Tuesday, July 5, 2022

CUT Award recipient focuses on engaging people in ecological restoration

A message from the Centre for Teaching Excellence.

The Certificate in University Teaching (CUT) program provides a comprehensive teacher development experience that is open to PhD students at the University of Waterloo. Completion of the program is recognized by a certificate issued by Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs and listed on the participant’s transcript. Each year, the Centre for Teaching Excellence and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs award one recent CUT program graduate in recognition and celebration of effort, reflection, and commitment to teaching development demonstrated during their participation in the program.

We are excited to announce that the 2022 CUT Award has been awarded to Tim Alamenciak, a PhD student in Social and Ecological Sustainability, in the Faculty of Environment. We spoke to Tim about his experience with the CUT program and his thoughts about teaching in a post-secondary environment.

Can you tell me a little bit about your graduate research? What drew you to it, what aspect do you find most interesting?

My PhD research is investigating how to engage more people in ecological restoration. I am looking at what motivates volunteers to participate in ecological restoration, how to structure volunteer-based organizations to maximize engagement, and the use of ecological restoration as a convivial community tool through the case study of a native seed library.

Ecological restoration is a growing professional field. There are countless “non-professionals” who may not have gone to school for restoration, but still practice it. My research is focused on how people in that category can be engaged and supported, with the goal of increasing the openness of ecological restoration. I believe very strongly in knowledge sharing and accessibility. Everyone should have access to the knowledge and tools they need to restore ecosystems.

The United Nations declared this decade the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), with the explicit goal of establishing a “culture of restoration.” We need to engage as many people as possible if we have any hope of achieving that goal.

What I find most interesting about my work is talking to people who are just getting started on the path. For example, they have just started planting native plants. I love hearing about what prompted them to make the shift and thinking about how we can get more people on board. I am committed and passionate about making restoration as open and accessible as possible.

I know that for the CUT program, you worked on an inquiry-based learning and developed a pedagogical workshop titled, “Inquiry in the Living Lab.” What did that process look like for you?

The CUT program was such a wonderful experience, and the workshop was a great way to cap it off. I focused my research on inquiry-based learning (IBL) because it is a method with transformative learning outcomes. Students who engage in IBL internalize the lessons they experience and carry them forward into their working lives, rather than forgetting everything after the exam.

Reviewing the literature highlighted a familiar challenge: for IBL to be effective, it needs to be widely embraced. The term “scaffolding” is used to describe the practice of having first-year students start with basic forms of IBL and then guiding them towards more advanced forms. This means the whole department needs to embrace this approach and embed it in coursework for the students to be properly scaffolded. I designed the workshop with that goal in mind, hoping to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

Read the full interview on the Centre for Teaching Excellence's website.

St. Paul's University College announces Michaelle Jean Scholars in International Development

This article was originally featured on Waterloo News.

St. Paul’s University College at the University of Waterloo announced the creation of the Michaëlle Jean Scholars in International Development.

“I was sincerely moved by the announcement of the scholarship program created under my name,” said Madame Jean after the announcement. “I am very proud to be associated with a major award in support of the International Development program, which has special meaning for me.”

The International Development program provides students with the right knowledge and intercultural skills to create positive change in overseas communities where there are issues of economic inequality, social justice, and environmental degradation. The Michaëlle Jean scholars who choose to complete the 8-month overseas field placement will be matched with an international organization best suited to develop their particular passion for furthering sustainable development within selected geographical areas or communities.

“The students who choose to study at St. Paul’s share the same duty to make Canada and the world a more just place as the former governor general,” said St. Paul’s principal Richard Myers. “This award will help put them in a position to succeed, especially the unique eight-month field placement for fourth-year students.”

The program is a partnership between St. Paul’s and Waterloo’s School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED). In it, SEED delivers two-thirds of the academic programming through its undergraduate degree in International Development (INDEV). St. Paul’s delivers the remainder, including the experiential learning placement or thesis project.

Madame Michaëlle Jean served as Canada’s Governor-General from 2005 to 2010 and joined St. Paul’s to serve as its chancellor from 2020 to 2024.

Beginning in 2023, St. Paul’s will designate three incoming International Development students as Michaëlle Jean scholars per year. They will hold the title for the duration of their enrollment in the program.

There will be a continuous cohort of 12 Michaëlle Jean scholars studying at any given time. Recipients will be provided with a bursary of $7,000 toward the cost of residence at St. Paul’s in their first year and an annual book allowance of $1,000 in each of the remaining years of their program. The Michaëlle Jean scholars will be expected to show leadership in the student INDEV community.

Supporting diversity and inclusion

By Carol Truemner. This article was originally featured on Waterloo News.

Michelle Liu, left, and Allie Kennington, right. 

Looking back on their undergraduate years, Michelle Liu and Allie Kennington wish there had been more on-campus support and mentorship for them as 2SLGBTQ+ engineering students.

As alumni, Liu (BASc ’18 and MASc ’20, civil engineering) and Kennington (BASc ’19 and MASc ’22, geological engineering), are now providing their support through the Liu-Kennington Award for the 2SLGBTQ+ Engineering Community, the first of its type for this specific group offered at any Faculty of Engineering in Canada. 

Launched last year, the $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an undergraduate student enrolled in year two, three or four in any Waterloo Engineering program.

Selection is based on positive contributions to the 2SLGBTQ+ community through extracurricular or volunteer involvement.

Committed to diversity and inclusion

As an undergraduate student, Kennington found Liu to be welcoming in her advocacy efforts for equity-seeking groups by encouraging students to become involved with various initiatives. 

“Michelle was eventually president of the departmental engineering undergraduate society and I was a class representative. She kept me on track by reminding me to come to meetings,” Kennington said. “It was her commitment to diversity and inclusion that ultimately brought us together.”

The couple is now living in Ottawa where Kennington is an environmental engineering specialist with SNC-Lavalin and Liu is pursuing both a law degree (JD) and an engineering PhD at the University of Ottawa.

Liu’s doctoral research is focused on highlighting the opportunities and challenges facing the engineering profession in addressing its urgent need for cultural change, a topic that earned her the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Scholarship.

Still connected to Waterloo Engineering, Liu is the inaugural chair of the Recent Engineering Alumni Council (REAC), which represents more than 20,000 graduates from the last 10 years. 

Both Liu and Kennington regularly volunteer at Waterloo Engineering recruitment events and recently led the first-ever 2SLGBTQ+ breakout room for prospective Waterloo Engineering students at a Women in Engineering hangout. 

Allie Kennington, left, and Michelle Liu, centre, with Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell at at a Canada Foundation for Innovation event in Ottawa. 

Changing the conversation

It’s important for Liu and Kennington to change how they and others who identify as 2SLGBTQ+  are viewed and treated outside as well as inside the workplace.

“Engineers often respond to our 2SLGBTQ+ identities with ‘what you do in your spare time doesn’t matter at work’, and that is precisely the kind of marginalization that we need to move away from,” they said about their own experiences.

Imagine coming to work on Monday and everyone is talking about what they did with their partners and family over the weekend, but you are too uncomfortable or scared to share who you spent your weekend with.”

Creating an inclusive environment

Last year, Liu and Kennington described the introduction of a Waterloo Engineering role focused on diversity and inclusion as a turning point for the University’s 2SLGBTQ+ engineering community.

Mary Robinson (BASc '02 and MASc '10, chemical engineering), who in 2021 was appointed the first associate dean of outreach, equity and diversity, reached out to Liu to discuss diversity and inclusion in Waterloo Engineering, subjects they had previously chatted about when Liu was an undergraduate student.

In her role, Robinson said she wants to make sure Waterloo Engineering “is a place where people never need to feel they have to check a part of who they are at the door.”

“My goal is to bring together the pockets of diversity, equity, inclusion and Indigenization activity happening around the Faculty to create an environment where everyone, including all faculty, staff and students, can be their full authentic selves,” she said.

Liu intends to remind members of the engineering community that their work is an applied science and each engineer brings their own perspectives and biases in applying this science.

“I want to use the milestones I have reached to empower other equity-seeking engineering students to blaze their own path toward change,” Liu said.

Diversity and equity support groups

There are a number of programs and clubs specific to supporting diversity and equity in Waterloo Engineering including Women in Engineering, EngiQueers, the Canadian branch of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and the University’s chapter of a national organization of Black engineering students and professionals. 

Earlier this year, William Woodworth, also known as Elder Bill, was appointed Elder in Residence for the Faculty. Engineering students, staff and faculty are welcome to book a remote or in-person appointment with Elder Bill. 

Across campus, there are also a number of support groups and services for students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and interests.

Metis 101 workshop and other notes

The Office of Indigenous Relations is hosting an online workshop this week entitled Métis 101, a presentation on Métis culture and history. Facilitating the online workshop is Jennifer Parkinson, who was elected as President of Grand River Métis Council, Métis Nation of Ontario in 2014. Jennifer started on Council in 2011 as the interim Chair, then elected to the Chair position in 2012. Since 2010, Jennifer has expanded and shared her knowledge with thousands of children each year by going into schools, colleges and universities. Today, Jennifer is very active politically, meeting with various proponents, government officials and government ministries, all in the pursuit of solidifying Métis citizens’ rights in Canada. Jennifer continues to enjoy her journey and support the Métis Nation. 

Register now for the online, two-hour workshop that takes place Wednesday, July 6.

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) has shared the following announcements:

Hybrid Writing Cafés: "Please note that our Hybrid Writing Café will be online-only the week of July 5 to 8," says a note from the WCC. "Join your peers and write together at the hybrid writing cafés on Tuesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on LEARN. 

Dissertation Boot Camp: "Dissertation Boot Camp starts this week," says a note from the WCC. "Make progress on your thesis or dissertation in a supportive community."