Students by the dozens have joined the fight to protect Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) from the Linguicidals as part of Maya Chacaby’s Glendon Campus language classes.

How could any student, brought up in a world that takes gaming culture and activities for granted, resist this informal course description:

Chacaby, an assistant professor of sociology who is Ojibwe from the Thunder Bay region, is passionate about her language and culture and intent on reclaiming Anishinaabemowin from its status as an endangered language.

“My mother was a fluent speaker,” Chacaby said, “but there is a lot of guilt, shame and pain associated with the language, and there is a low percentage of in-home intergenerational transmission due to the trauma (e.g., residential schools, the Sixties Scoop) associated with it.”

In teaching Anishinaabemowin herself, Chacaby realized that trauma was a factor for many Indigenous students; when they came to class feeling shame or upset about the language, they were in no state to absorb the necessary information.

“I realized that I would have to create a safe, accessible, fun environment in which they could learn – a place where they could acknowledge their shame and develop pride beyond that, so the experience wasn’t so painful,” Chacaby said.

Thus, Biskaabiiyaang: the Quest for the Language was born. Chacaby, an avid gamer herself, realized students, too, would enjoy a taking part in a role-playing game where they could build a better world, one where there was a safe territory for her Anishinaabe Intergalactic Mentoring Station.

“I turned learning grammar and vocabulary into a big quest, a challenge that students go on the adventure with me,” she said. “There are four basic parts to the language structure, so the quest is to restore the circle [a symbolic shape in Indigenous culture]."

Chacaby initiated the new course design using a card-based live action game that students played in class. Soon, she noticed a “huge positive impact. Students were retaining so much more information. In 12 weeks, they were learning what it took me three years to learn in traditional classes, and they were having fun.”

She moved the course online using a commercial platform, but it had limitations, due to security issues. This fall, Chacaby will introduce the game through a platform specially designed in partnership with the virtual learning platform developer , allowing her to have complete control of the design, the content and the site’s security. To view a trailer for the game, .

The reimagined Biskaabiiyaang: the Quest for the Language is a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG, for gaming regulars) that invites each student to create an avatar and travel through the territory, meeting other players in real time. They travel through a post-apocalyptic landscape that includes cross-cut deforestation, lakes full of plastic refuse and abandoned radioactive uranium mines. It is a landscape many Indigenous students may recognize.

As they complete their grammar-based quests, they must find spirit helpers, learn to fend for themselves by finding water, shelter and food and show respect for those with whom they share the land. Chacaby has incorporated many traditional stories into the quests.

“The students learn about Anishinaabe language and culture in a caring, online community,” Chacaby said.

She plans to involve a partnership with First Nations communities around the Lake Nipigon region in the game to provide students interactions with Elders and others from reserves that offer support and insights into their own lived experiences. Her fall classes will serve the beta testers for the game, since Chacaby eventually hopes to expand it to include students of Anishinaabemowin elsewhere.

“Not only does this game teach students the language, but it provides an understanding of my peoples’ world view,” Chacaby said. “We’re all inside, trying to understand the world from that perspective. It challenges everyone’s own way of thinking.

“We have a rich culture, and the game is a way for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together, deal with troublesome issues and create a new future.”

She envisions that, eventually, other Indigenous groups will add to the game, inserting their own traditional territories and using it to teach their own languages.

“The United Nations has declared 2022 the start of the Decade of Indigenous Languages, so we’re providing a platform at Glendon, starting with Anishinaabemowin,” Chacaby said. “It’s part of a bigger Truth & Reconciliation picture.

“My goal is to be a force for reconciliation. The cultural transmission of knowledge – including language – is good for everyone.”

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer, Innovatus

The post Gaming Offers Deeper Understanding of Anishinaabe Language and Culture appeared first on Glendon Campus.

Glendon Campus biology students need to learn fieldwork techniques, pandemic, or no pandemic, so  decided to send them out into their backyards to practice.

Usually, McKinnon teaches this mandatory course, “Ecological Monitoring in an Urban Environment,” as a 12-day intensive course as part of the Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology. Students normally band birds, search for killdeer nests and visit a turtle marking program, along with other activities conducted throughout the extensive Toronto ravine system.

“For most, it’s their first introduction to research and they get a taste of what it’s all about,” said McKinnon, an associate professor in the bilingual biology program. “Afterward, many of the students decide to pursue it.”

Given the pandemic lockdown, McKinnon moved the course to the spring, but soon discovered that it would still need to be conducted remotely. Determined to ensure that the students would be able to acquire the field skills necessary for any biologist, McKinnon quickly pivoted and created an online course where research took place in each individual student’s backyard. (The photos here were first published in the journal, Academic Practice in Ecology and Evolution, along with McKinnon’s paper on this pivot.)

To lend the equipment necessary for fieldwork to each student in the course, McKinnon restricted the course to 10 students, rather than the usual 20; ensured that each student had a safe greenspace to use; and had the students come to collect their field kits, which included binoculars, a field notebook, field guides, a Burlese funnel, a dissecting scope and bioacoustic monitors.

The course took place over two weeks, with a research paper submitted afterward. McKinnon devoted the first week of the course to teaching the students the techniques they would need to conduct research in their own backyards – tasks such a learning to take proper field notes, identifying birds and conducting a point count of birds in the yard. She also held separate sessions on scientific writing, bioacoustics monitoring (for bird calls/songs and bats), and statistics. The second week of the course was devoted to the research itself. In addition to the investigations the students carried out, pairs of students worked on a research project together.

The course kept students busy. They were up at dawn to conduct backyard point counts of their birds seen or heard and did so again at dusk. At 8 a.m., the class met online to share their morning findings and discuss other issues and activities; in fact, they usually were on Zoom together a few times daily.

During the day, the students also dug pitfall traps for insects and collected a turf sample to use in the Burlese funnels, identifying these insects afterward. In addition, they set up camera traps in an attempt to photograph wildlife wandering the property. They were required to do habitat sampling, describing their individual urban habitat in detail, which required them to measure tree height and estimate and describe ground cover.

“Having mastered sampling techniques in the fields of ornithology, mammalogy, entomology and botany, each student became the principal investigator of their own field site, individually collecting data according to standard ecological protocols, and contributing these data to the larger network of eight field sites across Toronto,” McKinnon said. “That these field sites were the students’ backyards, did not detract from their ability to conduct scientific research projects on fundamental ecological questions in urban ecology.”

The students were also responsible for entering their data into a joint folder so that everyone in the class had access to the overall data to use for their research projects. Each group decided upon a research project and wrote a research proposal, consisting of the introduction and methods section that journal articles require, based on the data they had at their disposal. Once McKinnon provided feedback, each group prepared the outline of a research paper, including a results section. Finally, every individual student was required to submit the actual research paper, incorporating McKinnon’s comments, and adding a discussion section.

“In discussing their results, the students can draw upon the theories they’ve learned about in their ecology courses,” McKinnon said. “Although their findings are on a small scale and can’t actually be published, there were some good ideas to pursue.”

For example, one team of students measured minimum and maximum call frequencies (Hz) of American Robins at sunrise and sunset using bioacoustics recorders deployed in the backyard sites over the 10-day period of data collection. Using the same recorders, they simultaneously measured ambient levels of anthropogenic noise. They then tested whether the birds changed the frequency of their calls to compensate for increased anthropogenic noise in busier urban areas.

McKinnon received positive feedback from her students and is confident they had a well-rounded field experience and acquired the necessary field research skills used by biologists.

“An online field course that incorporates direct experience with the natural environment is possible and should no longer be considered an oxymoron,” said McKinnon.

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer, Innovatus

The post Glendon Students Turn Their Backyards into Labs appeared first on Glendon Campus.

At the end of a rigorous six-month scholarship application process, including two rounds of interviews, Glendon graduate and future positive changemaker Amanda Sears (BA '20) joined a life-changing Zoom call.

On the call, Sears learned she was among 20 Canadians chosen as inaugural McCall MacBain Scholars, recipients of the country’s first comprehensive leadership-based scholarship that supports master’s and professional studies.

The scholarship enables students to pursue a fully funded master’s or professional degree at McGill University while connecting with mentors and participating in an intensive leadership development program.

More than 735 people applied for the McCall MacBain Scholarships; 132 participated in regional interviews with local leaders in November and 50 were invited to final interviews in March. Scholars were chosen based on their character, community engagement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, academic strength and intellectual curiosity.

Sears graduated in 2020 with a bachelor of arts in political science and philosophy from 91ŃÇÉ«'s Glendon Campus. She worked part-time throughout her studies as a barista, a server and a research assistant for two 91ŃÇÉ« professors. She is now working in MontrĂ©al and will pursue a master’s degree in bioethics.

“Being a part of this scholarship and its mission is so humbling – and so exciting,” she said. “I think what the scholarship offers students is a sort of freedom – the freedom to be intellectually curious and adventurous, in a way that not many of us can when we have to balance academics with finances, and when we are navigating academia on our own.”

While at 91ŃÇÉ«, Sears served as editor-in-chief of Pro Tem, Glendon’s bilingual student newspaper, managing a team of 13. She also helped edit the Glendon Journal of International Studies. A proud 91ŃÇÉ« Lion, she credits 91ŃÇÉ« with providing many opportunities to develop and empower her leadership skills. "Many of the strengths and skills that I brought to the application process were developed during my undergraduate degree. This is especially the case for my leadership experience, which grew significantly within the university environment – you can learn a lot by maximizing your campus involvement."

In addition to selecting 20 McCall MacBain Scholars, the McCall MacBain Scholarships program and McGill University offered 55 entrance awards to promising candidates. 91ŃÇÉ« graduates Christina Hoang, Betty Nwaogwugwu and Kaitlyn Smoke were offered McCall MacBain Finalist Awards ($10,000) for their studies at McGill, and Berta Kaisr was offered a McCall MacBain Regional Award ($5,000) for use at any public university in Canada.

Sears, Hoang, Nwaogwugwu and Smoke were among 46 Canadian peers from 28 universities that were called to take part in virtual final interviews in March. Each finalist participated in interviews with Canadian leaders from academia, business, government and the social sectors.

“The global challenges we face as a society need the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of these scholars,” said John McCall MacBain, who, together with his wife Marcy McCall MacBain, created these scholarships through a historic $200-million gift in February 2019, the single-largest gift in Canadian history at that time. “Through this scholarship program, they’ll have opportunities to deepen their knowledge, develop their leadership skills, and create meaningful connections that will enable them to bring about positive change. We want to congratulate these students and recognize the hundreds of candidates across Canada who were considered for this scholarship.”

Outreach is already underway for the second class of McCall MacBain Scholars, with the application period opening in June. Canadian students and alumni can visit  to learn about applying for Fall 2022 admission. Current 91ŃÇÉ« students and new grads are invited to join a  on Tuesday, April 13 to learn more about the awards and how to apply.

Source: YFile

The post Glendon Graduate Celebrates Winning Inaugural McCall MacBain Scholarship appeared first on Glendon Campus.

“Most courses about the European Union (EU) focus on Brussels and tend to miss the member states,” said Professor Willem Maas, but that’s not the case for his Glendon summer course, "The Netherlands and Europeanization."

The summer seminar course offers an in-depth look at the political, social and economic transformations the EU has wrought and the ways the member states have been affected through an in-depth study of one particular state, the Netherlands. It also fits well with one of the goals of the , advancing global engagement.

Although it was originally designed as an intensive study abroad course, it took place virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“Even though we had to pivot quickly to an online format, which was difficult, I was nevertheless pleasantly surprised at how well the course ran,” said Maas. “It was also great that we had such strong guest speakers to supplement our readings and discussions.”

Maas is one of 91ŃÇɫ’s two Jean Monnet Chairs, positions funded by the European Union to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union studies. His field of study is European politics with a focus on migration and citizenship, and the course syllabus is chock full of readings on those topics, along with others pertinent to an understanding of Dutch political issues past and present: EU and Dutch history; border controls; colonial legacies; race; the environment; populism; war and foreign policy; inequality; law, and more.

In fact, the course wasn’t lecture-based; it was reading-focused, with Maas making himself available regularly online to discuss the topics or answer questions students had.

“Professor Maas was very reachable and responsive and the readings were very structured, so it helped keep me on track,” said Elyana Dakwar, a fourth-year political science major at Glendon.

Although the students couldn’t travel to Europe, Maas brought Europe to them in the form of guest speakers:

• Jeremy Bierbach, an EU immigration lawyer who spoke about Dutch and EU immigration policies;
• Michael O. Sharpe, a professor who spoke about the Caribbean Netherlands and issues of race and ethnicity;
• Salima Belhaj, a member of parliament, who spoke about freedom, the idea of a European army, and other subjects;
• Laurel Baig, a Canadian litigator at the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague who spoke about her work and impressions of the Netherlands;
• Samira Rafaela, a member of the European parliament, who spoke about women’s rights, international trade, employment and social affairs, overseas countries and territories, and related subjects.

The course was originally designed to combine readings in June and July with an intensive travel component in August as a way to make the travel more affordable. Given the need to offer it remotely again in 2021, Maas plans to lengthen it to a standard, 12-week summer course. The expanded time period will allow for more discussion, additional speakers and a more relaxed reading schedule.

The course gives students a good understanding of the Netherlands and the EU and provides them with a chance to compare what they’re learning to Canadian institutions and policies; it also gives them a framework for evaluating any country’s systems.

“I explicitly ask them to compare the Netherlands to Canada in many cases to ensure they understand that there are other ways to design policies or look at the world,” Maas said.

Maas also wants them to get a sense of not-so-ancient history, exploring how the EU was formed to prevent another large-scale war on the European continent.

“This has been the biggest achievement of the EU,” he said. “It has been a massive change, a world historical change.”

He is currently recruiting students for the longer version of the course, which will be offered in summer 2021 (). There is a March 1 application deadline and the course is open to students in any faculty. Previous political science courses or knowledge of the EU is not required, although commitment to doing the reading analysis papers and final reflection paper is necessary.

“This course ran so well virtually last summer that I’m looking forward to offering it again this coming summer and then adding the travel component starting in summer 2022,” said Maas.

Students from the class seem to agree, if feedback is any indication.

Reid Springstead, a Glendon political science student graduating this spring, said he was disappointed not to be able to travel abroad, but learned a lot from the course nonetheless. “Professor Maas did an amazing job of moving the course online,” Springstead said. “For me, the coolest part was talking to EU politicians and others who were very involved with policy. They helped give me a good outside perspective on North America."

Although Dakwar was also disappointed to find that the course would be held online, rather than overseas, she finds she benefited from the decision, given the lockdown and the fact that the entire university pivoted to online learning in fall 2020. “It was a surprise to be studying online at the time, but it prepared me well for other online courses,” she said. “It’s just you and your own initiative to get the work done.”

In addition to expanding her knowledge of the Netherlands and the EU, Dakwar found that it was an opportunity to build her reading comprehension skills and hone her writing to make it more precise.

"This was an awesome way to gain an international perspective of politics abroad and a great way to have new experiences,” she said. “This class was a great experience, and I learned a lot about the EU. Professor Maas did a great job. It was awesome to be able to stay safe and still take the course.”

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer, Innovatus

The post Exploring the European Union through a Dutch Lens appeared first on Glendon Campus.

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer, Innovatus

The post Glendon's community-based initiatives improve language skills while breaking isolation appeared first on Glendon Campus.