At the University of Alberta, the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) supports educators in advancing meaningful, high-impact learning experiences. Aligned with SHAPE: A Strategic Plan of Impact, the fund invests in projects that strengthen teaching and learning across the institution.
The 2025–26 TLEF cohort brings together a diverse group of instructors whose projects are enhancing the student experience in impactful ways.
Transformative learning is central to every strong degree program. These projects focus on improving accessibility, cultural responsiveness and experiential learning opportunities, helping to enrich the student journey. Collectively, the initiatives are shaping how students learn and succeed at the U of A, while building foundations that support leadership and contribution beyond the university.
Congratulations to the 2025–26 TLEF recipients on their innovative and impactful work.
Enhancing first year pharmacy students' critical appraisal skills through AI-generated care plan critique and peer feedback
Recipients: Pawan Gill, Ravina Sanghera and Damion Barnes (Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Through a multi-stage assignment, this project will help pharmacy students develop critical appraisal and evidence-based practice skills to critique AI-generated patient care plans. By addressing the growing role of AI in healthcare, students will have a structured opportunity to evaluate the accuracy and patient-centredness of AI clinical tools that are being adapted to support clinical decisions.
Embedding cultural responsiveness in dietetics education: A toolkit for future dietitians
Recipients: Carla Prado and Sabina Valentine (Department of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences)
Informed by doctoral research on culturally responsive nutrition care, this project translates research insights into teaching innovation. It will develop and embed a Cultural Responsiveness Toolkit within the Dietetics Program, using applied case studies, templates and reflective activities to strengthen equity-oriented communication, cultural humility and inclusive counselling skills for future dietitians.
LabCast 2.0 - Immersive pre-lab preparation for physical chemistry
Recipients: Reza Popari and Gabriel Hanna (Department of Chemistry) and Sonya Betz (Library and Museums)
LabCast 2.0 will transform pre-laboratory preparation with a suite of immersive digital tools, including a 360° laboratory walkthrough, that will allow students to explore the physical space in advance, identify safety stations and become familiar with equipment and workflows. This flipped-lab approach reduces anxiety, enhances laboratory safety and shifts in-person time toward deeper conceptual engagement, coaching and troubleshooting.
Exploring student growth, challenges and perceptions in the designing your life course: A mixed-methods study
Recipients: Ania Ulrich, Shuai Yu and Torrey Dance (Faculty of Engineering)
The new elective "Designing Your Life" aims to help students apply design thinking to reflect on their values, explore life and career pathways and build transferable skills.
Using a mixed-methods approach, this project examines how the course supports students’ personal and professional growth, including their confidence in navigating career uncertainty. Findings will generate transferable evaluation tools to support the broader integration of reflective pedagogies across the university.
Training and assessment of an AI-based tool for grading and feedback of engineering specifications
Recipients: Benjamin Cheung and Janice Miller-Young (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
The purpose of this project is to develop, train and assess the effectiveness of a custom AI model tool in grading and providing feedback on student-developed engineering design specifications in mechanical engineering design courses, and assess student perceptions of AI- generated feedback compared to that provided by their peers and instructors.
Experimental mythbusting in the classroom: A novel approach to synergistic engineering
Recipient: Ahmed Samir Ead (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
This project proposes expanding the elective MecE 415: Busting Myths with Analysis with the creation and integration of custom-developed experimental modular props and hands-on tools to enrich the student experience. The work will address the need for collaborative and, arguably more importantly, fun, memorable experiences that mirror real-world engineering challenges in design and problem translation.
Expanding Indigenous pedagogies in graduate professional psychology education
Recipients: Gwendolyn Villebrun and Melissa Tremblay (Faculty of Education)
Building on a pilot course (EDPY 597), this project seeks to deepen and sustain Indigenous pedagogies within graduate professional psychology education at the U of A. Through surveys, interviews and direct engagement with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, the study will examine students’ capacity for culturally safe practice and reconciliation-oriented care. Deliverables include publications and a “learnings” webinar, addressing the limited literature on embedding Indigenous knowledge within professional graduate programs.
Developing transformative research methods and training through a summer institute
Recipients: Michelle Maroto and Sara Dorow (Department of Sociology); Karen Edwards (School of Public Health); Gillian Lemermeyer (Faculty of Nursing); Cheryl Poth (Faculty of Education) and Jared Wesley (Department of Political Science)
This project will launch a pilot Summer Research Methods Institute offering ten modules on applied, community-driven research. Through immersive experiential learning, participants build methodological expertise prioritizing equity and societal impact. Initial learnings will be shared at the 2026 Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences Big Thinking Summit, establishing a foundational building block for a future graduate-level Certificate in Applied Social Research supported by the Transforming Research for Social Impact Hub.
Teaching the Hidden Curriculum: removing barriers to student access and success
Recipients: Jennifer Passey and Wendy Hoglund (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts)
The primary goal of this project is to create open educational resources for teaching the Hidden Curriculum in order to support student success in their academic journey as well as feelings of inclusion, especially students who are first generation university students. By teaching the Hidden Curriculum, we effectively remove barriers to accessing resources (e.g. office hours, mental health supports, effective study strategies) faced by many students.
Personalizing accessibility through responsible AI and universal design for learning
Recipients: Shaniff Esmail, Adriana Ríos Rincón and Antonio Miguel Cruz (Department of Occupational Therapy) and Kevin Friese (Student Success and Experience Administration)
This project will pilot a responsible, FOIPPA-aligned AI prototype that allows students to self-identify learning barriers and generate customized support plans based on Universal Design for Learning. Through a collaborative co-design process, the tool provides transparent, context-specific recommendations. This proactive approach aims to enhance inclusive teaching, improve student success and establish an ethically governed framework for scalable adoption across Health Sciences.
Expanding linguistic inquiry in speech language pathology: from academic research to community engagement
Recipients: Laura Brompton, Youran Lin and Jasmine Travers (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders)
This project will redesign a capstone assignment in CSD 507 to provide students with more authentic, community-engaged learning experiences. The three-part inquiry-based structure fosters direct, respectful interaction with diverse communities and deeper understanding of speech sound variation across languages. This model will build a sustainable resource repository for future cohorts and provides a scalable framework for inclusive, experiential education that reflects the linguistic diversity of professional practice.
Design of interactive 3D molecular biology tools to enhance student engagement, participation and learning
Recipients: Paul LaPointe (Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry); Okan Bulut (Faculty of Education); Yash Jha (undergraduate student, Faculty of Science)
This project develops interactive Augmented Reality software by leveraging Snapchat's Lens Studio platform to help students visualize 3D cellular processes. By integrating curriculum-aligned modules into introductory biology, students can manipulate complex molecular structures on their own devices. This method bridges the "representation gap" of 2D textbooks, reducing cognitive frustration and improving student retention through immersive, adaptable toolkits that function across any learning medium.
The Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) encourages the development of novel and impactful teaching practices that enhance students' learning experiences and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in education. The 2026 call for applications will open in the fall. Learn more.