Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T20:42:03.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Four Conversations We Need To Have About Teaching and Learning in Canadian Political Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2017

Heather Smith  and
Tracy Summerville
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Over the last 20 years of our careers, we have witnessed a significant decline in the respect for the liberal arts and social sciences. This decline forces us to regularly respond to questions about the relevance, value and future of our discipline. We know that political science provides fundamental skills for our students to succeed in the 21st century. Yet we also believe that as teachers and scholars we can do a better job of connecting to the realities of our students, articulating the skills and attitudes that our students will develop, and adapting our teaching methods to include high impact practices (Kuh, 2008) that focus on student learning. Here we argue that there are four important conversations that we need to have that can strengthen the appeal and interest in our discipline: the articulation of learning outcomes, the inclusion of high impact practices, attention to information literacy that recognizes the significant change in the delivery and access of research materials and a deep integration of indigenous ways of knowing in our teaching.

Résumé

Au cours des vingt dernières années de nos carrières, nous avons assisté à un important recul en ce qui a trait au respect des arts libéraux et des sciences humaines. Ce déclin nous force à répondre régulièrement à des questions sur la pertinence, la valeur et l’avenir de notre discipline. Nous savons que la science politique procure à nos étudiants les compétences fondamentales pour réussir au XXIe siècle. Mais nous pensons également qu’à titre d’enseignants et de chercheurs, nous pouvons mieux faire pour être en phase avec les réalités de nos étudiants, articuler les compétences et les attitudes que ces derniers développeront et adapter nos méthodes d’enseignement afin d’inclure des à forte incidence (Kuh, 2008) axées sur l’apprentissage. Nous soutenons ici qu’il y a lieu d’engager quatre conversations importantes susceptibles de renforcer l’attrait de notre discipline et d’en raviver l’intérêt, à savoir : l’articulation des résultats d’apprentissage, l’inclusion des pratiques à impact élevé, l’attention portée à la maîtrise de l’information qui reconnaît le changement important intervenu dans l’accès aux documents de recherche et leur offre et une intégration approfondie des modes autochtones d’acquisition du savoir à notre enseignement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 263 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alfred, Taiaiake and Corntassel, Jeff. 2005. “Being Indigenous: Resurgences Against Contemporary Colonialism.” Government and Opposition. 40; 597–614.Google Scholar
Anderson, Lorin W. and Sosniak, Lauren A. eds. 1994. Bloom's taxonomy: a forty-year retrospective Chicago, IL: National Society for the Study of Education ; Distributed by the University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Beier, Marshall. 2009. Indigenous Diplomacies. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Berry, Michael, & Robinson, Tony. 2012. “An Entrance to Exit Polling: Strategies for Using Exit Polls as Experiential Learning Projects.” PS: Political Science and Politics, 45: 501–505.Google Scholar
Blackwell, Richard. 2016. “Is University Experience Worth the Cost?” Globe and Mail, 2 September, available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/is-the-university-experience-worth-the-cost/article31703109/.Google Scholar
Brock University. 2016. “Department of Political Science: Service Learning Opportunities.” Available at: https://brocku.ca/social-sciences/departments-and-centres/political-science/undergraduate-program/service-learning-opportunities (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Brownlee, Jo, Walker, Sue, Lennox, Sandra, Exley, Beryl and Pearce, Sharyn. 2009. “The first year university experience: using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education.” Higher Education 58: 599–618.Google Scholar
Canadian Association of University Teachers. 2014. “Memorandum 14:28 - Student Learning Outcomes”, available at:http://www.acadiafaculty.ca/sites/542b0b0c47aebaa4de03faf2/assets/542ed53947aeba13e90b2600/CAUT_Student_Learning_Outcomes.pdf. (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Canadian Association of University Teachers. 2016. “Indigenizing the Academy: The Way Forward.” CAUT Bulletin June, Available at: http://www.caut.ca/bulletin/articles/2016/06/indigenizing-the-academy-the-way-forward (Accessed December 28, 2016).Google Scholar
Dalhousie University. 2016. “Department of Political Science” available at: http://www.dal.ca/faculty/arts/politicalscience.html. (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
De Matos-Ala, Jacqueline and Hornsby, David J.. 2015. “Introducing International Studies: Student Engagement in Large Classes.” International Studies Perspectives. 16: 156–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elias, Anwen. 2014. “Simulating the European Union: Reflections on Module Design.” International Studies Perspectives. 15: 407–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elon University. 2013. “High Quality Impact Practices”. Available at: http://blogs.elon.edu/cel/high-quality-high-impact-practices/. (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Finnie, Ross. 2016. “Busting the Barista Myth: Higher Education IS Linked to Higher Salaries”, Ottawa Citizen, 8 August, available at: http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/finnie-busting-the-barista-myth-higher-education-is-linked-to-higher-salaries (Accessed September 30, 2016)Google Scholar
Jackson, Philip W. 1990. Life in Classroom: reissued with a new introduction. New York / London: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.Google Scholar
Jenson, Jill D. 2004. “It's the Information Age, so Where's the Information? Why Our Students Can't Find It and What We Can Do to Help.” College Teaching. 52: 107–112.Google Scholar
Kuh, George D. 2008. “High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter”, (Association of American Colleges and Universities) available at: https://www.aacu.org/leap/hips (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Ladner, Kiera and Simpson, Leanne, eds. 2010. This is an Honour Song: Twenty Years Since the Barricades. Winnipeg, Arbeiter Ring Press.Google Scholar
Lakehead University. 2016. “FAQ's about Indigenous Content Requirement”, available at: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/departments/services/ai/icr (Accessed December 28, 2016).Google Scholar
Lightfoot, Sheryl. 2016. Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
MacDonald, Moira. 2016. “Indigenizing the Academy” in University Affairs. 6 April. Available at: http://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/indigenizing-the-academy/ (Accessed December 20, 2016).Google Scholar
National Survey on Student Engagement. 2015. “Engagement Indicators and High Impact Practices” available at: http://nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/EIs_and_HIPs_2015.pdf (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Nossal, Kim Richard. 2006. “A Question of Balance: The Cult of Research Intensivity and the Professing of Political Science in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 39: 735–754.Google Scholar
Pete, Shauneen. ND. “100 Ways to Indigenize and Decolonize Academic Programs and Courses.” available at: https://www.uregina.ca/president/assets/docs/president-docs/indigenization/indigenize-decolonize-university-courses.pdf (Accessed November 22, 2016).Google Scholar
Polkinghorne, Sarah and Wilton, Shauna. 2010. “Research is a Verb: Exploring a New Information Literacy–Embedded Undergraduate Research Methods Course.” The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 34: 457–473.Google Scholar
Pocklington, Tom. 1998. “The Place of Political Science in Canadian Universities.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 31: 643–658.Google Scholar
Province of British Columbia. 2015. “Post-secondary funding to align with in-demand jobs” available at: https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/post-secondary-funding-to-align-with-in-demand-jobs (accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
Shor, Ira. 1992. Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Heather A. and Cornut, Jeremie. 2016. “The Status of Women in Canadian Foreign Policy.” in Journal of Women, Politics & Policy , 37: 1–17.Google Scholar
Smith, Heather A. and Caldwell, Courtney, Carson, Heather, Gribling, Charelle, Milinazzo, Kaleigh, Therrien, Emily, & Leslie Warner, L. 2012. “Doing It Differently: Collective Impressions of the Creation of an ‘Art Gallery’.” International Studies Perspectives, 13: 307–320. doi:10.1111/j.1528-3585.2012.00492.x Google Scholar
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. 1999. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Summey, Terri Pedersen and Kane, Cynthia Akers. 2016. Going Where They Are: Intentionally Embedding Librarians in Courses and Measuring the Impact on Student Learning, Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, DOI: 10.1080/1533290X.2016.1229429 Google Scholar
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 2015. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, (Winnipeg: TRC), available at: http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf.Google Scholar
Universities Canada. 2015. “Universities Canada Principles on Indigenous Education” availalbe at: http://www.univcan.ca/media-room/media-releases/universities-canada-principles-on-indigenous-education/ (accessed December 30, 2016)Google Scholar
University of Alberta 2016. “About Political Science” available at: https://www.ualberta.ca/political-science/about-political-science (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
University of Northern British Columbia. 2016. “Political Science” available at: http://www.unbc.ca/political-science (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
University of Toronto Political Science. 2016. “Internships” available at: http://politics.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/internships/ (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar
University of Waterloo, Centre for Teaching Excellence. 2016. “High Impact Practices (HIPs) or Engaged Learning Practices”, available at https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/integrative-learning/high-impact-practices-hips-or-engaged-learning-practices, (Accessed September 20 2016)Google Scholar
University of Winnipeg. 2016. “Indigenous Course Requirement”, available at: http://uwinnipeg.ca/indigenous-course-requirement/, (Accessed December 28, 2016).Google Scholar
Wente, Margaret. 2013. “Fries with that BA? The Declining Value of a Degree” Globe and Mail, available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/fries-with-that-ba-the-declining-value-of-a-degree/article10869374/ (Accessed September 30, 2016).Google Scholar