Celebrate Sustainability Week at York University, March 20 to 24

Stong Pond
Stong Pond

Sustainability@York, Regenesis York and Make it Natural invite faculty, staff and students to celebrate Sustainability Week from March 20 to 24. Each day of the week will engage students with activities that promote sustainability on York University’s campuses.

The week will kick off on Monday, March 20 with a Soap Science Demo hosted by Make it Natural. Tuesday, March 21 will feature a lantern walk at Glendon College and a bike clinic on Keele campus. On Wednesday, March 22, Regenesis York is hosting a pop-up FreeStore in Vari Hall. On Thursday, March 23, the YUM Farmers’ Market in the TEL Building will offer a workshop on growing your own vegetables, and there will be free mug giveaways in Central Square as part of Red & White Day.

The week will culminate on Friday, March 24 with a number of events, including the Annual Sustainability Fair. The fair takes place in the Vari Hall rotunda and the Ross Link. It is hosted by Sustainability@York and students from the Business and Sustainability Course taught by Professor Jose Etcheverry. For the last two years, students in the course have organized the fair to celebrate sustainability and to raise awareness of sustainable businesses, student clubs and other organizations on and off campus.

After the Sustainability Fair, Regenesis York will be hosting a lantern walk and music & poetry night on Friday evening. The lantern walk will begin in Vari Hall at 4:30pm and will lead to the HNES building, where students are welcome to share music and poetry.

Sustainability Week is taking place at a perfect time since Earth Hour lands on March 25. Earth Hour is a global event that unites people and businesses around the world to raise awareness on climate change, by reminding everyone to switch off their lights and electronics for one hour.

To learn more about the schedule of events for Sustainability Week please view the event poster, or find more information on social media on the following pages:

Facebook:

  • @EarthHourYU
  • @york.university.sustainability
  • @regenesisyorku
  • @rethinkdirty

For more information on Sustainability at York U, visit the sustainability website at www.sustainability.info.yorku.ca or on Twitter at @YUSustain.

Schulich EMBA student honoured with Meritorious Service Medal

Schulich EMBA student honoured
Schulich EMBA student honoured

He’s the chief of staff at Toronto’s Humber River Regional Hospital, a Kellogg-Schulich EMBA student at York University and now the recipient of the highly prestigious Meritorious Service Medal.

Narendra Singh was awarded one of Canada’s highest honours, the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada

Dr. Narendra Singh, who is working toward reducing the number of infant mortality rates in Guyana, was recently awarded one of Canada’s highest honours, the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada.

Guyana has one of the Western world’s highest infant mortality rates, but thanks to a program spearheaded by Singh – Guyana Help the Children – those numbers are in decline.

Singh, who moved to Canada from Guyana when he was a teenager, wanted to bring about lasting change that would improve Guyana’s access to basic prenatal care. Instead of volunteering his services as a pediatrician on a short-term basis, he envisioned a sustainable and comprehensive program to improve the state of infant mortality.

“The foundation for any sustainable program has to be education,” said Singh.

In partnership with the local government, he created a residency program at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) that brought state-of-the-art technology to the country, using a hybrid model blending in-person education with volunteer doctors and a virtual classroom where Singh and other faculty members provide instruction from anywhere in the world.

In the NICU at GPHC

“Before we started this program, Guyana had only two pediatricians,” said Singh. “To date, we have trained over 10 pediatricians and over 50 nurses, which is a lot for a country of only 750,000 people. Early individuals that we trained are now becoming the educators, so we are close to it becoming a self-sufficient program.”

To date, the infant mortality rate has dropped over 40 per cent at GPHC in Guyana, and has saved the lives of over 150 babies annually. For his contribution to the welfare of Guyanese people, Singh was awarded the Meritorious Service Decoration.

Now completing his Kellogg-Schulich EMBA in Canada’s top ranked executive MBA program, Singh is looking to gain the financial, administrative and managerial skills necessary to take the same model for a high-impact, non-profit campaign to other at-risk countries around the world.

Glendon hosts bilingual Innovation at Glendon Research Colloquium and Principal’s Awards Reception

Glendon Manor FEATURED image
Glendon Manor

Glendon College will host the Innovation@Glendon Research Colloquium on Linguistic Diversity and Principal’s Awards Reception on Monday, April 3 at 1pm in the BMO Conference Centre.

The reception will take place at 3pm in the Canadian Language Museum next door (former Glendon Gallery) in Glendon Hall.

The half-day event begins with a bilingual colloquium and panel discussion on linguistic diversity, a dynamic topic explored by many Glendon faculty members.

Following opening remarks from Principal Donald Ipperciel, guests will hear from:
• Guillaume Bernardi (Drama Studies), “From Past to present: Performing Baroque Opera for Canada”;
• Lyse Hébert (School of Translation), “Notes toward a Canadian translation policy”;
• Ian Martin (English and Linguistics & Language Studies), “Reconciling Indigenous and Settler Language interests in the Wake of the TRC Report”;
• Gertrude Mianda (Gender & Women’s Studies), “Bilinguisme: un atout? L’expérience d’intégration des immigrants » francophones originaires de l’Afrique sub-saharienne en contexte minoritaire-Toronto”; and
• Muriel Péguret (French Studies and Faculty of Education), “Le fossé entre le français langue seconde à l’école secondaire et à l’université : défis et pistes de recherche.”

Willem Maas (Political Science) will moderate the panel.

After the panel discussion, attendees are invited to join Ipperciel at a reception at 3pm where the recipients of the Principal’s Awards for Research & Teaching will be honoured. Refreshments will be served.

RSVP your attendance by March 27 to research@glendon.yorku.ca.

Welcome to the March 2017 issue of “Innovatus”

Innovatus

Hello and welcome back to Innovatus, a special issue of YFile that celebrates teaching, learning and the student experience at York University.

Our first issue was very well received and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to provide their feedback and support.

Each month, Innovatus explores how York University community members are expanding experiential learning, enhancing the student experience, inspiring innovation in technology-enhanced learning and embracing educational development.

Will Gage

The second issue of Innovatus examines experiential education from two distinct approaches. Eva Peisachovich, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing in the Faculty of Heath at York University, has “flipped” her classroom. In this innovative arrangement, students listen to lectures at home and apply what they had learned during classes that focus on experiential learning. Meanwhile, at Glendon, a popular course taught by Professor Véronique Tomaszewski involves students in religious and cultural rituals as part of their immersive learning experience. The course encourages students to talk about religion and understand different religious and cultural rituals and customs.

We also offer a preview of two important conferences. The very popular Supporting Teaching and Learning at York (STAY) Symposium for teaching assistants at York University returns on May 5. This symposium offers a wonderful professional development and provides graduate students with an opportunity to collaborate in a multidisciplinary way on how they can enhance the classroom experience for their undergraduate students. The conference is free, so register early to avoid disappointment.

York University’s Teaching in Focus (TIF) conference returns May 17 and 18. This year, in addition to two days of inspiring presentations on teaching, learning and the student experience, TIF will feature a special “maker space” session that offers a terrific opportunity to try out a wide range of teaching and learning technologies. As with the STAY Symposium, TIF is completely free but be sure to register early as space is limited.

Innovatus publishes on the third Friday of every month during the academic year. The publication is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs.

As always, we are looking for unique story ideas. Share your experience with us through the Innovatus story form, which is available at http://tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573/

Flipped class drives health assessment principles home

Health assessment principles

Imagine being a first-year nursing student called upon in front of 150 other people to assess a patient with lung congestion. No pressure, right?

Eva Peisachovich
Eva Peisachovich

Ask the students from Eva Peisachovich’s first-year health assessment course for the answer. They took part in a flipped classroom course that required them to listen to lectures at home and apply what they had learned during classes.

Peisachovich, an assistant professor of nursing, has made a point of incorporating experiential education into her classes in various ways because it is one of her research interests. She chose the flipped classroom model for health assessment because it was well suited to the course.

Case studies that the students viewed online came to life in class, with teaching assistants (TAs) taking on the roles of various patients and the students interacting with them by questioning them about their symptoms. A Top Hat audience participation program made it possible for student participation to count toward their grades, making the course even more interactive.

“There were YouTube scenarios for the patients and the TAs would personify those patients in class,” Peisachovich said. “I trained the TAs and we wrote the scripts together, taking into account all the possibilities that could arise.”

York nursing students engage in experiential learning scenarios in a realistic setting

There were also weekly laboratories at the Nursing Simulation Centre that allowed for hands-on experience with a variety of techniques and clinical situations. Every other week, the 150-person class broke into teams of five to work on group assignments.

Although Peisachovich says her methodology had weaknesses – the process became repetitive, for example – she was pleased with the overall success of the endeavour. The average grade increased more than 5.5 per cent over a traditional class.

“These were techniques that allowed the students to learn,” she said. “If they didn’t do the work at home, they wouldn’t be able to handle or apply the concepts and the case studies in class. They also had to use their analytical skills, rather than being spoon fed the information.”

Peisachovich says the classroom case studies simulate real-life clinical settings, helping to prepare the future nurses for situations they could encounter on the job.

“Generally speaking you don’t know who the patient is when you walk into a clinical setting. We need to engage students in scenarios that show what happens in real life. They always need to be thinking on their feet and have the ability to troubleshoot situations.  They need to learn how to cope with realities of practice that often do not match the textbook portrayal.” – Eva Peisachovich

“Generally speaking you don’t know who the patient is when you walk into a clinical setting,” she said. “We need to engage students in scenarios that show what happens in real life. They always need to be thinking on their feet and have the ability to troubleshoot situations.  They need to learn how to cope with realities of practice that often do not match the textbook portrayal.”

Peisachovich and her colleagues have published an evaluation of this flipped classroom experience in The International Journal of Higher Education, and she plans to offer a revised version of the course again in September 2017. Drawing on lessons learned, it will feature more of a mixture of tools to keep classes from becoming predictable and routine.

“You can use this model in any course,” she said. “You can provide the concepts and theories online and the students get to apply them in class.

“It’s a dynamic way of engaging both teachers and learners where the notion of teaching and learning is truly meaningful.”

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer to Innovatus.

York University’s acclaimed Teaching in Focus conference returns May 17 and 18

Teaching in Focus conference
Teaching in Focus conference

What if there was a professional development opportunity available that was completely free and featured a carefully curated program with expert presenters?

What if that opportunity was situated around the corner and offered the latest innovations in your area of expertise?

What if that opportunity came in the form of an enjoyable two-day conference that is open to full- and part-time faculty and teaching assistants?

Interested?

Participants at a previous TIF conference

Join us for York University’s fifth annual Teaching in Focus (TIF) conference, which returns for another year on May 17 and 18. This year’s program is bigger and more imaginative. As in previous years, the TIF conference is completely free. (That’s right, free!)

Featuring a relevant program of workshops and panels, new this year is a special maker space session featuring hands-on experience in a wide range of teaching and learning technologies. Conference sessions are taught by Faculty from all areas of the University. TIF offers the latest information on innovations in teaching techniques and the classroom experience, and the presenters are leaders in their fields.

“The Teaching in Focus conference is the highlight of our year,” says Celia Popovic, director of the Teaching Commons. “We eagerly anticipate this event as the culmination of the teaching year. This year we have a breadth of presentations and keynotes. This has to be the not to be missed event at York University!”

Demand is high for the conference and space is limited. Register for the 2017 Teaching in Focus Conference by completing the registration form. The deadline to register is Friday, May 5. The conference is open to all full- and part-time faculty, adjunct and contract faculty, and teaching assistants.

Over the two days, parallel sessions provided by the York community will offer opportunities to hear about good practice in teaching, stories from the chalkboard, and triumphs and challenges. In total, there are 30 presenters as well as panels and poster sessions.

Professor Nancy Chick from the University of Calgary will be the keynote speaker on day one of TIF. Chick is University Chair in Teaching and Learning, Academic Director of the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, and Teaching Professor of English at the University of Calgary. She is also the founding co-editor of Teaching & Learning Inquiry (the journal of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning/ISSOTL), co-editor of two books on signature pedagogies, and author of a variety of publications about Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects she’s conducted as well as SoTL as a field. In her keynote, Chick will explore what is meant by SoTL, what counts and how to get published in the field. This will be of interest to experienced researchers in teaching and learning as well as newcomers.

Full details on TIF can be found at http://teachingcommons.yorku.ca/conferences/york-conferences/.

Remember, demand is high for this highly interactive and engaging event. Register soon to avoid disappointment.

“Infantile History” explores art in creating and communicating historical knowledge

Noa Yaari
Noa Yaari
Noa Yaari
Noa Yaari. Photo: Lee Waddington

Infantile History is a group exhibition at the Department of History that features children’s and childlike art as a means to examine core questions faced by the discipline of history. According to Noa Yaari, the exhibition curator and a PhD candidate in History, art is an effective tool to delve into methodological challenges in creating and communicating historical knowledge.

The opening reception for Infantile History will take place on Thursday, March 23, between 12:30 and 2pm, in the History Common Room, 2183 Vari Hall, Keele campus. Lunch will be provided and remarks will be offered by York History Professor Tom Cohen, and PhD students Yaari and Ginny Grimaldi (who is also an art teacher). All are welcome. The exhibition is on display in the History Department’s main hallway on the second floor of Vari Hall. Exhibit hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

The exhibition is part of Yaari’s major project “Visual Literacy in History,” which focuses on vision as a first step in researching the past. The three main challenges the exhibition examines are the use of artistic style as a means to periodize history, the creation and communication of historical knowledge through verbal-visual means, and history as a discipline and its classification into fields.

Artwork by Gideon

“Periodization of time into eras enables historians, students of history and the public to communicate their ideas about the past,” says Yaari. “However, we must engage the following problems: how this periodization is made; which principles we use in dividing time into shorter periods; and what perspective we need in order to identify eras’ uniqueness.”

Seeing artistic work as a record of bodily gestures allows its analysis as a medium that indexes its creator. Therefore, Yaari says, if we look at children’s and childlike art, we can ask: what do we see there that indicates the age or maturity of its creator? What exactly is there that suggests that the creator of the work has potential to be, to become, something else? The attempt to answer these questions is insightful and suggestive when examining history and its periodization, as well as our own expectations to find temporal changes in specific cultural domains.

Belén Zapata (detail)

The creation and communication of historical knowledge are based on varied sources and methods. In their research, historians turn to diverse sources, such as institutional and personal documents, photographs, maps, films, websites and more, to draw a picture of the past.

Artwork by Liam Dancy

The exhibition explores the connection between verbal and visual languages in studying and teaching history: how we understand words and images when they are displayed next to each other; whether there is a better way to use both languages in the same text and argument; and the importance of visual literacy in history as a skill in historical study, holding that any domain of knowledge makes use of an outlook to the past.

The historical discourse is classified into fields that are defined by periods of time and geographies, as well as themes. Infantile History draws visitors’ attention to the power of this classification. It raises questions about the different directions the historical discipline has taken through its own history and the traditional and yet dynamic boundaries between the fields that serve the discipline as a mirror to ask “Who am I? And what would I like to be?”

The project also promotes a visually stimulating environment in pedagogical settings. It beautifies the Department of History while at the same time raising deep questions about our approach to history and its making.

Artwork by Corinna S. H.

The participants in the exhibition are: Renato Barrera, Kevin Burris, María Ignacia Catalina (Ini), Axel C., Liam Dancy, Sean Dancy, Claire R. Dueck, Gideon, Joaquín Hidalgo, Norah Jurdjevic, Erica McCloskey, Antonia Morales, Leela Navaratnam, Ruben Navaratnam, Oriolle, Corinna S. H., Juliet S. H., Noa Yaari, Belén Zapata, and Michael Zinman.

Infantile History was made possible with the collaboration of the Department of History and the Graduate History Students’ Association, as well as with support from Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Departments of History at Keele and Glendon campuses.

 

Emergency management grad students win at annual CHRNet symposium

CHRNet Symposium
CHRNet Symposium

Two graduate students enrolled in the Master of Disaster & Emergency Management (MDEM) degree program won awards at the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network annual symposium.

Catherine Kenny (left) and Zalma Sahar show off their awards

Catherine Kenny and Zalma Sahar were honoured in Montreal in late 2016. They both won the CHRNet Larry Pearce Education Award, placing second and third, respectively.

“We are very proud of our graduate students from the Disaster & Emergency Management Program, two of whom won awards at the 13th Annual Canadian Risk & Hazards Network Conference,” says David Etkin, MDEM graduate program director. “Congratulations Catherine Kenny and Zalma Sahar! You are the future of the emergency management profession and exemplify the best qualities of those who work in this field.”

The education award recognizes Larry Pearce’s extensive contribution to disaster risk reduction in Canada. Award recipients must demonstrate the capacity to be leaders in making significant contributions to the disaster risk reduction field. First place winners receive $1000, second place $750 and third place $500.

Kenny was also one of five people to receive a CHRNet Symposium Travel Bursary. The $500 bursary is granted to students and emerging professionals in the disaster and emergency management field to reduce the cost of attending the annual symposium. The bursaries also encourage and promote research, participation and collaboration among Canadian disaster risk management professionals.

Celebrate a decade of impact at Red & White Day

Red and White Day Featured image
Red and White Day

York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has issued this invitation to the York community:

Join Us for a celebration of #YUSPIRIT Red and White Day Thursday, March 23. Top composite image above the words: First image shows a group of students clapping, they are wearing red and white gear. The second image in the composite shows four students smiling. They are wearing Red and White scarves. The third image in the composite has a large number of staff members holding their hands up in a "Y" formation. They are all smiling and wearing red and white. The fourth and final image in the composite has President Shoukri smiling in a selfie taken with a young woman. Both are wearing red. Along the bottom of the graphic are the years 2007.2008.2009.2010.2011.2012.2013.2014.2015.2016.2017
I am delighted to invite you to join me and the York community in celebrating #YUSpirit at Red & White Day on March 23. Wear your red and white or York gear to show your pride in York University and our dynamic community.

A scene from the fall 2016 Red & White Day

This Red & White Day will be particularly special for me as it will be my last as President of York University. As we celebrate York’s latest achievements, this is also an opportunity to reflect on a decade of impact made by students, faculty, staff and alumni over the years.

On March 23, there are a number of ways that you can get involved in Red & White Day:

  • Enter the #YUSpirit Photo Contest.
  • Take advantage of the York U Bookstore’s semiannual Red & White Day sale, including 25 per cent off red and white and York gear.
  • Attend one of the many events that are planned for the day, including the free YFS student breakfast, the Stressbuster Carnival and arcade games in Vari Hall, on-the-spot career advising, the Red & White Day Faculty & Staff World Café, and the Spirit Rally.
  • Join me at 1pm in the McEwen Auditorium as I deliver my “Last Lecture” and engage in a conversation with the York community. RSVP here for my “Last Lecture”.
Staff from the Student Services show off their Red & White spirit

For the full schedule of events, visit the Red & White Day website. If you have any questions, please contact redwhite@yorku.ca.

I look forward to seeing you next week as we come together to celebrate our York spirit, pride and impact!

Sincerely,

Mamdouh Shoukri
President & Vice-Chancellor

President Mamdouh Shoukri invites the York community to his “Last Lecture”

York U President surrounded by grads at convocation
York U President surrounded by grads at convocation

York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has issued this invitation to the York community:

Composite image shows four photos of the president of York University, Mamdouh Shoukri. The first has him in convocation regalia, the second shows him with a young woman at Red & White Day. Both are smiling for a ‘selfie’ image. The third image in the composite has the president dressed in a suit. His arms are crossed and he is looking up and smiling. The fourth shows the president with York alumnus Gerry Dee, who is a comedian and appears on a CBC show. Both are wearing read. Join President Shoukri for a ‘Last Lecture’ Red & White 1-2 pm, Thursday, March 23 McEwen Auditorium, Schulich School of Business Lecture will be followed by a Q&A and reception. Refreshments to follow. York Logo appears at the bottom right of the image.It is my great pleasure to invite you to attend my “Last Lecture” as President of York University, taking place on Thursday, March 23 at 1pm in the McEwen Auditorium at the Schulich School of Business, as part of our Red & White Day celebrations.

Mamdouh Shoukri

As my final term as president draws to a close, I often am asked what it has been like to lead York University for the last decade, and what my thoughts are on York’s future. Recently, I have also been asked, “If you were to give your last lecture, what would you say?”

These are excellent questions, so I thought this might be an ideal opportunity to invite all students, faculty, staff and alumni to join me for a chance to sit down together for a “Last Lecture.” My remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer period with the community, and a reception. Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to let me know if you are able to attend, and click here to view the video invitation for this event.

I look forward to seeing you on March 23.

Sincerely,

Mamdouh Shoukri
President & Vice-Chancellor