Rising to the challenge: Reflections on a round of pandemic bargaining
By Larry Savage, Brock University
“When the Brock University Faculty Association entered its most recent round of bargaining in April 2020, the Ontario government had already declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19 and Brock University had suspended face-to-face classes…”
Building an anti-racist campus means fundamentally rethinking institutional structures and practices
By Siobhan Stevenson, University of Toronto
“Two weeks after police murdered George Floyd, I received an email with the subject line: “Urgent faculty meeting: anti-Black racism.” The purpose of the hastily called Zoom meeting was for the Dean to share with us, the faculty, feedback recently received from our students…”
A message in an old Science treasure box: Teach students to think mathematically
By Andie Burazin, University of Toronto; Veselin Jungic, Simon Fraser University; Miroslav Lovric, McMaster University
“What are the chief aims of teaching mathematics in university engineering programs? To what extent should mathematical subjects be presented to students, when, and by whom? What are the most efficient methods of presenting mathematics to engineering students? A reader of the summer 1908 issues…”
Drop tuition fees: University students face a precarious future amid COVID-19
By Alison Taylor, University of British Columbia
“COVID-19 has university students and their parents anticipating the beginning of an academic year like no other. Most classes are being offered online due to COVID-19, and opportunities like studying abroad and community-engaged learning will be very different, if they’re available…”
Universities should learn from assessment methods used during the pandemic – and cut down on exams for good
By Naomi Winstone, University of Surrey and David Boud, Deakin University
“Timed written examinations continue to dominate university assessment. In most professions, the need to recall and write down specific information from memory under timed conditions is rare. Yet every year across the world students are crammed into exam halls to do just that. The coronavirus…”
5 reasons to let students keep their cameras off during Zoom classes
By Tabitha Moses, Wayne State University
“As the 2020-21 school year gets underway – both at the K-12 and college level – many students find themselves attending online classes via Zoom or similar teleconferencing platforms. Although sticking with remote instruction may be the correct decision from the standpoint of public health…”
Twitter shaming won’t change university power structures
By Charles R Menzies, University of British Columbia
“’Another one bites the dust,’ a colleague quipped. They were responding to news that Michael Korenberg, chair of the University of British Columbia (UBC) board of governors, had resigned. Three days earlier, on June 18, an activist group called UBC Students Against Bigotry outed…”
COVID-19: Don’t make university students choose between education and legal rights
By Jason MacLean, University of New Brunswick and Hilary Young, University of New Brunswick
“When U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally earlier this summer in Tulsa, Okla., expecting thousands of supporters to gather in close quarters, he had them all sign COVID-19 liability waivers. This meant they couldn’t hold him or his campaign responsible if…”