Research

The overarching objective of this 4-module course will be to facilitate the development of any person who seeks to create quality, technology-enhanced (digital) learner experiences. Learners will leave the course able to take the best resources and experiences from this course and apply them to the design and structures of their own courses. Through use of a course-building blueprint, learners engage in activities around course design, course enhancement through interactive design, how to resource learning effectively, and how to activate learning.

Co-designed by Students, Faculty and Staff at OCAD University, Mohawk College, Brock University, Trent University, Nipissing University, University of Windsor, University of Toronto-Mississauga

This resource explores the importance of, and processes for, humanizing education. We start by exploring what humanizing teaching and learning means: to acknowledge that our relationships are foundational to the work that we do. It aims to make learning inclusive with connection, access, and meaning-making at its core.

Co-designed by Students, Faculty and Staff at Trent University, Brock University, Seneca College, University of Windsor, McMaster University, Cambrian College and Nipissing University

Following in the footsteps of the Ontario Extend: Empowered Educator program is its predecessor, Ontario Extend: Liberated Learners. The original program worked to prepare educators to be better able to teach in a digital realm. The Liberated Learner seeks to do the same for the learners themselves. As such, the project has four modules: The Learner, The Navigator, The Collaborator, and The Technologist. Taken together, the modules aim to enable a well-rounded and ready-for-almost-anything post-secondary learner. For Learners. By Learners.

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) project was a collaboration between 10 universities and colleges across Ontario to develop a 6-module open educational resource for post-secondary educators to help them understand their responsibilities under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). It will help instructors and others to incorporate principles of UDL and considerations of EDI and Indigenisation in their learning environments.

• Curriculum broadly refers to the collection of content and experiences within a course or program. For the most part, the curriculum is quite structured, and expectations are explicit. Most educators are familiar with the word curriculum but might be surprised to learn that there are other curriculum types. These different types can be thought of as layers that interact with one another and contribute to the educational experience for students. The hidden curriculum is one of these layers that refers to the unwritten and unofficial lessons learners acquire implicitly and are not taught formally. The hidden curriculum is present at all stages of education but becomes increasingly relevant for learners who are navigating post-secondary learning environments and exploring career opportunities.

• Because the hidden curriculum is often not explicitly taught, we believe it can have a negative impact on student success and mental health. Not all students undertake post-secondary studies with equal pre-existing knowledge of hidden curriculum skills. After all, access to this knowledge is heavily influenced by numerous factors such as culture and socioeconomic background. For example, the ability to network and make professional connections requires knowledge of norms and expectations that some students may not have had a chance to learn if the family or school they grew up in did not provide opportunities to learn these norms and practice them. Discrepancies in hidden curriculum knowledge between individual students or groups of students can reinforce social inequities and hinder access to opportunities within and beyond post-secondary education.

• For these reasons, we created Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum. We believe that educators are positioned to promote the importance and relevance of topics that aim to target the hidden curriculum. Explicitly embedding this content in their courses promotes equitable access to knowledge and skills that will benefit students during their academics. Learning these transferable skills will also equip students to face a variety of professional and interpersonal challenges in their lives.