Curriculum

Dr. Trevor Day Dr. Trevor Day holds a B.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary. He is an Associate Professor of Physiology at Mount Royal University, where he teaches courses in basic and applied human physiology. His research interests include the integration and interactions between the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys in response to stressors. Professor Day is a recipient of the MRU "Distinguished Faculty Award" and the Faculty of Science and Technology "Excellence in Rese...

Season 3, Episode 5: A Cross-institutional, Community-engaged Civic Innovation Course

Dr. Catherine Pearl Dr. Catherine Pearl teaches in the Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation at Mount Royal University. She spent nearly twenty years in industry and ran a registered charity that operated as a social enterprise. She holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Calgary. Professor Pearl designs teaching and learning experiences that are interactive and experiential. Over the past two years Professor Pearl has designed and piloted 3 of th...

Season 3, Episode 4: A First Year Course Re-design

Dr. Julie Booke Dr. Julie Booke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education at Mount Royal University. She completed her PhD in Workplace and Adult Learning in the Graduate Division of Educational Research at the University of Calgary. Her teaching interests are leadership, recreation program planning, and issues & trends within the field of sport and recreation. Her research explores the impact of the Respect in Sport program on parent behaviour ...

Season 3, Episode 3: Humour in Nursing Education

Dr. Mohamed El-Hussein Dr. Mohamed El-Hussein is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University. Recipient of the MRU Distinguished Faculty Award Professor El-Hussein earned his PhD in Nursing at the University of Calgary. His research program focuses on innovative teaching approaches for enhancing critical thinking in students; his scholarly publications and presentations highlight teaching strategies that help students deconstruct complex i...

Season 3, Episode 2: A Modified Flipped Classroom

Dr. Sarah Hewitt Dr. Sarah Hewitt is an associate professor in the Biology Department at Mount Royal University, where she specializes in neuroscience and physiology. Three years ago, she started to use a modified flipped classroom to teach first year physiology and produced a series of concept maps and video lectures for the course. This led to a wider research project on using flipped classrooms in teaching physiology, and together with Michelle Yeo and Joanne Bouma from Mount Roy...

Season 3, Episode 1: Indigenizing University Education

Dr. Liam Haggarty Dr. Liam Haggarty is an associate professor of Indigenous Studies in the Department of Humanities and Coordinator of Indigenization for the Division of Academic Affairs. He is a settler scholar originally from Victoria, BC, unceded Coast and Straits Salish territory, where he received his BA and MA from the University of Victoria. He completed his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan in Treaty 6 territory before arriving at Mount Royal University in 2011. His r...

Season 3 Promo

A preview of Teaching Strides season 3.

Special Episode

Professor Mark Lafave Professor Mark Lafave is a professor in Athletic Therapy at Mount Royal University. His PhD was in the realm of measurement and evaluation. His research has included studying competency development primarily using a psychometric approach. Recently he started to employ a mixed methodological approach in his SoTL research. His current research interests include competency development with undergraduate students and bridging theory to practice for professional pro...

Season 2, Episode 6: Richard Harrison - Writing Your Own Poems is Stepping out of Your Way

Professor Richard Harrison Richard Harrison teaches Creative Writing, Essay Writing, and Comics and Graphic Novels in the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures at Mount Royal University. He is the author, co-author, or editor of eight books, including, with Lee Easton, Secret Identity Reader: Essays on Sex, Death, and the Superhero, and 6 books of poetry, among them the Governor-General's Award nominated, Big Breath of a Wish, poems about how we learn to talk, and Hero of ...

Season 2, Episode 5: The Power of Vulnerability, the Veracity of Experience

Paul Brandt Paul Brandt is the most awarded male Canadian Country singer in history. His 11 career albums have spawned hit singles, multiple Album of the Year Awards, gold, platinum, and multi-platinum performances. As a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award, and numerous other national and regional humanitarian nods, Paul is committed to meeting the needs of the world's poor through his Buckspring Foundation. Paul is currently Mount Royal University's "Storyteller in Resid...

Season 2, Episode 4: Reversing Roles for Learner Engagement—Students Assess Their Teachers

Janice Miller-Young Janice Miller-Young completed her BSc in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanics) from the University of Calgary. At Mount Royal University, she designed and delivered courses in both the (former) Engineering transfer program and General Education. Professor Miller-Young strongly believes in the importance of experiential learning and student-centered learning environments. She integrates into her teaching such creative pedagogica...

Season 2, Episode 3: Indigenizing Education—A Blackfoot Artist's Journey

Cowboy Smithx Cowboy Smithx is a filmmaker, writer, radio host, and performing artist from the Piikani and Kainai tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Through his role as the Artistic Director of the Iiniistsi Treaty Arts Society, Cowboy Smithx serves as an advisor to the Indigenizing Education Initiative at Mount Royal University. Cowboy Smithx is also the founder and curator of REDx Talks and host of the Silent X Podcast.

Season 2, Episode 2: Believing in Students' Capacity—Paying Attention to Pedagogical Moments

Professor Scott Hughes Scott Hughes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Mount Royal University. He holds a Doctorate degree in Education from Queen’s University. His teaching interests are in music, the arts, language and literacy, and the early primary grades. His research explores the pedagogical conditions that promote children’s happiness at school and in learning. Prior to joining the Mount Royal faculty, Professor Hughes taught Kindergarden to Grade 2, ...

Season 2, Episode 1: Learning to Teach is an Act of Letting Go

Margy MacMillan Margy MacMillan is a Full Professor in the Library at Mount Royal University. She has been bringing people and information together at Mount Royal since 1990. A laureate of the Mount Royal Distinguished Faculty Teaching Awards, Professor MacMillan connects people with information and each other, and helps them learn to use information resources more effectively. Known by colleagues to have loads of fun at work, Professor MacMillan is engaged in teaching, research, an...

Season 2 Promo

Get a preview of the episodes in season 2 of Teaching Strides.

Season 1, Episode 5: Debriefing and Peer Feedback

Professor Deanna Wiebe Deanna Wiebe serves as both a Faculty member and a Flight Instructor in the Aviation program at Mount Royal University. A graduate of the program in 2001, Professor Wiebe returned to MRU in 2009 to assume the role of Chief Flight Instructor. Her graduate research focused on “Creating a Supportive Environment for Student Learning.” In 2013, Deanna Wiebe became Assistant Professor in the department of General Management, Human Resources, and Aviation at MRU. Pro...

Season 1, Episode 4: The Classroom as a Community of Learners

Professor Jennifer Solinas Jennifer Solinas has been teaching at Mount Royal University for four years. Professor Solinas is a contract faculty member with a full-time course load who works on several committees, and has completed the Certificate of Achievement in Photography at MRU. While her background is in Criminology and Restorative Justice, Professor Solinas now enjoys teaching courses related to community and society issues. Her students attest that she encourages them not ...

Season 1, Episode 3: Teaching Personally Challenging Material

Professor Ada Jaarsma Ada Jaarsma is Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Humanities at Mount Royal University. A recipient of the MRU Distinguished Faculty Award, Dr. Jaarsma is increasingly interested in the connections between how we teach and what we teach. With the support of a Teaching & Learning Inquiry Grant from the Academic Development Centre at MRU, she developed a research project with two MRU students that explores these connections in the context of P...

Season 1, Episode 2: Visual Thinking

Professor Glenn Ruhl Dr. Glenn Ruhl is a Full Professor in, and former Chair of, the Information Design program in the Faculty of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University. His industry experience includes serving as Education Program Manager for the Environmental Services Association of Alberta and as the Executive Director for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (West). He is a member of the International Institute for Information Design. In 2012, he received Mount Ro...

Original Theme Song

Professor Trevor Day Trevor Day earned a Ph.D. in Respiratory Neurobiology (University of Calgary) and is currently an Associate Professor of Physiology in the Department of Biology at Mount Royal University. His research interests include the integration and interactions between the heart, lungs and brain in response to stressors in humans (e.g., body position, high altitude, sedentary behaviour). Trevor is a multiple-award-winning scholar, notably a recipient of the MRU Distingui...

Episode 1: Research Posters to Scaffold Essay Writing

Professor Karen Manarin Dr. Karen Manarin is Professor of English and General Education at Mount Royal University. A recipient of MRU’s Distinguished Faculty Award, Dr. Manarin’s teaching and research interests include how people read, and undergraduate research. Her coauthored book Critical Reading in Higher Education: Academic Goals and Social Engagement explores how students read in four, very different, required, first-year courses, from scientific literacy through composition....