May 31, 2024 • 40 mins
Danielle Law from Laurier's Psychology and Youth and Children's Studies programs and recipient of the 2023 Faculty Mentoring Award, shares her mentorship philosophy rooted in trust, support, and mutual respect. She explains how her emphasis on "red means love" in her grading shifts the way students receive academic feedback, fostering a positive, student-centered and growth-oriented environment.
Danielle describes how she built the Child and Adolescent Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) Lab and shares the complexities and rewards of mentoring large teams while promoting peer mentorship among students. She also@ offers ideas about how effective mentorship practices can be implemented to nurture the next generation of scholars and community leaders.
Laurier’s Donald F. Morgenson Awards for Teaching Excellence honour those who, through their commitment to exemplary teaching, have made significant contributions to the educational experience of Laurier students. Learn more about award-winning teaching at Laurier.
Discover more from the Teaching Excellence and Innovation Team
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Laurier's Teaching Excellence Conversation series.
I'm Debora VanNijnatten, academic director of teaching excellence and innovation at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Today, I'm with Danielle Law from Laurier's Psychology and Youth and Children's studies programs.
She received the 2023 Faculty Mentoring Award.
(00:20):
Danielle has earned a reputation not only as an impactful scholar and teacher,
but as a mentor who guides students beyond the classroom, and is invested in their continued career long success.
Danielle's students laud her as a caring and supportive research supervisor,
and as founder and director of the Child and Adolescent Research and Education or C.A.R.E. Lab.
(00:44):
Her passion for students personal and professional success shines through. As the C.A.R.E. Lab has expanded,
so has Danielle's impact on the lives of her students,
who highlighted, throughout her nomination package, how her encouragement, diligence, and humanity have forever shaped their lives.
And I'm so excited to talk with her today. So Danielle, thank you so much for joining me here today.
(01:28):
You are the Faculty Mentoring Award recipient.
And mentoring is something that we as faculty, we do throughout our careers, from day one,
but it's something that we probably don't reflect on as much as we reflect on our teaching.
Right. So I want to talk a little bit about what drives your mentoring approach.
And so I wonder if I could ask you to sort of start with that, sort of, you know, what guides you when you engage with your students?
(01:55):
I don't really think about mentoring too much, as you had mentioned.
Um, but it's really about ... just in general ... about building relationships with my students.
So how can I, um, get to a place where they can trust me and I can trust them?
So it's a bidirectional relationship. And one of the first things that I tell my students is that we're on the same team.
(02:23):
We are on the same side. I want you to succeed.
You want to succeed. So how can we do this together? And oftentimes I will remind them that red means love.
So all the comments that I give on every word ... I like that.
Yeah. Um, because oftentimes when students receive comments, they get very mad at the instructor and think that we're against them, but we're not.
(02:49):
This is feedback. Um, to help improve things and to enhance learning.
And so when I remind them that red means love, it means that I cared enough actually to read your stuff and to read your work.
And, um, it takes a lot of time to put in all the red.
(03:09):
Absolutely. And I try to help them remember that that feedback is meant to not make them feel bad,
but to help improve their growth, and improve their work over time in the course.
One thing that's really unique about your approach, though, is you really do start on day one like it's first year students.
(03:32):
That's unique, but I can imagine it's also challenging.
Yes, it is challenging because the first, the first instinct is to get very angry at the instructor when they see all the red.
Um, but then, you know, you meet with them and I remind them all the time, this means that I care, and I want you to succeed in this course.
And the best way to help you succeed is to give you feedback.
(03:53):
If you don't get any feedback, how are you going to know how to improve?
And likewise, I want them to give me feedback. So I often ask them like, where's my red?
Like I would like to know how I can improve my teaching and how I can improve things
um, to foster your growth. And because I teach not only in the classroom, but I also have my research lab.
(04:13):
Yes. There's a lot of trust building that has to happen there.
And so I, I really try to work on building that trust, building that reliability.
They need to trust me that I have their back, that I am looking out for them,
that we're on the same side, that I truly want them to succeed and do well.
(04:33):
And likewise, I need to trust them to get the work done, especially for our research projects to be timely, to be reliable,
to communicate well if they're not able to finish something, which is totally fine as long as we all know.
So how can we really work together to be a team and, uh, learn together and and grow together in whatever project it is that we're working on?
(04:54):
Let's talk a little bit about your lab, because, you know, another really unique approach,
um, the C.A.R.E. lab or the Child and Adolescent Research and Education lab.
That's right. Um, you started it in 2012, and it looks at how children, adolescents, and young adults develop cognitively and social emotionally.
(05:16):
Right. Can you talk a little bit about when you started the lab and you got things going and how your mentorship model,
which is really ... you've created this, these wonderful pyramids of mentorship?
I was thinking that when I was reading your dossier, so maybe you could just talk a little bit about what you've done there.
Yeah. So it started out very small in 2012 when I first came to Laurier,
(05:37):
I just kind of made an announcement in an intro class that this is the work that I do,
and at that time it was focused primarily on cyberbullying, which is connected to social emotional learning.
And, um, three students came up after class and said they would love to help me with my work.
And so it started out with just the three of us, and we started, you know, working on some small research projects.
(05:58):
I was just getting started at Laurier,
so we were all kind of learning about the processes together on how things work here and, um, coming up with some new ideas.
And yeah, it was just the three of us. And then the next year after that, it grew to eight.
And now we're 11.5 years in and we have about 50 members and it's giant.
(06:18):
Um, and now I'm learning with them on how to, um, make the lab.
manageable to manage all of our projects. We have a lot of things on the go now.
Our our lab has four kind of pillars.
We have the research pillar, our community outreach pillar, knowledge sharing and mobilization pillar, and community connections pillar.
(06:39):
And we have different projects that we work on for each of those, those groups.
And um, yeah, it's become exciting and also challenging managing so many students and then so many projects at the same time.
So tell us how you have organized the students under the pillars, because I think that's really interesting.
(07:03):
Yeah. So I have, um, graduate students who who do a lot of the leadership components because they do have a lot of knowledge,
um, and more growing knowledge on the research process and what not what knowledge mobilization actually is.
Yeah, they lead some of that and they lead the the younger undergraduate students and
(07:24):
then the senior undergraduate students kind of mentor or lead the the more junior,
um, uh, students. And then we also have high school students who join us as well.
So how do you recruit the high school students? Oh, it's a challenge.
Yeah, it's a challenge. But fortunately colleagues have children and they come and help us out.
(07:45):
And then, um, I don't know, word on the street, I guess some students have just approached us and said,
you know, I'm interested in volunteering ... like from local high schools. Yeah. Yeah. Wonderful.
So so that has been, um, really nice.
They mentor us. And so it's actually even though mentorship looks like a top down where there would be me and then my grad students and then,
(08:05):
you know, undergrad, and high school. It also goes the other way around because the high school students,
they know a lot about what resonates with their age group. And when it comes to developing surveys or asking, um, interview questions,
they help us know how to phrase things in a way that young people will understand better than the way we would typically want to do it.
(08:29):
And they help us with our social media and how we can.
Oh, and of course, they would know ... they would know ... so much better than we do ... how to design better ... how to reach people.
Yeah, what's appealing and what's not appealing. And we started a youth program called Youth Connect, um, in conjunction with the City of Brantford.
And they helped with designing the logo and, um, and our name, all of those things, like, I thought I was in touch, but I am not.
(08:55):
Every time I came up with an idea for a name or a logo, they would hands down say they hated it, but I gave it to them.
And we're developing something really neat.
And yeah, they have agency over that .. so they're ... in that way.
They're mentoring the older, um, students and myself, um, and sorting all of that out and,
(09:17):
and working towards some of the other goals that we're, we're working on.
Uh, can I follow up on that just for a minute? Because you're preparing students to mentor other students.
Yeah. So, uh, engaging in projects, obviously.
Right. Um, getting feedback on some of your research.
How else do you prepare students to mentor each other? Go forth. Yeah.
(09:41):
Yeah. Go forth and mentor. Yeah. Go forth and mentor.
Well, yeah, I tap into the different strengths of my students, so I get to know them over time.
And some are very strong at knowledge mobilization and creativity.
Some are very strong at research aspects, some are very strong at um, at writing.
And so I'll pair, for example, um, someone who might be more skilled in writing with someone less skilled with writing and say,
(10:08):
okay, how about you two work together?
When you finish writing your piece, send it to the more experienced writer, and then they'll go over it and then it comes to me.
So then there's like a scaffolded approach to how we we work on a single project. It's a team of 50.
(10:28):
This is ... this must be incredibly ... a lot of work for you.
Yes, it's a lot of work.
I am grateful that I have a lot of support like I mean, my team.
They lead a lot of the things, and so there's a lot of meetings to make sure that we all know what's going on,
that we're all on the same page with certain things.
(10:49):
And they have, um, some of my grad students have groups of students so that they lead for different aspects of projects.
Um, and so, yeah, I just kind of oversee all of that.
So I do have a grad student who helps with organizing data collection for one of our projects.
And so she's got a team, and these are the people who are collecting data for this project. Brilliant.
(11:10):
And then there's another one for this project and another one for that project.
And then I have another grad student who helps with data analysis and data entry,
because now we've got all this data, but we have to enter and analyze. So then they will lead another team of students to
help with those kinds of things. And then I just kind of oversee all of that and just make sure we're all on track.
And yeah. So some of the obviously lots of accomplishments, the social media stuff is really important.
(11:37):
The Youth Connect site, um,
one of the things that really struck me in the dossier is that you also mentor the students to learn the best ways to do research.
So real methodological training, you know, you've got some doing data entry, some that are, you know, working on your surveys.
So other accomplishments that you can think of. Yeah, there's a lot of training that happens.
(12:00):
So we do have a research retreat that ... so I have one of my PhD students she leads
it's two of them actually lead a research retreat where we give our students opportunity to get hands on
training with different methods so that they're prepared for when actual data collection has to happen.
They know what to do. Um, and when does that ... is that annually or is it.
(12:22):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's an annual thing. We do a lot of things annually because we have a new crop of students every year. Of course.
Yeah. So in, in the Fall kind of thing. Um, yeah.
In the Fall, it's like November ish. Um, but it varies depending on stress levels and what's going on.
Right. Yeah. But we try to aim for something like around that time.
(12:43):
Um, yeah. So we have that research retreat, and then we also have, uh, Community Connections conference that we run.
And we had our first one last November, which was a super exciting and a first time for all of us.
So there's a lot of learning, um, that went on, but it was quite successful.
We had about 200 community partners and, um, youth come and join us.
(13:06):
Amazing. Yeah, it was a lot of fun and and for the students to see the fruits of their labors.
Right. And to be able to interact with people in the community. Yeah. There's a very strong community focus for the lab.
Yes. We definitely work very closely with community partners.
Our research is community based. Um, and then we have the Community Connections Conference to help mobilize some of that knowledge and learn
(13:30):
and gain questions from community partners on what are the real issues happening here in Brantford that,
um, could use some support?
Um, so we do a lot of program evaluation and, um, helping with creating programing and supporting community partners with creating those programs.
So, um, yeah, the Community Connections conference was to help de-silo a few things.
(13:55):
Um, just noticing that there was a lot of repetition among partners when we could really collaborate.
So this was a time to bring everyone together. Let's see how we can work together.
How can we connect better with Laurier, and what opportunities can we offer, um, as an institution, uh, for the community, but also. Wonderful.
How can the community help our students and offer, you know,
(14:16):
other placements or just different kind of supports that they might need in terms of volunteers and things like that?
So that was a really fun project, and we're going to be having another one, um, our second one in October. With the same partners?
Um, yeah. We're just ... we're going to just, um, invite everyone and when whoever can come, comes.
(14:37):
Yeah. So and then we're going to actually run our first youth conference, um, next year,
because some of the youth were wondering why adults are the only ones who go to conferences.
Why can't they go? That's a really good question. That's a really good question.
So like that is such a great idea. Let's have a youth conference.
So how do we do that? How do we do that.
(14:58):
So I have a team who's a planning the youth conference for next spring.
I can imagine they're excited about that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah there's a lot of excitement over that.
And then our youth program, uh, we have a youth council who help um, with with Youth Connect.
Uh, they're kind of like our advisors on how to run this program and what's interesting for youth.
(15:18):
And, um, they oversee some of the programs, so we'll practice some of our programing on them, and then they give us feedback on how to improve it.
And they, they'll also be inviting their friends to come to this youth conference.
And yeah. And so they'll be advising a bit on, on, um, how that conference goes.
This is an incredibly multifaceted, multi layer approach to mentoring.
(15:41):
So did you have good mentors. You know I was reading the dossier thinking what you do.
You must have had really good mentors. Yeah I mean I have a lot of people who influenced my life.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah a lot of people. And like it's it's so hard to know who to call a mentor and like, I don't know how to label it,
but I have had a lot of really good people who, uh, have influenced me.
(16:05):
So my graduate supervisor, um, Jennifer Shapka, she ...
I told her this from the very start. It's not that I wanted to be a professor when I grew up.
I wanted to be a professor like her when I grew up. So she really shaped.
That's the highest form of flattery. She really shaped the kind of researcher I wanted to be, and also how I wanted to run my lab,
(16:26):
and also the kind of person I wanted to be, um, as, as an academic.
Um, but ... that's nice ... then also, I
I mean, I am highly influenced by my friends, and my family, like my parents, and my husband.
They're, they've taught me so much about hard work and being there for other people when they need you.
(16:48):
And. And the importance of reliability and being honest.
If something is bothering you and communicating that, like, I think that's all, um, really, really important.
Um, and then my grandparents actually have influenced me a lot.
I didn't, um, get to spend too much time with them, but knowing how how hard they worked,
(17:12):
like they came from poverty and, um, they are immigrants and they struggled, um, beyond what I can imagine.
And they raised ... like my grandmothers, raised 8 to 11 children in poverty.
And they've. You know, I'll come out, um, doing very well in life.
(17:32):
And now there's me who doesn't know what poverty is, like
I grew up with a lot of privilege, and it's because of all of their sacrifice and hard work and perseverance and resilience.
Um, through all of that challenge and all the things that are not in our control.
And so that really taught me a lot about persevering and grit and where hard work can take you and,
(17:59):
um, and focusing on the things that are in my control and not the things that are not in my control.
Um, so I learned a lot about that from them.
And then my students are I mean, I learned so much from my students.
Well, your personalized approach to, I mean, you you can really, uh, reach out to students, and I see what you're talking about,
(18:24):
the trust relationship and, you know, trying to create, uh, a longer term connection that you can both nurture.
Oh, they're here for four years, five years, sometimes six years, sometimes six years.
Yeah, yeah. Because if I've known them since first year undergrad and then they progress into grad school,
and many of them, even after graduating, still stay with the C.A.R.E. lab like I have.
(18:46):
The reason our membership is at 50 is because I have a lot of alumni who still help out.
Um that's great. It's amazing. But that also speaks volumes about your mentorship.
They don't want to leave, right? Because the security blanket of some sort, I'm not sure.
Maybe attachment issues, but, uh. But that's you, you're creating this chain of influence, right?
(19:10):
That's that goes from your alumni all the way down to your first year student that puts up their hand in class and says, I'll join.
Yeah, yeah. Which is really wonderful. It's it's a lot of fun.
And I love seeing their growth over time. And they do they teach me a lot.
And some have gone into academia. Um, some are going about where they are.
(19:32):
Yeah. And so uh, yet some are on their path towards academia.
So they're working on their PhDs and stuff, and their hope is, um, to become faculty one day.
I have some who have become counselors and therapists, others who've gone on to teaching, um, some have become, um, a speech and language pathologist.
(19:52):
Um, yeah. Working in that area. Wonderful. Yeah.
So it's, it's quite broad. Yeah. Bunch going on in grad school and then seeing where that takes them.
And your network widens. Yes. and deepens. Each time. Widens and deepens.
Yeah. Yeah. Every time. Yeah. Wonderful. Has your approach to mentorship changed over time?
Uh, what I sense from you is that you kind of try things, and then you add something else, and then you add something else,
(20:16):
and then you've got this, you know, four pillars and multiple layers ... that's precisely.
What? Okay. Widening network. Yeah. Yeah. It just kind of happens uh, somehow.
Um, uh, yeah. Because I mean, I just I started out with three and we were fumbling around just.
Okay, we'll just do some research now, and. Oh, maybe we should share this.
Okay, let's let's add this part. Oh, wouldn't it be cool if we, like, brought this out to the community?
(20:40):
Okay, let's add this part. And now, um, I have more members.
So there are more people to take things on. And the more people there are, the more ideas there are.
And so then it just keeps growing from there.
And anytime someone has an idea, I will let them experiment with that and see what happens.
Yeah. Like one of my students, she wanted to create, um, a community around crocheting.
(21:06):
And, um, because this is it's a really tangible way to calm down.
And it's a new skill that you can learn and it's good for, you know, um, self-care, mental health.
And anybody can learn it. And anyone can learn it. So she created a crochet club, and I was kind of like, oh, my daughter did too.
Oh yeah. Yes. In her high school. That's funny. Oh yeah. It's becoming quite a thing.
(21:28):
It is. And I wasn't sure where it was going to go. I'm like, okay, you let's do this crochet thing.
Let's see what happens. It is ... I never thought it would explode.
But so many people are interested now. faculty and my colleagues want to join our crochet club and we knit.
Um, or not knit.
We crochet these, um, headband winter headbands and we put them in packages with other winter supplies, and we put them all over Brantford.
(21:52):
And, um, the folks in the community can just take a bag of winter care items.
That includes our crochet headband. This is something else I know that you do with your students, right?
Yes. Our outreach ... collecting things and and and providing warm clothes for people in the community.
Yeah. So that's our outreach initiative. Yeah. So we do collect food and things like that for the youth shelter and the folks on the street.
(22:16):
How do we build a culture of mentorship in our departments?
Right. Or our programs? Um, particularly when um, I would say.
Mentorship often focuses on graduate students, right?
Because the relationship with your research is closer.
You work more closely in graduate programing than you often do in larger undergrad classes.
(22:40):
But how do we create that culture that starts?
You know, as I said on day one with with your first year student, you know, how do we do that in our programs?
I mean, I can share how I've been doing it, and it's by no means the way.
And I fumbled my way through it, too. But, um, I try and just get them involved.
(23:01):
Yeah. And but you're getting them involved in your research?
Yes. Yeah. So that's really important. They
Yeah. So they join the lab in the Fall. Usually we have an intake in the Fall.
We have an intake in January for new incoming students.
And they get oriented within the lab. Within the lab, within C.A.R.E.?
Yeah. And then through that, they they join different teams depending on their interests and what their goals are.
(23:25):
And the mentoring starts right away within their team.
And they help with the social media posts.
They help with the data collection. They help with coming up with different ideas.
Usually first years, they're not interested in research at all.
Um, they find it intimidating. They don't know what it is. So they usually start with, you know, either knowledge mobilization, or ... or our outreach.
(23:47):
Sure.
Um, so then they, they get their feet wet, they get to know some of the grad students, and some of the senior students. Get some mentorship in that way.
And then they slowly start becoming interested in research.
And we do something called Research Spotlight.
And, um, this is where students, they read an article and then they summarize it to the rest of the lab and try to present it in an accessible way.
(24:10):
So this ... gives them practice on
um, I guess relaying information and summarizing information.
Complicated information in lay ... right ... language, which is challenging.
It is. Absolutely. And so they're practicing doing that through research spotlight.
And then our, our more junior, um, students or students who are less interested in research, they get a taste of what it is.
(24:35):
And then if they're interested, they can join Research Spotlight the next year,
practice, and then they can engage in some of our research projects after that.
This is a high impact practice, right. Engaging students in research through, you know, courses or outside of courses.
Um. Wonderful. One of the things I would say, though, when I look at everything that you do, this takes a whole heck of a lot of energy.
(25:01):
Right. And time. Yeah. How do you stay up all the time?
How do you keep your energy flowing into this?
Because you're you're working at so many levels at once, in so many areas across these pillars, inside the institution, outside the institution.
How do you. How do you keep yourself wrapped up?
Right. Make it sustainable.Yeah, yeah. Crocheting.
(25:23):
Crocheting, exactly. Yeah. Which actually is a really helpful.
So there are ... one, I find the work, the work itself very meaningful.
Yeah. I, I love my job. I just love it.
I love getting up and doing all the things. The thing that makes it stressful is the deadlines.
Um, and having that, that time pressure to get it done.
(25:44):
Yes. Um, but I find that ... but we need them, we need them, we need the deadlines.
Exactly. We need them, otherwise ... and students need them too ... Yeah. Otherwise, nothing gets done.
That's right. So you do need the deadlines. Um, so they're, they're a nice guide.
Um, but I do like, I love all the aspects.
Like, it brings me a lot of joy. It brings me a lot of meaning. So I think that invigorates me.
(26:05):
But then also obviously it gets to, you know, grading is not that fun.
And there are aspects of the job that can be more tiring.
Um, but I do try to ... so every morning I do practice mindfulness every morning, um, for about 20 minutes.
And then, um, I exercise almost every day.
That also helps me, um, process. Process. get some down time, but also invigorates me.
(26:30):
Like I get a lot of energy after exercising. So, um, that helps a lot too.
And then I really do try and make sure I get my eight hours of sleep.
And I tell my students that all the time, like, you go to bed, go to bed, stay up.
Yeah, stop. Stop emailing me at three in the morning.
Just don't do that. Oh, I think we could tell some of our colleagues that too.
(26:51):
Yeah. Actually. We need to model the behavior.
Yeah. Oh, but it's incredible how much a good night's sleep
like what that does to your mood and your your daily functioning.
And our students are not getting enough sleep. No. And then we wonder why they are not producing
not producing very well. So I try to remember, uh, remind them that that self-care is something that we have to practice every single day.
(27:18):
It's ... you take care of yourself each day, just like you would take care of a baby or take care of a pet.
You're not just going to take the pet. Take your pet for a walk when it's an emergency.
Like you take them for a walk every day because it's good for them.
You feed them well and good food every day because it's good for them and same for us.
(27:39):
We should be moving our bodies each day because it's good for us. We should be eating healthfully every day because it's good for us.
And sleeping, um, because that's how we care for each other ... for ourselves and each other.
Because we can't give to others if we are depleted ourselves.
And so I try to remind them of that, because oftentimes there's this idea that we're going to offer self-care when we're in crisis.
(28:05):
So when we are noticing we're super stressed out and we're on the verge of a breakdown,
oh, well, this is what I'm going to take a bubble bath right like that.
Too little, too late. Yeah, yeah. It's that's not going to do much.
Um, we gotta we have to start earlier, um, so that we prevent the crisis, um, and hopefully mitigate that before it becomes an emergency.
(28:28):
Um, and, uh, that's what I try to remind them is let's try not to get to that point where it's an emergency.
Let's every day do a little bit and, um, and then over the long haul, it'll be more sustainable for our for your overall well-being.
One of the things that I think you model, too, is, you know, care and community or care through community, right?
(28:52):
So you're creating communities of people who help each other, you know, uh, crocheting is one piece of it, but you're creating these teams, right?
And relationships with you. And that's also a great form of care.
Yeah, they really appreciate each I'm sure they do. Like I'm sure I'm so glad they have each other through all the time.
And without the lab they might not have those connections.
(29:15):
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I think that's why so many stay on after.
Yeah. Because they have a community, um, to go to.
They don't want to lose it. They don't want to lose it. They've made really good friends over the years.
And um, and then sometimes, I mean, you go off and do your job out in the workforce, and it's kind of lonely.
(29:36):
There might not be a very strong community there, but, I mean,
they have their friends with our lab, and it, um, and they find purpose in that, in that work too.
So. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad about that. It's funny because the, the way I first knew you was your commentary on cyberbullying on YouTube.
(29:56):
Did I make a comment? You did, yes.
You'd been interviewed about so cyberbullying and and, um, it was a project that I think my daughter was doing or something.
Oh, yeah. So okay, so on cyberbullying and, and your research. Cyber-kindness as the other end of the spectrum, I think and social emotional learning.
What have you seen in the in the C.A.R.E. lab, in your classroom teaching in terms of, you know, students returning post-pandemic.
(30:24):
You know, do you see any trends?
And I'm talking a little bit about your research here, and I would think the students in your lab would be really interested in.
Yeah. That's right. Are you seeing any trends, uh, any differences post-pandemic in terms of the cyberbullying versus cyber-kindness,
what's going on amongst students? Their connection, learning with each other?
(30:46):
Mhm. Yeah. Uh, lots of things. I guess,
Naturally after the pandemic, most of us have um have struggled with anxiety.
Yeah. And so I, I do, the pandemic was just something that was not in our control and that elicited a lot of anxious feelings.
And so coming out, and coming back ... unprecedented ...
(31:09):
Yeah. Yeah. They are, or at least they seem a lot more anxious now.
And this feeling of falling behind, because I think, I mean, you know, the pandemic did put a pause on a lot of things.
And now they're trying to ... absolutely ... they feel like they need to catch up.
And so there's a lot of this feeling of, oh no, I'm going to be behind, I'm going to be behind.
(31:29):
And I think we all kind of had that feeling before. We always felt like we had to be on a certain trajectory.
But I'm sensing more anxiety around staying on track than I did before.
And so, um, not even really knowing what the track is. Exactly.
That feeling that ... that feeling like, oh, I'm not where I'm, I'm not where I'm supposed to be.
And, um, and so there's a lot of those kinds of feelings that, um, that I'm noticing in, in students.
(31:57):
Um, what is the ability to connect, right, that, you know, reach out, have a conversation with somebody.
It's a little bit different now. Yeah. Yeah.
So when the pandemic first "ended".
Um, there was a lot more apprehension.
Uh, they didn't want to be in small groups. They were nervous about being in small groups.
(32:18):
And I do a lot of small group discussion.
Um, I just think learning happens a lot through conversation with others, with other people and, and teaching your own pedagogy.
Yes. And so I would put them in groups and they'd be so nervous like they didn't want to do that.
Um, and I think it was because during the pandemic, when we put them in breakout rooms, everyone just had their cameras off.
(32:40):
And it was just it was so different. And, um, and so coming back to class and having to do that created a lot of anxiety.
But now that we're a couple of years out of it, um,
I am noticing and I actually surveyed our all of our YC students and asked them what would they prefer?
And they said ... the vast majority of them said they prefer in-person.
(33:03):
So they do want to come back. They miss connection. They want to meet new people like they're ready now, um, to meet new people, to do new things.
And they realize that in-person also helps them to stay accountable with their work.
Um, so they do treasure that. At the same time, they also said they like online because it offers the flexibility of not having to come in,
(33:27):
especially if you commute or you have other family obligations and things like that.
So, um, which certainly applies to an increasing number of our students, right?
Yes. Because more nontraditional students. Yes. But those are the are the majority.
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And especially here. Um. Brantford campus. Yeah.
It's more, um, they're commuting in. So finding a nice balance between, um, in-person teaching and, and online or even synchronous online.
(33:56):
So, would be they prefer that over asynchronous.
It sounds like. And any changes in terms of how people are treating each other online.
Um, in your research, I know a little bit of, you know, yeah, how people act in digital spaces is different than how they act than
you and I sitting here. Yeah. So it's interesting because it's all comes down to relationships.
(34:19):
And online is basically an extension of how we are, um, offline.
And so if we have a lot of angst, anxiety, anger, um, jealousy, whatever it might be.
We don't only have it online. We also have it offline.
But online is an easy way to let it all out.
(34:41):
And so a lot of the work that I've been working on now is on cultivating healthy relationships with ourselves as well as others.
So the social emotional piece, yeah, emotion regulation, which is connected to behavioral regulation, like why am I feeling this way?
Why do I feel like I need to lash out right now? Online or offline?
(35:02):
Doesn't matter. Why do I have this this need or this feeling that I need to lash out?
Uh, a lot of our program is. Okay. Let's examine those feelings like they're totally valid.
But you have a choice. You don't need to act aggressively based on that feeling.
You can choose another way to address the problem.
And so it's teaching kids and adults, um, how to, how to do that a bit better.
(35:27):
Yeah. But in terms of cyberbullying itself, the numbers haven't actually increased post-pandemic.
It's um, it's about the same. It's about the same. Interesting.
And it's because of ... struggles with communicating are our needs in in a non-aggressive way.
(35:47):
And are your students doing some research on some of this, or is this apart from the C.A.R.E. lab?
Um, so the cyberbullying stuff, I'm slowly kind of moving away from that because I'm realizing it's more about relationships.
Right. And so and cyberbullying is part of it, but the root is actually relationship with self.
(36:08):
And so I'm moving more towards that. Um, but I do work, um, with colleagues at UBC, um, who focus on, um, cyberbullying.
So we actually we have a, we have a study. It's between my colleagues at UBC, Tanzania, um, and China.
Yeah. It's it's a so it's a big study, um, looking at cyber bullying differences across, um, the continents.
(36:35):
Basically, at the end of the day, it all boils down to how connected you feel with other people and feelings of belonging.
And so I'm like, that is what we need to focus on is how do we cope?
That's what you do focus on. Yeah. In your classes.
In your lab. Yeah. So that's what's become my primary area now is, is how do we cultivate that better.
(36:57):
So then what's on the horizon for your teaching, for your mentoring, for future planning?
Like anything new, expanded. I'm kind of going with the flow.
Um, and just letting things come our way. Like, we, um, we're working with the YMCA, Burlington, Brantford, um, and Hamilton.
And so we're doing a large scale study with them, and that's offering a lot of opportunity for myself and my students.
(37:25):
Right. Yeah. So. And what does that project? So we're.
Yeah, we're evaluating, um, find it all interesting ... we're evaluating, uh, a few of their, um, their youth and emerging adulthood, um, program.
Oh, and young children. So from ages six all the way to 29, um, there are a host of different.
(37:45):
Yeah, there are about six different programs that we're helping to evaluate.
Um, so it's big. Um, it's a lot of, um, we're learning so much through this study and, um,
it's a great opportunity for my students and not just kind of came ... applied experiential learning.
Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And what the research process is really like.
(38:07):
Yeah. Um, and all the challenges of what it's like to collect data with in the community, um,
there's a lot of challenges and it's, it's hard to collect data and find participants.
Um, so navigating that with them and helping them to see that process and, um,
and then it offers them opportunity to learn about different forms of data collection and analysis and, and all of that.
(38:32):
Um, so that's one big project that we're working on.
And then I have another, uh, few with, um, the Brantford police and, um, the Boys and Girls Club, and I'm working closely with the City of Brantford.
Uh, so all of these just kind of come and I'll ... come to me and come to the lab,
and we assess whether it aligns with our vision and our interests, and then decide whether to take it or not.
(38:58):
And then I, I mean, the lab is largely student led.
So if they have ideas. Bring them forward and we'll see what happens.
Yeah. So like, one of my students wanted to start a branch, um, for students with autism.
And how can we communicate, um, and learn more about, uh, making things a little bit more accessible for those with autism.
(39:24):
And so now we've got a little group working on autism things.
And so that's really interesting and, um, and fun because I'm learning so much, I don't know very much about autism at all.
And so now we're kind of diving into that and, and seeing where that goes and meeting new people.
Like now I'm meeting new colleagues who do research on autism so that I can support this stream.
(39:47):
And yeah, and that's really good too. Well, we look forward to hearing about all of these initiatives.
And thank you so much for joining me here today.
It's my pleasure. Thank you so much.
My thanks to Danielle Law for joining me today, and I hope you will join me for more conversations that celebrate exceptional teaching practices,
explore diverse teaching philosophies, and discuss the future of higher education, teaching, and learning.
Welcome to Laurier's Teaching Excellence Conversation series.
I'm Debora VanNijnatten, academic director of teaching excellence and innovation at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Today, I'm with Danielle Law from Laurier's Psychology and Youth and Children's studies programs.
She received the 2023 Faculty Mentoring Award.
(00:20):
Danielle has earned a reputation not only as an impactful scholar and teacher,
but as a mentor who guides students beyond the classroom, and is invested in their continued career long success.
Danielle's students laud her as a caring and supportive research supervisor,
and as founder and director of the Child and Adolescent Research and Education or C.A.R.E. Lab.
(00:44):
Her passion for students personal and professional success shines through. As the C.A.R.E. Lab has expanded,
so has Danielle's impact on the lives of her students,
who highlighted, throughout her nomination package, how her encouragement, diligence, and humanity have forever shaped their lives.
And I'm so excited to talk with her today. So Danielle, thank you so much for joining me here today.
(01:28):
You are the Faculty Mentoring Award recipient.
And mentoring is something that we as faculty, we do throughout our careers, from day one,
but it's something that we probably don't reflect on as much as we reflect on our teaching.
Right. So I want to talk a little bit about what drives your mentoring approach.
And so I wonder if I could ask you to sort of start with that, sort of, you know, what guides you when you engage with your students?
(01:55):
I don't really think about mentoring too much, as you had mentioned.
Um, but it's really about ... just in general ... about building relationships with my students.
So how can I, um, get to a place where they can trust me and I can trust them?
So it's a bidirectional relationship. And one of the first things that I tell my students is that we're on the same team.
(02:23):
We are on the same side. I want you to succeed.
You want to succeed. So how can we do this together? And oftentimes I will remind them that red means love.
So all the comments that I give on every word ... I like that.
Yeah. Um, because oftentimes when students receive comments, they get very mad at the instructor and think that we're against them, but we're not.
(02:49):
This is feedback. Um, to help improve things and to enhance learning.
And so when I remind them that red means love, it means that I cared enough actually to read your stuff and to read your work.
And, um, it takes a lot of time to put in all the red.
(03:09):
Absolutely. And I try to help them remember that that feedback is meant to not make them feel bad,
but to help improve their growth, and improve their work over time in the course.
One thing that's really unique about your approach, though, is you really do start on day one like it's first year students.
(03:32):
That's unique, but I can imagine it's also challenging.
Yes, it is challenging because the first, the first instinct is to get very angry at the instructor when they see all the red.
Um, but then, you know, you meet with them and I remind them all the time, this means that I care, and I want you to succeed in this course.
And the best way to help you succeed is to give you feedback.
(03:53):
If you don't get any feedback, how are you going to know how to improve?
And likewise, I want them to give me feedback. So I often ask them like, where's my red?
Like I would like to know how I can improve my teaching and how I can improve things
um, to foster your growth. And because I teach not only in the classroom, but I also have my research lab.
(04:13):
Yes. There's a lot of trust building that has to happen there.
And so I, I really try to work on building that trust, building that reliability.
They need to trust me that I have their back, that I am looking out for them,
that we're on the same side, that I truly want them to succeed and do well.
(04:33):
And likewise, I need to trust them to get the work done, especially for our research projects to be timely, to be reliable,
to communicate well if they're not able to finish something, which is totally fine as long as we all know.
So how can we really work together to be a team and, uh, learn together and and grow together in whatever project it is that we're working on?
(04:54):
Let's talk a little bit about your lab, because, you know, another really unique approach,
um, the C.A.R.E. lab or the Child and Adolescent Research and Education lab.
That's right. Um, you started it in 2012, and it looks at how children, adolescents, and young adults develop cognitively and social emotionally.
(05:16):
Right. Can you talk a little bit about when you started the lab and you got things going and how your mentorship model,
which is really ... you've created this, these wonderful pyramids of mentorship?
I was thinking that when I was reading your dossier, so maybe you could just talk a little bit about what you've done there.
Yeah. So it started out very small in 2012 when I first came to Laurier,
(05:37):
I just kind of made an announcement in an intro class that this is the work that I do,
and at that time it was focused primarily on cyberbullying, which is connected to social emotional learning.
And, um, three students came up after class and said they would love to help me with my work.
And so it started out with just the three of us, and we started, you know, working on some small research projects.
(05:58):
I was just getting started at Laurier,
so we were all kind of learning about the processes together on how things work here and, um, coming up with some new ideas.
And yeah, it was just the three of us. And then the next year after that, it grew to eight.
And now we're 11.5 years in and we have about 50 members and it's giant.
(06:18):
Um, and now I'm learning with them on how to, um, make the lab.
manageable to manage all of our projects. We have a lot of things on the go now.
Our our lab has four kind of pillars.
We have the research pillar, our community outreach pillar, knowledge sharing and mobilization pillar, and community connections pillar.
(06:39):
And we have different projects that we work on for each of those, those groups.
And um, yeah, it's become exciting and also challenging managing so many students and then so many projects at the same time.
So tell us how you have organized the students under the pillars, because I think that's really interesting.
(07:03):
Yeah. So I have, um, graduate students who who do a lot of the leadership components because they do have a lot of knowledge,
um, and more growing knowledge on the research process and what not what knowledge mobilization actually is.
Yeah, they lead some of that and they lead the the younger undergraduate students and
(07:24):
then the senior undergraduate students kind of mentor or lead the the more junior,
um, uh, students. And then we also have high school students who join us as well.
So how do you recruit the high school students? Oh, it's a challenge.
Yeah, it's a challenge. But fortunately colleagues have children and they come and help us out.
(07:45):
And then, um, I don't know, word on the street, I guess some students have just approached us and said,
you know, I'm interested in volunteering ... like from local high schools. Yeah. Yeah. Wonderful.
So so that has been, um, really nice.
They mentor us. And so it's actually even though mentorship looks like a top down where there would be me and then my grad students and then,
(08:05):
you know, undergrad, and high school. It also goes the other way around because the high school students,
they know a lot about what resonates with their age group. And when it comes to developing surveys or asking, um, interview questions,
they help us know how to phrase things in a way that young people will understand better than the way we would typically want to do it.
(08:29):
And they help us with our social media and how we can.
Oh, and of course, they would know ... they would know ... so much better than we do ... how to design better ... how to reach people.
Yeah, what's appealing and what's not appealing. And we started a youth program called Youth Connect, um, in conjunction with the City of Brantford.
And they helped with designing the logo and, um, and our name, all of those things, like, I thought I was in touch, but I am not.
(08:55):
Every time I came up with an idea for a name or a logo, they would hands down say they hated it, but I gave it to them.
And we're developing something really neat.
And yeah, they have agency over that .. so they're ... in that way.
They're mentoring the older, um, students and myself, um, and sorting all of that out and,
(09:17):
and working towards some of the other goals that we're, we're working on.
Uh, can I follow up on that just for a minute? Because you're preparing students to mentor other students.
Yeah. So, uh, engaging in projects, obviously.
Right. Um, getting feedback on some of your research.
How else do you prepare students to mentor each other? Go forth. Yeah.
(09:41):
Yeah. Go forth and mentor. Yeah. Go forth and mentor.
Well, yeah, I tap into the different strengths of my students, so I get to know them over time.
And some are very strong at knowledge mobilization and creativity.
Some are very strong at research aspects, some are very strong at um, at writing.
And so I'll pair, for example, um, someone who might be more skilled in writing with someone less skilled with writing and say,
(10:08):
okay, how about you two work together?
When you finish writing your piece, send it to the more experienced writer, and then they'll go over it and then it comes to me.
So then there's like a scaffolded approach to how we we work on a single project. It's a team of 50.
(10:28):
This is ... this must be incredibly ... a lot of work for you.
Yes, it's a lot of work.
I am grateful that I have a lot of support like I mean, my team.
They lead a lot of the things, and so there's a lot of meetings to make sure that we all know what's going on,
that we're all on the same page with certain things.
(10:49):
And they have, um, some of my grad students have groups of students so that they lead for different aspects of projects.
Um, and so, yeah, I just kind of oversee all of that.
So I do have a grad student who helps with organizing data collection for one of our projects.
And so she's got a team, and these are the people who are collecting data for this project. Brilliant.
(11:10):
And then there's another one for this project and another one for that project.
And then I have another grad student who helps with data analysis and data entry,
because now we've got all this data, but we have to enter and analyze. So then they will lead another team of students to
help with those kinds of things. And then I just kind of oversee all of that and just make sure we're all on track.
And yeah. So some of the obviously lots of accomplishments, the social media stuff is really important.
(11:37):
The Youth Connect site, um,
one of the things that really struck me in the dossier is that you also mentor the students to learn the best ways to do research.
So real methodological training, you know, you've got some doing data entry, some that are, you know, working on your surveys.
So other accomplishments that you can think of. Yeah, there's a lot of training that happens.
(12:00):
So we do have a research retreat that ... so I have one of my PhD students she leads
it's two of them actually lead a research retreat where we give our students opportunity to get hands on
training with different methods so that they're prepared for when actual data collection has to happen.
They know what to do. Um, and when does that ... is that annually or is it.
(12:22):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's an annual thing. We do a lot of things annually because we have a new crop of students every year. Of course.
Yeah. So in, in the Fall kind of thing. Um, yeah.
In the Fall, it's like November ish. Um, but it varies depending on stress levels and what's going on.
Right. Yeah. But we try to aim for something like around that time.
(12:43):
Um, yeah. So we have that research retreat, and then we also have, uh, Community Connections conference that we run.
And we had our first one last November, which was a super exciting and a first time for all of us.
So there's a lot of learning, um, that went on, but it was quite successful.
We had about 200 community partners and, um, youth come and join us.
(13:06):
Amazing. Yeah, it was a lot of fun and and for the students to see the fruits of their labors.
Right. And to be able to interact with people in the community. Yeah. There's a very strong community focus for the lab.
Yes. We definitely work very closely with community partners.
Our research is community based. Um, and then we have the Community Connections Conference to help mobilize some of that knowledge and learn
(13:30):
and gain questions from community partners on what are the real issues happening here in Brantford that,
um, could use some support?
Um, so we do a lot of program evaluation and, um, helping with creating programing and supporting community partners with creating those programs.
So, um, yeah, the Community Connections conference was to help de-silo a few things.
(13:55):
Um, just noticing that there was a lot of repetition among partners when we could really collaborate.
So this was a time to bring everyone together. Let's see how we can work together.
How can we connect better with Laurier, and what opportunities can we offer, um, as an institution, uh, for the community, but also. Wonderful.
How can the community help our students and offer, you know,
(14:16):
other placements or just different kind of supports that they might need in terms of volunteers and things like that?
So that was a really fun project, and we're going to be having another one, um, our second one in October. With the same partners?
Um, yeah. We're just ... we're going to just, um, invite everyone and when whoever can come, comes.
(14:37):
Yeah. So and then we're going to actually run our first youth conference, um, next year,
because some of the youth were wondering why adults are the only ones who go to conferences.
Why can't they go? That's a really good question. That's a really good question.
So like that is such a great idea. Let's have a youth conference.
So how do we do that? How do we do that.
(14:58):
So I have a team who's a planning the youth conference for next spring.
I can imagine they're excited about that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah there's a lot of excitement over that.
And then our youth program, uh, we have a youth council who help um, with with Youth Connect.
Uh, they're kind of like our advisors on how to run this program and what's interesting for youth.
(15:18):
And, um, they oversee some of the programs, so we'll practice some of our programing on them, and then they give us feedback on how to improve it.
And they, they'll also be inviting their friends to come to this youth conference.
And yeah. And so they'll be advising a bit on, on, um, how that conference goes.
This is an incredibly multifaceted, multi layer approach to mentoring.
(15:41):
So did you have good mentors. You know I was reading the dossier thinking what you do.
You must have had really good mentors. Yeah I mean I have a lot of people who influenced my life.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah a lot of people. And like it's it's so hard to know who to call a mentor and like, I don't know how to label it,
but I have had a lot of really good people who, uh, have influenced me.
(16:05):
So my graduate supervisor, um, Jennifer Shapka, she ...
I told her this from the very start. It's not that I wanted to be a professor when I grew up.
I wanted to be a professor like her when I grew up. So she really shaped.
That's the highest form of flattery. She really shaped the kind of researcher I wanted to be, and also how I wanted to run my lab,
(16:26):
and also the kind of person I wanted to be, um, as, as an academic.
Um, but ... that's nice ... then also, I
I mean, I am highly influenced by my friends, and my family, like my parents, and my husband.
They're, they've taught me so much about hard work and being there for other people when they need you.
(16:48):
And. And the importance of reliability and being honest.
If something is bothering you and communicating that, like, I think that's all, um, really, really important.
Um, and then my grandparents actually have influenced me a lot.
I didn't, um, get to spend too much time with them, but knowing how how hard they worked,
(17:12):
like they came from poverty and, um, they are immigrants and they struggled, um, beyond what I can imagine.
And they raised ... like my grandmothers, raised 8 to 11 children in poverty.
And they've. You know, I'll come out, um, doing very well in life.
(17:32):
And now there's me who doesn't know what poverty is, like
I grew up with a lot of privilege, and it's because of all of their sacrifice and hard work and perseverance and resilience.
Um, through all of that challenge and all the things that are not in our control.
And so that really taught me a lot about persevering and grit and where hard work can take you and,
(17:59):
um, and focusing on the things that are in my control and not the things that are not in my control.
Um, so I learned a lot about that from them.
And then my students are I mean, I learned so much from my students.
Well, your personalized approach to, I mean, you you can really, uh, reach out to students, and I see what you're talking about,
(18:24):
the trust relationship and, you know, trying to create, uh, a longer term connection that you can both nurture.
Oh, they're here for four years, five years, sometimes six years, sometimes six years.
Yeah, yeah. Because if I've known them since first year undergrad and then they progress into grad school,
and many of them, even after graduating, still stay with the C.A.R.E. lab like I have.
(18:46):
The reason our membership is at 50 is because I have a lot of alumni who still help out.
Um that's great. It's amazing. But that also speaks volumes about your mentorship.
They don't want to leave, right? Because the security blanket of some sort, I'm not sure.
Maybe attachment issues, but, uh. But that's you, you're creating this chain of influence, right?
(19:10):
That's that goes from your alumni all the way down to your first year student that puts up their hand in class and says, I'll join.
Yeah, yeah. Which is really wonderful. It's it's a lot of fun.
And I love seeing their growth over time. And they do they teach me a lot.
And some have gone into academia. Um, some are going about where they are.
(19:32):
Yeah. And so uh, yet some are on their path towards academia.
So they're working on their PhDs and stuff, and their hope is, um, to become faculty one day.
I have some who have become counselors and therapists, others who've gone on to teaching, um, some have become, um, a speech and language pathologist.
(19:52):
Um, yeah. Working in that area. Wonderful. Yeah.
So it's, it's quite broad. Yeah. Bunch going on in grad school and then seeing where that takes them.
And your network widens. Yes. and deepens. Each time. Widens and deepens.
Yeah. Yeah. Every time. Yeah. Wonderful. Has your approach to mentorship changed over time?
Uh, what I sense from you is that you kind of try things, and then you add something else, and then you add something else,
(20:16):
and then you've got this, you know, four pillars and multiple layers ... that's precisely.
What? Okay. Widening network. Yeah. Yeah. It just kind of happens uh, somehow.
Um, uh, yeah. Because I mean, I just I started out with three and we were fumbling around just.
Okay, we'll just do some research now, and. Oh, maybe we should share this.
Okay, let's let's add this part. Oh, wouldn't it be cool if we, like, brought this out to the community?
(20:40):
Okay, let's add this part. And now, um, I have more members.
So there are more people to take things on. And the more people there are, the more ideas there are.
And so then it just keeps growing from there.
And anytime someone has an idea, I will let them experiment with that and see what happens.
Yeah. Like one of my students, she wanted to create, um, a community around crocheting.
(21:06):
And, um, because this is it's a really tangible way to calm down.
And it's a new skill that you can learn and it's good for, you know, um, self-care, mental health.
And anybody can learn it. And anyone can learn it. So she created a crochet club, and I was kind of like, oh, my daughter did too.
Oh yeah. Yes. In her high school. That's funny. Oh yeah. It's becoming quite a thing.
(21:28):
It is. And I wasn't sure where it was going to go. I'm like, okay, you let's do this crochet thing.
Let's see what happens. It is ... I never thought it would explode.
But so many people are interested now. faculty and my colleagues want to join our crochet club and we knit.
Um, or not knit.
We crochet these, um, headband winter headbands and we put them in packages with other winter supplies, and we put them all over Brantford.
(21:52):
And, um, the folks in the community can just take a bag of winter care items.
That includes our crochet headband. This is something else I know that you do with your students, right?
Yes. Our outreach ... collecting things and and and providing warm clothes for people in the community.
Yeah. So that's our outreach initiative. Yeah. So we do collect food and things like that for the youth shelter and the folks on the street.
(22:16):
How do we build a culture of mentorship in our departments?
Right. Or our programs? Um, particularly when um, I would say.
Mentorship often focuses on graduate students, right?
Because the relationship with your research is closer.
You work more closely in graduate programing than you often do in larger undergrad classes.
(22:40):
But how do we create that culture that starts?
You know, as I said on day one with with your first year student, you know, how do we do that in our programs?
I mean, I can share how I've been doing it, and it's by no means the way.
And I fumbled my way through it, too. But, um, I try and just get them involved.
(23:01):
Yeah. And but you're getting them involved in your research?
Yes. Yeah. So that's really important. They
Yeah. So they join the lab in the Fall. Usually we have an intake in the Fall.
We have an intake in January for new incoming students.
And they get oriented within the lab. Within the lab, within C.A.R.E.?
Yeah. And then through that, they they join different teams depending on their interests and what their goals are.
(23:25):
And the mentoring starts right away within their team.
And they help with the social media posts.
They help with the data collection. They help with coming up with different ideas.
Usually first years, they're not interested in research at all.
Um, they find it intimidating. They don't know what it is. So they usually start with, you know, either knowledge mobilization, or ... or our outreach.
(23:47):
Sure.
Um, so then they, they get their feet wet, they get to know some of the grad students, and some of the senior students. Get some mentorship in that way.
And then they slowly start becoming interested in research.
And we do something called Research Spotlight.
And, um, this is where students, they read an article and then they summarize it to the rest of the lab and try to present it in an accessible way.
(24:10):
So this ... gives them practice on
um, I guess relaying information and summarizing information.
Complicated information in lay ... right ... language, which is challenging.
It is. Absolutely. And so they're practicing doing that through research spotlight.
And then our, our more junior, um, students or students who are less interested in research, they get a taste of what it is.
(24:35):
And then if they're interested, they can join Research Spotlight the next year,
practice, and then they can engage in some of our research projects after that.
This is a high impact practice, right. Engaging students in research through, you know, courses or outside of courses.
Um. Wonderful. One of the things I would say, though, when I look at everything that you do, this takes a whole heck of a lot of energy.
(25:01):
Right. And time. Yeah. How do you stay up all the time?
How do you keep your energy flowing into this?
Because you're you're working at so many levels at once, in so many areas across these pillars, inside the institution, outside the institution.
How do you. How do you keep yourself wrapped up?
Right. Make it sustainable.Yeah, yeah. Crocheting.
(25:23):
Crocheting, exactly. Yeah. Which actually is a really helpful.
So there are ... one, I find the work, the work itself very meaningful.
Yeah. I, I love my job. I just love it.
I love getting up and doing all the things. The thing that makes it stressful is the deadlines.
Um, and having that, that time pressure to get it done.
(25:44):
Yes. Um, but I find that ... but we need them, we need them, we need the deadlines.
Exactly. We need them, otherwise ... and students need them too ... Yeah. Otherwise, nothing gets done.
That's right. So you do need the deadlines. Um, so they're, they're a nice guide.
Um, but I do like, I love all the aspects.
Like, it brings me a lot of joy. It brings me a lot of meaning. So I think that invigorates me.
(26:05):
But then also obviously it gets to, you know, grading is not that fun.
And there are aspects of the job that can be more tiring.
Um, but I do try to ... so every morning I do practice mindfulness every morning, um, for about 20 minutes.
And then, um, I exercise almost every day.
That also helps me, um, process. Process. get some down time, but also invigorates me.
(26:30):
Like I get a lot of energy after exercising. So, um, that helps a lot too.
And then I really do try and make sure I get my eight hours of sleep.
And I tell my students that all the time, like, you go to bed, go to bed, stay up.
Yeah, stop. Stop emailing me at three in the morning.
Just don't do that. Oh, I think we could tell some of our colleagues that too.
(26:51):
Yeah. Actually. We need to model the behavior.
Yeah. Oh, but it's incredible how much a good night's sleep
like what that does to your mood and your your daily functioning.
And our students are not getting enough sleep. No. And then we wonder why they are not producing
not producing very well. So I try to remember, uh, remind them that that self-care is something that we have to practice every single day.
(27:18):
It's ... you take care of yourself each day, just like you would take care of a baby or take care of a pet.
You're not just going to take the pet. Take your pet for a walk when it's an emergency.
Like you take them for a walk every day because it's good for them.
You feed them well and good food every day because it's good for them and same for us.
(27:39):
We should be moving our bodies each day because it's good for us. We should be eating healthfully every day because it's good for us.
And sleeping, um, because that's how we care for each other ... for ourselves and each other.
Because we can't give to others if we are depleted ourselves.
And so I try to remind them of that, because oftentimes there's this idea that we're going to offer self-care when we're in crisis.
(28:05):
So when we are noticing we're super stressed out and we're on the verge of a breakdown,
oh, well, this is what I'm going to take a bubble bath right like that.
Too little, too late. Yeah, yeah. It's that's not going to do much.
Um, we gotta we have to start earlier, um, so that we prevent the crisis, um, and hopefully mitigate that before it becomes an emergency.
(28:28):
Um, and, uh, that's what I try to remind them is let's try not to get to that point where it's an emergency.
Let's every day do a little bit and, um, and then over the long haul, it'll be more sustainable for our for your overall well-being.
One of the things that I think you model, too, is, you know, care and community or care through community, right?
(28:52):
So you're creating communities of people who help each other, you know, uh, crocheting is one piece of it, but you're creating these teams, right?
And relationships with you. And that's also a great form of care.
Yeah, they really appreciate each I'm sure they do. Like I'm sure I'm so glad they have each other through all the time.
And without the lab they might not have those connections.
(29:15):
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I think that's why so many stay on after.
Yeah. Because they have a community, um, to go to.
They don't want to lose it. They don't want to lose it. They've made really good friends over the years.
And um, and then sometimes, I mean, you go off and do your job out in the workforce, and it's kind of lonely.
(29:36):
There might not be a very strong community there, but, I mean,
they have their friends with our lab, and it, um, and they find purpose in that, in that work too.
So. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad about that. It's funny because the, the way I first knew you was your commentary on cyberbullying on YouTube.
(29:56):
Did I make a comment? You did, yes.
You'd been interviewed about so cyberbullying and and, um, it was a project that I think my daughter was doing or something.
Oh, yeah. So okay, so on cyberbullying and, and your research. Cyber-kindness as the other end of the spectrum, I think and social emotional learning.
What have you seen in the in the C.A.R.E. lab, in your classroom teaching in terms of, you know, students returning post-pandemic.
(30:24):
You know, do you see any trends?
And I'm talking a little bit about your research here, and I would think the students in your lab would be really interested in.
Yeah. That's right. Are you seeing any trends, uh, any differences post-pandemic in terms of the cyberbullying versus cyber-kindness,
what's going on amongst students? Their connection, learning with each other?
(30:46):
Mhm. Yeah. Uh, lots of things. I guess,
Naturally after the pandemic, most of us have um have struggled with anxiety.
Yeah. And so I, I do, the pandemic was just something that was not in our control and that elicited a lot of anxious feelings.
And so coming out, and coming back ... unprecedented ...
(31:09):
Yeah. Yeah. They are, or at least they seem a lot more anxious now.
And this feeling of falling behind, because I think, I mean, you know, the pandemic did put a pause on a lot of things.
And now they're trying to ... absolutely ... they feel like they need to catch up.
And so there's a lot of this feeling of, oh no, I'm going to be behind, I'm going to be behind.
(31:29):
And I think we all kind of had that feeling before. We always felt like we had to be on a certain trajectory.
But I'm sensing more anxiety around staying on track than I did before.
And so, um, not even really knowing what the track is. Exactly.
That feeling that ... that feeling like, oh, I'm not where I'm, I'm not where I'm supposed to be.
And, um, and so there's a lot of those kinds of feelings that, um, that I'm noticing in, in students.
(31:57):
Um, what is the ability to connect, right, that, you know, reach out, have a conversation with somebody.
It's a little bit different now. Yeah. Yeah.
So when the pandemic first "ended".
Um, there was a lot more apprehension.
Uh, they didn't want to be in small groups. They were nervous about being in small groups.
(32:18):
And I do a lot of small group discussion.
Um, I just think learning happens a lot through conversation with others, with other people and, and teaching your own pedagogy.
Yes. And so I would put them in groups and they'd be so nervous like they didn't want to do that.
Um, and I think it was because during the pandemic, when we put them in breakout rooms, everyone just had their cameras off.
(32:40):
And it was just it was so different. And, um, and so coming back to class and having to do that created a lot of anxiety.
But now that we're a couple of years out of it, um,
I am noticing and I actually surveyed our all of our YC students and asked them what would they prefer?
And they said ... the vast majority of them said they prefer in-person.
(33:03):
So they do want to come back. They miss connection. They want to meet new people like they're ready now, um, to meet new people, to do new things.
And they realize that in-person also helps them to stay accountable with their work.
Um, so they do treasure that. At the same time, they also said they like online because it offers the flexibility of not having to come in,
(33:27):
especially if you commute or you have other family obligations and things like that.
So, um, which certainly applies to an increasing number of our students, right?
Yes. Because more nontraditional students. Yes. But those are the are the majority.
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And especially here. Um. Brantford campus. Yeah.
It's more, um, they're commuting in. So finding a nice balance between, um, in-person teaching and, and online or even synchronous online.
(33:56):
So, would be they prefer that over asynchronous.
It sounds like. And any changes in terms of how people are treating each other online.
Um, in your research, I know a little bit of, you know, yeah, how people act in digital spaces is different than how they act than
you and I sitting here. Yeah. So it's interesting because it's all comes down to relationships.
(34:19):
And online is basically an extension of how we are, um, offline.
And so if we have a lot of angst, anxiety, anger, um, jealousy, whatever it might be.
We don't only have it online. We also have it offline.
But online is an easy way to let it all out.
(34:41):
And so a lot of the work that I've been working on now is on cultivating healthy relationships with ourselves as well as others.
So the social emotional piece, yeah, emotion regulation, which is connected to behavioral regulation, like why am I feeling this way?
Why do I feel like I need to lash out right now? Online or offline?
(35:02):
Doesn't matter. Why do I have this this need or this feeling that I need to lash out?
Uh, a lot of our program is. Okay. Let's examine those feelings like they're totally valid.
But you have a choice. You don't need to act aggressively based on that feeling.
You can choose another way to address the problem.
And so it's teaching kids and adults, um, how to, how to do that a bit better.
(35:27):
Yeah. But in terms of cyberbullying itself, the numbers haven't actually increased post-pandemic.
It's um, it's about the same. It's about the same. Interesting.
And it's because of ... struggles with communicating are our needs in in a non-aggressive way.
(35:47):
And are your students doing some research on some of this, or is this apart from the C.A.R.E. lab?
Um, so the cyberbullying stuff, I'm slowly kind of moving away from that because I'm realizing it's more about relationships.
Right. And so and cyberbullying is part of it, but the root is actually relationship with self.
(36:08):
And so I'm moving more towards that. Um, but I do work, um, with colleagues at UBC, um, who focus on, um, cyberbullying.
So we actually we have a, we have a study. It's between my colleagues at UBC, Tanzania, um, and China.
Yeah. It's it's a so it's a big study, um, looking at cyber bullying differences across, um, the continents.
(36:35):
Basically, at the end of the day, it all boils down to how connected you feel with other people and feelings of belonging.
And so I'm like, that is what we need to focus on is how do we cope?
That's what you do focus on. Yeah. In your classes.
In your lab. Yeah. So that's what's become my primary area now is, is how do we cultivate that better.
(36:57):
So then what's on the horizon for your teaching, for your mentoring, for future planning?
Like anything new, expanded. I'm kind of going with the flow.
Um, and just letting things come our way. Like, we, um, we're working with the YMCA, Burlington, Brantford, um, and Hamilton.
And so we're doing a large scale study with them, and that's offering a lot of opportunity for myself and my students.
(37:25):
Right. Yeah. So. And what does that project? So we're.
Yeah, we're evaluating, um, find it all interesting ... we're evaluating, uh, a few of their, um, their youth and emerging adulthood, um, program.
Oh, and young children. So from ages six all the way to 29, um, there are a host of different.
(37:45):
Yeah, there are about six different programs that we're helping to evaluate.
Um, so it's big. Um, it's a lot of, um, we're learning so much through this study and, um,
it's a great opportunity for my students and not just kind of came ... applied experiential learning.
Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And what the research process is really like.
(38:07):
Yeah. Um, and all the challenges of what it's like to collect data with in the community, um,
there's a lot of challenges and it's, it's hard to collect data and find participants.
Um, so navigating that with them and helping them to see that process and, um,
and then it offers them opportunity to learn about different forms of data collection and analysis and, and all of that.
(38:32):
Um, so that's one big project that we're working on.
And then I have another, uh, few with, um, the Brantford police and, um, the Boys and Girls Club, and I'm working closely with the City of Brantford.
Uh, so all of these just kind of come and I'll ... come to me and come to the lab,
and we assess whether it aligns with our vision and our interests, and then decide whether to take it or not.
(38:58):
And then I, I mean, the lab is largely student led.
So if they have ideas. Bring them forward and we'll see what happens.
Yeah. So like, one of my students wanted to start a branch, um, for students with autism.
And how can we communicate, um, and learn more about, uh, making things a little bit more accessible for those with autism.
(39:24):
And so now we've got a little group working on autism things.
And so that's really interesting and, um, and fun because I'm learning so much, I don't know very much about autism at all.
And so now we're kind of diving into that and, and seeing where that goes and meeting new people.
Like now I'm meeting new colleagues who do research on autism so that I can support this stream.
(39:47):
And yeah, and that's really good too. Well, we look forward to hearing about all of these initiatives.
And thank you so much for joining me here today.
It's my pleasure. Thank you so much.
My thanks to Danielle Law for joining me today, and I hope you will join me for more conversations that celebrate exceptional teaching practices,
explore diverse teaching philosophies, and discuss the future of higher education, teaching, and learning.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!