Concurrent Session Four

Thursday, April 27th - 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM


Title: Lessons from the Field: Supervising Students in Practicum Placement

Abstract: Practical field experiences are an integral component in many professional programs such as education, nursing, counseling, social work, etc. For professors working in these programs, supervision of students constitutes an important part of their teaching practice because it ensures the integration of theory and practice to prepare students for success in a variety of professional contexts.In this presentation, we will share preliminary findings from a research project that investigated the supervision dynamics during a professional practicum in the Faculty of Education. Data for the study includes weekly reflections and an end of practicum interview completed by both faculty supervisors and students working in the field. Interactive strategies will be utilized throughout the presentation to explore and unpack preliminary findings. The value of relationships and the interwoven nature of how supervisors construct their role, understand their purpose, and design an approach to supervision will be highlighted. Reflective opportunities will be facilitated for attendees to find relevance by situating their own teaching and research practice within the framework of supervision. This interactive presentation would be of interest to academics and practitioners who work closely with students during practical field experiences.   

Presenters: Greg Ogilvie - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education & Dawn Burleigh - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education

Room: M1040


Title: Embedded Ethnography: When Students are Our Partners in SoTL Research

Abstract: Inspired by the work of Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felten (2014) in their book titled Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty, Dr. Newberry designed a classroom-based research project to try and answer some fundamental questions about the impact of Team-Based Learning within her large, introductory Anthropology course. To gather observational data a group of undergraduate and graduate student researchers were embedded into the classroom to help conduct ethnographic fieldwork. Classroom-based research can be a great way to gather information about the efficacy and impact of your teaching. Involving student researchers in this process not only creates unique research opportunities for undergraduate students but also gives them a very different view of the classroom and the teaching dynamic. Several of the student researchers were Anthropology majors, and so they also had the chance to experience disciplinary research methods firsthand. This talk will be an opportunity to discuss the course design, research methodology and preliminary results of this project from both the perspective of the lead researcher as well as some of the student researchers who were involved in the project. Each participant will have an opportunity to speak to an aspect of the project, but then we would like to open a discussion on what we learned and the next steps based on that information.

Presenters: Dr. Jan Newberry - Professor, Department of Anthropology, Jeff Meadows - Teaching Development Coordinator - Teaching Centre, Brittany Mitchell - Undergraduate Student Researcher, Jamie Lewis - Undergraduate Student Researcher, Jake Vinje - Undergraduate Student Researcher

Room: M1060


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Concurrent Session Five

Spark 2017 Schedule Overview