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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L B E R TA | FA C U LT Y O F E D U C AT I O N
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Education. Rethought.
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C U R R E N T
The
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w w w. e d u c a t i o n . u a l b e r t a . c a
Sol Sigurdson in South Africa
Also in this issue:
PEEL & ENJOY
UOA030681 Winter 2003
Saving Aboriginal Languages | Champion Curler Marcel Rocque Reunion Days 2003 | Answering the Call | Cultures of Acceptance Canada Research Chair | Judy Lupart | Living Poetically
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The Canada-South Africa Teacher Development Project BY GORDON MCINTOSH
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EDITION
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PEEL & ENJOY
THE CANADA-SOUTH AFRICA TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PA G E 2
THE POWER OF SONG: SOL SIGURDSON IN SOUTH AFRICA PA G E 4
SAVING ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES PA G E 6
MARCEL ROCQUE: A CHAMPION ON THE ICE AND IN THE CLASSROOM PA G E 8
REUNION DAYS PA G E 1 0
ANSWERING THE CALL TO BE A TEACHER – KAREN MARTINOVIC
ANNA KIROVA: CREATING CULTURES OF ACCEPTANCE IN SCHOOLS PA G E 1 4
JUDY LUPART: CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR IN SPECIAL EDUCATION PA G E 1 6
www.education.ualberta.ca
K E E P I N G
the orange
A L U M N I
C U R R E N T
PA G E 1 2
THE HEART OF PEDAGOGY: RUMINATIONS ON LIVING POETICALLY PA G E 1 8
CONTACT US INFORMATION PA G E 1 9
U of A Faculty of Education alumni and staff are playing key leadership roles in a six-million dollar in-service teacher development initiative in South Africa funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and spear-headed in Alberta by Alberta Learning. Sue Lynch, ‘66 BEd, ‘69 MEd, ‘75 PhD, formerly the Assistant Deputy Minister, Basic Learning Division of Alberta Learning and now on the staff of the Faculty of Education, Fred Burghardt, ‘92 MEd, who recently retired as the Director of Teacher Development and Certification for Alberta Learning, and Terry Carson, ‘74 MEd, ‘84 PhD, Chair of the Department of Secondary Education at the U of A, were members of the 1999 inception mission that launched the project. Discussions between Nelson Mandela, who
was then the President of South Africa, and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien launched the project. Since April 1994, when free elections finally ended the apartheid era, South Africa has been building a new system of public education to replace the racially divided and unequal provisions for education that had been inherited from the past. The Canada-South Africa Teacher Development Project was to be a means of supporting the development of the new education system. Fred Burghardt represents Alberta Learning as the Project Manager in Alberta for the project. “The primary objective [of Nelson Mandela’s new government],” Fred said in a recent conversation, “was to redress the inequities of the past and to build a truly democratic and equitable education system that would benefit all South African students and all of South African society.” Terry Carson represents the University of Alberta on the project management team. Under the leadership of Sue Lynch, and together with the Deans of Education of the Universities of Calgary and Lethbridge, Terry and Fred worked with South African educators
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to create the overall design for the CanadaSouth Africa Teacher Development Project — a five-year cooperative project (2000 to 2005). For the project to succeed, the program designers had to find ways to support the South African vision for public education — to assist in redressing the inequities of the past through the development of classroom teachers. Disadvantaged regions of the country would be the major focus in the project work. Educators from two countries with entirely different educational cultures and different histories had to find ways to work together collaboratively. The South Africans had much experience with international aid programs that weren’t all that they claimed to be. “They were initially skeptical about collaboration. They’d heard all this talk before. For us to become good partners, we had to come to an understanding of the depth of their commitment to eliminating inequity,” Terry Carson said. “It took us a long time to learn how one actually collaborates,” Terry continued. “The South Africans are pleased with what we have achieved. They’ve told us that they had rarely experienced this before in working with international aid programs. There’s respect in our relationships. We are learning to work as partners with ongoing
dialogue and a shared commitment to democratic education.” There are four separate components within the Canada-South Africa Teacher Development Project: project work in each of three provinces — Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga — and another with the national Ministry of Education. The Free State project, involving teachers from Botshabelo, a black settlement with disadvantaged schools not far from Bloemfontein, is of special interest to us because this is the project in which Sol
“ We are learning to work as partners with ongoing dialogue ... ” Terry Carson Sigurdson is involved. (See Sol’s article, “The Power of Song.”) It is a cooperative effort of Alberta educators, with support from the Free State department of education and the University of Free State. The Free State project was designed in South Africa by South African educators whose priorities are incorporated in the Project’s Annual Work Plan. “We worked as a true partnership in developing this plan,” Terry Carson said. Educators in the Free State wanted to improve teaching in the areas of science, mathematics, and technology education – and they decided they had something to
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learn from the Alberta experience with inservice teacher development. Could the Project provide them with experienced educators to lead a teacher development program in Free State in the subject areas of mathematics, physical sciences, and biological sciences? Back in Alberta, a call went out for applications from educators who had the experience and expertise needed for the teacher development program in Free State. Three were selected: David Geelan, an assistant professor in physical sciences education from the U of A’s Department of Secondary Education, and two professors emeriti from the same department — Wallie Samiroden, ‘66 BEd, whose field is biological sciences education, and Sol Sigurdson whose field is mathematics education. Their current commitment is for a series of three, two-week workshops this year for teachers. These workshops are likely to be repeated next year with new groups of teachers.
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In my retirement from the Faculty of Education, I have been involved in several teacher development projects in black communities in South Africa. South Africa is a fascinating country – geographically, bordered by the Indian, Antarctic, and Atlantic Oceans; historically, populated by successive migrations of people; politically, governed, until recently, by the great statesman, Nelson Mandela; socially, inhabited by blacks, whites and browns forming a Rainbow Nation; and, educationally, challenged with providing the black majority with opportunities to integrate Western educational practices into their accustomed ways of teaching. From my casual observation, the national policy of reconciliation (refusing to blame the white minority for past social and governmental practices) is an achievement of
The
Powerof
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Sol Sigurdson
in South Africa
enormous proportions, especially because population pressures have brought about rampant unemployment. All of this is framed by a severe HIV/AIDs epidemic. South Africa is an amazing country. As a Canadian mathematics educator, on a two-week assignment (with three such assignments in this phase of the project), I would need to keep a tight focus on the relatively minor goal of improving mathematics teaching in secondary schools. I am faced with 25 black mathematics teachers from the large black settlement of Botshabelo, poor but progressing. Having
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seen the face of their community, including the dusty roads and the shacks, and having been informed of the 10% pass rate of their grade 12 mathematics students, plus trying to come to grips with the overwhelming strangeness of their country, my first reaction was to admit defeat, go through
I found these “foreign” teachers to be engaging, charming and completely sincere. After one lively and contentious thirty-minute discussion of problem solving, I asked them to take five minutes to summarize the discussion in their notes. I asked them to entitle their summary,
“ ... having been informed of the 10% pass rate of their grade 12 mathematics students, plus trying to come to grips with the overwhelming strangeness of their country, my first reaction Sol Sigurdson was to admit defeat ...”
the motions of the workshop, and then quietly go back to my familiar Canada. How, indeed, could sharing my views with them on mathematics teaching in affluent and progressive Alberta make any difference to their classrooms and their students? My past 35 years of work in teacher development have taught me the importance of building relationships with and among teachers. At least I could get to know them, let them know that I cared about them and their teaching, and provide a workshop environment where they would feel comfortable analyzing and developing their own mathematics teaching. I began by learning all their names and asking them to call me Sol. I told them the workshop was very similar to a course they could take at the University of Alberta. I treated the content of the workshop as simple ideas with which they might well disagree. Disagreements were given full attention and often labeled with the teacher’s name such as “Tabu’s view of applications.” I encouraged them to express their ideas. Misinterpretations were treated as new ideas to explore. We found endless possibilities for humour (in mathematics education). They enjoyed laughing at themselves, at each other, at me and at our emerging ideas on mathematics teaching.
“The Teaching of Problem Solving According to Sol.” They heartily appreciated this biblical reference and its implied arrogance. I asked them to put at the bottom: I (do/do not) believe in Sol. We were indeed having fun and getting along famously. One day, the local white, South African lecturer working with me asked the teachers to sing a song for me. I was shocked by the request. She said because I (Sol) was a singer I would particularly enjoy their singing. One teacher began clapping slowly. A voice or two began singing softly, to be joined soon by the entire class. Their song of peace, “Soshalosa” in the native Sotho language, rose to fill the barren classroom with a cathedral sound. Completely overwhelmed by the beauty of their voices and singing and wiping tears from my eyes, I said that if they agreed to sing for our final large-group meeting I would also sing a song. At the final meeting, joined by other teachers, their resonant voices rang out in song. In turn, I with a guitar in hand treated them to Harry Belafonte’s “Jamaica Farewell.” They joined me in the chorus which I showed on the overhead projector. I had modified the last line – “I have to leave my little friends in Botshabelo town.” Everyone from dignitaries to lecturers and teachers enjoyed this enthusiastically.
Although I’ve been singing all my life, I have never participated in such singing. What a memorable way to end the week’s workshop – the power of song. I spent the following week visiting the teachers in schools. I was received especially warmly, invited to observe classes, and was pleased to see every teacher trying to implement the workshop ideas. Judging how much is “learned” in a workshop is difficult but the enthusiasm with which they were trying out the ideas leads me to believe that they had learned more than the workshop content. They were approaching mathematics teaching with spirit, showing me that they really cared about the process. In two grade nine classes, the students, at the teacher’s request, sang for me with the same richness of sound that I’d heard from the teachers the previous week. I felt that our relationship building had had an impact at both a professional and personal level. Many times that week, I heard, “Professor Sol, where is your guitar this morning?” On Friday afternoon, arriving at my last visit on the last day, I found some teachers in the dry and dusty schoolyard meeting as a group. School, apparently, was over for the day. I was greeted with a refrain from the Jamaica Farewell chorus: “My heart is down, my head is turning around. I have to leave my little friends in Botshabelo town.” This was quite a send off I was receiving. One teacher drew me aside to say that he was very sorry that he didn’t have a class for me to observe but that he would like to teach a lesson at our next workshop. I was thrilled, especially because of their usual reluctance to present lessons in front of their fellow teachers. I told him I would really look forward to that. We said our good-byes and as I walked away, he called to me. “Professor Sol, I do believe in Sol.”
Sol Sigurdson is Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta, with a specialization in mathematics education.
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Aboriginal Languages
Saving
“Deadly serious� is how Heather Blair, Associate Professor in Elementary Education, describes the decline of Aboriginal languages in Canada; if something is not done to preserve them, she added, they are at risk of dying out within two generations. A U of A summer program is hoping to change that.
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BY PHOEBE DEY AND COLLEEN HAWRELUK
The Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute (CILLDI) is an intensive summer school whose goal is to train Aboriginal speakers and educators in First Nations languages, linguistics, curriculum development, research, and second language teaching methodologies. The mandate is to help preserve endangered languages by developing research skills and teaching resources for those who speak the languages. “No one – not even the speakers of the languages – has paid much attention to what has been happening and now we’re in big trouble,” says Heather. “With the exception of far northern communities, the youngest speakers of any indigenous languages in Saskatchewan and Alberta are in their 40s – it’s one thing to preserve an active living language and another thing to have to retrieve it.” In some Alberta First Nations communities, only 10 per cent of the residents – mostly the elders – still speak an indigenous language. English as the primary means of communication has been gaining momentum for generations. The Institute, which was modeled after an institute at the University of Arizona, is the only one of its kind in Canada. It began in 2000 at Onion Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, with 15 students in attendance. For this year’s session, 142 people from the western provinces and the north flocked to the U of A campus, where sessions included an introduction to Dene language and culture, web-based resource development for indigenous languages and literacy, and drama in Aboriginal language education. School principals and teachers, elders and students, some of whom had
never been to a large city before, came to the U of A to learn how to preserve and teach these indigenous languages in their home communities. “It’s big,” said Dr. Sally Rice, a linguist from the U of A Faculty of Arts who was one of the organizers along with Donna Paskemin from the U of A School of Native Studies. “We were all overwhelmed with the interest. Last year I looked at two languages and this year we studied seven. It was a great group of people who were thirsty for this knowledge.”
Alliance Pipeline, which began commercial operation in December 2000, is a relatively new entrant to the long-distance natural gas pipeline business. During the four years that preceded start-up, the system was planned and then constructed. It was during that time that Alliance worked extensively with Aboriginal groups from
Another highlight of the Institute was a Cree immersion day camp for children, aged four to 12, during the Institute’s three-week run. The children took part in games, story-telling, music, and art projects, as well as an Elders’ program. Not only did the children benefit from the
northeastern BC, north central Alberta and south central Saskatchewan. Considerable time was spent in environmental assessments of areas where specific aspects of the system were to be built. A part of these assessments included participation of various Elders from specific Aboriginal groups to help identify areas of special significance to the Aboriginal community in the area. These ranged from identifying sacred places to areas where medicinal plants are found.
program, but also it provided researchers with an opportunity to examine some of the language acquisition questions needed to learn what methodologies work and fit best with the learning styles of Cree children. A key component of the Institute was the involvement of Elders. Through a $75,000 contribution from Alliance Pipeline the Institute was able to include Elders in many aspects of their programming on an ongoing basis. “The Elders are the libraries, dictionaries and grammar texts of these languages. They were an enormously valuable resource and the support from Alliance made it possible to bring them to the city to work with CILLDI students and faculty.”
“Our involvement with CILLDI, and specifically the program component involving visiting Elders, is in a small way our way of saying thanks for their involvement in our project. At Alliance, we have an Aboriginal, cross-cultural orientation program for our employees where the importance of cultural differences is explored. One of the key components in the transmission of cultural values from one generation to the next is the language that provides the nuances and shading of the culture through stories, legends and tales. We want to contribute to the maintenance of a strong, diverse society in Canada and a key to that strength lies in the preservation and continued use of different Aboriginal languages,” says Alliance Pipeline spokesperson Jay Godfrey.
Photos above: Alliance Pipeline worked with Elders from communities throughout Alberta prior to laying their pipeline.
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Marcel
Rocque A Champion on the Ice and in the Classroom
BY JOHN OSTER
It’s not unusual for a teacher to be a curler. During my first year of teaching in a small Saskatchewan town in 1960, on the opening day of the local bonspiel the principal appeared at my classroom door and said, “Your rink curls at eleven this morning. Grab your broom and get going. I’ll cover your classes until you return.” As I raced down the icy streets to the curling rink, I wondered what the superintendent would say if he showed up at our school and found that I had gone curling. When I reached the rink I realized I needn’t have worried. The superintendent was out on the ice, playing third for the principal from the neighbouring town. They were engaged in a close game against the science teacher, a former Brier contender, who was skipping a rink of high school students. Since then I have met many teachers who curl, but none who have achieved the level of excellence of Marcel Rocque, a junior high physical education and French teacher at Riverbend Junior High in Edmonton. Marcel and his teammates Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, and Scott Pfeifer are two-time world curling champions. They are also the only rink to have won the Brier (the Canadian curling championship) three years in succession and to have earned over $235,000 in prize money in a single season. Marcel grew up in St. Paul, Alberta. While most of his contemporaries dreamt about becoming hockey stars, Marcel’s goal was to become a curling champion. His mother has kept an essay he wrote in junior high about winning the Silver Broom, emblematic of world curling supremacy. In grade eleven he begged his parents to let him move to Sherwood Park to experience the higher level of curling competition available in the Edmonton area. After a successful junior career, Marcel and his buddy Trevor McGregor hooked up with veterans Don
Walchuk and Gord Trenchie who mentored them for four or five years until they were ready to strike out on their own. A few years later, while playing lead for a team which beat the Ferbey team in a bonspiel in Leduc, Marcel was invited by Randy Ferbey and David Nedohin to join their team. Marcel’s only condition was that he be allowed to continue to use a horsehair brush rather than the synthetic type the rest of the team used. It is not surprising that his first thought was about sweeping. He and second Scott Pfeifer take great pride in this aspect of the game, and have become recognized as two of the best brushers in the game. They not only have uncanny ability to judge the rocks, they sweep with such energy and enthusiasm
“Dream dreams and don’t let them die. Set your goals high ...“ Marcel Rocque
that TSN curling commentator Ray Turnbull has nick-named them “Huff 'n Puff.” Many of those spectacular double-raise takeouts or delicate draws through narrow ports which Randy and David seem to make routinely are made possible by the exceptional sweeping ability of the front-end. Marcel’s decision to pursue a curling career came much earlier than his decision to become a teacher. After two years in a college transfer program he enrolled in a general arts program at the University of Alberta. He realized that education was important, but was faced with uncertainty about how he would earn a living after graduating. He decided to switch into education, because “worst case scenario,
I could always sub on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and curl on Friday, Monday, and the weekend.” Fortunately, that “worst case scenario” never came because after teaching one term in St. Albert, he was offered a position in 1996 with Edmonton Public. During the job interview he made clear that he was a competitive curler and would need some Fridays and Mondays off to travel to major bonspiels. He was told that he could have time off, but each day he missed would cost him 1/200th of his salary. While Marcel enjoys teaching he finds that in one respect it is not the ideal occupation for a curler. “What good are holidays in July and August?” he asks with a wry smile. “The Brier’s not in the summer!” Marcel appreciates the support of his colleagues and students. He found the big homecoming celebration they put on for him rather touching when he returned from winning the first Brier. His message to his students was “dream dreams and don’t let them die. Set your goals high and if you work hard enough you’ll achieve them.” While he is hesitant about calling himself a role model for his students, his dedication and passion for his sport, the high expectations he has for himself as an athlete and a teacher, and his astounding work ethic provide an ideal role model for young people. Although the team has won three consecutive Briers and back-to-back world championships, they still have one major goal to achieve. “The fire that’s fueling our efforts for the next two or three years is the Olympics.” Although qualifying for the Olympics is a grueling event with an incredibly talented field, don’t bet against a team with the determination, skill, and energy of Marcel Rocque and his teammates. John Oster, ‘72 PhD, is a Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta. His area of specialization is English Education. He is an avid curler.
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University of Alberta
ReunionDays Faculty of Education
October 2-5, 2003
Once again, Faculty of Education alumni attended Reunion Days enjoying fun,
food and laughter while re-acquainting themselves with old friends.
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Faculty of Education 2003 Alumni Pride Award Winners
Elizabeth Crown, '78 PhD, is an internationally respected expert in the field of textile science, specializing in thermal protective materials and clothing. Her research has contributed significantly to the development of both national and international performance standards for protective clothing for workers in the oil, gas, forestry and fire fighting sectors. In 2002, her research team was awarded major grants from Canada Foundation for Innovation and Alberta Science and Research Investments Program to further its work on the combined effects of heat and moisture transfer through clothing. Crown has also studied clothing as protection against ultraviolet radiation. She received a YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Science and Technology in 1999 and the 2002 Canadian Home Economics Association Honour Award for her outstanding contributions to the profession of home economics.
Jim Donlevy, '59 BPE, '61 BEd, '75 MA, has been a leader in provincial sports for more than 30 years. A highly respected coach, he received five Coachof-the-Year awards from his colleagues at both the provincial and national levels and is an inductee to the University's Sports Wall of Fame. His impact in sports continues through his coaching and educational clinics in the Western Hockey League and in his role as commissioner for the Canada West Football League.
Leona J. Makokis, '89 BEd, has been tireless in her efforts to provide cross-cultural education and understanding of indigenous values while working as a Cree language instructor, international presenter, and provincial resource person. As president of the Blue Quills First National College in St. Paul, Alberta, she was instrumental in spearheading a Bachelor of Education completion program with the University of Alberta. She has earned numerous awards and accolades for her visionary work in aboriginal education.
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Answering the call to be a
Teacher Karen Martinovic
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It is 8:05 and I am sitting in my van in the parking lot of Mary Hanley Catholic Elementary School. It is September 5th, and I am waiting to go to my first assignment as a replacement teacher, or as I like to put it, my first gig as a sub. I am engulfed with apprehension and anxiety, and ask myself the typical questions. Will the students like me? Will I do a good job? Will the staff talk to me in the staff room during the breaks? Will this be the first and last job I ever have?
I start to reflect on the long journey to this parking lot. How did I get here? Teaching is my second career. I was a Medical Laboratory Technologist for eight years at the Canadian Blood Services in Vancouver, B.C. People usually change careers because they do not like their job. I loved being a lab tech. I never imagined changing careers until I developed an anaphylactic allergy to the latex gloves. I knew that fate was telling me to leave medicine and find another career. What was I going to do now? Teaching was the only other job I thought of doing. When I was a tech, I had always asked to teach the new techs, doctors or support staff when I had the opportunity, so it seemed a logical choice. Unfortunately, I had to start from scratch, as my previous schooling was not transferable into any Education program. My long journey
I just wanted to be a teacher. When I think of all of the late night study sessions after the children went to bed, the term paper marathons until 2 or 3 in the morning, and getting the children up and ready for school before my early morning classes in the dead of winter – I know that I really earned my degree. OK, so I have answered the call to be a teacher, but I know that I am not there yet. I know that obtaining your degree is just the foundation of your teaching career. There will be many late nights preparing lesson plans, finding resources, marking and compiling the dreaded report cards, while attending to all of the extracurricular activities. I still feel the call. I have heard that teaching is a science and an art. University prepares you for the ‘science’ aspect of teaching by giving you the knowledge and skills to deliver a
I know that I am accountable for maximizing each student’s human cognitive, affective, psychomotor, and spiritual potential. How does one even begin to accomplish that Herculean task? I feel more confident in maximizing students’ cognitive and psychomotor potentials because these things can be learned and measured. I pray that I learn to nurture students’ affective and spiritual potentials. I feel that those potentials build from all of the little things such as kind or encouraging words, and actions such as smiles and hugs. I have been told that you should not hug your students for legal reasons – but I know that I will. It has also been recommended that you do not ever help students alone in the classroom, but I know that I will help a student if he or she asks for it during recess. I know that I will review that concept one last time when I am exhausted. I have to
“... teaching is a vocation – a calling – not just a job or profession ...”
continued with two years of college in Vancouver, and then the big move to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta in 1996. Coincidentally, I found out that I was pregnant with my second child just as I was moving to Edmonton. I completed two semesters with a full course load one week, to the day, before my 9.5 pound baby boy was born. Now that is tenacity! I continued with school taking a few courses per semester while caring for my two young sons and husband. I got pregnant with baby number three a year and a half later. When my daughter was a year old, I went back to school and finished three years later. It took me eight and a half years to obtain my degree.
product. How you deliver that product I feel is the ‘art’ aspect of teaching. For me, this is where most of my anxiety and apprehension comes from. I know that teaching is very demanding. Teachers have to deal with overflowing classrooms, and teaching the curriculum effectively to students with varying degrees of ability, while dealing with all of the other administrative duties, and political situations inside and outside of the school. It is a constant juggling act. I feel that there is the even bigger challenge of honouring the spirit of each child that has been entrusted to you – now that is pressure! That is why I believe that teaching is a vocation – a calling – not just a job or a profession.
Karen Martinovic
honour my calling. I am also cognizant that the fire of my passion for teaching can burn me out quickly in the first few years. I will definitely need to find a balance. These thoughts all flood over me as I grab the door handle of the school. I open the door and walk in with a spring in my step eager to start this next chapter of my life. Wish me luck as I work on my angel wings! Karen Martinovic earned her BEd in 2003 specializing in Elementary Education.
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Anna Kirova
Creating Cultures of Acceptance in Schools
BY AMY VON HEYKING
One PhD is enough for most people, but Anna Kirova has two, one from the University of Sofia in her native Bulgaria, and the other from the Faculty’s Department of Elementary Education where she is now an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education.
of the question. Instead, for three years Anna worked as a research associate at an institute that developed educational toys, materials, and sporting equipment. She worked with engineers and designers to create toys that were developmentally appropriate for children.
In Bulgaria, Anna won a rigorous competition for a three-year doctoral fellowship. Her topic and research methodology were prescribed by the then-communist government: she was directed to examine how toys help children develop social relationships and learn about their world. She observed children’s behaviours as they interacted with toys and with each other, and concluded that one factor that influenced those interactions was the gender role to which they had already been socialized. This was an unpopular observation in a communist regime that insisted that gender difference in social roles had been eliminated. Her refusal to suppress this information meant that an academic future was out
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Anna realized how limited and superficial political reforms in Bulgaria were. After a brief stay in Paris, she applied to immigrate to Canada. She initially settled in Quebec. Her ability to speak French made this stay enjoyable, but she soon found herself in Edmonton, unable to work or study and unable to access ESL instruction promptly. The experience of adjusting to a new culture obviously had a profound impact on Anna. For a highly educated and capable professional, the sense of loss and isolation was devastating. Unable to communicate, unable to put any of her education to
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use, “I struggled with a complete loss of sense of self,” she now says. She had been a successful professional and now found that not only was she unable to work in her chosen field, her lack of English created a barrier to establishing personal support networks essential for new immigrants. She recognized that mastering a new language would be the only route to personal and professional fulfillment in her adopted country. Within two years she had passed TOEFL and was ready to work and research in the field she loved. She received Province of Alberta and SSHRC fellowships to complete a second PhD in the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta. This time Anna was free to determine her own research interests and explore many different methodological approaches. She also encountered a professor who would become a true mentor: Max van Manen. Max introduced her to phenomenology, a research methodology with the goal of understanding human experiences. Its emphasis on collecting and describing lived experiences helped her redefine her research interests and regain confidence in her ability not just to function but to thrive in her new research community. In her dissertation, Anna examined the essence of the experience of loneliness in children. In researching this question, she faced an enormous practical challenge in asking children to communicate their experiences. Her innovative solution – an interactive board game that established trust and allowed children to express their feelings – is a major contribution to the field. This strategy allowed her to engage in a non-threatening conversational interview while collecting data from children. Her conclusions provided practical advice for classroom teachers. She identified the importance of creating a physical environment in classrooms that allows all children to be a part of the classroom community and avoids separating or segregating ESL children or children with special needs who may need the help of a classroom aide. She also emphasized the need for teachers to provide learning opportunities that draw on children’s nonverbal skills and require social interaction. For example, teachers need to provide opportunities for children to express their learning through art, music and movement, all of which require thoughtful yet spontaneous expression and create a sense of belonging. Finally, Anna reminded teachers of the power of their own and their students’ nonverbal communication. Teachers and students can create a welcoming environment by becoming more aware of their body language, their gestures and eye contact. But since this kind of communication is often very culturally bound, it is also vulnerable to miscommunication.
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Anna continues to examine the lives of children, particularly immigrant children who struggle with many of the same challenges she faced: mourning the loss of their own identity, learning a new language, adjusting to a new home, striving to become valuable members of their new community. She recently received a research grant from the University’s Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration. In her study, she will work with Michael Emme, Associate Professor of Art Education in the Department of Elementary Education, to investigate the strategies immigrant children use to interact with their peers. They are particularly interested in the nonverbal strategies children use. Since most of these children struggle with English, Anna and Michael will give the children in their study the opportunity to communicate their experience of life in school through images, in the form of photo novellas. Again, Anna will explore new ways of learning about the lives of children and she hopes that her research will offer guidance to classroom teachers. Schoolteachers and administrators face enormous challenges in helping children from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds come together in a school community. She hopes that exploring alternative forms of communication will encourage schools to engage children in the dialogue about creating a culture of acceptance and celebration of diversity. She insists that immigrant children have much to contribute to this discussion. As she says, “Children’s lives are a lot richer than we make them.” Anna’s passion for research and for improving the lives of children is reflected in her teaching. She is this year’s winner of the University of Alberta Graduate Students’ Association Academic Staff Award. Graduate students nominate faculty for this award, and she is particularly touched by the time and effort her graduate students put into her nomination. Her students felt that Anna’s dedication and talent deserve wider recognition. They described their experience in Anna’s graduate courses in early childhood education as “life-transforming.” Gloria Hlibka explained that, “From the very first class Anna challenged what we thought we knew and believed.” They praised her ability to inspire rather than direct their learning. “She does not present as the all-knowing teacher, but rather as ‘co-constructor’ of the meaning that arises among us,” Darcey Dachyshyn says. Her ability to simultaneously challenge students and invite them to engage with course material and with each other was valued by her students. Loreen Pawlowski says, “We felt safe to put forth our own emerging ideas to contribute to the whole.” Having worked in a very different academic world, Anna values our freedom to choose our own theoretical paradigm through which we make sense of ourselves and our research. It is not surprising that she challenges students with provocative readings, encourages them to explore all possible points of view and creates a learning community in which all are free to discuss controversial topics without being judged. She knows that real academic freedom cannot be taken for granted. Amy von Heyking is an assistant professor in the Faculty's Department of Elementary Education. She joined the Department in July 2002 in the area of Social Studies Education.
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Judy
Lupart
Canada Research Chair in Special Education
BY INGRID JOHNSTON
Moving to our Faculty of Education as a Canada Research Chair has been a homecoming for Judy Lupart who completed her BEd, MEd and PhD degrees in this Faculty. Judy explains that she was one of the first graduates from the Faculty to receive her BEd with a specialization in Special Education. After completing her PhD, she worked at Mount St.Vincent University for a year and then took up a position at the University of Calgary where she stayed for almost twenty years, developing an enviable reputation as an outstanding researcher and teacher. In January, 2003 she moved to the University of Alberta to take up her current position as Professor and Canada Research Chair in Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology.
Judy is delighted to be working with a number of colleagues she remembers as professors from her graduate student days in the Department as well as many new colleagues. She considers herself fortunate to be working in the exciting and expanding area of Special Education in the Faculty. She is pleased to note that the same nurturing, collaborative culture she remembers from her early days in the Faculty is still in evidence. Asked about the changes she sees in the Faculty over the past decades, Judy comments on a number of positive developments, including the increased recognition of the importance of research to educational practice. She also comments on the high quality and research achievements of the new faculty members in her Department and admires their expertise and familiarity with new technologies, which she sees as being well supported by the Faculty of Education. Judy’s own research interests are wideranging, focusing on inclusive education, giftedness and at-risk learners, and gender issues. In particular, she is well known for her work on women’s achievements in science and in researching how and why many gifted girls and women fail to achieve their potential in the field of science. She has received numerous research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from other agencies
to study and promote inclusive educational practices and to research gifted learning. Judy explains that most of her research is collaborative; she values and enjoys working with colleagues locally and across the country on a variety of research projects. In one study, for example, Judy and a colleague, Vianne Timmons, who lives in Prince Edward Island, are researching “Inclusion across the Lifespan,” interviewing participants who are developmentally disabled across all age levels, and considering the variety and types of support services and legislation available to them. This research will provide an exciting snapshot of what it means to be a person with disabilities living in Alberta and Prince Edward Island at the start of the 21st century. Judy is also supportive of cross-disciplinary research and has particularly appreciated working on a project with a University of Calgary colleague in Geomatics Engineering, Elizabeth Cannon, researching gender differences in adolescents’ achievements in science. Asked what she considers to be her priorities as a Canada Research Chair, Judy highlights her passion for mentoring graduate students into academic life. She works collaboratively with them on research projects, offers them support at all levels, and invites them to copresent at conferences and to co-author articles for publication. She sees this nurturing to be a valuable component of her
academic life and feels it is well supported by the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. Judy’s dream for the future is to see increased recognition of the valuable contributions of Canadian researchers in the Special Education area. To that end, she has been actively involved with the Canadian Association of Educational Psychology, working on the executive to network with Canadian colleagues and to promote their expertise and accomplishments, both nationally and internationally. During her six-year appointment as the Founding Director of the Centre for Gifted Education at the University of Calgary, Judy launched the journal Exceptionality Education Canada, to provide a forum for scholarly exchange among Canadian professionals in education and related disciplines who are working with students across the spectrum of exceptionality. Judy’s own outstanding grants and publications record attests to her dedication to research in learning disabilities, giftedness and in promoting female achievement in the sciences and to her ability to make a difference in people’s lives. Ingrid Johnston, '92 MEd, '96 PhD, recently was appointed Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) for the Faculty of Education. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Secondary Education with specializations in English education and curriculum.
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“Judy’s for the future is to see increased recognition of the valuable contributions of Canadian researchers ...” Ingrid Johnston
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THE ORANGE | FALL & WINTER 2003
The
Heart Pedagogy: of
Ruminations on Living Poetically BY CARL LEGGO
A while ago a former Bachelor of Education student visited me. Mike was one of the most prolific and enthusiastic writers I have ever worked with. He explained that since completing the writing course with me, he had not written any more poetry. I felt disappointed. Then he added, “But though I haven’t written any poetry for months, I am living poetically.” And with Mike’s gift of words I began asking, What does it mean to live poetically? And, so, I offer a few ruminations on living poetically: 1. To live poetically is to be still. Poetry invites me to be still, to remember to breathe, to hear and see and know with the heart. And as a teacher, I need to be still, I need to remember to breathe, I need to hear and see and know with the heart. In 1926, Evelyn Underhill presented three
lectures at Oxford University. These lectures were published in a book titled Concerning the Inner Life. Underhill insightfully claims that a life of outward “action, effort and tension” must “hang on and be nurtured by an inward abidingness in simplicity, stillness and peace” (p. 73). As teachers we need to attend to our spirits, our hearts, our inner life, our imaginations, our emotions, our bodies, our minds. Teachers live such demanding and challenging lives that it is very difficult to maintain the time and location for nurturing the inner life, but we need a healthy inner life if we are going to help others develop healthy inner lives. What do educators need in order to maintain a healthy inner life? Poetry can help us sustain a vibrant inner life. Underhill asks: “Is your sense of wonder and mystery keen and deep?” (p. 20). A healthy inner life “means giving time, patience, effort to such a special discipline and cultivation of your attention as artists must give, if they are to enter deeply into the reality and joy of natural loveliness and impart it in their work” (p. 20). Moreover, “the important thing is to discover what nourishes you, best expands and harmonizes your spirit, now, at the present stage of your growth” (p. 60).
2. To live poetically is to play with ludic abandon. Above all, I write and teach and live in order to have fun. I love to play with words, to feel words rolling on my tongue, to write lists of words that rhyme, to read dictionaries. I like to sit in public places and eavesdrop and write whatever comes into my head. I like to make up words, and shape words on the page, and write sentences that go on and on and on. I claim that writers are the happiest people in the world. When I was a kid I played with wooden blocks engraved with the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. I am still playing with the alphabet, and like a kid I remain open to the wonder around me. Henri Lefebvre reminds us that “human beings are engaged in a perpetual adventure with its attendant risks. More deeply, however, they place themselves not only into question but also in play” (p. 87). Of course, one of the problems with being playful is that nobody takes you seriously. That is a paradox, especially because every child knows that play is very serious business. In my classes I am committed to celebrating interrogation, play, imaginative meaning-making. Young children know the The Heart of Pedagogy (continued on page 19)
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The Heart of Pedagogy (continued from page 18)
days, they ate knowledge too fast.” I have been thinking about that phrase a lot lately: “Perhaps in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast.” These days, we hear a great deal about the information highway and information technology, but I am concerned that our desire for knowledge is outpacing our exercise of wisdom. To live poetically is to nurture a balance between the mind and the heart. As Jean Vanier writes: “understanding, as well as truth, comes not only from the intellect but also from the body. When we begin to listen to our bodies, we begin to listen to reality through our own experiences; we begin to trust our intuition, our hearts” (p. 25).
inextricable link between fun and learning. They spend years enjoying themselves in risk-taking exploration, tireless questioning, sensual encounters with their environments, insatiable seeking after wonder.
3. To live poetically is to nurture a balance between the mind and the heart. Many years ago, I read a short story by Stephen Vincent Benet, titled “By the Waters of Babylon.” The story narrates the experiences of a young man named John who struggles to survive in a desolate wilderness, a time and place that seem far distant from contemporary life on earth. John disobeys the warnings of his community, and ventures alone across the river into the forbidden land called the Dead Places where it is believed only dangerous spirits dwell. But John learns that in the forbidden land people like him once lived. He learns that the forbidden land was once a city called New York.
Carl Leggo, '89 PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. References: LEFEBVRE, H. (1988). Toward a leftist cultural politics: Remarks occasioned by the centenary of Marx's death, in: NELSON, C. & GROSSBERG, L. (Eds.). Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana, University of Illinois Press.
He learns that the city and all its people were killed in a terrible explosion. And with heartful wisdom, John wonders about the generation of people long ago destroyed in a catastrophic war: “Perhaps in the old
UNDERHILL, E. (1999). Concerning the Inner Life. Oxford, Oneworld Publications. VANIER, J. (1998). Becoming Human. Toronto, House of Anansi Press.
Gordon McIntosh Contributors
Editors Note: In the Spring/Summer 2003 issue of The Orange names were not included with this photo. We apologize to “the girls.”
Phoebe Dey, Ingrid Johnston, Carl Leggo, Karen Martinovic, John Oster, Sol Sigurdson,
Top row left to right: Audrey Clark, Phyllis (Wobick) Murrell, Gert (Baker) Lawrence, Carol (Case) Allen.
Amy von Heyking,
Front row left to right: Lois (Woodcock) Anderson, Joyce (Hastings) Krysowaty.
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