U��֦��Ƶ awards more than $800K to 2025 teaching and learning grants recipients

May 23, 2025

U��֦��Ƶ awards more than $800K to 2025 teaching and learning grants recipients

23 projects receive funding to explore innovative research opportunities

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Innovation in teaching and learning requires more than just ideas. It needs support to advance new ways students are taught and to create development opportunities for educators.

The ��֦��Ƶ Teaching and Learning Grants program invites educators to submit project proposals that explore innovative ways to improve the overall educational experience. “The program gives academic staff the opportunity to critically examine and share out approaches to student learning that is research informed and supports their broader research goals,” says Dr. , PhD’07, vice-provost teaching and learning.

“This allows for our researchers to lead projects that not only benefit students, but contribute to everything we are working to achieve in U��֦��Ƶ’s Strategic Plan, Ahead of Tomorrow.”

Wide range of research topics supported

Funded by U��֦��Ƶ's Provost’s Office, the program has so far funded 23 projects in 2025, with a combined total of $813,241.99. This includes $89,858 contributed by the Students' Union .

Applications for grants included topics in engineering, science and medicine which have resulted in novel investigations into topics such as the tensions and harmonies between engineering student identity and queer identity; building a space-themed rescue simulator to teach AI coding; and using 3D simulations for pathology training.

Since 2014, the program has awarded more than $7 million to 295 teaching and learning research projects.

“Each year, we’re amazed at the range of departments and disciplines represented in the list of funded projects.” says Dr. , DVM, academic lead for the Teaching and Learning Grants program. “The depth, vigour and vision that guides each teaching and learning exploration is truly remarkable.”

To learn more about the program and view information about the launch of next year’s application, visit the .

2025 Teaching and Learning grant recipients

Collaborative open educational resources environment; fostering active learning using an individualized, data-driven framework for engineering statics

Grant Holder: Principal – ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Schulich School of Engineering), (Schulich School of Engineering)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; online and blended learning; open educational resources; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; academic integrity and ethics; professional learning in higher education
Grant: $14,900

Innovating care: An end-user centred curriculum for biomedical engineering

Grant Holder: Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Team Members: Support Staff – Suzanna Crawford (), (Faculty of Nursing), External – Ursula Mann
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; program innovation and renewal
Grant: $15,000

Team-based experiential assessment for teaching introductory AI (AEGIS rescue simulator)

Grant Holder: Principal – ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Faculty of Science)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; work-Integrated Learning, experiential Learning, undergraduate research and creative scholarship; open educational resources; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $31,800

Examining and supporting leadership in global classroom Initiatives for faculty and students

Grant Holder: Principal – ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Werklund School of Education), (Werklund School of Education)
Grant Stream: Educational Leadership
Focus Area: Work integrated learning, (W.I.L) experiential learning (E.L.) and undergraduate research and creative scholarship; online and blended learning
Grant: $45,000

Rethinking curriculum and pedagogy: Evaluating the master of social work-international community development program to address the dynamic complexities of global and local contexts

Grant Holder: Principal – ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Faculty of Social Work), (Faculty of Social Work), (Faculty of Social Work), Graduate Student – Karen Pontious (Faculty of Social Work)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; sustainability and global engagement; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $45,000

3D Asset and simulation training development for pathology based training programs

Grant Holder: Principal – William (Bill) Gorday ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – Amy Bromley (Cumming School of Medicine) and Konstantin Koro (Cumming School of Medicine)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; online and blended learning; sustainability and global engagement; entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; graduate student mentorship and learning experiences
Grant: $45,000

Gamifying virtual building tours for mechanical systems education using H5P technology

Grant Holder: Principal – Peiying Jennifer Tsai (Schulich School of Engineering); Co-Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation
Focus Area: Online and blended learning; sustainability and global engagement; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $15,000

Enhancing GenAI skills and understanding among students

Grant Holder: Principal – Angeliki Athanasopoulou ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Schulich School of Engineering); Graduate Student – (Faculty of Arts); External – Julie Sedivy
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; graduate student mentorship and learning experiences; academic integrity and ethics
Grant: $15,000

Examining online implementation of high-impact educational practices (HIPs)

Grant Holder: Principal – Barbara Brown (Werklund School of Education)
Team Members: Academic Staff – Verena Roberts (Werklund School of Education); Graduate Student – Amber Hartwell (Werklund School of Education)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Online and blended learning; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $45,000

Undergraduate health equity research: Ensuring meaningful, well-supported, and high-impact learning experiences

Grant Holder: Principal – (Cumming School of Medicine)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Cumming School of Medicine), (Cumming School of Medicine)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation
Focus Area: WIL, EL, undergraduate research and creative scholarship; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; community-engaged teaching and learning
Grant: $39,410

Teaching multi-disciplinary health professionals how to respond to intimate-partner violence disclosure: An interprofessional virtual gaming simulation (VGS)

Grant Holder: Principal – (Faculty of Social Work)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Faculty of Nursing), Jolene Haws (Cumming School of Medicine); Support Staff – Nathan Pronyshyn (Faculty of Social Work); Postdoctoral Associate – (Faculty of Social Work)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: WIL, EL, undergraduate research and creative scholarship; online and blended learning; open educational resources; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $44,892

Using outcome harvesting to determine the outcomes of graduate certificates in nursing

Grant Holder: Principal – (Faculty of Nursing); Co-Principal – (Faculty of Nursing)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Faculty of Nursing); Support Staff – (Faculty of Nursing)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; community-engaged teaching and learning; graduate student mentorship and learning experiences
Grant: $45,000

Navigating wicked problems: Integrating systems thinking, design justice, and sustainability mindset in engineering education

Grant Holder: Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Community well-being and mental health; sustainability and global engagement; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; community-engaged teaching and learning
Grant: $39,950

Integrating student perspectives in outcomes-based assessment: a longitudinal study of student self-efficacy

Grant Holder: Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; open educational resources; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $44,769

Using peer reflecting teams to strengthen case consultation skills

Grant Holder: Principal - (Werklund School of Education); Co-Principal – (Werklund School of Education)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; WIL, EL, undergraduate research and creative scholarship; open educational resources; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $44,966

Inclusive assessment: considerations for GenAI and academic integrity

Grant Holder: Principal – (Werklund School of Education)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Werklund School of Education); Support Staff – (Student Accessibility Services)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; open educational resources; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $40,000

Enhancing current assessment practices in the biomedical engineering undergraduate program: opportunities and barriers

Grant Holder: Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Team Members: Academic Staff – Ethan MacDonald (Schulich School of Engineering), (Schulich School of Engineering); Graduate Student – Jacob Beaudoin (Faculty of Graduate Studies)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; academic integrity and ethics
Grant: $45,000

Investigating the tensions and harmonies between engineering student identity and queer identity

Grant Holder: Principal – (Schulich School of Engineering)
Team Members: Academic Staff – Marie Charbonneau (Schulich School of Engineering), Emma Farago (Schulich School of Engineering), Robyn Paul (Schulich School of Engineering)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; community well-being and mental health; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $45,000

Shovels Ready: Understanding cultural resource management preparedness in post-secondary archaeology education

Grant Holder: Principal – (Faculty of Arts)
Team Members: Academic Staff – Matthew Munro (Faculty of Arts); Graduate Student – Erica Van Vugt (Faculty of Arts); External – Ken Holyoke, Tatiana Craft
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Focus Area: WIL, EL, undergraduate research and creative scholarship; program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; community-engaged teaching and learning
Grant: $14,435.99

Helping medical trainees grow: A prospective mixed-methods interventional study of non-ability variables

Grant Holder: Principal – (Cumming School of Medicine)
Team Members: Academic Staff – Sylvain Coderre (Cumming School of Medicine), (Cumming School of Medicine), (Cumming School of Medicine), Kevin McLaughlin (Cumming School of Medicine); Support Staff – (Faculty of Graduate Studies); MED Student – Mobina Motamedi (Cumming School of Medicine)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $38,328

Transforming Reconciliation and academic inclusivity through leadership (TRAIL)

Grant Holder: Principal – (Cumming School of Medicine); Co-Principal – Kenna Kelly-Turner (Cumming School of Medicine)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Vice-President Research Office); Support Staff – Howard Campbell (Cumming School of Medicine)
Grant Stream: Educational Leadership
Focus Area: Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; land based learning and Indigenous Ways of Knowing; sustainability and global engagement; transdisciplinary teaching and learning; professional learning in higher education
Grant: $45,000

Improvement during growth: Innovation of equine practical learning during a class expansion by streamlining existing processes

Grant Holder: Principal – (); Co-Principal – Cecily Burbidge (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)
Team Members: Academic Staff – (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine), (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine); Support Staff – Kate Armstrong (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine), Katie Rombough (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)
Grant Stream: Development and Innovation, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Program innovation and renewal; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $9,928

Evaluating mental health and well-being outcomes through peer-assisted study sessions (PASS)

Grant Holder: Principal – ()
Team Members: Academic Staff – Julia Hews-Girard (Faculty of Nursing); Support Staff – (Chancellor Cuthbertson Student Success Centre)
Grant Stream: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Focus Area: Community well-being and mental health; transdisciplinary teaching and learning
Grant: $44,863