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Events, tools, initiatives

Food for Thought: Universal Design for Learning

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The final Food for Thought lunchtime session of the fall term was held November 27, 2024, at the Library Summit Centre. Michele Bridge and Claudine Warburton, both IDCs at the LTC, and Joanna Angelidis, Associate Director of Student Wellbeing and Accessibility, gave an informative presentation on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) .

The goal of UDL, as explained by the presenters, is to design instruction in a way that addresses the diversity of learners, thereby removing any barriers in either the instruction or the learning environment. At its core, UDL is a way of thinking about instruction — a lens that can be applied to the choices made around designing and delivering instruction.

UDL is not the same as the accommodations provided to individual learners. Rather, UDL adjusts the learning environment for all learners. For example, providing a private room for exam writing is an accommodation that can be provided for an individual student but is not feasible for an entire class. On the other hand, recording lectures or offering alternative options for assessment is an accommodation that removes barriers for all students, not just one individual.

It was noted that barriers also exist to implementing UDL — instructors at BCIT are already stretched for time and resources. The presenters’ recommendation is to start small: choose one practice to implement and grow from there.

Food for Thought sessions are hosted by BCIT Library and the Learning and Teaching Centre throughout the academic year, and are opportunities for faculty and staff to showcase research, learning and teaching practice, student support services, and innovation at BCIT. The sessions are hosted on Teams and in-person at the Library Summit Centre (where a light lunch is provided).

Teaching with AI Comes to the Town Square

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Last month, the LTC hosted a mini-conference for BCIT faculty at the Town Square on Burnaby Campus. The focus of the conference was to deepen faculty’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities of teaching with GenAI.

Lucas Wright, Senior Educational Consultant at UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, presented the keynote address, Currents of Change: Generative AI’s Impact on Teaching, Learning. He began with a quick, hands-on demonstration of how to write a GenAI prompt, then identified the three factors he sees as instrumental to why GenAI is having such a profound impact on higher education: (1) rapid adoption (students are already using GenAI), (2) growing capabilities (GenAI is continually improving), and (3) the emergence of new skills (necessary for learning and working in a world that uses GenAI).

Lucas spoke about the ethical issues facing GenAI users (environmental impacts, concerns around privacy and copyright, and accuracy of output), then concluded with some examples of the opportunities provided by GenAI, including personalized learning, co-creation, and the development of evaluative judgment skills.

After lunch, attendees had the opportunity to further explore the topics and issues raised by Lucas in a variety of sessions led by BCIT faculty and IDCs from the LTC. Those in attendance were engaged and came away with a better understanding of how a world with AI can function.

A recording of Lucas Wright’s keynote address and presentation slides of the sessions are available on the LTC’s GenAI website. Another event is in the planning stages for fall 2025. Details will be posted on the website as they come available.

Teaching with AI at BCIT

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The LTC is pleased to announce our upcoming event, Teaching with AI, which is being held on Thursday, October 31, from 11:30 to 4:00 pm in the Town Square meeting rooms on Burnaby campus.

This mini-conference focuses on teaching and learning and helping BCIT faculty deepen their understanding of the challenges and opportunities of integrating Generative AI into their teaching practices.

Keynote presentation by Lucas Wright, Senior Educational Consultant, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, UBC, will commence at 11:30 am. Lunch will be provided at 12:15 pm, followed by various sessions from 1–4 pm. Several of the sessions will provide instructors with an opportunity for hands-on practice experimenting with AI tools for teaching and course design.

Afternoon sessions include:

  • Teaching Tales from the Crypt — a panel discussion of BCIT faculty using GenAI in their teaching
  • Developing Teaching Materials with the Help of AI
  • AI and Academic Integrity
  • Ethics of GenAI
  • AI Hands-on Lab
  • and more…

This is an open event — no registration required.

Food for Thought: Work Integrated Learning Faculty Toolkit

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A new academic year of Food for Thought lunch time sessions got underway on October 9, 2024, as Joan Pascual, Program Head of the Centre for Workplace Education at BCIT, presented a session on the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Faculty Toolkit.

WIL offers students the opportunity to consolidate their learning in the workplace environment. The 170 WIL programs at BCIT include apprenticeships, co-ops, clinicals and preceptorships, practicums and internships, and industry and consulting projects.

The WIL Faculty Toolkit assists instructors whose students are participating in WIL, and was created to centralize the information related to developing and facilitating WIL experiences at BCIT. It is particularly useful for new faculty, and during program development and program reviews.

In addition to a course overview, the Toolkit has six modules:

  • Module 1: WIL definitions and quality
  • Module 2: How do I design a WIL experience?
  • Module 3: Risk management
  • Module 4: How do I design reflective activities for WIL experiences?
  • Module 5: What funding is available for WIL partners?
  • Module 6: How do I evaluate a WIL experience?

The Faculty Toolkit can be accessed through the BCIT Employee Learning Centre at pd.bcit.ca. Select Discover, then search for the WIL Faculty Toolkit, and select Enroll.

Food for Thought sessions are hosted by BCIT Library and the Learning and Teaching Centre throughout the academic year, and are opportunities for faculty and staff to showcase research, learning and teaching practice, student support services, and innovation at BCIT. The sessions are hosted on Teams and in-person at the Library Summit Centre (where a light lunch is provided). A calendar of upcoming sessions is available on the Loop.