The Big Thinking Summit: Inflection Point, a national academic gathering focused on the humanities and social sciences, is hoping to inspire educators and foster push back against short sighted government policies.
Students are under attack from provincial governments who are intentionally chronically underfunding elementary, secondary and post-secondary education; cutting “luxury courses” like art, music and languages; while focusing on a narrow selection of programs that do not help develop the entire student while fostering critical thinking skills.
They are also impacted by the rising cost of living as well as contract and gig work. However, some provinces are implementing the necessary changes to help Canadian students meet life’s challenges head-on in a world that is increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence (AI).
The recent Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) revealed that Manitoba students consistently perform below the national average when it comes to science. That inspired the Ministry of Education to create a new kindergarten to grade 10 curriculum that will be implemented this fall.
Customized to meet student needs, the curriculum focuses on practical applications to improve science literacy and science programming that replaces a two-decades-old curriculum.
However, teachers will need support in order to successfully implement the curriculum in their classrooms.
“When it comes to curriculum change, we often think that a new document is introduced and teachers simply adopt it, but that doesn’t happen automatically because it depends on teachers’ beliefs and perspectives about the subject, and priorities for teaching, as well as the support, training and resources provided to them,” Dr. Latika Raisinghani, the project’s principal investigator, told rabble.ca.
Dr. Raisinghani and Dr. Lilian Pozzer, project collaborator, will present preliminary findings of their research based on feedback from Manitoba teachers who actually piloted the new science curriculum in their classrooms.
Additionally, Dr. Raisinghani and Dr. Pozzer plan to collect additional input through surveys and focus groups from another 100 teachers. This data will help identify gaps in the curriculum’s implementation that can then be addressed to help classroom teachers.
Curriculum integrates T&R Calls to Action
The new science curriculum reflects Manitoba’s diverse student population, including the 18 per cent who are Indigenous, and integrates Indigenous ways of knowing nature which aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 Calls to Action 62 and 63. It also moves away from rote memorization of facts.
The goal is to foster scientific literacy and critical thinking skills so students can apply what they learn in class to real-life situations including human impacts on nature, the environment, climate change as well as health care and beyond.
“The curriculum was developed following the pandemic when a great deal of misinformation related to science was circulating,” Dr. Pozzer said. “Even beyond test scores, it became clear that we have to educate our students to use evidence-based thinking to help them better understand what is and isn’t reliable information, how they can determine which sources to trust, and how they can make decisions about their health, the environment or any other issues related to scientific knowledge,” she explained.
An added challenge is lack of time to deliver the material since science tends to be taught in 20 or 30 minute weekly chunks as opposed to math, reading and writing that are taught daily for 40 to 50 minutes. The goal is for students to understand that science is not simply a career choice, it’s a vital life skill they’ll use everyday.
Students want less technology in the classroom
Meanwhile, Dr. Mustafa Siddiqui’s pilot project is proving that the vast majority of language arts students see the benefits of tech-free classrooms. The pilot project conducted at University of Toronto Mississauga has convinced students of the benefits of a tech-free classroom.
A full 80 per cent of the participants in the pilot said they would be open to seeing technology booted from up to a quarter of classes in a semester’s course. They cited fewer distractions, better in-class focus, as well as the ability to more quickly grasp concepts.
“In today’s world where students rely on their technological devices and artificial intelligence, the feedback was both unexpected and refreshing,” said Dr. Siddiqui, an assistant professor for the Study of University Pedagogy.
As a result of the positive response, a group of language and writing studies professors at U of T Mississauga are now planning to incorporate occasional tech-free classes in their curricula for the upcoming school year as part of a larger study.
Back to the 90s
The impetus for the Back to the 90s project came from Dr. Siddiqui’s observations that in recent years students were “lazier thinkers.”
“After the AI boom, I noticed that ideas were repeating, with many students choosing similar topics for assignments and writing essays in a similar fashion to the point that their creativity and uniqueness in writing style and content were vanishing,” he explained.
Dr. Siddiqui also found students to be more distracted and less connected with their peers, with some playing games on their phones or online shopping on their laptops during class.
By introducing a tech-free class in two of his courses, Dr. Siddiqui was able to encourage the 40 participating students to generate ideas using human intelligence while boosting their interaction with each other.
Students used pen, paper and notebooks while Siddiqui brought in hard copies of books, handed out photocopies, and wrote on a whiteboard instead of using PowerPoint presentations. A Sony Discman, newspapers, analog watches, and glass coke bottles were also placed throughout the room.
“The moment I started talking, I saw students taking out their paper, notebooks, pencils and pens,” Siddiqui said. “It was the first time this happened in my class and I was elated.”
A survey completed by students found 87 per cent interacted more with peers, 83 per cent found they paid closer attention to class discussions, while 70 per cent found handwriting notes helped them better process ideas. Almost 63 per cent said they felt more focused without screens, while 60 per cent said the screenless environment enabled them to better understand class material.
Dr. Siddiqui found student creativity and engagement were significantly higher as were student mistakes – an outcome he was excited to see.
“When using AI, many students tend to check their responses before handing in assignments. Without technology, most students performed better, and once they corrected their work themselves, they seemed to better understand concepts and tasks,” Siddiqui said.
Dr. Siddiqui concluded that AI is best used as a proofreading tool once an assignment is completed rather than for idea generation and writing support. The one exception was students with accessibility needs who were permitted to use devices during this process.
Students and homelessness
Unfortunately, curriculum and AI are not the only challenges students face these days. According to Homeless Hub, at least 35,000 youth experience homelessness each year in Canada with many falling through the cracks before they turn 16. Add to that, an estimated 28 per cent of Canadian post-secondary students experiencing some form of homelessness and it’s crystal clear that Canada is in the midst of an unhoused student crisis.
Because most unhoused students hide their situation due to stigma, the issue is difficult to address and doesn’t appear to be on the radar of governments and universities.
Emily Berg, a PhD student at the University of Alberta (U of A) and lead research associate will present findings from a recent national study on student homelessness as well as strategies her team has developed to help combat the issue
Berg will share details of her group’s research based on interviews with 65 students experiencing homelessness and 54 academic staff members at six universities across Canada including U of A, Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), University of New Brunswick (UNB), Lakehead University (LU), and University of British Columbia (UBC).
Key project researchers included principal investigator Dr. Eric Weissman (UNB), Kevin Friese (U of A), Dr. Krista Robson (RDP), and Lisa Mader (NSCC). Their work builds on an earlier national survey of 18,500 post-secondary students by UTILE that found alarming data on student housing.
The hour-long interviews conducted during the 2022-2023 academic year covered students’ experiences, impacts related to homelessness, and barriers students faced in getting help. Staff were questioned about potential solutions and obstacles to boosting university funding for basic student needs such as access to housing, rent money and food.
“Universities are seen in an elite academic way where everyone who goes there is privileged, but this isn’t the case. Institutions today are the gateway to any sort of job, so students have to go to university regardless of their economic status, even if they can’t afford to pay rent or eat,” said Berg.
Unhoused students often rely on couch-surfing, sleeping in cars, or sheltering in campus buildings, stairwells and libraries. Those band-aid solutions mean students are less visible than those “living rough” on the streets. All of these make shift solutions carry a heavy mental health toll.
All study respondents reported that institutional support was lacking, with many admitting to having reached out to numerous campus services for help without success. That ultimately impacts students’ academics and employability.
“If they’re worried about their next meal, they’re not paying attention to their exams or getting their degree because they need to feed themselves and put a roof over their head. If we can provide that, we’d have a better equipped graduating class and students who are way more prepared to enter the job force,” Berg said.
Berg’s group built a toolkit to help schools identify and approach students struggling with homelessness. Strategies included collecting data on student homelessness and raising public awareness of the issue to reduce associated stigmas; tackling food insecurity and financial precarity by reducing barriers to food bank access on campus and financial aid; providing mental health and social support; and securing low income or subsidized housing.
Since the study was released in 2024 housing support groups made up of administrators and faculty members have been established at several universities. Additionally, thousands of dollars in new government funding was recently provided to U of A and NSCC for increased emergency student housing. However, Berg points out that there’s a lot more work to be done.
The Big Thinking Summit: Inflection Point happening June 9 to 11, at the Edmonton Convention Centre, is sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, University of Alberta, University Affairs, Alberta Post Secondary Network, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Sage Journals, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, Universities Canada and Athabasca University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
