In this follow-up to the DESC Community-Based Learning workshop, Mustafa Syed from the Training Group describes how he uses digital tools and team-based learning approaches to support adult learners—particularly those in self-employment and career-transition programs.
The conversation explores how instructional design grounded in team collaboration, community building, and the BC Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework can create real-world outcomes for diverse learners. Drawing on examples from programs like Self-Employment Services, VOICE, and Encore, Mustafa shares how team dynamics, digital skill-building, and collaborative projects foster meaningful communication, promote peer-to-peer engagement, and empower students to connect, share, co-create in dynamic digital environments, and transform their business ideas into action.
This recorded conversation highlights practical tools and strategies for fostering collaboration and digital literacy in team-based learning environments. Mustafa shares how platforms like Microsoft Whiteboard, Padlet, Blackboard, and Zoom are used to support real-time interaction, peer learning, and inclusive group work. Instructors will find inspiration for engaging learners and supporting diverse teams. Key takeaways include using digital tools to reduce barriers, form learning communities, and empower students to co-create meaningful projects.
After three inspiring days at the Digital Pedagogy Lab 2025, which was hosted by BCcampus in partnership with Jesse Stommel and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. I find myself reflecting on what makes teaching and learning meaningful, equitable, and joyful. As I was in the Reimagining Assessment: Care and Community track, the following notes represent topics discussed in that break-out theme, led by Dr. Jesse Stommel and Dr. Martha Burtis. (Note: Paraphrased quotes from the track are in italics.)
Across conversations on grading reform, first-generation student success, and digital learning environments, a central theme emerged:
Assessment should not be a barrier to learning—it should be a bridge.
When we shift our focus from grades to growth, from compliance to curiosity, we create classrooms where students engage deeply, take intellectual risks, and connect learning to their own lives. We explored research-backed strategies and practical applications to bring into our own teaching practices.
First-Generation Students: Making Learning Purposeful
One of the most impactful discussions centered on first-generation students, who often approach college with a transactional view of education—where grades, rather than learning, are seen as the goal. Research on cultural capital gaps shows that these students may struggle with unspoken academic expectations, leading to anxiety and disengagement.
Practical applications to teaching
Explicitly teach the hidden curriculum—Explain policies, feedback loops, and flexible deadlines.
Reframe grades as markers of growth—Help students see assignments as opportunities for learning, not just evaluations.
Build relational trust—Normalize asking for help and emphasize process over perfection.
Grades shouldn’t define a student’s worth—but for many, they’re tied to survival.
Classroom Environment: The Space We Teach In Matters
Classroom design influences engagement, equity, and participation in ways we often overlook. We had a lively discussion about how seating arrangements, lighting, and instructor positioning impact student interactions.
A few takeaways:
Fixed seating and sterile environments discourage engagement.
Flexible arrangements encourage discussion, collaboration, and accessibility.
Instructor positioning matters—sitting among students reduces hierarchy and increases participation.
If we want students to be active learners, we need spaces that allow them to be.
Since this was a digital pedagogy lab, we also discussed the implications of digital environments, and ways to reduce hierarchical and sterile online environments.
Bias in Grading: The Halo Effect & Hidden Prejudices
Grading is never neutral. A meta-analysis of 1,935 graders found that bias—often unconscious—shapes how we evaluate student work.
Common biases in grading:
The Halo Effect – If a student has done well before, their future work may be viewed more favorably.
The Reverse Halo Effect – Students who challenge grades or struggle early on may be judged more harshly.
Bias from transcript access – Knowing a student’s GPA, financial aid status, or past performance can subtly influence assessment.
How to Reduce Grading Bias:
Blind grading – we discussed the pros and cons of this, and the ways in which bias can creep into even blind grading
Shift from “points lost” to mastery-based rubrics.
Provide feedback before giving a grade. Also, keep feedback and grading separate; students often don’t consider the feedback important if it is adjacent to the grade.
Bias in grading isn’t just about race or gender—it’s about power, perception, and relationships.
Shifting from Grades to Meaningful Feedback
One of the most practical insights from the Assessment track was how to decenter grades and make feedback the focal point of learning.
Effective feedback strategies:
Process letters – Students reflect on their work before receiving a grade.
Self-assessment + instructor feedback – Encourages students to take ownership of their progress.
Feedback-first grading – Delays grading to allow students to focus on improvement rather than points.
When grades are the focus, students ignore feedback. When feedback is the focus, grades become secondary.
Redesigning Assignments for Intrinsic Motivation
A final, critical discussion centered on how we design assignments to spark curiosity and intrinsic motivation.
Practical strategies:
Reframe assignments – Instead of “This is worth 20% of your grade,” say: “This helps you develop X skill, which prepares you for Y challenge.”
Use mastery-based grading – Encourage students to improve over time rather than chase perfection.
Incorporate self-reflection – Ask students to set learning goals and evaluate their own growth.
Education isn’t about sorting students into winners and losers—it’s about empowering every learner to thrive.
A Call to Action: Redefining Success in the Classroom
Grading reform isn’t just about changing policies—it’s a philosophical shift. It asks us:
Do my assessments foster learning or just compliance?
Do my grading practices reflect my values or institutional habit?
Am I creating conditions where all students—not just the privileged—can thrive?
Teaching should be a space of intellectual excitement, deep engagement, and genuine curiosity. The more we humanize assessment, remove unnecessary barriers, and promote student agency, the more we create joyful, meaningful learning experiences.
I left this conference energized and committed to these shifts—not just for my students, but for the future of teaching and learning itself.
Because education is more than a transcript—it’s about transformation. And when we shift our focus from grades to growth, we empower students to become thinkers, not just performers.
Resources we used in the Reimagining Assessment track
Douglas College supports the adoption of the B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework. This comprehensive guide was developed to enhance digital literacy across British Columbia’s post-secondary institutions. It defines digital literacy and outlines the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities required for effective participation in today’s digital society. The framework emphasizes creating accessible, inclusive, and equitable digital environments for all members of the post-secondary community, including educators, administrators, researchers, staff, and learners.
Here are a few easy-to-implement teaching ideas for each of the eight thematic competencies.
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Cite It Right: Use tools like Zotero for an in-class citation practice activity.
Troubleshooting Practice: Assign a low-stakes task where students solve common technical issues (e.g., fixing Wi-Fi settings or troubleshooting presentation software).
Open Access Exploration: Have students locate and summarize open-access articles using DOAJ or PubMed.
Mini Research Project: Assign students to create a short presentation or paper using Open Textbook Library.
Digital Publication Exercise: Encourage students to create a simple e-book using tools like Pressbooks.
Communication and Collaboration
Professional Email Etiquette: Use OER like (find something here) to teach concise and professional email writing.
Collaborative Brainstorming: Use free tools like Padlet or Microsoft Whiteboard Hypothes.is for group idea-sharing.
Peer Review: Implement structured peer reviews using Microsoft O365 tools or Hypothes.is commenting features.
Creation and Curation
Infographic Creation: Use free templates on Canva for students to visually represent course content.
Podcast Snippet: Have students record a short audio reflection or discussion using Kaltura Capture or Microsoft Stream
Digital Exhibit: Ask students to curate a small online collection of resources or artifacts.
Digital Wellbeing
Mindful Tech Useand Focus Tools: Share resources to teach balanced online habits, and manage distractions. A few Mental Health & Well-Being Smart Phone Apps examples provided by Confederation College.
Reflective Journals: Use OneNote or Blackboard Journals for students to track and reflect on their screen time and digital habits.
Community-Based Learning
Digital Storytelling: Use open guides to create community-focused narratives. If a good fit, introduce students to the Changing Narratives Fund (Canada Media Fund).
Virtual Interviews: Assign students to conduct short, recorded interviews with community members using Blackboard integrated tools like Zoom or Kaltura.
Crowdsourced Projects: Collaborate with local organizations to create a shared resource (find example for here).
BCcampus Digital Literacy Materials for Post-Secondary Educators
Incorporate digital skills into any post-secondary course to equip your students with the ability to exist, contribute, express, critically analyze, and stay healthy in digital spaces.
Instructors, staff, and administrators from Douglas College have been engaging in discussions of the future of digital learning in B.C.’s post-secondary education system. Here are some highlights from 2024 digital literacy events that will directly impact Douglas College and changes being asked of individual college instructors.
Emphasis for ethical, accessible, and responsive use of technology
Establishing a Professional Development Hub – dialogue facilitated by Melanie Latham, TRU
BC Campus Events page is a great place to look for upcoming PD opportunities, and access past event archives. Programs like the Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) series, the EdTech Sandbox series, and the Challenge Series offer training to enhance digital teaching skills.
Here is a good example to consider: 10 GenAI Challenge Series Inspired by the creative approach of the Agora Challenge Bank, BCcampus Open Education challenges, and past digital literacy Twitter challenges, BCcampus is excited to present a series of Generative AI in Education challenges! This open series is designed to build critical literacy around GenAI in a fun, engaging way, helping participants not only develop practical skills but also gain a deeper understanding of GenAI’s transformative potential in higher education. Join us for 10 interactive challenges that will expand your capabilities and critical perspectives on AI in learning! This is a self-paced, asynchronous, not-facilitated challenge series designed by Lucas Wright.
A custom GPT bot designed to help review and reinforce the workshop content
Supporting Digital Literacy Development with Open Educational Resources
The BC Digital Literacy Hub is a public, online collection of Open Educational Resources designed for instructors in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. The goal is to help educators, including learning and teaching staff, integrate digital literacy materials easily into existing courses and improve their own digital literacy skills. In collaboration with the Ministry of Post-secondary Education and Future Skills, BCcampus developed this collection to support the implementation of the B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework. The collection was created for educators with the support and guidance from educational professionals across the province. Link to recording
The Digital Literacy Challenge was an eight-week asynchronous challenge to help participants expand their digital literacy toolkit. The resources are designed to help incorporate the eight competencies outlined in the B.C. Digital Literacy Framework into teaching practice, and how to support student success through digital literacy.
Enhancing Digital Equity
In the Digital Learning Strategy Forum session titled The Landscape of Merging Modalities and Planning for Multi-Access Learning Pathways, Valerie Irvine of the University of Victoria presented their experiences with merging modalities in the post-secondary classroom. With her method of multi-access learning, Irvine has successfully taught post-secondary students who were learning remotely, on-campus, blended, individually, and in groups. Dr. Irvine encouraged participants to consider the various obstacles to learning, and the different ways minority groups prefer to learn. Read this background article to learn more.
Ethical and Accessible Technology
Mindfulness of ethical and accessible considerations when using educational technology. Mitra Manesh, from the UCLA Center for Mindful Awareness, facilitated a workshop on Mindfulness & Technology on May 15, 2024. Link to notes Mitra provided
Ensuring digital content is accessible to students with disabilities. Please contact the Douglas College Accessibility Services for support with this competency.
Impact on Individual College Instructors
The BC Digital Literacy Framework, Strategy, and ongoing related events are intended to have significant impact on how instructors approach their teaching practices.
Instructors are expected to:
Incorporate Digital Literacy: Integrate digital literacy frameworks into curriculum, and ensure students are well-versed in navigating digital environments.
Participate in Professional Development: Take advantage of professional development opportunities to enhance digital teaching skills and stay current with technological advancements.
Utilize (and contribute) Shared Resources: Use shared educational resources and technology to improve the quality of teaching materials and reduce costs.
Support Digital Equity: Support initiatives that promote digital equity, ensuring all students have access to the necessary digital tools and resources.
Ensure Ethical and Accessible Use of Technology: Be mindful of ethical considerations and ensure their digital content is accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.
By embracing these changes, instructors can contribute to a more inclusive, equitable, and high-quality digital learning environment.
A conversation recorded from Douglas College, on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and qiqéyt (Qayqayt) First Nations, and from Thompson Rivers University on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’exelc (Williams Lake campus) within Secwépemc’ulucw, reside on the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc.
As a participant midway through the BC Campus 2024 Digital Literacy Challenge Series, I was delighted to have a chance to chat with the creators, Helen Lee and Melanie Lathan.
Helen Lee, Instructional Designer at Justice Institute of BCMelanie Latham, Coordinator, Educational Technologies, Thompson Rivers University
The series takes participants through the eight competencies outlined in the B.C. Digital Literacy Framework, and includes strategies for incorporating the skills into teaching practice, and how to support student success through digital literacy.
Participants receive one challenge in their inbox each Monday morning over the course of eight weeks. Each challenge will address the following:
What: a definition of the digital literacy competency
Why: the importance of each competency in teaching practice
How: approaches for developing the competency in our own learning, and how to incorporate these skills in our teaching practice
Interactive activities and thoughtful prompts help to learn how to incorporate digital literacy into your teaching practice and generate ideas on how to teach these skills to students. Each weekly challenge takes one to four hours to complete, depending on how deeply you want to explore.
There were four optional, synchronous drop-in sessions held over Zoom where participants asked questions and connected with peers in a casual setting.
Karine Hamm (Sports Science Diploma Coordinator) and I met with Bailey Cove, a former student of Karine’s, to discuss her ideas on the topic of Reimagining Post-Secondary Education. Bailey has been volunteering since high-school, and provided this list of recent positions she has served in:
Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) Director of College Relations (1 year)
Douglas College (DC) Board of Governors (1 year)
Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) Director of External Relations (1 year)
DSU Budget and Operations Committee (member)
DSU Campus Life Working Group (member)
DSU/DC Joint Operations (member)
Douglas College Education Council College Board Liaison
Douglas College Campus Planning Committee (member)
DSU Campaigns Working Group (Chair)
Bailey shared her thoughts on the student experience of post-secondary education from a highly-informed perspective. Enjoy listening to a discussion of what works, what needs improvement, and what new directions we can imagine.
Quote from Neighbourhood Houses – Edited by Ming Chung Yan and Sean Lauer: “The community problem is generally considered to comprise the following problems of connection and engagement: the avoidance and superficial level of interaction, the living together at high densities as strangers, and the feeling of isolation while surrounded by others. This can lead to alienation and a social disconnection from the social world around us. As a form of social infrastructure focused on the development of relationships and social capacity, neighbourhood houses have the potential to contribute to the ideal of creating welcoming communities in cities and societies that are often less than welcoming and supportive for marginalized, racialized, and disadvantaged groups.”
Yuval Noah Harari on storytelling– “Homo sapiens is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs, and believes that the universe itself works like a story, replete with heroes and villains, conflicts and resolutions, climaxes and happy endings. When we look for the meaning of life, we want a story that will explain what reality is all about and what my particular role is in the cosmic drama. This role makes me a part of something bigger than myself, and gives meaning to all my experiences and choices.”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
Dr. Kimberley Tanner – Researcher focusing on biology and science education research, specifically on developing assessment tools to understand how people from K-12 to practicing scientists conceptualize science.
Karine Hamm (Sports Science Diploma Coordinator) and I met with Colleen Reid (Faculty Researcher and Therapeutic Recreation faculty) and Ruhina Rana (Health Sciences Research Coordinator) to discuss their ideas on the topic of Reimagining Post-Secondary Education. Colleen and Ruhina were both members of the inaugural HiPE – High Impact Practices in Education – committee. They created the committee as a support to the Office of Research and Innovation. They bring their perspective on the moral imperative we have to offer undergraduate research opportunities at Douglas College despite being a teaching intensive institution. Join our chat as we discuss how HiPE aims to re-configure post-secondary education to adapt to the changing landscape of employability.
Karine Hamm, Coordinator, Sports Science Diploma and I met to discuss a DESC project we are working together on involving a series of recorded interviews and dialogues with colleagues, students, and other educators that will address the topic of Reimagining Post-Secondary Education.
Here are some links to things mentioned in the recording
Transcript of the Studio23 Panel: Experiential Learning and Social Change Through Projects in Studios, Labs, and Maker Spaces quote from Paula Ortiz: “I think the biggest thing is I’ve had professors mention that or teach that we should learn to embrace and learn the new technologies coming out rather than be against them. Because I read an article that came out not too long ago about the top 30 jobs that are about to be replaced by AI. And guess what, my job is on that list. So that is a little daunting when I haven’t even graduated and people are telling me that I’m going to be replaced in like the next 5, 10 years. So certain professors have been teaching students is to take, for example, something like a ChatGPT and learn how to combine it with yourself, to elevate yourself as a designer, rather than fear that AI will replace your job entirely because I think it’ll still be a while before it can perfectly replace what a designer does. But we need to learn how to embrace it and learn it and keep up with these technologies that are coming out so quickly to be able to elevate yourself and your skills to be able to make something that is greater.”
Our recording ending a bit abruptly and we thanked each other after stopping the recording. Watch for future installments in this series and if you would like to participate please contact Karine at duvalk@douglascollege.ca or Steven at bishops@douglascollege.ca
Click on the image above to listen to the recorded dialogue
