Three KIN Alumni in 2018 Class of the UBC Sports Hall of Fame

April 6, 2018

Jean Forrest (BPE ’83). Photo: Thunderbirds.

Earlier this year, the UBC Department of Athletics announced their 2018 class of inductees into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame. The committee, comprised of seven members throughout the university community, selected two nationally recognized coaches and two players who showed to embody both sportsmanship and leadership and who continue to give back beyond graduating from UBC.

The 2018 inductees include three KIN alumni Jean Forrest, Dale Ohman, and Michael “Mickey” McDowell; as well as Hash Kanjee. On Wednesday, April 4, 2018 the inductees were honoured at the 2018 Big Block Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner.

Jean Forrest (BPE ’83): Women’s Field Hockey team member and supporter of the program
Dale Ohnman (BPE ’69): former UBC Athlete and Head Coach of the Men’s Volleyball program from 1971-1973 and 1980-2003
Michael McDowell (BPE ’68, MPE ’69): Men’s Ice hockey player
Hash Kanjee: Women’s Field Hockey Head Coach from 1992-2014

Full bios can be read in the original article on the Thunderbirds website.

School of Kinesiology Recognizes Student Leadership Contribution to the Community in 2017/18

By domansky

L-R: 2017/18 KUS Executive Team & Director, School of Kinesiology: Juancho Ramirez, Leena Yamaguchi, Max Geise, Patrick (skeleton), Andrew Au, Koji Aiken, Dr. Robert Boushel. Photo credit: Charlie Gunn.

On March 12, 2018 the School of Kinesiology hosted its 9^th annual Student Leadership Recognition Evening, in the elaborate Ponderosa Ballroom.

This event recognized the commitment and dedication of undergraduate Kinesiology students who held a leadership role, or roles within the KINmunity during the 2017/18 year.

“What I believe makes Kin so special, is the type of infectious, selfless culture that we have fostered, reflected KUS President, Juancho Ramirez in his welcome address to all guests. Further, “the reason why so many of us are well-balanced in our ability to work hard and play hard, is our bright-eyed selflessness to care for others.”

215 Kinesiology students were recognized for their involvement during the event, many holding more than one role in the following areas: Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Executive, Vancouver Summer Program, Kinesiology Transition Program, Academic Advising, Kinesiology Student Co-op Advisory Council, BodyWorks, Active Kids, Kinesiology Peer Academic Coaching, Peer Assisted Study Sessions, KUS Coordinators & Committee Members and KUS KIN Camp Leaders.

View the full list of student leaders

Graduate Defence – Kathryn Garforth

By domansky

Kathryn Garforth, PhD, Special Education

The Influence of Chinese Word Reading Skills on English Reading and Spelling Development
Supervisor: Dr. Linda Siegel
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 | 4:00 p.m.| Ponderosa Commons Oak House, Room 1306A, 6445 University Boulevard

Abstract

The present study examined literacy skills in 78 participants who had English as a second language (ESL) in grades 2-4, who had been attending school in English since kindergarten and had a Chinese language as their first language. These participants were tested on word reading, pseudoword reading, spelling, pseudoword spelling, and phonological awareness in English as well as word reading in Chinese. This study found that participants were able to become proficient at reading and spelling in English. The participants’ Chinese word reading ability was correlated with their phonological awareness and the spelling of English and pseudowords. However, when including both phonological awareness and Chinese reading ability in the regression equations, Chinese word reading ability was the only a significant predictor of pseudoword spelling ability. These results show the importance of understanding the literacy skills of an individual who has ESL in their first language as well as the language in which they are being instructed.

Graduate Defence – Alexander Gist

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Alexander Gist, MA, Human Development, Learning and Culture

Social Emotional Learning Beliefs of Preservice Teachers: Measuring the Impact of a Teacher Education Program
Supervisor: Dr. Shelley Hymel
Monday, April 16, 2018 | 11:30 a.m. | Neville Scarfe Building, Room 308A

Abstract

The importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for success in school and the workplace is increasingly being recognized. As such, teachers are often the ones tasked with implementing SEL programming and promoting it in the classroom. Yet, though future teachers will be expected to promote SEL, little attention is given to SEL in teacher education programs and there is a dearth of research on SEL in teacher education. The teacher education program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) has a unique cohort of its elementary education program that focuses on SEL. This study examined changes in teacher self-efficacy, teaching beliefs and priorities, especially with regard to SEL, among students completing their teacher education program. Preservice teachers in the SEL cohort were compared with students in other cohorts. Students (n = 102) in four different cohorts of the teacher education program were surveyed at the beginning and the end of the academic year to measure change in self-efficacy over time and between cohorts. Overall, the self-efficacy of students in the teacher education program improved in all areas measured over the course of the program. On SEL-focused subscales, students in the SEL cohort reported the highest self-efficacy, though, in general, the SEL cohort students did not improve significantly more over the course of the year than students in other cohorts. In fact, on the subscale measuring self-efficacy for preventing behavioral problems before they occur, though students in the SEL cohort had the highest self-efficacy, other cohorts showed greater improvements over the course of the year. Results suggest that after taking part in UBC’s teacher education program, preservice teachers, regardless of their cohort, report higher self-efficacy in both academic and SEL-related areas regardless of the cohort.

Corinna Lougheed Announcement

By domansky

It is with mixed emotions that we say goodbye to Corinna Lougheed. Corinna has been an integral part of the Education development team since August 2016. Though she was only with us for a short period of time, Corinna made a big impression thanks to her diligence and helpfulness. She was the first point of contact for the Education team, a role she handled with skill and poise. Corinna’s dedication, conscientiousness, and efficiency were key in strengthening the Education team these past few years, and she will be missed.

Corinna’s last day is Wednesday, April 25, 2018. She will be returning to SFU in an exciting new role as the Advancement Officer, Gift & Estate Planning Office. This move also lets her work much closer to home. We are delighted that she has found such a great fit for her skill set and for her family. Best of luck, Corinna!

Miquela lives somewhere on Instagram, between fiction and reality

By domansky

Publico

By: Catarina Lamelas Moura
April 3, 2018

The 19-year-old Californian looks like a fashion Instagrammer like many others. With a small big difference: it may not be a person.

Ron Darvin is interviewed by Publico, a Portuguese newspaper, on how we construct identities through digital media.

Link to full text.

Self-taught carpenter building a whole new skill set in adulthood

By domansky

Metro News

By: Genna Buck
April 4, 2018

Metro News interviewed Dr. Shauna Butterwick, a professor emerita of adult education at UBC, for a story about learning new skills in adulthood.

She discussed the internet-fuelled increase in adult learning.

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.

Director, Masters of Educational Technology Program and Director, Graduate Studies in Education (Pro Tem)

By domansky

April 3, 2018

In 2018/19 Dr. Jennifer Shapka, Professor in ECPS, Director, Masters of Educational Technology (MET) Program, and Director, Graduate Studies in Education, will be going on sabbatical.

As of September 1, 2018, Dr. Teresa Dobson, Professor, LLED will take on the roles of Director, MET Program and Director, Graduate Studies in Education (Pro Tem).

Thank you to Dr. Shapka for providing extraordinary leadership both to the Office of Research in the Graduate Studies portfolio during a time of new and significant challenges, including the 4-Year funding requirement for PhD students, and also to the MET Program during a period of Re/Imagining and new faculty hiring and curriculum development.

Dr. Teresa M. Dobson is Professor and former Deputy Head in the Department of Language and Literacy (LLED). Her research for the past two decades has focused primarily on the production of knowledge and its reception in digital environs. She employs collaborative, digital humanities approaches in developing experimental reading interfaces and in studying reader experience of such interfaces. She is a founding member of the Implementing New Knowledge Environments (INKE) project. With INKE’s Interface Design team, she has contributed to the development of a series of prototypes for scholarly use: inke.ca/projects/tools-and-prototypes. Dr. Dobson is also a literacy and literary education researcher interested in learner engagement in multimodal environments, GPS-enabled interfaces for place-based writing and reading, and teaching literature for social justice. Dr. Dobson is author of multiple publications in peer-reviewed digital humanities, literacy and literary education journals. Dr. Dobson is co-author (with Jeff Miller) of one of the first two courses offered through the MET Program, Text Technologies: The Changing Spaces of Reading and Writing, which won the BC Technology Users Group Innovation Award in 2004 for early implementation of social media in online education. She was a member of the original inter-departmental committee that formulated the MET curriculum and has since served on the MET Advisory, Management, and Executive Committees. Dr. Dobson spearheaded the establishment of the Digital Literacy Centre in LLED in 2008 and served as its first Director from 2009 through 2011.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dobson to her new roles as Director, MET Program and Director, Graduate Studies in Education (Pro Tem).

Graduate Defence – Natalia Panina-Beard

By domansky

Natalia Panina-Beard, PhD, Human Development, Learning and Culture

Creating a New Vision for an Imagined School: Young People from Alternative Programs Explore their Experiences with Schooling
Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Vadeboncoeur
Friday, April 6, 2018 | 12:30 p.m. | Graduate Student Centre, 6371 Crescent Road, Room 200

Abstract

Based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which states that learning and development takes place in the relation between an individual and his or her sociocultural environment, this research focused on the schooling experiences of students attending alternative programs (APs) in British Columbia. Two research questions were addressed: 1) What do the students attending APs say they need to graduate from high school? 2) What would a school look like that provides opportunities for meeting the students’ educational needs and integrating their strengths?

Through qualitative methods, eleven students were engaged in a three-phase research process. First, they were interviewed individually. Second, they worked in groups and sharing circles with the support of a researcher, a community Elder and two architects. Third, they created a model for an imagined school that would meet their educational needs and integrate their needs for high school completion.

Using thematic analysis, the students reported that mainstream schools did not provide the support and care they needed, did not recognize their teaching and learning needs in a timely manner and did not include their strengths to facilitate school engagement. Conversely, they described the APs as having limited learning opportunities, but providing support and care. Therefore, in their imagined school, they created spaces for: positive relationships with their teachers, rich learning experiences leading to a career, hands-on learning spaces, a garden and a farm. Further, their imagined school was an open and spacious facility connected to the outdoors.

The current study contributes to the literature by building from interviews with young people to create with them an imagined school that provides opportunities for both addressing educational needs and building from strengths. Unique to Vygotsky’s theory is a recognition that, along with an experience itself, what matters is the meaning that is made from experience; individuals create meaning in the moment, as well as reinterpret the meaning of experience over time. Through reflection and reinterpretation of experience, the young people in this study were enabled to imagine a school that they had never experienced and, thus, create a school for education.

Graduate Defence – Lynn Service

By domansky

Lynn Service, MA, Special Education

A Video-Based Preference Assessment of Social Stimuli
Supervisor(s): Dr. Pat Mirenda (SPED) and Dr. Laura Grow (Garden Academy)
Thursday, April 5, 2018 | 10:00 a.m. | Neville Scarfe Building, Room 309C

Abstract

Research on social stimuli preference assessments has largely used pictorial depictions of social stimuli (Kelly, Roscoe, Hanley, & Schlichenmeyer, 2014; Lang et al., 2014). However, social stimuli are dynamic and the use of videos may better portray the nuances of social stimuli (Snyder, Higbee, & Dayton, 2012). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a 3-step process to identify reinforcing social stimuli (i.e., a semi-structured interview, a video-based preference assessment, and a reinforcer assessment. Six children aged 2- to 7-years old participated in the study. Two participants had a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, one had a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and three were typically developing. The experimenter conducted a video-based, paired-choice preference assessment in which two videos of different social stimuli played simultaneously. The rate of responding for high- and low-preference social stimuli was assessed during baseline and a progressive and/or fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement. Four participant’s participation was terminated before full data sets could be collected due to engagement in problem behaviour. Two participants were able to complete full data sets; however, both required modifications to the original method to do so. The results of the study will be discussed in terms of clinical implications and considerations for future research.