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Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic

2019-2020 FIT Project Descriptions


Project: Teaching Counselling Clinic

Project lead: Margaret Coombes, School of Social Work and Human Services, Faculty of Professional Studies.

The School of Social Work and Human Services (SWHS) is requesting to establish a UFV Teaching

Counselling Clinic. The School of SWHS will supplement and complement the existing neighbourhood network of support by offering direct counselling services while providing field placement opportunities to our BSW, MSW, and Social Services Diploma students. The initiative is an opportunity for faculty and community providers, who are therapists, to supervise students and provide much-needed services to individuals and families in the local community.

FIT - Final Report - Coombes


Project: The Creativity Lab

Project lead: Anna Griffith, School of Creative Arts, College of Arts.

This project focuses on a multi-disciplinary effort that brings Communications and Theatre into dialogue with students and faculty across the university. As pedagogical approaches move to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), creativity becomes

a priority for faculty, as creativity will generate innovative strategies and opportunities for curriculum development that will meet the needs of diverse learners. It is paramount that UFV present options for students and faculty to engage with processes that develop creativity to meet modern expectations for innovation. Specifically focusing on developing a teaching toolkit to facilitate fostering student creativity within the context of an interdisciplinary team is where innovation lies within this project. It aims to synthesize the discipline specific knowledge from across multiple facets of the university. Doing so responds to the call many scholars of Teaching and Learning have put forward that suggest educators need to find ways to promote creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration in team-based learning.

FIT - Final Report - Griffith


Project: Coaching UFV Student Team for International Debate Competition on Ethical Issues

Project lead: Masud Khawaja, School of Business, Faculty of Professional Studies.

This project presents a unique opportunity to engage students around topics of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability- a core value that is imparted to students in the School of Business at UFV. By design, cases require students to think comprehensively and creatively about the topics and to produce evidence-based solutions. The competitive format creates a level of enthusiasm and opportunity where students will conduct research analysis and produce solutions which further builds up on the knowledge that they have gained in the BBA program. As part of this teaching project, Fall 2019 BUS 493 (Case Competition) students will study and - prepare arguments on the assigned cases. The course will culminate with the top 5 students being selected to participate in Ethics Bowl - an international Ethics debate competition in the United States at the end of Fall 2019 session.

Note: Due to COVID-19, this project has been postponed.


Project: Precision Agriculture Lab: Phase 1 Horticulture

Project lead: Renee Prasad, Agriculture, Faculty of Applied and Technical Studies

Automation and robotics are the key elements of what is being described as the fourth agricultural revolution" (Marchiol 2019). This project proposes to develop resources and course-based activities that provide opportunities for students and instructors in Agriculture (specifically Horticulture), Automation & Robotics, Engineering Physics to become local leaders in this revolution. Specifically, we propose to modify one of the bays in our greenhouse into an integrated lab with the feature of digital vertical farming by adopting various sensors and intelligent control algorithm to monitor and control plant's growth/production and environmental variables. As Agriculture students identify the needs of automation and digital technology for plants' production in the lab, the students from Automation & Robotics, Engineering Physics will be tasked to develop technologies appropriate for addressing those needs. Then Agriculture students will use the technologies to examine the plants' growth and production in a digital controlled environment. The students from Math & Statistics program will analyze the data generated and collected from the lab to provide guidance for the students in the other three programs to do further development and tests.

Fit - Final Report - Prasad


Project: Using wearable technology-based metrics to measure the impacts of HR & HRV and mindfulness-based practices

Project lead: Christine Slavik, Child Youth and Family Studies, Faculty of Professional Studies.

This project supports and enhances a current course that has proven to be highly successful among UFV students across disciplines. CYC275 Wellness and Mindfulness-Based Practices (MBP) is a core course in the BA in CYC degree program and is offered twice in an academic year. There is great interest from students from a variety of other faculties and programs at UFV including: psychology, kinesiology, philosophy, social work, criminology, adult education, and BGS. The project involves the addition of utilizing wearable technology-based metrics to improve student success and mastery of personal health and wellness. The addition of this tool will amplify and bring to life the changes that are occurring for students as they engage in MBP. The idea is that each student in the course will have the opportunity to access and wear a FitBit to monitor their heart rate and heart rate variability as the course progresses, providing real time evidence of physiological changes.

Fit - Final Report - Slavik


Project: A socially just global service-learning program

Project lead: Brianna Strumm, School of Social Work and Human Services, Faculty of Professional Studies.

Global service-learning (GSL) is becoming an integral part of post-secondary education, offering students short-term opportunities to experience living within and among international communities, cultures and systems. In partnership with a Canadian organization called Operation Groundswell, this innovate project infuses GSL with a social justice mandate and promotes the integration of service- learning programming from a critical and socially just orientation. A group of 10-12 students and 1-2 faculty members will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in an educational travel experience over a program duration of 9-10 days. The project will be financially accessible and blend ethical travel, guided exploration, educational programming, local immersion and an intimate, group-focused experience. Operation Groundswell will work in partnership with UFV to develop, plan and build a custom itinerary for our students in Ecuador, Guatemala or Peru.

Note: Due to COVID-19, this activity has been postponed.

 

 

 

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