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Hello everyone! As we move into the holiday season and the end of the year, we want to say what an amazing time it has been and that we are so excited for the New Year! In this edition, we have a wealth of great reads for you.
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!
We are so excited to announce the launch of our new Curriculum Integration website! The goal of the CI website is to serve as a hub for all faculty and staff interested in Curriculum Integration. Please visit the CI website to find information and resources to help guide you on your CI journey, no matter where you are!
Thank you to the CI planning team for putting the new website together! We hope you enjoy it.
Caption: Please visit our new Curriculum Integration website!
Did you know… The CI initiative also has an active research component!The primary goal of the CI Research project is to characterize the extent and nature of changes to curriculum and learning activities across Seneca as a result of the CI Initiative, along with the impact of these changes on student competency in the three priority areas and their readiness to contribute to positive change in the workplace.
Led by a team of Teaching & Learning Centre researchers, data generated by this research supports stakeholders at all levels throughout Seneca, including senior leadership, First Peoples@Seneca, Reconciliation & Inclusion, Sustainability, the Teaching & Learning Centre, Program Quality, and Seneca Libraries, as well as Deans, Chairs, Schools, faculty, and students. This information is also being used to enhance training resources, develop processes for continuous improvement, and inform curriculum enhancement during program development or review.
We use a variety of methods such as surveys, focus groups, progress tracking, course mapping and artifact analysis to assess both the actions programs have taken and their impacts. Data collection is divided into three broad stages:
• Baseline: Measures of the extent of curriculum integration, as well as faculty and student attitudes and perceptions, at the start of the CI project. Baseline data provides a comparator for progress tracking and captures ongoing efforts and work that has already been accomplished in each of the priority areas prior to the CI initiative.• Interim: Measures the progress being made on action items during the 2-year implementation phase. Interim data allows Schools to self-monitor their efforts, assists the CI team with identifying and providing needed supports to faculty engaged in CI work, and provides important feedback to guide the direction of the CI initiative.• Completion: Measures curriculum changes and their impacts on students, faculty, and programs/courses after the 2-year implementation phase. Completion data clearly defines accomplishments and identifies areas for on-going improvements.
Listening to our students’ perspectives about the role of these priority areas in the classroom has been very insightful, shining a light on the many ways that students view these topics as relating to their lives. On a survey, one student participant reflected:
“In my studies, I'm noticing how these themes relate. For example, sustainability entails honoring Indigenous ways of life, which frequently have a strong connection to the land and environment. EDI reminds us to include multiple perspectives, especially Indigenous ones, when making decisions regarding sustainability. Learning about these topics at Seneca is preparing me for a job in which I can make a good effect while respecting diverse cultures and opinions.”
When asked for their views about how knowledge about the CI priority areas would be useful in the future, one recent focus group participant said:
“For me, I think that it's vital. It has a vital importance because then we can become a more complete professional. We will have all the hard skills and then this could be a differential between being a Seneca student or one at another college. So, I think that, yes, it's important and we can be a more complete professional after this.”
CI research updates are shared periodically on the CI website. Look for the next report to be published in Spring of 2025.
Everyone’s perspective matters. If you’re interested in sharing feedback, thoughts or ideas about these topics, or to share the integration work you’re already doing in the classroom, you’re invited to participate in research callouts from the team.
What a ride! The first cohort of Faculty Champions had their last session of the term last week. It was an opportunity to celebrate and share our plans for the implementation period. It was truly an honour to work with such talented and hardworking faculty.
Next up for these Champions is a two-year period where they will put into action their plans to integrate Communication, Collaboration and Critical Thinking into their program areas. Teaching & Learning will be there to assist as needed.
In January, we will welcome our next cohort of Faculty Champions and begin the process of facilitating their journey to integration. We look forward to working with you!.
Caption: Human Skills faculty champions during one of the in-person hands-on activities in the fall. Source: Seneca Polytechnic
Along with the Winter 2025 Human Skills cohort, new faculty champions will be participating in the Curriculum Integration project focusing on TRC, EDI and Sustainability. The kickoff to the Winter cohort will be on Wednesday, January 8, from 10-12pm. See you there!
This session, we will be offering Spotlight sessions that are open to all Seneca faculty. Look for these sessions on MyPD–we look forward to seeing you there!
Every CI Newsletter issue will feature a “Strategy Spotlight”, where we share a curriculum integration strategy or idea that you can adapt to your classroom. Each strategy comes with a learning objective and supporting activities, assessments and resources. The example is subject specific but can be adapted to any subject area.
In this edition, Michelle Pang, a professor in the Honours Bachelor of Science, Nursing program, uses concepts of social privilege and justice to support culturally competent nursing practices and practitioners.
Looking for more sustainability integration examples from different subject areas? Explore our Curriculum Integration Teaching Sustainability Module and scroll down to "Examples of Sustainability in the Classroom".
Tell us what’s in your CI backpack! Do you have an integration idea to share with the Seneca community? Submit your idea here: Curriculum Integration Idea form.
Each month, Akeisha Lari, Manager Reconciliation and Student Inclusion, shares classroom insights for student engagement. For her previous entries, visit the Newsletter archive. This month, Akeisha "spills the tea" on how to hold space for people and different feelings during this season.
Reach out to Akeisha at any time to chat about connecting to our students: akeisha.lari@senecapolytechnic.ca.
As winter continues, we also move closer to the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, or the shortest day depending on how you view it, which falls on December 21st. This day marks the beginning of the astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and is significant in many cultures, often celebrated through festivals, traditional practices, or gatherings. Many of these focus on the coming of light and hope while feasting together and giving thanks.
This edition’s Spilling the Equi-Tea spoke about the Freezing Moon, which marks a time of rest and gathering for the Anishinaabe. It is also a period of self-reflection and appreciation for everything received throughout the year (ONWA, n.d.). This aligns to many of the themes seen during Winter Solstice celebrations and traditions.
For the Zuni peoples of New Mexico, the Winter Solstice signifies the beginning of the year. It is celebrated by Shalako, a ceremonial dance meant to encourage the sun to make the days longer (University of Massachusetts, 2024; Pruitt, 2024).
Those in Japan celebrate Toji on the Winter Solstice. This celebration focuses on health and good luck (University of Massachusetts, 2024). One way they do this is by taking yuzu baths, which traditionally have been used as a purification ritual and to attract good luck (Musubi Kiln, 2023).
For some it marks the midpoint of winter, such as the Dongzhi Festival in China. This festival, which name means ‘Winter Arrives’, celebrates the coming of light and positivity as the days lengthen after the solstice (Ho, 2024). It is a time for loved ones to gather and give thanks as well as a time for worship.
Another is the Feast of Juul, or Yule, that was largely celebrated in Scandinavia, those who live in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Over time it was absorbed by Christmas, also known as Yule, as Christianity spread across Europe (Ward & Smith, 2023). Christmas is celebrated by people worldwide and borrows many of its traditions from the pre-Christian Yule, such as wreaths, altars, tree decoration, gift-giving, caroling, wassailing, and burning a Yule log. Yule still exists today and is primarily celebrated by neo-pagans and wiccans. For them it is a time of renewal and rebirth, as well as a time to reflect on change and the past year. Fire is an important symbol for this holiday, which includes the burning of a Yule log and lighting of candles to welcome the sun and cleanse negativity.
As the winter continues, and the days become longer, it is important to take some time to welcome the sun and this period of reflection. It is the time of new beginnings. Take a walk and spend some time outdoors during the day and reconnect with the world. Reflect on the past year and think on what you hope to create in your work and personal life.
A Filipino Canuck Holiday Wrap-Up! By Darryl Bautista
“Maligayang Pasko!” is “Merry Christmas” in Tagalog the national language of the Philippines.
When I was growing up, we celebrated the holidays like Canadians with activities like tobogganing and snowball fights while maintaining many of the customs and traditions of my heritage. My parents immigrated to Canada in the 1960s acculturating to their new homeland and future place of citizenship.
They gave their kids English names, watched hockey (I’m named after Darryl Sittler) and celebrated Canada at every chance but they also instilled in their sons many cultural practices of their home country including festive traditions. For this holiday season, I share a few treats and pastimes from my childhood.
For food, familiar dishes include types of lumpia and roasted pork known as lechon but a Christmas meal would not be complete without kaldereta, a meat and vegetable stew.There was usually a dessert table filled with puto, fruit salad and leche flan to name a few but a favourite sweet staple was bibingka, a coconut flavoured, banana-leaf scented rice cake.
In the Philippines, the holidays can start as early as September and usually end around January 6th, the Feast of the Three Kings; standard holiday décor included lights, and angel figurines but many Filipino households showcased parol, a colourful ornamental lantern made of bamboo and paper.
My childhood memories of the holidays brim with thoughts of yuletide greetings before tearing open wrapped gifts, singing church carols at the top of my lungs halted by my mother’s glare, delectable food brought in from chubby uncles and manicured aunts, disco dancing with my 112th cousin and all the while there were outbursts of laughter from everyone. Gifts were often secondary at these family get-togethers because it was more important to connect and feel connected; in hindsight, there was so much cultural learning going on as my brother and I negotiated our Canadian Filipino identity.
So, as we break for the holidays, I say to you “Maligayang Pasko” and best wishes for 2025!
And for information about various events and celebrations for diversity and inclusion, explore: Global Diversity Calendar 2025.
Caption: Vintage Darryl Bautista
On December 6th, Seneca commemorated the 35th year since the École Polytechnique tragedy in Montreal of 1989. The event also addressed violence against women and ways to honour those affected by gender-based trauma.
The event launched just next to the media wall in the CITE building with a vigil and installation created by Seneca Student Federation’s. This was followed by a drop-in art session in the Innovation Gallery to use creativity as an expression of hope and healing.
References• Ho, M. (2024). Dongzhi Festival - Chinese Winter Solstice Festival. China Highlights.• Musubi Kiln. (2023). Celebrating Toji: The Winter Solstice in Japanese Culture. Musubi Kiln Journal.• Ontario Native Women’s Association. (n.d.). Full Moon Ceremony & Teachings. ONWA. • Pruitt, S. (2024). 8 Winter Solstice Celebrations Around The World. History.• University of Massachusetts. (2024). Winter Solstice.• Ward, K., & Smith, E. W. (2023). How to Celebrate Yule. Cosmopolitan.
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