Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Support Fund recipients announced

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Support Fund provides opportunities for professors, instructors and librarians to undertake projects that increase knowledge in pedagogy and learning. 

This year, six awards of $6,000 and one major award of $25,000 were awarded.

2024 Major Project recipient:

Dr. Jason Peeler, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Project title: Improving Clinical Skills Training in the Area of Musculoskeletal Medicine

Despite musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries being among the most common reasons why a patient will see a doctor, research shows that a majority of physicians lack adequate knowledge, confidence and clinical skills when treating MSK conditions. Over the past decade, Peeler has sought to change that.

Peeler is an associate professor in the department of human anatomy and cell science and the pre-clerkship course director for MSK medicine. Recognized for excellence in teaching, he is dedicated to his students’ success and facilitating a high-quality interactive learning experience. Since the introduction of a new MSK curriculum in 2015, he has been focused on examining how MSK learning and knowledge retention can be enhanced among physicians graduating from the UM medical program.

Supported by the SoTL Support Fund, Peeler’s current research project will involve the assessment of three specific training models to teach MSK clinical skills: a case-based asynchronous learning module, an interdisciplinary peer-assisted training course, and extracurricular “hands-on” learning sessions. Each educational strategy will be piloted in the classroom and analyzed against key objectives. The findings are expected to improve medical student engagement and satisfaction with MSK clinical skills training and also fill a significant knowledge gap regarding the efficacy of current MSK clinical skill education.

“A critical element of this research is to provide students with more learning opportunities which require them to put theory into practice, and enhance their hands-on skills when practicing MSK medicine,” Peeler says.

2024 Seed Award recipients:

Kamni Gill and Frits van Loon, from the department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture

• Project title: Seeing shades of blue: Stimulating a hydrological imagination in undergraduate landscape architecture students through experiential learning

Yuhao Lu and Frits van Loon, from the department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture

• Project title: Landscape Pattern Cards (LaPAC): develop a catalogue of spatial patterns and vocabulary for landscape architectural students

Olesya Fedoryak, department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

• Project title: Enhancing Student Engagement and Learning in Large General Chemistry Courses

Madison Wright, department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science

• Project title: Culturing Your Pet Bacteria Together: Integrating collaboration into a first year microbiology laboratory course project

Xihui Liang, department of Mechanical Engineering, Price Faculty of Engineering

• Project title: Enhancing understanding of mechanics of materials through hands-on finite element analysis

Jennifer Hedges, Faculty of Social Work

• Project title: Required readings: Moving beyond compliance to reading engagement for transformative learning in social work education

UM offers many opportunities to engage in SoTL research and learning.

Applications are currently open for the SoTL Support Fund – Teaching Scholar. Successful recipients can choose to commit 40 per cent release time in one term or 20 per cent release time over two terms to complete their SoTL research project. The recipient’s home unit will receive funding for a course replacement instructor(s).

The SoTL Development Fund is for scholars who are new to SoTL, featuring the opportunity to attend the 2024 Symposium for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning on November 7-9 in Banff, Alberta.

The deadline for both programs is Sept. 16, 2024.