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The faculty of engineering at McMaster University is very diverse with students coming from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and nationalities. There is an expected level of prerequisite knowledge for courses in the program, especially for subjects in mathematics and physics. Yet, a significant number of students struggle to reach the same level of prior knowledge as their peers due to a lack of educational resources or due to language barriers. Entering lectures without the expected baseline understanding of the concepts increases the risk of cognitive overload because these students exert additional mental effort in retaining the pre-lecture information along with the lecture content. As a solution to this problem, we present a suite of web-based interactive programs that are accessible to the students outside the class. The Software Suite will provide supplementary material to assist with self-paced learning in a 3rd year undergraduate engineering course, i.e., Finite Element Analysis, at McMaster University's W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology. It will enable students design and analyze various engineering applications, namely, Spring System, Trusses, Beams, Frames, and Heat Transfer along one or two dimensions. The purpose of the interactive platform with several programs is to actively engage the students with this cognitive tool to cement their understanding of the concepts instead of passively perceiving it as a tutor or repository of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of Covid-19, McMaster University abruptly transitioned all classes loan online format in Winter 2020, with online classes continuing through the Winter 2021 term. To improve our existing technological framework for the delivery of online courses, we surveyed undergraduate students in McMaster University's engineering program to assess their online learning preferences and their experience of the transition from in-class to strictly online learning. We identified student preferences for educational video type, number, duration and identified barriers to an online learning environment. In addition to outlining the students' perspective, we present our findings in the context of the students' learning by contrasting student learning in the online environment with the learning of earlier cohorts in the in-person environment (i.e., before the pandemic). We assess learning via student performance in exams and assignments for each course. After considering the student's perspective and learning outcomes, we provide recommendations for an optimal content delivery methodology in an online learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal and external drivers have seen institutions of higher education place increasing emphasis on the links between teaching and research in their curricula. Despite the apparent positive trend towards research-oriented undergraduate programs, there are a number of documented challenges or "risks" to incorporating research into teaching and learning. This paper presents an adapted fourquadrant framework that maps student progression throughout a program of study from researchbriefed learning to carrying out independent research themselves. The model is illustrated by two case studies of its implementation throughout entire degree programs (Natural Sciences at the University of Leicester and Integrated Science at McMaster University). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years significant emphasis has been placed on staff and students as partners in higher education in order to address issues of engagement and transferable skills. However, the concept covers a wide range of meanings. On the one hand it can refer to module feedback questionnaires. At the other extreme it can include student input in curricular design, particularly constructing course materials. These very different experiences require different levels of academic preparation and student engagement. For the purpose of clarity in discussion it would seem useful to have a framework for the different levels of student-instructor partnerships, which emphasizes this range of experience rather than the activity content. This paper presents a framework based on the levels of student initiation of the partnership and of student involvement in the outcomes (referred to as ownership and autonomy respectively). The scheme was arrived at following study of the collaborative activities in two cognate programmes, the Natural Sciences degree programme at the University of Leicester and the Honours Integrated Science program at McMaster University. These programmes adopt pedagogical models which encourage the formation of strong, cohesive learning communities, thereby providing a rich variety of examples and an international perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of a work career is one of the most important events in a person's life course and typically involves secondary socialization and identification with role models. This paper is concerned with the crucial role of my PhD dissertation supervisor at McMaster University, Dr. Billy Shaffir, in my choice of an academic career. I highlight and celebrate how, through the guidance of Dr. Shaffir, I experienced "immersive socialization" into field research and happily converted from an intended business career to an academic career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To write a sociological festschrift for a scholar necessarily means looking at a chain of influence instead of one person. In this essay, I honor William Shaffir, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at McMaster University, who taught me as I worked towards the MA. I examine what I learned from him by starting with my undergraduate experiences at McGill University, where Billy (I never heard anyone call him William) received his PhD. We shared influences there, including those who had studied with Howard S. Becker at Northwestern University. I then turn to my time at McMaster, and how Billy strengthened my knowledge of symbolic interactionism and qualitative methods, as well as taught me important lessons about writing. He also reduced graduate students' anxieties, including mine, through two words: "No problem." My experiences with Billy provided a model of mentoring that challenged the usual hierarchy between graduate students and professors. Those lessons were reinforced as I pursued a PhD at the University of Minnesota and spent two quarters at Northwestern University as a visiting student. These connecting influences helped me write and teach sociology in a largely quantitative department at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where I lacked the kind of support I had received as an undergraduate and graduate student. I taught there over 37 years, practicing the kind of sociology and mentoring that Billy generously modeled so many years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Higher Education is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the hands-on experience received by chemical engineering program students at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Topics covered include the laboratory courses designed to demonstrate key concepts in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and transport phenomena. Also mentioned is the need to address the lack of integration between concepts and the lack of student engagement to design better undergraduate laboratory experiences.

The article presents international perspectives with a wide range of initiatives that can be adapted easily by institutions in the U.S. dedicated to embed undergraduate research. According to president at the University College London in England, they want to incorporate research into each stage of an undergraduate degree. It explores the series of faculty-based optional courses of the McMaster University in Canada incorporating inquiry of fist-year students.

Abstract: Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of moxibustion on pain, stiffness and physical dysfunction caused by knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and make an assessment on the effectiveness and safety of this therapy. Methods: Fifty-nine cases of KOA were randomly divided into a moxibustion group (31 cases) and a sham-moxibustion group (28 cases). The treatment of moxibustion was given at Nèixīyăn (▪ EX-LE 4), Dúbi (▪ ST 35) and Ashi points with real moxa cone in the moxibustion group and sham moxa cone in the sham-moxibustion group, 3 cones on each point per time, once every two days, 3 times per week for consecutively 6 weeks. The results were recorded in week 3 and 6 of the treatment, and the follow-up visit was performed 6 weeks after the end of treatment. The Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the shortest walking time of 46 m were adopted to evaluate the recovery situation of joint function. The UT-325 digital thermal detector was put to use to record the temperature change in the most obvious painful points of knee joint before and after the moxibustion. Results: All the scores of WOMAC in the moxibustion group were apparently decreased in week 3 and 6 of the treatment as well as the follow-up visit, separately (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001). The stiffness score of follow-up visit in the sham-moxibustion group, compared before the treatment, was lowered (P<0.05). The scores of pain, stiffness and physical function in the moxibustion group had a greater decrease than those in the sham-moxibustion group in week 6 of treatment and the follow-up visit (P<0.01, P<0.05). The shortest walking time of 46 m in the moxibustion group after 6 weeks of the treatment was apparently reduced as compared with that before treatment (P<0.01), but there was no apparent improvement in the sham-moxibustion group (P>0.05), and the between-group difference was not significant statistically (P>0.05). The temperature of treatment point after the moxibustion was (49.81±3.10) °C in the moxibustion group and (40.98±1.67) °C in the sham-moxibustion group, which was both increased apparently as compared with that before the treatment (P<0.001, P<0.01), and more obviously in the moxibustion group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The moxibustion, which can obviously improve the clinical symptoms of the patients with KOA, such as pain, stiffness and physical dysfunction, is safe and effective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Several authors have suggested that educational institutions have a responsibility to foster creativity in their students. Yet, research has shown that creativity is a variable concept that can mean different things in different fields and contexts (Kaufman & Baer, 2005). As a result, generic pedagogical techniques for developing creativity may not be equally appropriate across domains. In light of these factors, this pilot study explored (via an electronic survey of instructors) the ways in which creativity is defined and taught across McMaster University's six faculties. Results suggested areas of both commonality and difference across disciplines in terms of academics' understandings of creativity and their stated strategies for developing creativity within their students. In this respect, our data provide preliminary support for the notion that creativity teaching may be at least partially discipline-specific, and suggest that further work in this area is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Academic Librarianship: A Crisis or an Opportunity?" was a one day symposium held at the University of Toronto on November 18, 2011. The symposium provided a forum for stakeholders to consider recent troubling events and developments in the academic library community. The hiring of postdoctoral fellows at McMaster University to replace librarians, the strike by professional librarians at University of Western Ontario in 2011 and threats to the academic freedom of librarians at McGill University have all served as bellwethers and have been rich topics for debate of late. The symposium was intended to provide an opportunity to bring more coherence to the discourse and to consider further initiatives, increased activism, and to begin a process for providing greater leadership around issues relating to academic librarians and academic librarianship. The day was organized around a series of panels. A number of key stakeholders spoke to specific themes: 1) the role of national and provincial labour organizations and local faculty associations; 2) trends and challenges in education and curriculum at library schools; 3) the role of library associations and professional accreditation; and 4) librarians on the front lines. The symposium emerged with a clear call to action: that it is time to become more pro-active in a collective manner, and to use the tremendous interest generated by this event as an opportunity to seek solutions to the challenges facing academic librarianship in Canada. There was overwhelming support for the creation of a virtual forum to continue the discourse and to bring in those who are interested and willing to become engaged but who were unable to participate in the symposium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry learning is a pedagogical approach that focuses on the processes and skills required to conduct research. It is a pedagogical approach that has been demonstrated to have positive learning outcomes. McMaster University has been committed to this form of learning for more than ten years in three of the faculties on campus (i.e., Humanities, Science and Social Sciences). This commitment has been in the creation of stand-alone, small class size first year inquiry classes. The current research, involving document analysis of 545 course outlines from the Faculty of Social Sciences demonstrates that inquiry learning is concentrated in first and fourth year primarily with modest amounts in second and third year courses. Results reveal cross-discipline variation. Some disciplines exhibit higher levels of inquiry (i.e., Social Work, Labour Studies and Political Science) than others (i.e., Gerontology, Geography and Anthropology). Although inquiry was more likely to occur in small classes there were examples of inquiry learning in classes with more than 250 students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses aspects of Canadian undergraduate research. She believes that inquiry learning is both a process and a set of skills which will eventually lead to an advanced level of understanding. Also explored is a case study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario which uses inquiry as a form of research.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Higher Education is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the failed efforts to combine the Hamilton Teachers' College (HTC) in Hamilton, Ontario with McMaster University, which eventually led to HTC's closure. The author relates local and Ontario-based politics to the development of professional education in the province, focusing on the relationship between HTC and the Ontario Department of Education. Related to this, the author is also more broadly concerned with problems facing the education of teachers in general. The history of professional education in Hamilton is outlined.

Provides information on the approach used in deploying smart technology in renovated classrooms at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Development of the Academic Computing Advisory Committee by the Learning Technologies Resource Center; Outcome of the evaluation and deployment of the technology; Actions taken to address usability and the user experience.