March 5, 2009
Several students in the Faculty of Education proved that a little idealism can go a long way. One day late in 2008, students Joel Lagasse and Geoffery Kehrig came up with the idea of making and selling notebooks out of recycled cereal boxes and printer paper. By doing this they hoped to raise money to pay for a sustainability speaker to address their Community and Inquiry in Teacher Education (CITE) program cohort. At some point early in that process, Kehrig said to Lagasse, "Why bunt when you can swing for a home run? Let's ask David Suzuki." More…
Lee Gunderson of the Department of Language and Literacy Education is the recipient of the President's Award for Public Education through Media for 2008.
Dr. Kit Grauer has been named Canadian Art Educator of the Year by the Canadian Society for Education Through Art. Recipients of this award are recognized for excellence and leadership in art education research and teaching, as well as their significant contributions made to art education within and across institutional and community contexts.
The UBC Faculty of Education gratefully acknowledges the $10,000 grant received from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation in support of the Intergenerational Landed Learning on the Farm for the Environment Project. The funds will be used to support the project’s 2008/09 environmental education and summer camp programs. For more information, please visit the Landed Learning project page.
Rita Irwin, Professor of Art Education in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, has been named the recipient of the prestigious Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring for her sustained mentorship of numerous graduate students over many years. Rita will be presented with the award at the UBC Fall Congregation Ceremony on November 20th at 3:00 p.m. at 2008
Congratulations to Professor Wayne Ross on receiving a Critics Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association for his and R. Gibson's book "Neoliberalism and Education Reform" published in 2007 by Hampton Press.
Dr. Bryan Clarke, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, passed away on September 19th. Dr. Clarke established the first Canadian university-based preparation program for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing and received a Master Teacher Award from UBC in 1972.
The Department of Educational and Counselling Pyschology's Pat Mirenda was made Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) in August 2008. The award honours members who have "made outstanding contributions to ISAAC through (a) scientific and/or practical contributions, (b) leadership within the field of augmentative and alternative communication, and (c) their dedication to the affairs of ISAAC.
Thomas Sork, professor of adult education and associate dean of External Programs and Learning Technologies, is one of seven educators being inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.
Dr. Richard Young, and his co-authors Sheila K. Marshall, and Ladislav Valach are recipients of the Outstanding Career Development Quarterly Contribution Award for 2007 for their paper entitled "Making Career Theories More Culturally Sensitive: Implications for Counseling." This prestigious award was presented during the National Career Development Association Awards Luncheon in Washington, DC on July 10th, 2008. This paper has made an outstanding contribution to career counseling literature.
Chief Shawn Atleo has been appointed as Chancellor of Vancouver Island University. Atleo is a graduate of the Adult Learning and Global Change program, which the Educational Studies department coordinates with several other universities worldwide.
Willinsky, a Pacific Press Professor of Literacy & Technology and Distinguished University Scholar in the Language and Literacy Education department, was honored by York University, recognizing his international contribution to language and literacy education research and to knowledge mobilization.
A generous commitment of $500,000 over five years from the Office of Chinese Language Council International (“Hanban”) in Beijing, China has enabled the Faculty to create a new Centre for Research in Chinese Language and Literacy Education in the UBC Faculty of Education. More Information.....
Congratulations to Dr. Lynn Miller, Assistant Professor in Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, for having been selected as the successful candidate for the newly created Myrne B. Nevison Professorship in Counselling Psychology.
As the incumbent of the Professorship, Lynn will engage in research that will support the advancement and understanding of preventive and early intervention approaches in counselling for populations at risk. This is consistent with the work that Dr. Myrne Nevison pioneered during her tenure as professor and later head of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.
The establishment of the endowed Myrne B. Nevison Professorship in Counselling in Psychology was made possible by a $1 million gift from a generous benefactor who wishes only to be identified as an admirer of Myrne Nevison’s work. This landmark gift was the largest donation ever made by an individual to the Faculty of Education. More information on the donation.
Dr. Rob Tierney
Dean, Faculty of Education
The largest single individual donation ever made to the UBC Faculty of Education has created the Myrne B. Nevison Professorship in Counselling Psychology, in memory of counselling psychology pioneer and B.C. social policy maker, Dr. Myrne Burdett Nevison.
This significant gift of $1M from an anonymous benefactor - who is an admirer of Myrne Nevison’s work - will formalize the research that Dr. Nevison pioneered during her tenure as professor and later head of the educational and counselling psychology department within the Faculty of Education at UBC. More ...
Prof. Yvonne Brown has been nominated for the YMCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Award in the area of Education, Training & Development. Since 1984, this prestigious award program honours, encourages and recognizes women whose outstanding activities and achievements contribute to the health and future of the community. Recognized nationally as one of the most prestigious awards for women, 2008 will be the 25th year of YWCA Vancouver's Women of Distinction Awards. More details at the YMCA Vancouver website.
About 100 members of Democrats Abroad—the international arm of the U.S. Democratic Party—are holding a two-day global convention in Vancouver beginning on Saturday. Professor Theresa Rogers, formerly of New York City, will attend the convention as a Clinton supporter. "The idea of a female president is very important to me," Rogers said. The expats will be selecting some of the delegates they will send to the party's national convention in Denver. View full article in the Vancouver Sun.
Prof. Lee Gunderson is working with the B.C. Ministry of Education to locate new immigrant teens who entered the Vancouver school system only to drop out within a couple of years. Teens who arrive at the age of 15 or more have little chance to benefit from the public school system academically, Gunderson says. Sixty per cent will "disappear" before completing high school, he adds. View full article in The Vancouver Sun.
Early-childhood expert Prof. Hillel Goelman comments on 'Clicktoy,' a computer program designed to amuse toddlers and allow parents some quality playtime with them at the keyboard. Goelman is skeptical that computers can provide the free-form play that children need. "What kids really need is manipulation of things in a multi-sensory way. That's why they love Play-Doh, Lego blocks, finger paints and sandboxes." View full article at cbc.ca.
Prof. Lee Gunderson, a prominent immigrant learning researcher at UBC, says immigrant children can need up to nine years of English as a Second Language help, instead of the current five funded by many provincial governments. "With Canada clearly heading for more and more diversity - in some schools 99 per cent of students don't speak English as their first language - it's not possible to tailor programs to each particular group. You need teachers trained to work with the whole range," Gunderson said yesterday. View full article in The Toronto Star.
Prof. Shelley Hymel comments in a Vancouver Sun article on self-esteem. She says unearned compliments won't build self-esteem in kids, but encouraging their efforts works wonders. "The 1970s and '80s was about building performance by building self-esteem," said Hymel, who has worked in the area of self-esteem for years. "But a correlation doesn't imply causation. View full article.
Dear Colleagues,
A heartfelt thanks to all of the Unruly Salon supporters and volunteers who gave generously of their time to make the Unruly Salon a success.
Volunteers at the Registration Table:
Coordinator: Dawna Rumball
Tara Gibb
Jane Gray
Thom Andrews
Jane Gray
Krista Fogel
Jo-Anne Naslund
Also, thank you to Maryam Nabavi and Caroline Rueckert for photography work.
Deep appreciation goes to Carolyn Beil, Clare Ford and Stephanie Forgacs for support work behind the scenes and for public introductions/welcomes and communications: Tara Fenwick, Andre Mawazi, Janet Jameison, Deb Butler, Erin Graham, Tom Patch, Ruth Warick, Mary Bryson, Rob Tierney, Prof. and President Stephen J. Toope, Jordan Watters, David Anderson, Dawna Rumball, Peter Seixas, Tom Sork, Jo-Ann Archibald, Alannah Earl Young, F. Lee Brown and Art Leon, Arnie Leon, Meghann Shantz, Steven Taubeneck, Clark Lundeen and the Green College Dining Society and to Colligo Technology for the brilliant web site.
Finally, institutional support from Green College, The Faculty of Education, The President's Office, VP of Student Services (Brian Sullivan), Academic Vice Provost and Provost (Anna Kindler and David Farrar) and the Equity Office (Tom Patch), CCFI (Mary Bryson) CCIE (Handel Wright) and Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald (Associate Dean of Indigenous Education) all in conjunction with a vocal, creative, and contesting history of disability arts, culture, scholarship and social movement dared to dream out loud to negotiate a fragile and powerful cultural and political space of belonging, rights, and public imagination. I would personally like to thank Mr, Geoff McMurchy and the Society for Disability Arts and Culture for a most magnificent collaboration, no doubt the beginning of things to come.
Unruly Citizens, the "working audience" to quote Catherine Frazee, a body politic negotiated at each Salon, we represent nothing short of the promise of our voices being heard and witnessed: thank you for acting up. The future of disability arts, culture and scholarship is in our hands. If I have left anyone out, apologies in advance.
Gracious and sincere thanks, Leslie Roman
Even the five-year-olds are wired at David Livingstone Elementary, where there's an interactive whiteboard in every class. Prof. Gaalen Erickson is studying the impact of new learning technology at David Livingstone Elementary School in East Vancouver. "It is difficult to document deeper types of learning," said Erickson. "Most measures of student outcomes are standardized tests, and while this may well improve reading and math, that's not necessarily the most important area that can be enhanced by this technology." View the full article in the The Globe and Mail.
President Stephen Toope congratulates the co-creators of the Unruly Salon series, Assoc. Prof. Leslie G. Roman, and Geoff McMurchy, Artistic Director of the Society for Disability Arts and Culture, for their leadership.
"The Unruly Salon is a groundbreaking series of disability arts, culture and scholarship, uniquely combining distinguished disability scholars with performing artists with disabilities from a variety of media. It has been generously sponsored by Green College and numerous contributing sponsors, particularly the Faculty of Education with support from the President's Office, the Vice President of Student Services and the Academic Provost's Office..." View full article in UBC reports.
The Co-creators of the Unruly Salon (Dr. Roman and Mr. Geoff McMurchy) would like to congratulate Dawna Rumball, Ph.D. student of Educational Studies for her appearance in the Ubyssey newspaper March 7th. Dawna, who is also the talented volunteer coordinator for the Unruly Salon, interviewed for one of two special issues concerning the Salon and it's relation to International Women's Day.
"Feminist movements object to women being portrayed as sex objects. On the contrary, for Dawna Lee Rumball, a student in the Department of Educational Studies, and women with disabilities, it is the opposite perception of them that they are trying to fight against, the idea that women with disabilities are asexual..." View full article in The Ubyssey.
The Unruly Salon continues to dazzle audiences with impressive artistic and scholarly performances in disability studies. Audience members report craving more events that galvanize and catalyze disability culture and community at UBC. View full article in The Ubyssey.
A testimony to the intimate connection between praxis and scholarship, university knowledge and community work as grounds for research, Leslie Roman and Catherine Frazee have been invited to guest edit three special issues of refereed international and interdisciplinary journals which will publish the scholarly papers and creative works at the various Unruly Salons: The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, The Review of Disability Studies and The Journal of Inclusive Education.
National union joins international outcry over content
A teen video game, Bully: Scholarship Edition, has incensed the Canadian Teachers' Federation, to trying, along with four million educators globally, to get it banned from stores. Produced by Vancouver-based Rockstar Games, the storyline pits a 15-year-old student against other students and teachers. Don Krug, a UBC curriculum studies associate professor, said trying to halt sales is just a quick fix. Krug added that it's also likely that by removing it from circulation would simply make it more attractive to kids. Instead, suggested Krug, caregivers, educators and others should use the game-playing experience to talk about the behaviour. "It is not going to go away," he said. View full article in The Province Newspaper.
British Columbia's 2006 census results suggest that the province's residents are generally well-educated and multilingual. "It is always interesting to see the census information, but the Statistics Canada releases have showed for some time that educational attainment is higher in Western Canada than Eastern Canada," said Chris Riddell of UBC's department of economics. "What it suggests is that the best school systems are in the west, and there is a reasonable amount of evidence to support this. Of course, there are a lot of contributing factors, one being that more parents here are better educated," he said. "Another is migration of highly educated people to B.C." UBC Language and Literacy Prof. Lee Gunderson noted, however, that without sufficient English language skills even the most educated and talented immigrants will find it difficult to get their professional papers upgraded. View full article in The Globe and Mail.
According to figures from the 2006 census, 33 per cent of allophones in Metro Vancouver -- those who have a mother tongue other than English or French -- regularly speak something other than English or French in the workplace. In contrast, just 21.9 per cent of allophones in Toronto and 17.3 per cent of those in Montreal speak something other than English or French at work. Lee Gunderson, a UBC professor of language and literacy, observed that Chinese and Punjabi are so common in some parts of Metro Vancouver that speaking English may not be necessary at all. View full article in The Vancouver Sun.
Baby Einstein, makers of popular DVDs for infants as young as three months, has stopped billing its videos as educational following a formal complaint from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that the Disney-owned company was making "false and deceptive" claims that it can give babies a cognitive advantage. Hillel Goelman, an Early Childhood Education professor at UBC, said the reality is that many parents rely on TV and videos as a "surrogate parent" rather than making it an interactive activity by watching alongside their children. "What kids need is direct interaction with other people and putting them in a passive role at a very young age is not that helpful," said Goelman, who advocates no TV or videos for children until age three. View full article from the March 1st issue of the Vancouver Sun.
Thu, March 25, 2010 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM UBC Point Grey Campus. FREE. This is topic nine in the HKIN Seminar Series that occur throughout the year. This seminar will be given by Dr. Michael Koehle,...
Mobilizing actions for sustainable and healthy communities, Olympic Games Impact Project, Community-Based Coalitions...
Physical education, Community-based wellness, Teaching games for understanding
Visitor Studies, Long-term Memory, Museum Education, Science Education, Research Design and Methods
Learning technologies, social media, mobile media, informal science education
