Search

Our research examined the student-athlete experience for university dancers transitioning from studio-based competitive dancing to the competitive university context. This experience was explored in a photovoice project with 12 dancers on a competitive university team in Southern Ontario. Collectively, the researchers and dancers established three themes to explore: (1) university athletics; (2) culture and identity changes; (3) motives to continue dancing. Throughout the competitive season, dancers selected pictures to reflect on the themes and provided an accompanying narrative for each photograph. Overall, dancers' responses identified distinct similarities and differences, benefits and challenges, and shifts in culture when transitioning from a competitive studio context to a competitive university context. Additionally, dancers described the profound impact of dance on their identities and how this impact shifted as a student-athlete in university. Finally, dancers expressed their appreciation and frustrations with how they perceived dance as being valued and resourced in postsecondary institutions.

The transition from elementary to middle or high school is an important experience common to most adolescents in North America. However, very little research has been conducted to understand the experiences of students with a disability status and the stakeholders involved in the transition. Clearly, there is a need to generate information that views the transition as a process between students and stakeholders that takes place over time. This investigation illustrates the utility of the action-project method for studying the transition to middle or high school. Three cases involving Canadian adolescents with different disabilities (learning, sensory/motor and emotional/behavioural) and their parents, as key stakeholders, are presented.

This work examines the experience of secondary school students involved in authentic science inquiry (ASI) at the Canadian Light Source. We suggest this experience is a transformational learning experience for participants. Using evidence from surveys and interviews from a total of 119 high school students, 23 teachers, and 18 scientists participating in the Students on the Beamline project during 2007-2010, we employ a transformational learning theory framework (Cranton, 2002; Mezirow, 1997a, b; Imel, 1998) in an interpretive approach to determine the extent this experience is transformative. Discussions of ASI and transformational learning are provided. Our investigation suggests that transformational learning can occur through such learning activity highlighted, for example, by changes in student perceptions of scientists, perceptions of themselves as capable of sophisticated science investigation, and considerations of science as a future life endeavour.

Medical education in the United States and Canada continues to evolve. However, many of the changes in pedagogy are being made without appropriate evaluation. Here, we attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of lecture capture technology as a learning tool in Podiatric medical education. In this pilot project, student performance in an inaugural lecture capture-supported biochemistry course was compared to that in the previous academic year. To examine the impact of online lecture podcasts on student performance a within-subjects design was implemented, a two way ANCOVA with repeated measures. The use of lecture capture-supported pedagogy resulted in significantly higher student test scores, than achieved historically using traditional pedagogy. The overall course performance using this lecture capture-supported pedagogy was almost 6% higher than in the previous year. Non-native English language speakers benefitted more significantly from the lecture capture-supported pedagogy than native English language speakers, since their performance improved by 10.0 points. Given that underrepresented minority (URM) students, whose native language is not English, makes up a growing proportion of medical school matriculates, these observations support the use of lecture capture technology in other courses. Furthermore, this technology may also be used as part of an academic enrichment plan to improve performance on the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination, reduce the attrition of URM students and potentially address the predicted minority physician shortage in 2020. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Private, unregulated residential care facilities have become an increasingly important component of the continuum of housing and care for frail older adults in Canada. To date, this growing segment of the older population has received very little research attention. This study involved an in-depth examination of the functional/health profile, patterns of service use, and medical/care needs of a representative sample of 178 older adults in residential care facilities in the City of Ottawa. The results indicate great diversity in resident and facility profiles in this setting and confirm earlier impressions that special care units in the residential care sector have become increasingly close to being unlicensed pseudo-nursing homes. Despite the heavy burden of care, the evidence suggests that the care needs of the majority of residents are adequately met in the residential care environment. The results can inform future research, case finding, educational, and policy planning initiatives in this setting.

Abstract: The United States and Canada have vast stores of ecological wealth that provide often unseen but critical benefits to the people and economy of each country. The close ties between ecology and the economy make it urgent that action is taken to address the risks of ecosystem degradation, but these close ties also present opportunities to develop new incentives for ecosystem conservation. To highlight the diversity of approaches being implemented in the US and Canada, we describe examples of programs seeking to maintain ecosystem services from wetlands, agricultural lands, forests, and water quality. Corporations are also beginning to account for ecosystem service values. Innovative solutions are being developed mostly within existing government and corporate policies that allow for ecosystem service accounting. To further mainstream ecosystem service values into broader economic decisions, new policies are necessary that not only allow but mandate their inclusion in decisions and reporting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the Safe Drinking Water Foundation (SDWF), which has attempted to meet the challenge of educating people about water issues in Canada. Operation Water Biology is a program by SDWF that provides opportunities for more cooperative, integrated and problem-based learning experiences. SDWF offers other programs including Operation Water Drop (OWD), Operation Water Pollution (OWP) and Operation Water Flow (OWF).

Reports on the Canadian Institute of Forestry's Southern Ontario Section's meeting at the University of Toronto's Earth Sciences Centre. Discussion on the role of forestry practitioners; Program moderator.