| Title | Ethnographic Vignette Printer: Generating engagement, collaboration, and reflection in writing anthropology and beyond |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Arts |
| Status | Active |
| Duration | 3 Years |
| Initiation | 04/01/2026 |
| Project Summary | The Ethnographic Vignette Printer is a cross-modal teaching tool that combines tactile and digital engagement to make writing instruction more engaging, accessible, and collaborative. Students use an interface to print short descriptive scenes from ethnographic texts, called “vignettes,” randomly selected from a curated database. Each vignette is printed on continuous receipt paper and paired with reflection questions and a QR-code linking to online lessons on ethnographic writing. Students engage with these materials through scaffolded reflection and active learning activities that build writing skills step by step—an increasingly important goal amid overreliance on generative AI tools that can erode writing practice and critical reflection. A parallel digital collection ensures accessibility and flexibility. While the current content is grounded in anthropology, the tool’s adaptable structure—combining material and digital delivery for guided reflection and scaffolded learning—can be applied across writing-intensive and case-based disciplines making its impact widely scalable across UBC. |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2026/2027 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Amirpouyan Shiva |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 32,216 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Amirpouyan Shiva, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Anthropology, Faculty of Arts |