Tag Archives: UVic

New Title: Cultivating Feminist Choices

Cultivating Feminist Choices: A FEminiSTSCHRIFT in Honor of Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres edited by Brigetta M. Abel, Nicole Grewling, Beth Ann Muellner, and Helga Thorson is a new release published by the University of Victoria. It can be downloaded for free on UVicSpace: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/13021 or purchased from the UVic bookstore: https://www.uvicbookstore.ca/general/browse/uvic+publications/9781550586794


This book is a Festschrift in honor of Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres, written by several former graduate students, whom she supervised over her years as professor of German Studies at the University of Minnesota, and some of her colleagues and collaborators. The book pays tribute to Joeres’s influence on the German Studies profession as well as to her influence on the contributors’ lives and the feminist choices they have made. Dr. Joeres is known for her feminist scholarly contributions to women’s writing in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, including her book Respectability and Deviance: Nineteenth-Century German Women Writers and the Ambiguity of Representation (U of Chicago Press, 1998), and her collaborative feminist editing practices as editor of both Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society and the Women in German Yearbook.”Together with Angelika Bammer, she edited a volume On the Future of Scholarly Writing: Critical Interventions (Palgrave MacMillan, 2015) that navigates the terrain of academic writing practices and calls for a focus not only on what scholars write but on how they write it. Because of her critical interventions in the realm of academia in general and feminist studies and German studies, in particular, as well as her influence on the lives of the next generations, this book will be of interest beyond those who know her personally.


Editors

Brigetta (Britt) Abel is Associate Professor of German Studies and Director of Writing at Macalester College (St Paul, MN). She is a lead author and co-project director of Grenzenlos Deutsch, an open-access, collaboratively produced online curriculum for beginning German, which is funded in part through a digital humanities advancement grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Nicole Grewling is an Associate Professor of German Studies at Washington College (Chestertown, Maryland), where she has taught language, literature, and culture courses since 2011. Her research and teaching interests include nineteenth-century literature and culture, portrayals of America in German literature, travel literature, and the exotic. Her work focuses particularly on German colonial fantasies and German relationships to their others, especially their love for Native Americans.

Beth Ann Muellner is a Professor of German Studies in the German and Russian Studies Department at the College of Wooster, where she has taught language and culture courses
since 2004. Her research focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century autobiographical writing, photography studies, museum studies, and interdisciplinary approaches to literature.

Helga Thorson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Victoria in Canada, on the traditional lands of the Lekwungen peoples. Her
research focuses on a diverse range of topics, including modernist German and Austrian literature and culture, Scandinavian studies, gender studies, history of medicine, foreign language pedagogy, and Holocaust studies.

 

Open Education Resources Grants @UVic

What are open Education Resources (OERs)?

“Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.”[1]

OER Grants

UVic’s OER grant was established in 2019 with funding from the UVic Undergraduate Student Society, UVic Libraries, the Division of Learning, Teaching, Support and Innovation (LTSI), and UVic Systems. The LTSI, Libraries, and UVSS administer the grants. The grant provides funding of up to $5,000 along with staff support to help faculty members redesign a course to adopt, adapt or create open textbooks or other OER as their primary course material.

Proposals were evaluated based on the following five criteria:

  1. The potential impact of cost-savings to students based off the cost of educational materials being replaced, class sizes, as well as possible employment of TA’s for the project;
  2. Their potential impact on student learning and the student experience in the form of high-quality materials, and open and innovative pedagogy;
  3. Overall alignment with UVic strategic framework;
  4. Long-term plans to reuse the OER in courses in subsequent terms;
  5. The extent to which the OER will be freely and openly shared throughout and beyond UVic (e.g., through BCcampus); and,
  6. Feasibility of the OER being ready within a reasonable timeframe, preferably ready for the following winter or spring term.

We congratulate the  July 2019 round of grant recipients:

  • Jane Butterfield, Department of Mathematics and Statistics – Pre-calculus Review Workbook

Over the past two years, we have been developing online review modules that calculus students can use to brush up their pre-calculus math skills. The purpose of this project is to convert those PDF files into an open-source html workbook, and to extend them to include trigonometry review. We will be using the markup language PreTeXt, which allows for the full range of mathematical typesetting, is extremely screen-reader compatible, and also allows for embedded WeBWorK exercises. The result will be an attractive, open-source, accessible, and widely-available workbook that gives students instant feedback as they refresh their skills!

  • Christopher Eagle, Department of Mathematics and Statistics – Open-access text for Math 110

Chris is producing an openly available supply of practice problems, together with hints, answers, and full solutions, for Math 110.  The questions are being obtained from a variety of existing open-access linear algebra texts, and then are being modified and arranged to match the way the material is covered in Math 110.  In the short-term this will make purchasing the Math 110 textbook optional for students.  In the long-term he plans for this to be the first step in the process of moving to a fully open textbook.

  • Shannon Fargey, Department of Geography – An Introduction to Earth System Science

The main goals of this project are both moral and academic. The underlying moral purpose of this project is to remove financial barriers to student success. Simply put, Students in GEOG 103 need a textbook to succeed and few students at present buy the textbook because it is too expensive. The UVic Bookstore has informed me that < 50% of students acquire the Textbook (hard copy and digital version). Earth system science is a very visual subject matter and all adequate textbooks are extremely expensive because of the number of required colour photographs and diagrams.

As I see it, a textbook is like a tutor. A good textbook guides the students to what is important, it explains concepts, and it helps students gauge their learning. This textbook will provide students an opportunity to read about the subject matter ahead of class, link to further resources, and include exercises that facilitate the achievement of the main learning outcomes of the course.

  • Allyson Hadwin, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies – Learning to self-regulate learning: Strategies for optimizing learning, motivation, and socio-emotional success at university

This interactive multi-media OER will include interactive modules used as: (a) a course text for Learning Skills courses, or (b) just in time resource for teachers, student services professionals, or university instructors supporting undergraduate students. Content will be drawn from two decades of empirical research and instruction with first year undergraduates students presenting a state-of-the-art catalogue of evidence-based of strategies for optimizing success in the face of range of student-identified behavioural, motivational, cognitive/metacognitive and socio-emotional challenges.

  • Quentin Mackie, Department of Anthropology – Introductory Archaeology: An Open Access Textbook

The Introduction to Archaeology open textbook will create a readily-updatable, locally-focused resource for students at UVIC and beyond. The textbook will integrate new writing, existing online resources, and open licensed images, all tied to original examples from the archaeology of Indigenous British Columbia and Canada.

 

The grant recipients were invited to welcome session on August 6 to share information about their projects, platforms they may use in publishing content and to gather information about supports available through the Libraries and Technology Integrated Learning.

 

 

 

 

 

[1] William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (n.d.). OER Defined. Retrieved from https://hewlett.org/strategy/open-educational-resources/

Open Education Resources Grant workshop

Applying for an Open Educational Resource (OER) Grant

Thursday, May 2, 2019
12:00 – 1:00 PM

UVic Libraries – Digital Scholarship Commons (DSC)

Thinking about replacing expensive undergraduate texts or materials with open, freely accessible, and customizable alternatives? The 2019 UVSS Grad Class Executive, the LTSI, UVic Libraries, and University Systems has collaborated to offer a new Open Educational Resources (OER) grant to help instructors create or use OERs in their courses. Attend this info session for more information about OERs and how to apply. Application deadline is May 23, 2019.

Open Educational Resource (OER) Grant

Open Educational Resource (OER) Grant
Click on the title for the drop down to find the guidelines, application form, etc.

Interested in replacing expensive undergraduate texts or materials with open, freely accessible, and customizable alternatives? The 2019 UVSS Grad Class Executive, the LTSI, and UVic Libraries has collaborated to offer a new grant for adopting, adapting, or creating OERs.

What is an open educational resource?
Open educational resources (OER) are freely accessible, openly-licensed documents and media that are useful for teaching, learning, and research purposes.

The deadline for the OER Grant application is May 23, 2019.

UVic Author Celebration Feature: Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education

The annual UVic Author Celebration is coming up as part of Ideafest. Join us as we celebrate books written by UVic authors, including an engaging panel discussion on issues facing First Nations communities.

When: March 8, 2018
Where: University Bookstore
Time: 3:00-4:30pm

The author panel includes: John Borrows (Law), Michele Tanaka (Education), Paul Whitinui (Education), and Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams (Education). Rebecca Johnson (Indigenous Law Research Unit) will moderate.

This week, we will highlight the books written by members of the author panel.

Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education edited by Paul Whitinui, Maria del Carmen Rodriguez de France, and Onowa McIvor is a recent release from Springer.

About the Book

This book provides a comprehensive overview of navigating the on-going systemic challenges, hardships, and problems facing many indigenous teacher education programs today, helping to foster a commitment to developing quality indigenous teacher education programs that are sustainable, distinctive and excellent. However, despite a growing cadre of indigenous peoples working in teacher education, there is still a noticeable gap between the uptake of what is being taught in conventional teacher education programs, and how this translates to what we see student teachers doing in the classroom. The often tricky and complex nature of indigenous teacher education programming also means that there are multiple realities, approaches and pathways that require greater communication, collaboration, and cooperation. The very nature of this complexity, the book suggests, requires a strength-based and future-focused approach built on trust, integrity, courage and respect for indigeneity, as well as an understanding of what it means to be indigenous. The examples and experiences presented identify a number of promising practices that work well in current indigenous teacher education programs and beyond. By promoting a greater appreciation for the inclusion of culturally relevant practices in teacher education, the book aims to breathe new life into the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of indigenous teacher education programs moving forward.

About the Editors

L-R: Rodriguez de France, McIvor, and Whitinui. Credit: Julie Rémy, UVic

Dr. Paul Whitinui is an indigenous Māori scholar from Aotearoa New Zealand and an assistant professor at the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education (EPHE) based at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education in BC, Canada. His research is interdisciplinary by nature and broadly linked by relationships between indigenous education, Indigenous sociology, Indigenous community health, Indigenous wellbeing, and indigenous autoethnography. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Whitinui has published and presented extensively on culturally responsive teaching and learning, indigenous educational leadership in higher education, treaty-relational health, the benefits of indigenous performing arts (i.e., kapa haka) in public high schools, and the application of indigenous autoethnography in teaching and learning, and health. Presently, he is the co-chair of the World Indigenous Research Alliance under the auspices of the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC), as well as a reviewer for the online WINHEC journal.

Dr Maria del Carmen Rodriguez de France is an assistant professor in the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education. She facilitates graduate and undergraduate courses on indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and education. The focus of her research is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, weaving together fields of education that influence her work in preparing students to work within a diverse society. Dr. Rodriguez de France has published books and journal articles nationally and internationally, and contributes to the field of indigenous education as member of national and international journal editorial boards.

Dr. Onowa McIvor is an assistant professor and the director of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education. Her research interests center on indigenous language revitalization and indigenous teacher education. Dr. McIvor has been a contributing author to several edited book projects and has provided peer-review editing for several international academic journals such as AlterNative, Educational Research, the Canadian Journal of Education, and Curriculum Inquiry.

For More Information

See the UVic news item for a Q&A with the editors on Indigenizing education.

UVic Author Celebration Feature: Learning and Teaching Together

The annual UVic Author Celebration is coming up as part of Ideafest. Join us as we celebrate books written by UVic authors, including an engaging panel discussion on issues facing First Nations communities.

When: March 8, 2018
Where: University Bookstore
Time: 3:00-4:30pm

The author panel includes: John Borrows (Law), Michele Tanaka (Education), Paul Whitinui (Education), and Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams (Education). Rebecca Johnson (Indigenous Law Research Unit) will moderate.

This week, we will highlight the books written by members of the author panel.

Learning and Teaching Together: Weaving Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Education by Michele Tanaka was released by UBC Press in 2016.

About the Book

Far more than a how-to book, Learning and Teaching Together introduces teachers of all levels to an indigenist approach to education. Tanaka recounts how pre-service teachers enrolled in a cross-cultural course in British Columbia immersed themselves in indigenous ways of learning and teaching by working alongside indigenous wisdom keepers. Together, they transformed cedar bark, buckskin, and wool into a mural that tells stories about the land upon which the course took place. In the process, they discovered new ways of learning that support not only intellectual but also tactile, emotional, and spiritual forms of knowledge. The teachers-in-training then carried their new-found knowledge into their practicums, where they faced challenges and opportunities as they worked to apply the indigenist values they had learned within a system structured around Western values, beliefs, and attitudes.

About the Author Michele T.D. Tanaka is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. Her research and teaching interests have been shaped by 20 years in the classroom, in a variety of educational settings including early childhood, kindergarten, Grade 5 reading, and adult education.

Dr. Tanaka teaches courses in Transformative Inquiry, Community & Culture, EL TELNIWT & Aboriginal Education, and Elementary Field Experiences. She currently serves on the Indigenous Education Advisory Board, the Diversity, Belonging & Equity Committee, and the Faculty of Education Social Committee.

Praise for the Book

“Teachers in British Columbia and throughout Canada who struggle with how to enact curriculum changes that incorporate Indigenous knowledge, history, and identity will find this book illuminating … in spite of the seemingly overwhelming challenges in making a space for Indigenous thought and experience, it can and must be done. The transformation has been happening and is continuing.” – Michael Marker, BC Studies, no. 196, Winter 2017/18

“Too often, in educational contexts, we get caught up in theorizing and intellectualizing rather than expressing other ways of knowing and understanding. As Michele Tanaka shows, there is much powerful holistic learning that can emerge when we make and do things together in accordance with the guidance of sacred ecology wisdom. This provocative and engaging book provides excellent examples of holistic engagement processes and inspires us to reimagine the purposes and processes of public education today. Learning and Teaching Together provides valuable guidance to educators, teacher-educators, and policy makers.” – Dwayne Donald, associate professor, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta

UVic Author Celebration Feature: Knowing Home, Book 1

The annual UVic Author Celebration is coming up as part of Ideafest. Join us as we celebrate books written by UVic authors, including an engaging panel discussion on issues facing First Nations communities.

When: March 8, 2018
Where: University Bookstore
Time: 3:00-4:30pm

The author panel includes: John Borrows (Law), Michele Tanaka (Education), Paul Whitinui (Education), and Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams (Education). Rebecca Johnson (Indigenous Law Research Unit) will moderate.

This week, we will highlight the books written by members of the author panel.

Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science, Book 1 edited by Gloria Snively and Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams is a recently released open textbook published by the University of Victoria.

About the Book

Knowing Home attempts to describe the creative vision of Indigenous scientific knowledge and technology that is derived from an ecology of a home place. The traditional wisdom component of Indigenous Science—the values and ways of decision-making—assists humans in their relationship with each other, the land and water, and all of creation. Knowing Home weaves Indigenous perspectives, worldviews, and wisdom practices into the science curriculum. It provides a window into the scientific knowledge and technological innovations of the Indigenous peoples of Northwestern North America, providing numerous examples and cases for developing science lessons and curricula. Knowing Home shows how Indigenous perspectives have the potential to give insight and guidance as we attempt to solve the complex environmental problems of the 21st century.

Knowing Home is available online or you can order a hard copy through the UVic Bookstore.
PDF versions are available at: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/7821

About the Editors

Dr. Gloria Snively is Professor Emeritus at the University of Victoria where she taught science methods, environmental/marine education, and culture courses. She was Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Education. For 12 years, she was involved with the Asia Pacific Network whose purpose is to strengthen links between the research community and school-based environmental education in the Asia-Pacific region. Her work with Indigenous education spans 4 decades and has always been inspired by Indigenous leaders. She enjoyed giving natural history talks and walks to students, teachers, park interpreters, First Nations and community groups for 50 years; she prefers to explore forest, ponds and seashores first-hand.

Dr. Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams OBC walking in peace is Lil’wat of the St’at’yem’c First Nation. Her life has been devoted to promoting and restoring Indigenous culture and language. She worked as an Indigenous educator and language specialist for more than 50 years in diverse settings, including Indigenous communities, public schools, and adult education settings. Dr. Williams recently retired from the University of Victoria as Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning (co-appointment with Faculty of Education and Department of Linguistics) and an associate professor, where she developed and delivered an innovative series of courses on learning and teaching in an Indigenous world.

Praise for the Book

“It is a thrill for me to see this book and to know that it will be a readily available reference for learners and educators alike. At a time when Canadians are finally embarking on a journey of Truth and Reconciliation with Aboriginal Peoples, this insightful edited volume is both timely and critically important…. Knowing Home will be a wonderful resource that will bring all Canadians to a higher level of understanding…” – Nancy Turner, Professor Emeritus and P. E. Trudeau Fellow, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

“This book is both timely and critical, coming during the era of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and during British Columbia’s implementation of its New Curriculum, where educators have the opportunity to weave Indigenous perspectives into all parts of the curriculum in a meaningful and authentic manner. Knowing Home acknowledges and validates Indigenous Knowledges and brings it together with Western Science in a way that will be invaluable for educators.” – Nick X̱EMŦOLTW̱ Claxton, WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), PhD, Indigenous Education, University of Victoria

“The attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will require transformative new approaches to the creation and use of knowledge.  This book Knowing Home provides a brilliant example of how new ways of knowing can be combined with Western knowledge for the betterment of our communities and indeed our planet. Knowing Home places Indigenous Science on an equal footing with Western Science and in the process illustrates how innovative research with Indigenous Elders and students can dramatically enhance our understanding of home/earth/land.  And while the focus of this work is on the Indigenous Science of Northwestern North America, the research methods involved in the creation of this project, the focus on how to use Indigenous Science in classrooms, and the support of emerging Indigenous scholars can and should be carried out in many other parts of the world. Knowing Home is a defiant, provocative and hopeful intellectual contribution to the world we want.” – Budd Hall, Co-Chair UNESCO Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education

“Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science is an inspiring collection of knowledge, expertise and cultural intelligence that will help all educators in transforming the foundations of learning for all students. As we strive to change the narratives in BC and beyond through authentic voices, new curricular directions and Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives, this book defines a way forward for our relationships and understandings grounded in the sacred territories of our people. This rich and reflective resource of traditional and contemporary ways of knowing and being will truly engage each of us in a personal and professional journey of truth and reconciliation.” – MUSGAM’DZI, Kaleb Child, Kwakwaka‘wakw, Director of Instruction, First Nations – School District #85, Vancouver Island North

2018 UVic Author Celebration – IDEAFEST EVENT

When: March 8, 2018
Where: University Bookstore
Time: 3:00-4:30pm

THEME: Each year UVic faculty, staff, students and alumni publish an incredible amount of intellectual content reflecting a wide range of research, teaching, personal, and professional interests. Join us as we celebrate books written by UVic authors, including an engaging panel discussion with authors from the UVic community on issues facing First Nations communities.

Moderator: Rebecca Johnson (Professor & Associate Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit)

Author Panel: