This exploratory study identifies aspects of pedagogical design and teaching practice that enabled creative capacities through the lens of the researcher’s lived experience. A guiding research question in this investigation follows: (a) What is the nature of the relationship between creative activity and transformative learning and (b) In what ways are they connected through the lived experience? To conduct this exploratory study, I adopted a dual role as researcher and student in the context of a PhD-level education course at a university in Ontario, Canada. A methodological approach that drew on elements of narrative, self-study, and autoethnography was applied. Data sources include (a) field notes, (b) teaching and learning materials, (c) an individual interview with the instructor, and (d) a focus group with the other four female students in the course. Participants of the study reported that their traditional perspectives of academia were shaped and changed in the context of the creative activities and interactions. Findings reveal how creative acts served as a catalyst for transforming the ways in which the instructor and the students in the course experienced knowledge making.

This paper presents the findings of a mixed-method case study conducted at the University of Guelph on the relationship between practice lecturing and graduate student self-efficacy. Building on the work of Boman (2013), and using surveys and individual interviews, we measured and characterized the perceived changes in graduate students’ self-efficacy in learner-centred lecturing. Our research question was: In what ways, if any, does microteaching contribute to participants’ perceived self-efficacy in learner-centred lecturing? Our results and discussion reveal that practice increases self-efficacy with respect to the design, facilitation, and assessment of learner-centred lectures, and is a vital component to graduate student teaching development programming.

This study examined whether or not writing skills could be taught to post-secondary students via online learning modules and what student perceptions of such a learning process were like. A pilot study of the modules developed—called Scribe Hero—was conducted in the Fall of 2017. Statistical analysis of quantitative data reveals an improvement in student writing skills following their engagement with the online learning modules. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that the students were engaged by the experience, finding it educational and refreshingly different from in-class options. The feedback also suggested that user-friendly technology, tone of the online environment, incentivising meaningful feedback, and maintaining a sense of direct applicability of content are essential to capitalising on this sort of teaching and learning methodology. Overall, the findings of this small-scale research study support further development of this technology while also offering lessons that can be transferred to other contexts for teaching writing.

Interdisciplinary (i.e., university-wide programming) and disciplinary (i.e., programming open to participants from one college or department) teaching development programs for graduate students have been used for many years in higher education. Currently, research on the benefits of these teaching models remains scant in terms of a contextualized understanding, and empirical studies are needed. The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ perspectives related to interdisciplinary and disciplinary teaching and learning experiences. Two online surveys were used: a quantitative survey and a qualitative follow-up survey. Three participatory focus groups were also conducted to allow for further in-depth exploration in both an interdisciplinary and disciplinary group setting that represented seven distinct colleges. Statistical and thematic analyses were conducted with survey responses, and thematic analyses were conducted on focus group data. Similar themes emerged from the survey and focus group data identifying perceived benefits of participation in either interdisciplinary or disciplinary teaching development. Respondents’ perceived benefits were related to: (a) becoming a better teacher; (b) social learning; and (c) that while the perceived benefits of the models vary, the outcomes of both experiences are shared. The lived experiences of these graduate students expand the characterization of interdisciplinary and disciplinary programming. This study points to the need for graduate student programs—specifically teaching development offered by educational development units—to provide both interdisciplinary and disciplinary teaching development opportunities that achieve a blend of benefits for learners. Les programmes interdisciplinaires (c’est-à-dire les programmes offerts à l’échelle de l’université) et disciplinaires (c’est-à-dire ceux qui sont ouverts aux participants d’un collège ou d’un département) de perfectionnement de l’enseignement pour étudiants de cycle supérieur existent depuis de nombreuses années en enseignement supérieur. À l’heure actuelle, la recherche sur les avantages de ces modèles d’enseignement reste très incomplète en matière de compréhension contextualisée et il y a grand besoin de mener des études empiriques. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer les perspectives des étudiants de cycle supérieur liées aux expériences d’enseignement et d’apprentissage interdisciplinaires et disciplinaires. Deux sondages en ligne ont été employés : un sondage quantitatif et un sondage de suivi qualitatif. Également, trois groupes de discussion participatifs ont été organisés afin d’explorer plus profondément les contextes des groupes interdisciplinaires et disciplinaires qui représentaient sept collèges distincts. Des analyses statistiques et thématiques ont été effectuées avec les réponses aux sondages et des analyses thématiques ont été effectuées sur les données recueillies des groupes de discussion. Des thèmes semblables se sont dégagés des sondages et des données recueillies des groupes de discussion. Ces thèmes identifiaient les avantages perçus de la participation dans le perfectionnement de l’enseignement tant interdisciplinaire que disciplinaire. Les répondants ont perçu les avantages suivants : (a) possibilité de devenir de meilleurs enseignants; (b) apprentissage social; et (c) bien que les avantages perçus de chaque modèle varient, les résultats des deux expériences sont semblables. Les expériences vécues de ces étudiants de cycle supérieur élargissent la caractérisation des programmes interdisciplinaires et disciplinaires. Cette étude souligne la nécessité que les programmes pour étudiants de cycle supérieur – spécifiquement les programmes de perfectionnement de l’enseignement offerts dans le cadre d’unités de pédagogie – doivent offrir des occasions de perfectionnement de l’enseignement à la fois interdisciplinaires et disciplinaires pour que les apprenants tirent des deux modèles un mélange d’avantages.