Sunny summer day on Main Mall at the UBC Point Grey Campus. Sun shining through the trees.

Decolonizing Evaluation Interview Series: Wendy Bond, Asma-na-hi Antoine, Sam Filipenko 

Welcome to our very first Indigenous Initiatives interview series exploring decolonizing approaches to evaluation! Across this series, we’ll be speaking with colleagues from across the University of British Columbia who hold different roles and responsibilities, but who are all deeply engaged in research and evaluation work. Together, they help shape how knowledge is gathered, interpreted, and mobilized within the institution and […]

A headshot of Dr. Alexander Ross

AI Reflections: Faculty Spotlight on Alexander Ross  

Alexander Ross He/Him/His Assistant Professor School of Information, Faculty of Arts We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Alexander Ross from the School of Information to hear his perspectives on AI and its impacts on teaching and learning at UBC.   Alex is a critical communications scholar, with a focus on media theory and the political economy of […]

A symbol representing AII in the middle of the image with a few "x"s representing bias feeding into one side and many more "x"s coming out the other side.

AI Reflections: Perpetuation of Bias 

AI uses data to generate content, identify patterns, summarize, and make predictions. This data exists as information firmly located in our past and present, even as it tries to move us into the future. When we consider the systems that produce the most data: education, healthcare, and legal systems, to name a few, we can see their outputs are shaped […]

Four hands holding pieces of string connected by a ball of string in the middle.

What would your world look like if racism and oppression did not exist? 

When I was first asked this question, my brain could not even fathom the possibilities and others in the room with me could not either! I was in an anti-racism educators’ workshop and the facilitator coyly chuckled and stated, “As a person of colour, it’s okay to give yourself permission to dream.” In shock and awe, I decided to rescind almost to a childlike state and threw myself into the […]

Silhouette of a tree with random numbers spread across it. Blue background

AI Reflections: Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires large amounts of data to function; that data comes from somewhere, and from someone(s). Over the years, many of us have given up our data; social media is a prime example of the ways that we hand over our data for free to use a service. Indigenous communities, however, have never given up their sovereignty, including sovereignty over their data. You may have heard of Indigenous data sovereignty; we’re going to highlight why it’s a particularly […]

A large carved wooden house post stands on the right side of a main UBC walkway lined with trees and through the middle a landscaped stream bed filled with water and grass. The house post features a human figure holding a double-headed serpent that coils around the human figure with Coast Salish crescent-shaped markings.

Building a Meaningful Relationship with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation through Peer-Facilitated Classroom Climate TA Training 

UBC CTLT Indigenous Initiatives has been enhancing TA training for over a decade, focusing on respectful engagement with Indigenous content inside the classroom. The Classroom Climate TA training program aims to create a classroom environment grounded in understanding the long presence and histories of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples as well as our own historical, social, and physical locations. By engaging with the teachings and resources shared by the Musqueam community, TAs become more aware of how their […]

Listening to the 2023 Teaching Practices Survey: Professional Development  

Listening to the 2023 Teaching Practices Survey: Professional Development  

For those following our Teaching Practices Survey (TPS) results from 2023, we’re back for our final blog post to wrap up the series. This last post focuses on the area of “professional development”, which 16% of survey respondents said this was how they engage with Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews in their courses (for reference, […]

AI Reflections: Resources from Indigenous Scholars, Artists & Activists  

AI Reflections: Resources from Indigenous Scholars, Artists & Activists  

Everyone’s talking about AI, but are we discussing the right things? Are we asking ourselves the right questions?

Reflecting on Positionality and Pathways to Racial Solidarity

Reflecting on Positionality and Pathways to Racial Solidarity  

My name is Renata Hall, the new Educational Consultant, Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning at CTLT! I am excited to work on new programming this year that supports anti-racist teaching, learning, and solidarity at UBC.

Welcoming Renata!

Welcoming Renata!

Renata Hall is joining us in the role of Educational Consultant, Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning (ARTL).