Celebrating Educators at the STLHEs With the D2L Innovation Award Co-Chairs

Full Transcript

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Welcome to Teach and Learn, a podcast for curious educators brought to you by D2L, a global EdTech company committed to transforming the way the world learns. I’m Dr. Cristi Ford, vice president of academic affairs.

Dr. Emma Zone:

And I’m Dr. Emma Zone, senior director of academic affairs.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Each week, we’ll meet some of the sharpest minds in the K-20 space. We’ll break down trending educational topics, discuss teaching strategies, and have frank conversations about issues plaguing our schools and higher education institutions today.

Dr. Emma Zone:

Whether it’s EdTech, personalized learning, virtual classrooms, or diversity and inclusion, we’re going to cover it all.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Sharpen your pencils. Class is about to begin.

Hello, and welcome. As a learning company with a mission on changing the way the world learns, at D2L we’re always thinking about new ways to do this. Of course, we couldn’t do it without innovative, out-of-the-box, solution-driven thinkers. Innovation is really a part of our DNA.

We’re proud to be partnered with the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, also affectionately known as STLHE. This renowned organization strives to be the preeminent national voice for the enhancement of teaching and learning in Canada and beyond. And every year, they host a conference where standout educators in the post-secondary sphere are recognized for their achievements. The D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning honors up to five teams that are promoted student-centered teaching and learning initiatives.

And here to tell us more about the D2L’s Innovation, Awards are the co-chairs, Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic and Dr. Jovan Groen.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Pleasure being here, Cristi. Thank you for having us.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Aleksandra, I want to start with you. If you can just maybe for our listeners who are joining us and don’t know about the STLHE Awards in general and the kinds of achievements that are recognized at the event, can you just share a little bit more with the audience here today?

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Well, STLHE is a national organization that gives out four awards every year, and they are D2L Award in Innovation in Teaching and Learning, and that one recognizes and celebrates up to five secondary collaboration teams that come up with innovative approaches to promote student-centered learning, just like you said. The other one is 3M National Student Fellowship, and it honors undergraduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their lives and in their institutions. The third one is Christopher Knapper Lifetime Achievement Award that honors individuals who have, over their career, made significant contributions to teaching, learning, and educational development. And the last one is A 3M National Teaching Fellowship, and it’s Canada’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level. It embodies these highest ideals of teaching excellence and scholarship.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

I should point out that Aleks was a recipient of that award a few years ago.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Okay, so I’m going to have to come back and ask a little bit more about that. But Jovan, while you’re jumping in, I guess I’d love to understand and your role as co-chair, but also thinking about your work with STLHE, why is it so important that we celebrate these kinds of achievements in higher ed?

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Well, it’s a good question. I think there’s great importance in the process of recognizing and of celebrating work that’s done often in the evenings and the weekends when people are going well above and beyond the tasks that they do in their regular day to reach out to students, to create collaborations, to do the things that we love doing that we don’t always have the most time for that are a corner of the desk sometimes.

I think it’s also important because it creates a network of like-minded individuals that come together to really cross-pollinate ideas from different disciplines, different backgrounds. They all have a similar interest in impacting the lives and transformations of learners, and this is a great way to bring them together.

And the last thing, I guess I would say, is it really does, I think, successfully encourages experimentation and ultimately innovation in the title of the award. Because even if some of the things that some of these exemplary educators do don’t necessarily work as planned or obtain the intended results, they’re always beneficial. And these types of organizations, conferences, and recognitions really bring people together, rally around innovative educators as a support and scaffold as they thoughtfully plan and try new things. I think that that is very beneficial to creating these communities.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Thank you for sharing that. And while we’re chatting with you about that, I’d love to understand how you got involved in being the co-chair of the D2L Innovation Award.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Well, listen, as it normally is, it’s not always planned. I was formerly the coordinator for a previous award, the Alan Blizzard Award, that recognized exemplary collaboration in post-secondary teaching and learning. And that’s the award that merged with the D2L Innovation and Teaching and Learning award, I think in 2022. And that award attracted a lot of good attention.

The issue was that it was a biannual award, so it was awarded every two years to only one recipient, and you would be getting 12 or 13 submissions, and very difficult to narrow that down to one. And I think it was the will of STLHE to create more of a community to do that networking and cross-pollinating piece, encouraging a greater number and celebrating a greater number of tremendous innovation. And so I then met Aleks in so doing, as she was a co-coordinator for this inaugural combined award.

And I have to say, before that, my experience was largely at the institutional level, coordinating different teaching awards, awards there, and had the opportunity to develop a chairship, really, to bring people in for long-term commitments that really… And all this work inspired the interest in programs and recognition and celebrating and scaffolding innovation. It became its own world. It’s almost addictive.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Well, and I want to go back to you, Aleksandra, as Jovan shouted you out. I understand you attended in 2015, if I have that right, as a D2L Innovation Award winner, so I’d love to, first you tell us a little bit about what that innovation was that you were celebrated for, and then how you found yourself in the co-chair seat.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Thank you for that. I attended STLHE for the first time in 2015, but I also attended a Fusion conference that D2L organizes, so I went to Florida to see who these people are. I applied for award not knowing much about it, and I hope that this podcast and activities that you’re doing is going to spread the word and invite others to share what they do.

What happened for me, it all started in 2006 when I started as a professor at Western. And the first thing that happened is students liked what I did, so I had a very good student evaluations, good numbers, great comments. And from there, I got an award from the Student Organization, then I ventured into service learning. I got award for service learning. Then I ventured into international learning. I got a little award for international learning. And then it culminated in this nomination for D2L, I got D2L award, and then the Pleva Award here at Western. That’s the highest recognition of good teaching. And then after, I just was nominated for 3M, so I’m done. I’ve had them all, I’m very happy, and I can retire.

But it’s a process. It’s this huge, long process, and I think what made it is inviting students and bringing them into this creative space as co-creator. And that’s one thing that I see in every award that we’re adjudicating, that there is this attraction. And I think people who get this award found the ways to harvest this creative potential that is very often sitting idle in our classrooms, especially in the big classrooms. I think we’re going to talk about it, but I think it’s collaborative and creative learning and teaching and inviting students into this space to inspire and empower.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

I love that and would love to maybe drill a little more deeply around the innovation that you were working on in 2015 that you got the award for, because I think Jovan and I have decided we’re going to jump on your trip this summer and join you with your students. You can share a little bit more about what that innovation award was about, what the project was about. And it sounds like the work has continued.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Yes. It’s actually changing over time. I started in a large classroom, so I was innovated in a way of engaging 250 students to work in small teams and come up with things. Then I transitioned in another course, Aging Body Course, and I said, “How better to learn what aging body feels like.” I can teach students what it is and looks like and what happens to it, but it’s not going to sink in until they feel what it feels like. That invited them to create a lab, a simulation lab that we can pack in four suitcases and take in a community to teach others.

We learn in a course, finish the course with knowledge of what happens in an aging body, but then when you inspire others by challenging them to try, what does it feel like to have a Parkinson’s disease? What does it feel like to have urinary incontinence? What does it feel like if you don’t have teeth to eat, or you cannot cut the food yourself? A lot of small simulations, and then they turned into an online simulation lab where people can simulate all over in their houses with things that everybody has at home. Students were the ones creating these challenges, and that was innovative at the time.

The most recently, I ventured into this international creative space, and I have a collaboration with a university in Norway. We start what’s known as a COIL, collaborative online international learning. And we have these transatlantic tutorials where we work on a case study examining how would one family that has these issues, how would they fare in Canada and how would they fare in Norway? How would they transition in long-term care home in Canada or in Norway? What is the home care like in each country? And then at the end, the conclusion is what can we learn from each other? It’s a different level of learning because students is in the driving seat of their own learning involvement.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

I really appreciate that. Here at D2L, we talk about our ability to empower and enable the learning moment, and as I’m listening to you talk about the examples around Parkinson’s and other opportunities for learners to really put themselves in the shoes of others and to be able to have that transformative learning experience and moment that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. And so I really appreciate you bringing some light to those kinds of examples that many educators are talking about and thinking about in terms of how can we take our passion and love for the subjects that we’ve devoted for many decades of our time and study and scholarship, how can we translate that into learning moments that are transformative for the way the world learns today? And so I really appreciate that approach.

And Jovan, I want to go back to you for just a second and talk about this award. I think, and when you talk with our producers, this award is about recognition, but it’s a lot more than that. And so if you can talk a little bit about how you see this ripple effect touching others in higher education and maybe provide some examples, as you’ve been able to see that happen.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Sure. As you may be able to tell, there’s a tremendous energy around this award.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Yes.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

An energy that it exists so that people can rally around and celebrate things that are working and things that are being experimented. But also, it’s a tremendous community-building lever, because not only does it bring together the people interested in it, it brings the people together that have been awarded or that are being celebrated given year, which, because it’s a team award, sometimes our cohorts are 25, 30 people because, of course, they’re teams. And then you create an alumni base of people who are continuously interested and that then, within that community, support one another and connect for future innovations and other projects. It’s an amazing thing.

But I think a part of the energy is also that we get so busy and narrow with our specific tasks and projects on the day, this really reminds people about why they love what they do, why they love education, why they’re educators. It re-frames the essence of their craft, for the love of sharing a discipline or aspects of their discipline of, as you were saying, transforming students. Facilitating the transformation of learners is a magical moment to witness these a-has to be part of that journey.

And I think this award shapes that practice, makes it more relevant, but brings it to the fore. It allows us the opportunity to pause and to remember why we love what we do. And I think that that joy, that energy is palpable in our retreats in the celebratory moments, whenever the award is uttered, frankly, and I think that that’s just such a joy to see.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Well, and as I listen to you talk and I think about learning, we all know learning is social, and so as you’re talking about these innovative award winners and this community of practice, really, you’re building to really be able to not just be able to celebrate current success, but, as I’m listening to you, catapult and iterate into other learning innovations, I think it’s really great that you’re raising all sales and really trying to help institutions and researchers and educators alike really be thinking about how do we continue to push the boundaries around this kind of work?

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Absolutely. And one thing that reminds me here, as you’re suggesting that, is there’s almost another layer of inspiration here. And that other layer is Aleks and I pulled together an adjudication team of nearly 20 adjudicators annually, and it’s not that hard to get them because they’re excited about the process. They want to read these, get some ideas, be inspired. And we’re told on occasion some of the adjudicators, they’re going to get a glass of wine, a hot tea, they relax. This is a thing they look forward to. It’s not work.

And the energy is not only in those who are participating and celebrating, but in those that are adjudicating and being inspired by those who are submitting. There’s almost that other layer of people that get affected so positively, and it reminds them why they love what they do, and they then bring that joy back to their respective institutions. And I think of the 20 adjudicators we have this year, we have 15 institutions across the country that are represented there. It’s impressive.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

As I’m talking to you today, again, the energy is palpable, it’s infectious, the passion you have for this work. For those who are listening, this is the first they’ve ever heard of STLHE or the D2L Innovation Award, Aleksandra, I want to start with you in terms of can you give maybe an essence or feel of some of the past learners? Not learners, but winners. As you think about some of those teams that maybe come to mind, I’d love for you to share with our audience today maybe one or two examples of the kinds of innovative work that have gotten this award in the past.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Thank you for that. You know how Mom cannot say which child is the best or which one she loves the most? I can’t do that. I cannot single out one, but what I can do is to pull the red thread behind those that stayed with me. And the number one is involvement of students and contributions and this creation of students.

I remember one application, I don’t even know which year they were, but chemistry students during the COVID time, they couldn’t attend labs, so they created this huge team of advisors from students to help them develop chemistry laboratories that can be done at home with the things that people have at home and simulate what would normally happen at the lab at the university. That’s ingenious. And they had this huge team of 25-plus graduate students, PhDs, the postdocs, master’s, and undergraduate students to tell them and guide them of how to do this.

Another one that comes to mind is a team that wave the indigenous and era western knowledge and perspectives on climate change into a course also across campus capstone classroom, where they opened up the silos of learning per faculty or department, and they invited students from all programs at the university to be part of this interdisciplinary connect local and global partners course. Those are just some examples that really stuck with me. But in all of them, it’s advisory role of students and those who are coming up with these innovations, being open for that.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

I love that. And so what I hear you talking about, one, is that institutions or these projects were collaborative, so going across disciplines and areas and communities on campus, as well as making sure that there was student agency and voice and opportunity to be a part of these projects has some really central things. We talk a lot about we’re always, as educators, trying to do our best to help students have agency and to learn and to grow, but sometimes we forget to include them as a part of that conversation. I really appreciate that. Not that you’re choosing favorites, but I appreciate some of those things.

I’d love to hear from you as well around maybe some past projects that resonated with you and maybe why those projects were really impactful to you.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Yeah, I think Aleks highlighted some great examples of projects within institutions. I’m trying to think of many that went beyond the walls of the institution.

As an example, there was one past project that connected with some indigenous communities around in the local geography to really craft what knowledge creation was, to really revisit what knowledge-making is. And they took a Eurocentric approach and indigenous lens to examine what it is to tell stories, to know what is true, what is real, but also to disseminate and mobilize knowledge in different ways. And they created a journal for a suite of undergraduate students who would work with elders in various communities who would come to a site on campus with instructors and professors and staff members and these students.

And they formed their own community and they created knowledge from a diversity of disciplines together, and they were able to publish this in a journal form. It was a tremendous initiative. And I think it’s one of the neat things that came out of that particular initiative is it was seen as so remarkable within the institution and beyond the institution that they found means to sustain that and to grow it and to scale it. And so I think the award, the recognition really permitted that to flourish.

Another example that is a collaboration between institutions was also during the pandemic, was a suite of institutions who really wanted to help support instructors who were transitioning their courses to online modalities and they didn’t have the instructional design staff to support, so they banded together within one of those institutions. They didn’t have the resources, so they banded together to combine the resources and they trained students, graduate students largely, and undergraduate students frankly, to be able to offer the support from the student, the learner perspective, to come together with instructors that they were assigned to different courses and bring all this content online in a meaningful way that was, of course, meeting a need, and that was prompt. And they created this dispatch support service across varied institutions to meet a demand and a need, and I think they were able to keep that going for some time thereafter.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Wow. Hearing you talk about the ability to triage, I love the quote that says, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” and to be able to elevate that work in ways that served multiple institutions is just phenomenal to hear.

You both have shared a little bit about the past and, not giving away the secret sauce, but as you’re looking at this 2024 year of contenders, what can you share with us about who might be included? Or what are some of the things you’re most looking forward to as it relates to the 2024 D2L Innovation Award potential candidates here?

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Well, we’re in the adjudication time, so we cannot share a lot about it, but I can tell you what the adjudicators… We read these applications, but we don’t adjudicate. Only if we are short for one or two adjudicators, then we jump in to fill in. But every adjudicator reads multiple nominations and they score them, and then we work with those scores to put together the list to end ranking.

But what adjudicators are looking for is innovation, the experiences of students, the evidence of learning and student engagement. It has to be some evidence that whatever they came up with did improve the learning process, and adoption by other groups. If the innovation have taken roots in the singular space and place, that’s great, but if it has been shared with others, other programs of their institutions, internationally, that is really a big bonus.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

That’s great.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

And I’m sure Jovan has more to say about this.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

No, that’s the essence. Really, there’s this tremendous focus on the evidence of impact on student learning, particularly the nature of the collaboration on that.

I think in terms of trends though, in the last few years we’ve always had consistently well over a dozen submissions, which is telling, and we’re seeing more interest internationally from international scholars across the globe who are demonstrating interest in this initiative. Some scholars who are connecting with Canadian institutions and who are working collaboratively with Canadian institutions from varied other continents and others who are doing a collaboration on another continent in another area, very much in post-secondary teaching and learning, who are curious and seeking to be part of this Canadian community. It’s curious and exciting.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Yeah, it’s really great to hear that you’re getting such an uptick in submissions. And hopefully, as we share this podcast for 2025, you may be able to double that number. And also, I am excited to hear that you are able to elevate these teams. I appreciated your earlier point around moving from just giving one award every other year to now being able to recognize four or five of these.

And so I guess for either one of you, why do you think others should follow D2L’s lead and support awards like this and help to officially recognize these kinds of significant impacts happening in the field of teaching and learning?

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Thank you for that question. You know the excitement of D2L, and I had a taste of it on an airplane ride from Florida to Toronto when the whole plane was full of D2L people, from programmers to administrators to everybody who was involved in a Fusion conference organization. And I just couldn’t believe of how high I was. And I am usually quite high on excitement. And what this award does, it’s a springboard for Canadian teachers and educators. It’s a springboard to 3M Award, but it also tells you what you do does matter.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

It matters.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

And it’s a little bit off on a cutting edge where things are going in a direction where education is moving.

Excitement that D2L brings to everybody, a lot of people that just learn about D2L in a process of applying to an award or receiving this award, but I think other companies and other institutions and other, especially in a realm of education, other businesses should consider the possibility of being custodians of awards like this. And D2L has a long history with STLHE, and it’s a beautiful history that have supported a lot of good education. I would strongly suggest that more companies get involved and look to D2L for how to do it, because this [inaudible 00:28:40].

Dr. Cristi Ford:

That’s fantastic. Fantastic.

And our colleagues who are listening, I want to implore you to take on the call that next February, as I think I heard it right, 2025 applications will be due. It is an international award, and so being able to maybe help use this podcast to increase the international applications. But as I understand, this is your last hurrah. This is your last year as co-chairs of this award, and so I guess I’d love to understand, as you look at where you’ve been able to really appreciate and value this role, what’s one thing you’ve enjoyed most about sharing this award?

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Something happened since we spoke last.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Okay, I’m ready.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

We got one more year.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Oh, yay! Okay. False alarm. Another year, excellent.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

We actually asked the STLHE, if they don’t have a new award coordinator in place, that we would be very happy to ease them into the process. We love what we do, really. And Jovan is the best partner that I could ever imagine in this co… It’s just joint work, and we have our strengths and everybody goes in the space where they’re the strongest, and I am so grateful that serendipitously Jovan and I got together because he just moved to Western University, where I have been for about 15 years. And at the same time, I was asked to be coordinator and I said, “I can only do it with a good co-coordinator.” And they said, “Oh, Jovan is at Western. Why not do it together?” It was really, really good match. And I think giving us a chance to do this for one more year is a testimonial of excitement we feel in coordinating, co-coordinating.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Excellent news to hear that you all will have another year to be able to champion this great work.

And so before we say goodbye, I have really appreciated your passion, your excitement, your commitment to STLHE and especially D2L Innovation Award. If those are listening today, if you had a call to action for those listening to this podcast, what would it be? Or is there something you’d like them to do or take away from this conversation here today?

Dr. Jovan Groen:

I would say that energy, tenacity, boldness, but in particular support are necessary ingredients to successful experimentation and innovation, and the call to action that comes to mind for me is really to foster community that enables that type of support, encouragement, and celebration.

And how you can create that is through these types of initiatives, which are reciprocal in value. They’re not only beneficial to the persons involved that are being celebrated, but also, for instance, D2L, who then hears on the ground what people are doing, what they’re innovating, and how they can support that work through their products, through their approaches, through their intentions. And so I think it’s a win-win for both groups on all levels. At the end of the day, we all can attest to the fact that these social exercises community is what engages, encourages, motivates, inspires us. And this is an easy means to create and foster that type of community.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Fantastic. You all have made my afternoon. Thank you so much for being here and having this conversation with me today.

Dr. Jovan Groen:

Thank you.

Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic:

Thank you for having us, Cristi.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

Absolutely. And for those listening, we’ll post more about Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic and Dr. Jovan Groen’s work outside of their awards in our show notes, so please take a moment to take a look at all the exciting and innovative work that they’re doing as well. The 2024 STLHE annual conference is being held in Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada from June 11th through the 14th. Please visit their website at STLHE.ca, that’s S-T-L-H-E.ca, for more information about the organization and the awards.

And a big shout-out and thank you to our dedicated listeners and curious educators everywhere. Remember to follow us on social media. You can find us at LinkedIn or Facebook at D2L, and check out our YouTube channel at Desire2Learn, Inc. Goodbye for now, and thank you.

You’ve been listening to Teach and Learn, a podcast for curious educators brought to you by D2L, a global learning innovation company helping organizations reshape the future of education and work.

Dr. Emma Zone:

To learn more about our K-20 and corporate solutions, visit D2L.com. Visit the Teaching and Learning Studio for more material for educators by educators, including master classes, articles, and interviews at d2l.com/teachingandlearningstudio.

Dr. Cristi Ford:

And remember to hit that subscribe button and please take a moment to rate, review and share the podcast. Thanks for joining us. And until next time, school’s out.

Resources Discussed in the Episode

• 2024 STLHE Conference
• D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning