Schulich partners in the new University Pathways Program for Black students
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The Schulich School of Business at York University is participating in the launch of a new program as part of a Tri-Business School Collective to create university pathways for Black high school students.
The program, which is a collaboration between Schulich, the Ivey Business School at Western University and the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, gives students a greater understanding of academic options and opportunities for careers in business and other areas following graduation, while supporting them financially to pursue an undergraduate business education.
Currently, the University Pathways Program is only open to Grade 11 high school students in the Greater Toronto Area. Participants are selected through an application process and the program is free of charge.
The program starts in January and runs throughout the year with a break in July and August. The core of the program consists of online workshops every two weeks, with an in-person gathering in February.
The program includes pairing students with university mentors, university campus visits during the summer, academic planning, leadership skills development and experiential learning through “day in the life” placements with corporate partners.
The University Pathways Program will provide financial support ranging from tuition assistance to full scholarships to students who complete the program and go on to post-secondary education at one of the three business schools.
Lassonde’s k2i academy introduces teacher resources for de-streaming Grade 9 science in Ontario
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Earlier this year, the Ontario Ministry of Education released the new Grade 9 de-streamed science curriculum. The k2i academy at the Lassonde School of Engineering was selected by the Ontario Ministry of Education to develop classroom-ready resources to support teachers across Ontario. After months of work, the new resource is now available.
The k2i academy team has been working alongside publicly funded school boards to implement innovative programs that seek to dismantle systemic barriers to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Ontario de-streamed Grade 9 science curriculum has connections to skills in engineering design and coding.
This brand-new teacher resource, now available online, provides recommendations for implementing this curriculum. Thanks to this resource, teachers will be able to provide students with more opportunities to learn about the many possibilities in STEM and STEM-related fields, helping them make more informed decisions about their future. De-streaming Grade 9 and integrating STEM learning into the curriculum is also crucial to support human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion in Ontario education.
Jane Goodyer
“As an engineering and science school, we’re well equipped to share the latest skills and knowledge in many areas that can be integrated into teacher resources, building on the expertise of our K12 education sector partners,” says Jane Goodyer, dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. “Ontario’s new curriculum includes engineering design and coding, focusing on STEM careers and pathways, to encourage students to become scientifically literate global citizens. We’re very excited to work alongside K12 educators and system leaders in ‘Bringing STEM to Life.’”
These new resources were created for all educators in Ontario, covering 72 publicly funded school boards, 10 school authorities (including four geographically isolated boards and six hospital-based school authorities), one provincial schools authority and one consortium. More than 42,000 high school teachers will now have access to these resources, benefitting nearly 150,000 students in Grade 9.
The resource website provides a guided experience for educators that highlights the importance of inclusive practices that engage all learners in the classroom. It contains recommendations and connections to Ontario’s curriculum policies and provides an integrated experience that enables educators to customize the tools and resources for their professional needs. The website also provides recommendations for ensuring that program design includes considerations in equity, diversity and inclusion and student-centred approaches to design. Inclusive learning environments enable all learners to see themselves in the curriculum.
“We are excited to release a resource that was created with collaborators with a commitment to continuous improvement,” says Lisa Cole, director of programming at the k2i academy. “We are curious about how this resource will evolve as we work across Ontario to inspire our future innovators, creators and problem solvers. At k2i academy, we strongly believe that we design with people and hope to continue to model this iterative process alongside educators in Ontario.”
Lisa Cole
In total, five activities will be released throughout the next few months by the k2i academy. These activities have been designed to be interdisciplinary, where STEM skills, careers and connections are introduced and integrated throughout. The Earth and Space Strand in Space Exploration activity provides an exciting interdisciplinary context to explore concepts in physics, chemistry and biology. It is a thrilling time in space exploration in Canada with recent announcements on space missions by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) including the Lunar Gateway led by NASA, and the Canadian HAWC (High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour and Clouds) mission to help predict climate change.
The teacher resource will provide connections to real-world problems, profile the work of diverse STEM professionals, and inspire students to create solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The activities include hands-on learning using electronics and Micro:bit to integrate engineering design, coding and digital literacies within the program.
A collaborative approach was used to develop the resources. The k2i team worked closely with Bryan Bellefeuille, high school mathematics and Ojibwe language teacher in the Algoma District School Board, to build opportunities for deep collaboration with Indigenous communities. k2i academy Program Officer Vanessa Ironside also worked closely with Grade 9 and 10 science teachers during the 2021-22 school year to test a variety of activities within the classroom, which helped inform the development of these resources.
“The activities were designed in collaboration with educators to provide a student-centred learning experience in science,” says Ironside. “Students can use their own interests and passions to solve real-world problems in a way that connects with them. This provides a space to welcome student experience and identity into the work.”
By using this new teacher resource developed by the k2i academy team, classrooms can become inclusive learning spaces where all students can engage in science. Engineering design, coding, scientific research and scientific experimentation will happen through hands-on learning experiences in the classroom.
In addition to providing these brand-new resources, k2i academy is working with partner school boards to offer additional professional learning for educators.
Students study Netherlands and European Union first-hand
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By Elaine Smith
When you’re learning about the political, social and economic transformations in the European Union (EU), where better to do it than in the heart of the EU itself? A group of York University students had that chance as part of a study abroad experience.
Willem Maas
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, students in Glendon Professor Willem Maas’ course, The Netherlands and Europeanization, were able to learn about the Netherlands and the EU first-hand with the return of study abroad at York University.
“Having taught this course twice in virtual format, it was a welcome challenge to make it come together in person, and I’m very grateful to the many guest speakers who spoke with the class, and the many institutions we were able to visit,” said Maas. “Real, on-the-ground international experience is invaluable for students and is a completely different experience from classroom-based learning.”
The summer course, a three-week class that took students around the Netherlands and into Belgium and Luxembourg with a brief foray across the border into Germany, offered them an in-depth look into the workings of what Maas calls a “middle power” in the EU as a case study of this regional government that came into being after the Second World War.
“This intensive summer abroad course helps students understand political, social and economic transformations in the European Union through site visits, interviews and meetings,” Maas said.
The class was constantly on the move, starting off the course in the Dutch administrative capital, the Hague, and ending it in Amsterdam, with visits to Brussels, Luxembourg, Nijmegen and Rotterdam in between. The group visited a variety of institutions including the Dutch parliament, the International Court of Justice and other courts in the Hague and Luxembourg, several universities, the European Parliament and the European Commission. They met politicians, academics and diplomats who gave them personal insights into the workings of the EU and the roles they played.
In addition, there were opportunities to absorb history, business and culture: for example, Roman ruins, a Canadian war cemetery, the port of Rotterdam, and the Rijksmuseum, home to many renowned Dutch paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and others.
Ed Leurebourg, an international studies student, also found the course very meaningful and was appreciative of the experiential education opportunity.
“The insights and experiences gained through this time will last me a lifetime,” Leurebourg said. “We saw everything from national to interstate parliaments. We met with diplomats of all levels and career public servants doing an earnest job serving their country or the EU. We visited museums and institutions that showed us the importance of a union such as this one, and got to see what a world without it could resemble.
“In just a month, this course managed to give me the real-life perspective I have been missing.”
Maria D’Aguanno, who recently graduated with a BA in children, childhood and youth studies, said, “It was eye-opening for me.”
D’Aguanno registered for the course simply as a way to fill a necessary social science requirement, but came away with both new knowledge and a rich experience.
“I enjoyed every moment, even though I had no background in political science. It sounded interesting and it was hands-on. I learned about what the EU does, not only for Europe, but for Canada and the rest of the world; things I wouldn’t have known.”
One of the highlights for her was a virtual conversation with Dutch teachers where she had the opportunity to compare the Canadian and Dutch education systems and learn about how the Netherlands handled education during the pandemic.
“It made me think about how we could all come together to make learning more equitable and how I, as an educator, can assist parents and children who have limited resources.”
Of course, the class didn’t land in the Netherlands without any knowledge of the country. The course required them to do a number of readings and analyses prior to their travels and reflections both during and after the trip.
“I’d like my students to gain an empirical understanding and theoretical grounding to analyze developments and ideas related to the EU and European integration,” said Maas.
In addition to the body of subject knowledge the students gained, they also reaped other benefits.
“There were small things that meant a lot,” D’Aguanno said. “When you immerse yourself in a culture, it changes the way you see things. Interacting with the locals, I felt like part of the community, and I learned a lot through social interactions. You grow as an individual.
“You also need to start being more independent; you have to do things for yourself; there’s no one to do it for you. I recommend that everyone take advantage of at least one study abroad opportunity. You learn more than you will ever imagine and it stays with you.”
Five York PhD students receive Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
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Five York University PhD students were awarded the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for 2022. This prestigious scholarship, valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years, is presented by the Government of Canada.
The award is intended to support first-rate doctoral students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in the fields of social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering and health. The selection criteria include academic excellence, research potential and leadership.
“A Vanier scholarship is an honour, but it also materializes a belief with impressive financial support that these scholars will change our future for the better,” says Faculty of Graduate Studies Dean & Associate Vice-President Graduate, Thomas Loebel. “Each of the scholars has identified challenging problems to solve and proposed creative paths toward solutions – and the range across disciplines really stands out.”
This year’s recipients come from a diverse set of research fields exploring a variety of topics from issues in family law to interactive projects aimed to accentuate the impact of the global climate crisis.
“It’s heartening to see that nationally York is being recognized for what our community has long known: we nurture ingenuity. As these award winners lead in the development of new research methods, results, and creation, society at large will experience the benefits,” says Dean Loebel.
The 2022 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is presented to:
Barron’s cutting-edge research will examine the use of curriculum modifications for elementary school students. Curriculum modification includes changing a student’s curriculum to a different grade level if the teacher believes that the student is unable to work at grade level. This is a common practice in elementary education that has not been thoroughly explored by scholars. Barron proposes that the decision to modify a student’s curriculum is highly subjective and can have long-term negative impacts. This study is vital due to the fact that marginalized students (particularly Black and Indigenous students) have been disproportionately disadvantaged through special education processes throughout history.
“Given the negative impacts that special education decisions can have on the trajectory of a student’s academic future, it is essential that we investigate the use of curriculum modifications and their efficacy in achieving their intended outcomes,” says Barron.
Barron’s research in the Toronto District School Board will examine the use of curriculum modifications in relation to equity, achievement and well-being.
Toby Finlay – Sociology
Toby Finlay
Finlay’sproject presents a historical study of the development of transgender health care in the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ont. Through archival research and interviews, the results of the research aim to demonstrate how CAMH has shaped the landscape of transgender health care in Ontario for the last 50 years.
This project presents trailblazing research by preserving an archive of the histories of transgender health-care practices and transgender community activisms in Ontario. This crucial study will provide a story of the ways that transgender communities have navigated and resisted dominant discourses about gender to access gender-affirming treatment.
“This historical study has contemporary relevance to the politicized debates about trans health care taking place globally and to Canada’s current policy shifts towards gender-affirming approaches to trans health care,” says Finlay.
Sarah Grace Grothaus – Computational Arts/EE and CS Departments
Sarah Grace Grothaus
Grothaus provides a glimpse into the deterring implications of black carbon air pollution through her research-creation project, Habitats. She will create visualization and environmental sensing wearables that create a second skin for the user, enabling individuals to bring their environmental data to life. Specifically, her project is aimed to ignite the public imagination and instigate policy change regarding toxic exposures to carbon emissions.
Grothausbelieves her project can create a sense of realization regarding the urgency of addressing global climate change. “Habitats will focus on empowering citizens to better understand and communicate their local environment, and issues connected to environmental sacrifice zones: places where residents live near environmentally threatening polluting industries and/or heavy usage transportation routes, notes Grothaus.”
Once complete, the project can be shared with the larger community through educational workshops, public art performances and other contexts intended for raising the alarm about environmental dangers.
Deanne Sowter – Law
Deanne Sowter
Sowter’s research “Towards a Modified Conception of the Family Lawyer” raises the concern that the current understanding of the lawyer’s role fails to properly capture the realities of family law. The structure that is being used, reinforces power imbalances and gendered hierarchies in terms of process and outcome. Specifically, the current model does not respond effectively to non-adversarial advocacy, family violence and issues involving a client’s child.
Her research hopes to offer a reformulation of family lawyers’ duties to their clients, inform law reform and amendments to professional codes of conduct and make recommendations for pedagogical reforms at law schools and for continuing legal education.
“Family law has an impact on more Canadians than any other area of law, yet the family justice system is widely perceived to be broken. There is potential for lawyers to be responsive to family laws’ challenges,” says Sowter.
Alyssia Wilson – Clinical Developmental Psychology
Alyssia Wilson
Wilson contends that homeless and precariously housed people continue to be understudied in brain injury research. In particular, women in this population report a greater number of injuries as they are more likely to experience intimate partner violence, making them uniquely vulnerable to repeated mild traumatic brain injury (mTBIs). Wilson explores how those who have suffered mTBIs can experience long-term effects on their psychological health, increasing the risk for both substance use and mood problems. The project aims to create a real-world impact by allowing clinicians to more readily identify individuals at risk for substance use and mental health disorders and develop targeted interventions that may reduce risk of mTBI and improve health outcomes.
“These developments are particularly critical for underserved and marginalized populations, who already face numerous psychosocial and economic barriers,” says Wilson.
By increasing the understanding of mTBIs, clinicians will be better informed in assessing and providing treatment, psychoeducation and intervention services to vulnerable community members.
Government of Guyana partners with Schulich ExecEd to expand hospital leadership capacity
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Schulich ExecEd, an extension of the Schulich School of Business at York University, has partnered with the government in Guyana to build up their health-care system.
The partnership aims to develop capacity for training hospital leadership in Guyana, through a program designed to teach management and leadership skills to senior leaders and executive heads across the health sector. It will be delivered to participants from all administrative regions.
“We are delighted to partner with the Ministry of Health, Government of Guyana as they overhaul the delivery of health-care services by developing their top hospital administrators across all 10 regions, equipping them with the skills necessary to lead this transformation,” Executive Director of Schulich ExecEd, Rami Mayer, said.
Representatives from York University visited Guyana to launch a new program. Picture from left to right are: Aruna Faria, administrative manager, Guyana Ministry of Health; Jeff MacInnis, facilitator for the Schulich ExecEd–Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program; Robert Lynn, Schulich ExecEd, associate director; Dr. Susan Lieff, program director of the Schulich ExecEd–Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program; Dr. Frank Anthony, Guyana’s minister of health; Rami Mayer, Schulich ExecEd, executive director; Dr. Narendra Singh, York University, Board of Governors member; founder and president of Giving Health To Kids (GHTK); Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, chairman of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, advisor to Guyana’s Minister of Health
The Schulich ExecEd-Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program is customized for Guyana’s hospital administrators and provides the necessary interpersonal skills and hands-on business tools to improve management, leadership and service delivery skills at all levels. The new certification supports York’s commitment to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – in particular UN SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being and UN SDG 4 Quality Education.
“York’s commitment to expanding access to higher education around the world and, in particular, the Global South is reflected in this new program. The University’s substantial health system expertise will be a catalyst for positive change in Guyana’s health-care system and reflects our dedication to global leadership on the SDGs,” said Lisa Philipps, York’s provost and vice-president academic.
Schulich ExecEd has a long history of community building, social innovation and supporting the professional development of equity-deserving groups, said Mayer.
“Through this program, we hope to provide equitable, accessible, empathetic, and enhanced health care. Our goal is to help the Guyanese government transform its health-care system and develop better hospital administrators and provide innovative health-care solutions to improve patient outcomes.”
The Guyana Ministry of Health should be commended for recognizing that investment in training health system leaders is one of the most important ways to improve health-care delivery, said Dr. Robert Bell, former Ontario deputy minister of health.
“I was inspired by the energy, intelligence, and desire of the course participants to improve Guyana’s health systems,” he said.
A virtual launch of the nine-month program took place in October, and was attended by Guyana Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony; Guyana Public Service Minister Sonia Parag; officials from the Schulich School of Business and Schulich ExecEd; and other participants.
During the virtual launch, Anthony noted Guyana’s health ministry has embarked on an aggressive campaign to develop the health-care sector through the construction of several hospitals, including the country’s first Maternal and Paediatric Hospital, as well as several other projects to build and rehabilitate hospitals in the hinterland areas.
“The Government of Guyana is pleased to partner with the Schulich ExecEd Program. We strongly believe that the program will assist our hospital administrators to improve the quality of health care across the country,” said Anthony.
To date, there are 25 participants from across Guyana enrolled in the program.
In November, York University and Schulich ExecEd representatives travelled to Guyana for a meeting to launch the program officially. The event, held Nov. 4, was attended by Mayer and Anthony, along with: Dr. Narendra Singh, York University Board of Governors member, founder and president of Giving Health To Kids (GHTK), and former chief of staff at Humber River Hospital; Robert Lynn, associate director of Schulich ExecEd; Dr. Susan Lieff, program director of the Schulich ExecEd – Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program; Jeff MacInnis, facilitator for the Schulich ExecEd–Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program; and Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, chairman of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and advisor to Guyana’s Minister of Health; and Aruna Faria, administrative manager, Ministry of Health.
“It was truly an honour to meet, learn with and from the 25 health-care leaders who have been selected by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Guyana to participate in the Schulich ExecEd-Guyana Masters Certificate in Hospital Leadership Program. These passionate and innovative individuals are highly committed to the future transformation of health and health care that their government is investing in,” said Lieff.
In addition to officially launching the program, those involved discussed opportunities for additional cohorts and new health-care leadership training programs for physicians, nurses and other health-care professionals in Guyana.
“This team has opened the door to others to capitalize on the limitless potential of this fledgling partnership. As an adviser to the Guyana Government, I know that we want to build on this success. I encourage the University to engage our government more proactively to explore other opportunities, such as nursing,” said Singh.
UNHack brings together students to tackle pressing sustainability challenges
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From Nov. 4 to 6, Lassonde’s Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) Program welcomed more than 450 students from local high-schools, York and undergraduates from nearby post-secondary institutions to UNHack 2022, a three-day immersive learning experience aimed at addressing sustainability challenges related to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
More than 450 students took part in this year’s event
UNHack provided a safe and immersive environment for participants to learn about sustainability challenges in their community, promoted the development of creative ideas and, through teamwork, students strived to design solutions for the UN SDG challenges they identified.
On the first day of UNHack, students met their teammates and dedicated mentors while learning about the principles of the Design Sprint process. They selected the challenge they were passionate about tackling and established roles within their teams. The next day, participants continued their structured learning journey by brainstorming and developing solution designs for the problem they chose to address.
“My biggest takeaway was learning how to apply different methods to solving a problem,” said Jason Lee, a first-year engineering student. “By not focusing immediately on solving the problem at hand and instead understanding why the problem exists, it helped us come up with a better solution.”
UNHack provided students with the unique opportunity to elaborate on their ideas and learn about the different perspectives of their peers while completing a project. Participants were able to develop a variety of skills including resilience, collaboration, leadership, time management, critical thinking, communication and project management.
Students worked in teams to brainstorm solutions to the problem they selected to address during UNHack
“I learned what it is like to work on a project with a group and how to collaborate with other people,” said first-year engineering student Joshua Lopez. “UNHack showed me how beneficial, efficient and creative solutions can arise when working with a team, which is a vital experience as an engineering student, since many future projects will require me to collaborate with others.”
More than 100 project teams took part in UNHack, with 74 teams making it to the preliminary judging round and 11 teams advancing to the final round. The top teams focused on a range of topics such as road safety, technological services to encourage female students to enter STEM fields and accessible opportunities for sustainable development.
“My biggest takeaway from this experience would have to be the amazing, skilled and smart women and men I have met on this journey, whom I now have the pleasure of calling my friends,” said Nicole Ikhuenbor, first-year engineering student. “The moments we spent at UNHack were invaluable. I was able to face being uncomfortable and embrace my communication and leadership skills. The entire team who orchestrated UNHack was amazing, thank you for this experience, I truly learned so much.”
Winning teams
First place – team #88:O2 (Chen Yu, Alex Pastiu, Ahmed Syed, Shaan Tandon, Alejandro Francis, Mikhail Ajasa). This team addressed UN SDG #6: Clean Water and Sanitation by designing an affordable water distiller/desalinater that can be built using local resources and is easy to set up and maintain, in order to serve the communities who don’t have access to clean drinking water.
Team #88: O2 – posing with Lassonde Professor Andrew Maxwell (far right) and Karen Lai (second from the right)
Second place (and People’s Choice Award) – team #5: e-Portfolio (Suyash Singh, Anna Maximova, Heet Narechania, Mohammad Jad Allah, Ummi Hanny, Faiyaz Abdul Aziz, Syed Ali Reza Rizvi). This team addressed UN SDG #4: Quality Education by creating an artificial intelligence (AI) based e-portfolio to support York University students with smart course selection. Their platform aims to make the course selection process easy and eliminate the need to check and recheck the academic calendar, by integrating a comprehensive course directory that can constantly be updated.
Team #5: e-Portfolio posing with BEST Program Manager, Maedeh Sedaghat (centre)
Third place – team #103:Trash to Treasure (Wolfgang Becker, Stavroula Kloutsouniotis, Julia Rodriguez, Amarjeet Gill,). This team addressed UN SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by creating miniaturized recycling facilities on campus to convert recycled plastic into useful building materials for new construction, art or renovation and promote on-campus recycling.
Team #103: Trash to Treasure
“Unlike traditional hackathons, UNHack focuses on empowering students to feel comfortable with ambiguity and to get out of their comfort zone in order to learn more about themselves, the process of creative problem solving and sustainability projects,” says Maedeh Sedaghat, manager, BEST program. “Students are provided with tools and techniques they can apply to design innovative solutions, make an impact in their community and help make the world a better place.”
UNHack was sponsored by York University (Office of the Vice-President Finance & Administration), Summer Fresh, KPM Power and Scotiabank along with our partners, mentors and moderators.
Lassonde Professor Magdalena Krol, associate dean, Research, Innovation, Enterprise & Partnerships, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change; Dean Alice Hovorka from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change; and Nicole Arsenault, program director, Sustainability, provided opening remarks at UNHack.
The expert judges participating in this year’s event: entrepreneurs Elliot Atkins, Karen Lai, Subashini Kangesan and Keith Loo; Arsenault; and Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Associate Professor Jon Kerr.
View more photos from the UNHack on the Lassonde Facebook page.
Take part in York’s peer assessment pilot project
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This month and next, there are a number of opportunities for York faculty to delve deeper into peer assessment, which involves students giving feedback to their peers based on a rubric provided by their instructor. Faculty can also try out Kritik, one of the online platforms introducing peer assessment into the classroom.
By Elaine Smith
If learning more about peer assessment isn’t on your schedule yet, perhaps it’s time to correct that omission. According to common wisdom, two heads are better than one, and peer assessment is one way for students to discover the value of that maxim – with guidance from their professors, of course.
“We have long known that feedback helps students reach their academic goals,” said Robindra Sidhu, senior research analyst with the Office of the Associate Vice-President (AVP) Teaching & Learning. “Peer assessment is one strategy that course directors are increasingly using to facilitate this.”
Simply explained, peer assessment translates to students giving feedback to their peers based on a rubric provided by their instructor. The goal is to help students produce better work for final submission, whether that means using correct grammar or supporting their conclusions with better evidence.
Peer assessment provides students with a number of benefits, noted Sidhu:
the feedback from their peers allows them to make changes to their work as appropriate;
students become skilled at giving fair and accurate feedback, and communicate it in a constructive manner; and
students have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with their peers, and in doing so have the opportunity to reflect upon their own work.
This month and next, there are a number of opportunities for York faculty to delve deeper into its benefits and to test Kritik, one of the online platforms that they can use to introduce peer assessment into their classrooms. From Nov. 24 to Dec. 8, the Teaching Commons will hold a two-part workshop titled The Peer Review Experience, designed to familiarize faculty with the pedagogy and practice of peer-based learning and to introduce them to the various online platforms available to support them. Meanwhile, the Office of the AVP Teaching & Learning, is inviting faculty members to participate in one of the upcoming onboarding sessions for Kritik, a new peer assessment platform that the University is evaluating.
Yelin Su, an educational developer with the Teaching Commons, says that peer assessment has been used in post-secondary education as an active learning strategy for many years. There is evidence to demonstrate that it is effective in helping students develop critical thinking skills, as well as assisting them in applying the skills they are learning in their courses.
“Many York colleagues are using peer assessment quite successfully, but many more are interested,” Su said. “We have seen this renewed interest due to the pandemic. When faculty were new to online learning, it seemed overwhelming to use an additional technological tool, but after three years of Zoom and eClass, many are ready to go a bit further.
“Currently, York has multiple tools available for free and the TC is there to support faculty in their use. They may need help in setting it up in their course, creating a rubric or deciding how to train students in giving and receiving constructive feedback for learning purposes.”
Sidhu notes that peer assessment platforms like Kritik are simply tools for teaching students, helping them learn to give and accept feedback and to interpret the rubric for evaluating others. They also require thinking more deeply about the course content and “offer a reality check on the quality of their work.” Kritik, for example, tracks students on their skill in creating work, evaluating the work of others and giving feedback. Its features include the ability for students to view each evaluator’s comments and the option of bringing comments to the attention of the instructor if they believe they are unfair. Faculty can also reward students for participating in the evaluation process.
Will Gage, AVP of Teaching & Learning, is eager to obtain faculty feedback on Kritik’s efficacy during the year-long pilot project. “Before we invest significant resources in this platform, we want to spend some time and effort to determine whether it’s effective in enhancing student learning, and also whether instructors derive benefit and find it helpful in their courses.”
Why not be among the growing number of faculty who are engaging their students in peer assessment? Join the Teaching Commons and other faculty to learn more about how to use peer assessment in teaching and Kritik. Faculty can also review the introductory Kritik sessions held at York University in August. YouTube recordings for STEM and for faculty overall are available to view.
Osgoode students make their mark at Supreme Court of Canada
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It’s a rare experience – even for seasoned lawyers, but a select group of students at Osgoode Hall Law School can now add the Supreme Court of Canada to their resumes through their work on a case that will be heard Nov. 29.
“In their entire legal career, they may never be involved in a Supreme Court of Canada case, so this is a phenomenal opportunity for our students,” said Scarlet Smith, the acting director of CLASP.
Subodh Bharati, CLASP’s supervising lawyer for the Immigration Law Division, said the students worked overtime researching the argument and preparing materials. “There was a substantive amount of work,” he said. “They have to first successfully bring a motion seeking intervenor status and then prepare a concise factum. The students are now helping to develop our oral submissions, which can be no more than five minutes.
“It’s really important for our students to be involved in such high-level cases,” he added. “They were pretty excited about this opportunity.”
As a lasting memento of the experience, Owain Guinn, a second-year student at Osgoode from Atlanta, Ga., who was involved in writing the 10-page factum, said he framed the first page and is keeping it above his desk.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever that we could say that we worked at the Supreme Court level,” he said. “I really enjoyed the process. It just felt important and it was very much a team effort.”
Constitutional questions
The case is concerned with the inadmissibility provisions in the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). It stems from a 2012 incident in which Earl Mason, a foreign national, became involved in a dispute during a Surrey, B.C. concert and discharged a firearm eight times, injuring two people. The Crown charged him with attempted murder but, for reasons that remain unclear, the charges were stayed.
Instead of attempting to deport Mason using section 36 of IRPA, which requires a criminal conviction, the Canadian Border Services Agency attempted to deport him under section 34, which deems a person inadmissible to Canada on “security grounds.” But through increasingly higher levels of court, Mason’s lawyers have argued that section 34 was only intended to apply to cases of terrorism, war crimes and organized criminality.
In a novel argument, CLASP submits that any interpretation of section 34 that includes charges that did not result in convictions engages section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Such circumstances, it argues, could allow for the imprisonment of individuals who have not been found guilty of a criminal offence on a lower standard of proof.
“It’s an interesting topic that no one else has raised,” said Bharati. “When stuff like this happens, it’s pretty shocking,” he added. “If sections 7 and 11 of the Charterare supposed to apply to everyone then why are exceptions being carved out for non-Canadians?”
CLASP is one of 17 clinical programs available to Osgoode students and exemplifies the law school’s leadership in experiential legal education in Canada. CLASP cases touch on immigration, criminal and administrative law, including human rights and tenants’ rights disputes, and appeals related to employment insurance and the Ontario Disability Support Program. CLASP intervened in two other Supreme Court of Canada cases in 2018.
“One of the most important things CLASP offers students is on-the-ground experience,” said Bharati. “They work very hands-on with cases and their clients, but they also get to balance this by having the opportunity to work on these high-level arguments that they might not get in practice.”
Welcome to the November 2022 issue of ‘Innovatus’
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Will Gage
Welcome to the November 2022 issue of “Innovatus,” a special issue of YFile dedicated to teaching and learning innovation at York University. This month, we take a deep dive into the many innovations underway in the Faculty of Science.
Informed by its strategic plan, the Faculty of Science is evolving its courses in concert with new areas of study. Data science will be the focus of a new undergraduate program in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, while the Department of Science, Technology & Society is expanding its roster of courses and introducing equity, diversity and inclusion into the curriculum. Accessibility is also an important theme in the stories presented in this issue of “Innovatus,” particularly for international students and non-science majors, expanding the wonders of science to more students.
I hope the ideas presented in this issue are both informative and inspiring.
Sincerely,
Will Gage Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning
Faculty, course directors and staff are invited to share their experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the “Innovatus” story form, which is available at tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573.
Data science program ready to blossom Data science will be in full bloom at York University with the introduction of a new undergraduate program from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This field uses computing skills and statistical reasoning to generate valuable insights from data.
2+3 = A great opportunity for international students at the Faculty of Science Organizers of one of the Faculty of Science’s best kept secrets, the 2+2/2+3 Undergraduate International Collaboration Education Programs, anticipate exponential growth, thanks to recent agreements signed with five international partners.
Data science will be in full bloom at York University with the introduction of a new undergraduate program from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This field uses computing skills and statistical reasoning to generate valuable insights from data.
Stephen Watson
York’s data science program has been in the planning stages for a few years as Department of Mathematics and Statistics Chair Stephen Watson and a team of faculty members examined existing programs throughout North America and talked to a variety of employers about their needs in analyzing large-scale, complex data. The result is a practical program including streams drawn on the University of California Berkeley’s model that focus on areas of practice such as business and health, together with an innovative year-long capstone course that will require students to work on real-world problems for clients. Both aspects are unique among data science programs in Ontario.
“This is a career-focused program, and the demand is there,” said Watson. “It’s exciting to have young, enthusiastic faculty leading the charge.”
Seven professors are involved in delivering the new program: Steven Wang, who will direct the capstone course; Yuejiao Cindy Fu, the statistics director; Jairo Diaz-Rodriguez;Kevin McGregor; Xin Gao; Kelly Ramsay; and Yuehua Amy Wu.
Jairo Diaz-Rodriguez
Diaz-Rodriguez has developed the introductory data science course, which is being pilot-tested this year, and the follow-on course (Principles and Techniques of Data Science), both required courses in the program. The introductory course offers a panoramic view of the field, and the subsequent course provides additional theory and lays the foundation for the other courses.
“Basically, data is everywhere,” Diaz-Rodriguez said. “Traditionally, companies and governments made decisions based on feelings, but now we can use data to make decisions, so data scientists can analyze it to help organizations offer better services and make better decisions.
“Data science is a hot topic,” he noted, one that has only recently developed as a field of study. He speaks from personal experience; his undergraduate degree is in engineering, his master’s degree is in mathematics, and his PhD is in statistics.
“I wondered what I was, and data scientist made sense, but 10 or 15 years ago, there was no career path. In the past, companies looked for mathematicians who then had to learn programming. We’ve gathered everything together into one career profile. Our graduates will be prepared for what’s needed, and won’t have to catch up.”
Kevin McGregor
McGregor, who specializes in genomics data, sees data science as the intersection between statistics/data analysis and computer science (programming and algorithm development), plus field-specific knowledge.
“We want people to have a good grounding in both statistics and computer science and an understanding of how to clean the data – to handle the oddities,” he said. “Meanwhile, the streams will keep their knowledge practical. By getting exposure to courses in other fields, they’ll understand the problems in that field, as well as the terminology. The streams will also help the students collaborate and interact effectively.”
Yuejiao Cindy Fu
Five streams are available to students in the program’s inaugural year: business, in collaboration with the Schulich School of Business; health, in partnership with the School of Health Policy & Management, Faculty of Health; computational arts, in co-operation with the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design; as well as optimization and computation, each in concert with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science. Watson says that other faculties have also exhibited interest in working with the program to develop additional streams.
The program will include a course in the ethical use of data, offered by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, which “is important given who York University is,” said Watson. The program also requires a course in communications, which is offered by the Writing Department. Employers asked for the communications course because they need their employees to explain technical subjects to the layperson.
The computing courses are contributed by the Lassonde School of Engineering and the School of Information Technology.
The department hopes to have 100 students enrolled in the program next September, but given the popularity of the field, the demand could be greater.
“I think the program is going to be very popular,” Diaz-Rodriguez said. “That’s our experience from talking to other universities, and if you look on career websites for data science jobs, you see them advertised everywhere.
“When I studied mathematics, people thought the only option was to be a school teacher. Data science has opened a new avenue of work for people in mathematics and statistics.”
