Sheila Mcllraith, Diane Horton, David Liu and Steven Coyne

The University of Toronto Embedded Ethics Education Initiative (E3I) is a high-impact educational initiative that embeds paired ethics-technology modules into computer science courses. The first program of its kind in Canada and one of the first internationally, E3I is distinguished for its innovative pedagogy, the breadth and impact of its curriculum, its scholarly assessment of program outcomes, and its interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and philosophers. The program was initiated in 2020 in recognition of the transformative impact technology was having on society and the need to equip computer science graduates with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to integrate ethical considerations into the design and development of technological systems. E3I has since grown to become a pillar of the University of Toronto undergraduate computer science curriculum, partnering with 11 computer courses spanning all four years of study. In the 2024–25 academic year alone, combined enrolment in computer science courses with E3I programming has neared 10,000. Each E3I module is co-developed and delivered by philosophers and computer scientists, incorporating best practices in pedagogy such as active and discovery-based learning. Through these modules, students learn to consider the broad set of stakeholders impacted by technology; to recognize ethical issues in the workplace; to incorporate ethical considerations into technology design; and to develop socio-technical skills for mitigating ethical Issues. In 2024, the E3I team was honoured with the University of Toronto Northrop Frye Award, a prestigious university-wide Award of Excellence, in recognition of their contributions to enhancing and re-imagining the student learning experience.

Benjamin Hoy, Jim Clifford, Paula MacDowell, Judy Jaunzems-Fernuk and Jessy Lee Saas

Homesteaders is a game-based learning resource designed at the University of Saskatchewan to teach about settler colonialism. Homesteaders attempts to simulate prairie settlement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, allowing students to engage with difficult topics like colonialism, discrimination, environmental change, and global trade in an interactive environment. It was created to improve historical empathy by allowing students to experience the difficult choices and structural constraints that people in the past were forced to confront. More than 500 undergraduates, graduate students, scholars, high school students, and members of the public have taken part in iterations of the game across Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Teachers, as well as teachers in training, at both the high school and university level, have since run the game in their classrooms, expanding its impact across levels of teaching and provincial boundaries.

Stephen McNeil, Tamara Freeman and Riley Petillion

As part of a revision to the content and delivery of first-year chemistry instruction at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, we have employed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as a thematic framework. This framework was introduced to promote the achievement of affective learning outcomes, including a systems-thinking approach to exploring the relevance of first-year chemistry concepts to societal and global challenges. Through this framework, sets of course concepts, which are traditionally limited in their application to isolated textbook chapters, are demonstrated to have collective applications to the environmental and societal systems embodied by specific SDGs, via the use of in-class, student-centred, group-learning activities. This innovative framework is coupled with a range of active-learning pedagogies, including flipped class modules with interactive instructional videos, guided-inquiry activities, two-stage collaborative exams, and context studies. Student responses have been positive, indicating an appreciation for the relevance of course concepts to the global challenges described by the SDGs, and most students indicated that the SDG-framed learning activities aided in their understanding of course concepts. This long-term project has driven academic success in terms of lower failure rates, an increase in academic performance among lower-achieving students, and significant and positive transformations in student affect.

Tristan Lai, Alex Tang, Lillian Chen and Timothy Lim

PrideRx is a longitudinal curricular initiative that integrates sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression education into the Entry-to-Practice Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of British Columbia through didactic, skills-based, and experiential learning. The curriculum was designed in response to the health inequities experienced by 2SLGBTQ+ communities, to equip future pharmacists with the necessary competencies to provide affirming, dignified, and inclusive pharmaceutical care and bridge equity gaps.

Using the constructive alignment approach to curriculum design, the team co-created six program learning outcomes (PLO) with community partners, which were mapped and embedded across the four-year curriculum. Between 2022 and 2024, mandatory and elective learning opportunities, including lectures, workshops, modules, and community-engaged practicums, were introduced sequentially. These learning activities developed each PLO in increasing depth as students progressed through the program.

These interventions were evaluated through surveys and focus groups, revealing strong student engagement and meaningful knowledge and skills development. Most students (>75%) found the topics covered in mandatory curricular components useful for their learning, and students (n=5) who completed the full curriculum, unanimously reported increased competence in 2SLGBTQ+ health learning goals. Overall, students felt increasingly capable of caring for 2SLGBTQ+ clients as they advanced in the program

Findings informed the creation of a spiral curricular framework, predicated on Bruner’s cognitive theory, which teaches foundational content that intersects with topics designed to reinforce PLOs. This adopted framework helps students develop 2SLGBTQ+ competency while preparing them to meet the educational outcomes expected of a Canadian pharmacy graduate.

Nancy Dalgarno, Shalisa Barton, Bailey Brant, Lindsay Brant, Colson Brumwell, Rachel Burger, Jaylene Cardinal, Jamaica Cass, Nicholas Cofie, Holly Crowson,  Michael Cywink, Nancy Dalgarno, Mikaila Da Silva, Jenny DeBruyn, Leslie Flynn, Sarah Funnell,  Natalie Graham, Brian Hallam,  Amber Hastings-Truelove, Janice Hill, Bryn Hoffman, William Horton, Portia Kalun, Gracie Kehoe, Stephen Kelly, Laura Kenealy, Kate Kittner, Klodiana Kolomitro, Michelle Krezonoski, Joseph Leblanc, Joeline Lim, Lorrilee McGregor, Trinidad Mena, Jack Moher, Jeanne Mulder, Jason Pennington, Wendy Phillips, Georgina Riel, Sonali Sheth, Christarr Smillie, Mary Smith,  Stephen Sparks, Lynsee Stephens, Aaron St. Pierre, Denise Stockley, Jenny Stodola, Jennifer Turnnidge, Giselle Valarezo, Richard van Wylick, Sarita Verma, Sarah Wickett, Yolanda Wanakamik 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada highlighted the systemic gaps in Indigenous peoples’ physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness, and dismantling racism. Guided by the TRC’s Calls to Actions on education and health, and education for reconciliation, this project focused on creating online digital modules for healthcare learners that translate the Calls to Action into educational content that can be implemented in meaningful, practical, and culturally appropriate ways within healthcare education and practice. The module topics were informed by collaborations with community partners, researchers and practitioners in healthcare and education, and learners. The creation of the digital collection was informed by the TRC’s Calls to Action and the principle of two-eyed seeing, which focuses on creating an online experience that respects and builds on the strengths of both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and learning. Seven themes represented in the digital collection: Historical Perspectives of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Implications for Health Outcomes, Biases, Racism, and Discrimination in Healthcare, Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Healthcare, Healthcare Rights, Healthcare Services, Culturally Safe Healthcare, and Intersections between Education and Healthcare. Each theme was developed into an open-access online module. Six pieces of artwork, created by Indigenous artists, that represent one or more of the seven project themes, were commissioned for this project. Providing community-informed, accessible educational resources for healthcare learners is one way to help ensure that the TRC’s Calls to Action are translated into meaningful changes by future generations of healthcare practitioners.