The Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom: Pan-University Innovation for Interdisciplinary Experiential Education

York University

The Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) has been an innovation space since 2019. It gives the university, faculty, and staff at York University a place to explore the impact we can have when we escape our disciplinary silos, learn how to collaborate, and connect with local and global partners. Most importantly, C4 gives graduating students a way to learn what they are capable of, what their degree is for, and what is possible when diverse people come together to tackle society’s complex challenges.

The Failure: Learning in Progress (FLIP) Project

University of Toronto – Mississauga

The Failure: Learning in Progress (FLIP) project examines pedagogical struggle and failure using an equity-focused approach. With students-as-partners, the FLIP team has developed discipline agnostic teaching and learning resources and tools that can be used within and beyond the classroom to support students and faculty in learning through failure. These tools, inclusive of case studies, learning journals, narrative arcs, discussion prompts, course redesign templates, policy guides, as well as research studies on learning through failure, have been made available as open educational resources. The FLIP project is centrally concerned with how power and privilege shape which instructors and students can afford to take risks, which are granted the space to fail without lasting consequences, and which have access to the resources and supports necessary to try again.

Connecting for Climate Change Action

Western University

Connecting for Climate Change Action transforms climate change education beyond scientific content and towards climate change literacy, community, experience, reflection, and action by weaving together Indigenous and Euro-western knowledge and perspectives. Our diverse team of 16 includes Western University faculty, staff, students, and a London-based freelance artist. We are driven by our common goal to improve climate change education and inspire action in learners from diverse backgrounds. We use interactive and experiential assessments and elearning innovations to encourage students to apply their knowledge and take action to mitigate climate change and promote student engagement.

Team-Based Engineering Design Course: ENGG 160

University of Alberta

Our primary goals in reimagining our first-year design course were to engage students on design teams, encourage engineering and professional identity development, form a supportive learning community, and to motivate students to develop competency in the course learning outcomes. A flipped and blended delivery approach was used to support an in-class project and problem-based team learning environment. Online delivery was facilitated by Zoom and break out rooms allowed for teams to work together online and to be supported by the teaching team. A key innovation employed while shifting to a more student-centered learning experience was to incorporate game elements into the course structure.

RE-ENGINEERED First Year Program

University of Saskatchewan

This team designed, built and implemented a completely new First Year Engineering program that is unique in Canadian engineering education.  Built explicitly around competency-based assessment (CBA) and constructive alignment (CA), this common first year features an integrated curriculum and just-in-time learning delivered through courses that run variable lengths and at different intensities.  A common schedule gives the students an opportunity for shared social and recreational time. Also included in the program design are explicit onboarding processes for arriving students and custom bridging curriculum that gets students ready for their specific disciplines in second year.