AVPA SoTL Grant Summary 2024-2025

A photograph of Kimberly Squires
 
A photograph of Tricia van Rhijn

The Power of Play: An Investigation Into Experiential Play-Based Learning in the Post-Secondary Context at U of G

Kimberly Squires | Tricia van Rhijn - $6,300

Experiential learning opportunities can have many benefits for students, including the opportunity to connect academic knowledge with practice. Unfortunately, the availability of these experiences is sometimes limited, especially in larger and earlier undergraduate courses. Play-based learning is also commonly recognized as having many benefits, particularly for children’s learning. Adult engagement in playful learning experiences has been much less studied and is an important area to examine further due to the potential benefits. In this research project, we will investigate the impact of play-based experiential learning, through the implementation of play labs in second-year undergraduate courses within the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition. The findings from this project will add important knowledge related to implementing smaller-scale experiential learning opportunities and play-based learning opportunities within larger undergraduate courses. This will inform future post-secondary pedagogical and teaching practices to better support student learning.

The Impact of Academic Curriculum on Students' Social Networks, Engagement, and Well-being

Dan Grunspan | Sara Fulmer | Ben Giguère - $9,960

A photograph of Dan Grunspan
A photograph of Sara Fulmer
A photograph of Ben Giguere

Relationships play a central role in undergraduate experiences, with decades of research highlighting the importance of social integration for students’ academic success and mental well-being. Thus, it is important to consider how students form relationships at their institution and why social processes may differ between students. Students’ opportunities to form relationships largely depend on the presence and design of a range of institutional features, like residences, extracurricular opportunities, and curriculum. However, not all students experience these social opportunities in the same way. For example, not all students live in residence, the range of courses students encounter depends on their major, and the types of classroom environments they face depend on instructor practices and disciplinary norms. Even if two students are exposed to identical institutional features (e.g., live in the same residence and take the same courses), their opportunities to form relationships will differ based on personal characteristics and circumstances. Applying theories and methods from social network analysis this research will examine how institutional features, like course structure, pedagogical methods, and residence status, influence the structures and contents of students’ social networks. In turn, we will assess whether these networks moderate various behavioural and affective outcomes.

 
A photograph of Alena Barysevich

Language Education for Social Justice

Alena Barysevich - $ 10,000

Topics of social justice strongly resonate with students across the University of Guelph, regardless of their area of study. World-language learners at the School of Languages and Literatures seek not only to build linguistic proficiency but also to understand the cultural products, practices, and perspectives of the languages they are studying. Our project explores social justice in language education as a critical tool that informs world language study, promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as promoting access across languages, cultures, and language users. It also examines how language can contribute to marginalization and empowerment. Most importantly, it provides students with the tools they need to actively participate in personal, academic, professional, and civic life and thus to make positive changes in both the local community and the global village. This study gives a voice to students in our world language classrooms and challenges traditional pedagogy by focusing on a more liberal, social justice shift as a reflection of our society.

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