Legacy_2008

Contents

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Dean’s Message

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Legacy of the Past

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Enduring Traditions

The Legacy is produced by the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge in collaboration with the Communications Office.

Contributors Stephenie Chester Caitlin Crawshaw Bob Cooney Natasha Evdokimoff Alesha Farfus-Shukaliak Betsy Greenlees Ken Heidebrecht Tanya Jacobson-Gundlock Lorne Kemmet Carol Knibbs Craig Loewen Jana McFarland Rob McMahon Shelagh McMullan Jim McNally Glenda Moulton Sarah Novak Design Darcy Novakowski Jane O’Dea Shari Platt Kath Remmie Stacy Seguin Bernie Wirzba Printing University of Lethbridge Printing Services

16 Spirit of Innovators

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Shared Vision

Correspondence is welcomed and should be addressed to: Faculty of Education University of Lethbridge 4401 University Drive W Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4 Phone: 403-329-2051 www.ulethbridge.ca/edu

Oki Ni Kso ko wa wa ka Kit toh ka nai ksi ma tsim moh po wa wa Hello my friends; I greet you all.

You are reading the first edition of what is planned as a magazine series profiling the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. The theme is the legacy of the past, our commitment to enduring traditions, and to a spirit of innovation responsive to challenges and change.

Forthcoming editions will highlight the accomplishments of faculty members, support staff, students, alumni and our partners in teaching and related professions.

Beginning in 1967 with seven faculty members, the Faculty presently has a complement of 39 tenured or tenuretrack professors. We celebrated our 40th anniversary last year, an event marked by a move to a new home in Turcotte Hall East and West. The building houses stateof-the-art math/science and computer laboratories, improved office and classroom space and allows room for further expansion.

We are extremely proud of our achievements in teacher education. Our success would not have been possible without the outstanding contributions of the many teachers who have opened their classrooms to our undergraduate students over the years. Partnership with these dedicated professionals creates a vibrant community of scholars committed to learning in all its forms. That commitment is celebrated further in our graduate programs that encourage personal growth 2

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and development in a variety of areas including pedagogy, curriculum, leadership and counselling.

The need for excellent teachers, schools and universities has never been more important. We know that the good of society requires access to an education that fosters the development of many talents and abilities; that encourages individuals to achieve their potential; that respects cultural traditions; that cultivates autonomy, open-mindedness, ethics, hope and a celebration of diversity grounded in a strong sense of our common humanity.

In a few words, education entails nurturing the life of the mind. Teachers are and have always been the guardians of that life. The Faculty of Education stands with teachers everywhere in our shared vision of a caring and just global community in which quality educational opportunities are available to all.

I hope you enjoy reading about our Faculty!

Beannachti (blessings),

Jane O’Dea, PhD Professor and Dean of Education

Dean’s Message

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Legacy of the Past

Four decades of dedication and hard work by faculty and staff have built one of Canada’s most highly regarded teacher education programs

Russell Leskiw Dean, 1967 – 1974

Robert N. Anderson Dean, 1974 – 1979; 1986 – 1987

Dean Dr. Jane O’Dea takes a look back at key milestones for the Faculty. She credits the Faculty’s founding members for developing a teacher preparation model that has stood the test of time and the Faculty’s sense of community and partnerships with stakeholders for enhancing its first-class reputation in undergraduate and graduate programming and education research.

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Jon Thorlacius Dean, 1979 – 1982

“The original undergraduate program’s emphasis on both theory and practice was quite unique at the time, and it is still in many ways unique today. Other schools have modelled their teacher preparation programs on what happens at the U of L. “Since the undergraduate program began in 1967, our students have completed a certain amount of classes on campus and then gone out into the school system where they have been supervised by faculty and their mentor teachers. This combination of theory and practice with faculty supervision makes for the best kind of instruction. In one semester, students learn the theory and have a chance to try it out. Faculty who teach the courses get to work with teachers in the schools and see if what we are teaching is effective or needs modification.

“We are particularly proud of Professional Semester III, which is a unique internship that gives our students the chance to transition from university to the school

Eric Mokosch Dean, 1982 – 1986; 1987 – 1994

system. Our student interns assume 50 per cent of a teacher’s workload, and that teacher becomes a mentor to them. This internship is a safe place for students to experience the kind of difficulties that many first-year teachers encounter.

“The development of the five-year combined degree program in 1991 has allowed our students to earn a bachelor’s degree in arts, science, fine arts, music or management as well as education. I like to say that it’s not just the Faculty of Education producing great teachers – it’s our partnership with the rest of the University. The combined degree symbolizes that collaboration in a very important way.

“Another important change has been the addition of specializations in technology, special/inclusive education and early childhood education. In addition to having a major and a minor, our students can take electives and have practica geared to one of these three areas.

“I believe it was all possible because faculty members and support staff, individually and collectively, did what was necessary to get the job done. It wasn’t always easy, but we did it!”

Eric Mokosch, Dean 1982 – 1986; 1987 – 1994

Myrna L. Greene Dean, 1995

Laurence Walker Dean, 1995 – 2000

“The Niitsitapi Teacher Education program that we developed and offered with Red Crow Community College from 2003 to 2005 changed our view of education. This unique program based on Blackfoot culture was really an exchange of gifts. The Blackfoot community and the elders shared their culture, and we offered our knowledge of teaching. Nineteen students completed the education portion of Niitsitapi.

“The general master of education program introduced in 1984 was the first graduate program at the University. We have offered the general MEd program to distant cohorts in Alberta and British Columbia school districts.

We’re always experimenting with different modes of delivery that accommodate teachers’ busy schedules and offer a challenging and exciting graduate experience.

“MEd programs with specializations in counselling psychology and educational leadership were introduced in 1999 and 2004, respectively. The Faculty has also been

(L – R) Judy Lavorato, program specialist; Carol Knibbs, financial analyst; and Scott Powell, system support, are longtime staff members who, along with their colleagues, have played an essential role in the Faculty’s 40-plus year history.

collaborating in the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology (CAAP) master of counselling psychology program since 2001. In 2005, we began offering an MEd program with an emphasis on literacy to a cohort of students in Belize. This program is an example of how the general MEd can be tailored to the unique needs of a particular community.

“Slated to begin in January 2009, the First Nations, Métis, Inuit (FNMI) Master of Education Curriculum Leadership program will be offered in collaboration with Mi’Kai’sto Red Crow Community College. It’s the only program of its kind in Canada.

“Our success has always been rooted in a strong sense of community, a close working relationship with the teaching profession, school districts and relevant educational stakeholders and a shared commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship.

“As the Faculty looks to the future, we will continue to be guided by enduring traditions, the spirit of innovators and a shared vision.”

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Enduring Traditions

A legacy of learning One of Canada’s most highly regarded teacher education programs owes its success to the dedication of talented teachers like Professor Emeritus Art Loewen

(L – R): Dr. Craig Loewen and Professor Emeritus Art Loewen

“The person who you are can, at some point, be traced back to a teacher or mentor.”

Dr. Craig Loewen

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While his career spans decades and is punctuated with awards and recognitions, Professor Emeritus Art Loewen began his career in the trenches, working as a teacher in a one-room school in Duchess, Alta., in 1948.

In the early years, success was a steady upward climb. He rose to positions of increasing authority in rural communities in southern Alberta. But in 1967, he received a phone call from a former colleague, Dr. Russell Leskiw, then acting president of a new university in Lethbridge, with a request that would change Loewen’s life.

“Russ asked me if I’d like to come to Lethbridge and teach math education,” says Art. He initially turned down the offer – several times, in fact – before finally acquiescing.

Art knows he made the right choice, but at the time, creating an education faculty at

the U of L was a rather contentious project.

Many opposed its formation and it took an appeal to the minister of education to get the Faculty off the ground.

Skepticism continued even after the minister’s approval, and the Faculty was under enormous pressure to prove itself within its first two years. Fortunately, the Faculty rose to the challenge.

“I was with the Faculty for 20 years, and during that time, we experimented,” says Art. A great deal changed during that time.

Two-year teaching certificates became five-year degrees. This led to the creation of master’s degree programs.

It didn’t take long for the Faculty to become one of the strongest teacher education programs in Canada. Today, the Faculty maintains a strong connection with Alberta’s teaching community and offers many unique

programs to meet the needs of students.

A new master’s program, the First Nations, Métis, Inuit (FNMI) Master of Education Curriculum Leadership program blends teacher education with Blackfoot language and culture, as well as leadership training. Another program, the Master of Education (Educational Leadership), prepares teachers to take up positions of leadership in their teaching communities.

Many graduates have gone on to become principals of schools or hold high-ranking administrative roles.

Art’s own contribution to teaching goes beyond his years as a math teacher in southern Alberta and his involvement in the formation of the Faculty.

He and his wife, Rena, a teacher he met in Vauxhall, Alta., raised four children – all of whom followed him into the field of

education in some manner. Their daughters Brenda Firth and Teresa Loewen are teachers in southern Alberta schools, and their daughter Dr. Pamela Loewen teaches in the Faculty of Management at the University of Lethbridge.

Their son, Dr. Craig Loewen (BEd ’84), is now the Faculty’s associate dean, after holding a number of administrative positions within the Faculty. Craig joined the Faculty in 1987 as a professor of mathematics education – the year his father retired.

After enjoying a successful teaching career himself and earning the U of L’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006, Craig maintains that teaching is the most important calling.

“You’re looking after the path, building for the future, caring about the kids of today.

I find it really hard to see anything much more important than that,” he says. “The person who you are can, at some point, be traced back to a teacher or mentor.”

There is a striking similarity in career paths between Art and Craig Loewen. Both started as classroom teachers, both began with the Faculty of Education as math educators, both served in student services within the Faculty, both have served as the associate dean of the Faculty and both have been with the Faculty for 20 years.

They argue that the similarities are coincidental rather than intentional, but the similarities are nonetheless startling. Together they have served the Faculty of Education for the entirety of its 40-year history – a true legacy of teaching and learning.

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Setting students up for success

At the Faculty of Education, students come first

“We want to ensure our students succeed.”

Dr. John Poulsen

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The University of Lethbridge has long been known as a place with strong community connections where students are supported throughout their academic journeys. It’s a philosophy that underpins learning at the Faculty of Education, says Assistant Dean Dr. John Poulsen.

“We want them to stay. We want them to complete the courses and to do that, we go out of our way to provide a personal and supportive environment,” he says.

Academic literature shows that high school students are far more likely to graduate when they’ve connected with a caring teacher. Anecdotally, Poulsen knows that the same thing is true for university students.

For that reason, the Faculty makes a concerted effort to connect with the 200-some students who begin their studies each year and to set them up for success. Small classes and accessible

instructors create a productive and engaging atmosphere.

The Faculty’s strict attendance policy is a unique strategy. “If a student misses a class, we’ll take action to find out why he or she missed a class. We’ll bring the student in for a conversation and find out what the problem was,” says Poulsen.

The strategy isn’t meant to penalize as much as ensure students aren’t struggling with course material or personal issues.

“Some students, I’m sure, feel like it’s too severe, that it feels like babysitting. But we want to ensure our students succeed.”

The same approach is taken during student placements, which are often at schools in communities far from the city.

Students stay in touch with their university professors by e-mail, and toward the end of the placement they are evaluated by their instructor at the school – wherever it is.

“This can seem intimidating, but more

often it’s a time to discuss philosophy and bigger picture things, like the value of education,” Poulsen adds.

Ultimately, being supported makes people better teachers – and better teachers help a community grow.

“I think teachers are the backbone of our society,” says Poulsen. “The better our teachers are, the better the next generation is.”

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The path less followed

Drs. Rick Mrazek and Richard Butt lead the Faculty on the path of graduate studies and research

“Our aim is to send graduates forward in a position of strength, ready to take on new challenges.”

Dr. Richard Butt

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The Faculty of Education has never followed in the footsteps of others – this is particularly the case in graduate studies and research. In 1984, the Faculty of Education introduced the U of L’s first master’s degree – the master of education – and paved the way in graduate programming at the University.

Nearly 25 years later, the program is recognized on the international stage – accolades Dr. Rick Mrazek (BSc/BEd ’78), outgoing assistant dean, graduate studies and research, attributes to “the diversity of the strengths of faculty members and the research they are engaged in.”

This summer, Mrazek turned the leadership of the graduate studies and research office over to Dr. Richard Butt, who was appointed assistant dean in July 2008. It’s a familiar place for Butt, who came

to the U of L in the early ’80s when he was hired to implement the MEd degree.

In those early days, Butt explains, students were offered a general degree and faceto-face delivery of instruction, mostly on campus. Although the program has grown considerably in terms of students, program offerings, delivery methods and locations, its focus – to develop master teachers – has remained.

By 1999, the program had grown from 29 part-time students to more than 250 students. The year also proved to be a significant turning point in the program with the addition of a specialization in counselling and a new cohort teaching approach. This approach allowed students to negotiate electives and methods of delivery, making the program very student, work and

(L – R): Dr. Richard Butt and Dr. Rick Mrazek family friendly.

“We have seen great success with the cohort approach. It has improved the quality and rate of learning, while its flexibility allows us to rapidly develop and respond to any important initiatives that arise,” says Butt.

In 2002, graduate studies and research were combined into one office, and Mrazek was appointed assistant dean.

“Our goals were to ensure that faculty members continued to give students individual guidance, and to better align research orientation between faculty and students,” explains Mrazek. “We also wanted to acknowledge the diversity of that research and provide a support structure to enhance all research.”

The Faculty accomplished these goals

and soon became recognized provincially, nationally and internationally for its research excellence. “This recognition had a positive effect not only on faculty members but on the reputations of our graduates in the work world,” says Mrazek.

To continue to advance its research record and ensure students receive the highest quality teaching, the Faculty has since hired a research officer, increased funding for professional development and technology, and increased the number of student assistantships.

With its sights set on the path ahead, the Faculty continued to implement new initiatives and provided opportunities for students, including a specialization in educational leadership and a master of counselling psychology program provided in

collaboration with Campus Alberta Applied Psychology (CAAP).

Today, the master of education program boasts a 97 per cent retention rate, which is nearly unheard of across the country. It’s a success rate Butt says the program’s balance of theory and practice, as well as the support and individual attention students receive, play a significant role in achieving.

“In the recently completed MEd review, our programs were rated very highly for overall quality, which is very gratifying,” says Butt. “Our aim is to send graduates forward in a position of strength, ready to take on new challenges. I am confident that we are achieving that.”

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Learning through experience

(L – R): Dr. Gerald McConaghy and Dr. Pamela Adams

Dedication and relationships lead to quality and success in the Field Experiences program

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One of the best ways to learn is through experience. The University of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Education provides students with the opportunity to learn about teaching firsthand through the Field Experiences (FE) program.

Dr. Gerald McConaghy recently completed his second term as assistant dean, Field Experiences, and passed the torch to Dr. Pamela Adams (BEd ’81, MEd ’00) in July 2008. Both McConaghy and Adams share a passion for maintaining excellence in teaching and believe strongly that the program educates and inspires students to shine as future teachers.

“It is a solid program built on a foundation of relationships,” explains McConaghy. “We have good students, our faculty members are very committed to the program and we have wonderful support from the field.”

The Faculty has several unique components that help the FE program maintain its exceptional reputation. For example, Education 2500 ensures only those who have a genuine interest in, and talent for teaching are admitted to the Faculty.

A third professional semester (PSIII) provides students with an additional full-semester internship.

“It is our responsibility to help our students become master teachers so that they can help nurture the leaders of tomorrow.”

Dr. Pamela Adams

“In PSIII the students become more aware of the realities and expectations of teaching while working as half-time teachers with a teacher-mentor,” says McConaghy.

Field experience gives students the opportunity to put theory into practice with the support and guidance of faculty members and teachers in the field. Students often develop collegial relationships that will benefit them throughout their careers.

“During my tenure, our goals were to work with the teachers in Zone 6 to get more placements for students and to help the field understand the needs of our side of the program. We also wanted to learn more

about what they do, as well as to recognize and thank them,” remembers McConaghy.

“Together we have achieved those goals.

The Faculty has a very good relationship with the teachers and schools we work with.

We respect them and the care, hard work and dedication they show on an ongoing basis to the teaching profession and to our student teachers.”

Having participated in the FE program as a student, a teacher associate and a faculty member, Adams brings a multifaceted perspective to the program. She agrees with McConaghy that the field is extremely important and plans to maintain the existing

relationship and give students the best possible teaching experiences.

“I would also like to reach out to teachers who are graduates of our program who can now give back to the program by sharing their teaching expertise with our students,” says Adams. “We are here not only to support but to advance the teaching profession. It is our responsibility to help our students become master teachers so that they can help nurture the leaders of tomorrow.”

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Partnerships make field experiences possible

Field Experiences program is a positive experience for everyone

“Students, staff, and parents are delighted to have student teachers complete practica at their schools.”

Susan Chomistek

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The Faculty of Education’s Field Experiences (FE) program at the University of Lethbridge is about more than just preparing students to become teachers. It is about the collaboration of many dedicated education professionals, both in the Faculty and in the field, that leads to excellence in teaching, success in learning, the building of relationships and the advancement of the education profession.

“The collaboration between District No. 51 and the University of Lethbridge is a win-win relationship,” says Barry Litun, superintendent of Lethbridge School District No. 51. Litun has had a great deal of experience working with student teachers as a former teacher-mentor and in various

administrative roles. “As a school district we benefit immensely from having a teacher education program with an outstanding reputation in our own backyard. A high percentage of our teachers are U of L graduates, which speaks to the quality of the program.”

Annie Lieverse (BEd ’80), a teacher for 28 years, has worked with more than 30 U of L students. “The underlying core of the program is a wonderful balance between theory and practice. The experience of being in the classroom introduces student teachers to many variables that affect teaching today and they begin to see the purpose to the theory,” says Lieverse.

The FE program allows student teachers

(L – R): Tom Wilson, Carol Koran, Barry Litun, Christy Audet, Annie Lieverse to put that theory into practice and see what works best in the classroom.

“There is no substitute for first-hand experience in a classroom to help prepare student teachers for the pressures and pleasures of teaching,” explains Carol Koran (MEd ’89) who, as the associate principal at Catholic Central High School, is responsible for coordinating and evaluating interns.

“Field experience helps student teachers understand the importance of working with their colleagues as a team to better address the diverse needs of students and respond to a rapidly changing world.”

Like Koran, Faculty Associate at the U of L and former teacher associate Tom Wilson (BEd ’75, MEd ’92) understands the benefits

that working in a collegial relationship with student teachers and interns can bring to one’s own teaching. “My student teachers brought a lot to the classroom. I always learned from them. Spending time with them analyzing their lessons and interacting with the students in the classroom gave me an opportunity to review my own professional practices,” says Wilson.

The advantages student teachers bring to schools extend well beyond professional development. “Students, staff and parents are delighted to have student teachers complete practica at their schools,” says Susan Chomistek (BEd ’80, MEd ’93), superintendent of Grasslands Public Schools. “Energy, enthusiasm, expertise

and talents are shared in classrooms, during concerts, on field trips, on the playgrounds and in many other settings.”

Christy Audet (BA/BEd ’98), a teacher at the Warner Hockey School and secondment with the Faculty of Education, has experienced the FE program from the inside out and believes that the program can be particularly beneficial to children. “Student teachers often have a with-it quality that gives them credibility with the students – often those who may be the more difficult to connect with. Those connections often lead to wonderful student successes that may not have been possible otherwise,” says Audet.

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Spirit of Innovators

(L – R): Roy Weasel Fat, Dr. Kris Magnusson, Dr. Cathy Campbell

The new First Nations, MĂŠtis, Inuit Master of Education Curriculum Leadership program will help develop the education and curriculum leaders of tomorrow

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New master’s program focuses on Blackfoot culture A new master’s program in education for First Nations teachers will emphasize personal development and cultural preservation.

The First Nations, Métis, Inuit (FNMI) Master of Education Curriculum Leadership program is slated to begin in January 2009 and will be offered jointly by the University of Lethbridge in collaboration with Mi’Kai’sto Red Crow Community College. It’s also one of a kind in Canada.

“This program focuses on the students themselves,” says Roy Weasel Fat, vice-president academic at Red Crow Community College.

Teacher education programs have traditionally emphasized teaching technique – but a good teacher must bring selfknowledge and cultural awareness to the classroom too, he argues. “When you’re dealing with children, you have to be the kind of person children want to be with.”

The FNMI master’s program will include a strong cultural component, allowing students to learn about all facets of their heritage: values, spirituality, history and oral knowledge. This must involve elders who, traditionally, are entrusted with the oral transmission of Blackfoot knowledge.

“One has to keep in mind that our cultures are very oral cultures and a lot of information that goes into it isn’t accessible by the Internet or anything like that,” Weasel Fat says. “In order for the younger generations to teach their culture and language to students, they must be able to harness this oral knowledge base.”

“The FNMI program builds on the principles of the Niitsitapi Teacher

Education Program,” says FNMI Curriculum Leadership Coordinator Dr. Cathy Campbell. “Many students felt the program changed them as human beings and hence, made them better teachers. The Niitsitapi program was about more than preparing Blackfoot teachers; it was about the development of human beings who would work in the classroom.”

The FNMI program is open to all students but will focus on Blackfoot culture, Campbell explains. “Considering that the U of L and Lethbridge sit on the traditional lands of Blackfoot-speaking nations, it is appropriate for the FNMI master’s program to reflect its culture and language.”

Dr. Kris Magnusson, associate vicepresident academic, says the program has already garnered a great deal of student interest. Even before the program was formally announced, the admissions waiting list had 20 names.

“The intention of the program is to create the knowledge, skills and attitudes for students to in fact become curriculum leaders,” explains Magnusson. “That means not being bound by current conceptions – and limitations – of FNMI curriculum (or, for that matter, traditional educational curriculum), but rather using FNMI (and in this case, Blackfoot specific) ways of knowing to guide the development of strategies for knowledge acquisition. In other words, FNMI curriculum leaders will both develop new content and new ways of learning that content that are representative of Blackfoot ways of knowing.”

“This program focuses on the students themselves.”

Roy Weasel Fat

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Leading the way

Master’s degree prepares teaching professionals for positions of educational leadership within their communities

“The program provides the students with opportunities to bridge the gap between theory and practice.”

Dr. Art Aitken

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Alberta’s schools are among the finest in the world, offering students and teachers a wide range of resources to encourage learning.

But it takes more than new computer labs and playgrounds for children to succeed.

Student learning is a complex process that hinges on strong educational leadership from principals, superintendents and other administrators.

For many years, post-secondary educational institutions nationally had lost sight of this, say Faculty of Education professors Dr. Art Aitken and Dr. George Bedard.

Knowing that there was a strong need for a master’s program to prepare educational leaders, the two began research into what a new program might require. They explored, in great detail, how educational leadership

programs in North America and other places were designed with a view to sort out what worked and what didn’t.

They decided it would be critical to structure the program around very specific competencies or standards – an idea later supported by the report of Alberta’s Commission on Learning (2003). A stakeholders’ committee was subsequently formed by Alberta Education to articulate a seven-dimension “made-in-Alberta” educational leadership standard.

“We thought the standards would be a reasonable and justifiable framework to design our program, and we have ‘tweaked’ our course package and program over the years to ensure compatibility with Alberta’s draft standards,” says Bedard.

In 2004, the Faculty rolled out the program

(L – R): Dr. Art Aitken and Dr. George Bedard officially and accepted 22 students, carefully screened for their commitment to leadership in their schools. “We have some fairly tight criteria that require successful teacher background,” says Aitken. “It sets the tone for a successful program.”

Coursework is a mixture of face-to-face classes and online learning. Students in the program are paired with administrator mentors in schools to support their internship experiences.

“The program provides the students with opportunities to bridge the gap between theory and practice,” says Aitken.

Since its inception, the program has graduated more than 40 teachers and administrators, who have gone on to hold a wide range of leadership positions. Forty more students in two cohorts are presently

registered in the leadership program.

“People who were teaching in school classrooms have entered the program and now have administrative positions in schools. We’ve also had some people move into district administration, and some move into school principalship,” Aitken explains.

“In approximately 75 per cent of cases, our students have experienced some sort of promotion into leadership positions since starting our program.”

“Students in successive cohorts have also formed connections with one another that continue to inform their work as educational leaders,” says Bedard. “They’ve established learning relationships that are still strong today regardless of the fact that they’ve graduated. They still work together.”

Bedard says the success of the program’s

students will only add to the program’s momentum. Word-of-mouth is increasing the program’s popularity, although he says they will continue to restrict intake to approximately 20 students per cohort.

Two recent evaluations of the program by external reviewers attest that the program has generated a high degree of satisfaction with graduates and school district leaders. With strong support from Faculty administration and continued participation of other professors who teach in the program, Bedard and Aitken are confident about the future quality of subsequent offerings.

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Global literacy

(L - R): Belizean educators June Young and Miriam Codd visit an art class at Park Meadows elementary school in March 2008

Twelve Belizean educators complete Master of Education degree with a focus on the development and teaching of literacy

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This September, as they begin a new term, a contingent of Belizean educators will apply their University of Lethbridge studies to their teaching.

For the first time, in coordination with the University of Belize, the Faculty of Education offered its master’s program to a cohort of international students. The program extension arose from Dr. Pamela Winsor’s long-standing affiliations with educators in Belize.

In 2005, scores on international literacy testing ranked Belize poorly. “The (University of Belize) Dean of Education, Dr. Joseph, who’d been a colleague of mine for a number of years, was very concerned

about that,” explains Winsor. “She asked if my Faculty could do something to help. I brought the request to the Faculty, and the rest is history.”

Working with the Faculty of Education Office of Graduate Studies and Research, including Dr. Rick Mrazek, who was the assistant dean at the time, interested faculty members developed a program to cater to the needs of educators working in the multilingual, economically-developing context of Belize. The three-year program was offered through blended delivery methods, some courses online and others face-to-face with U of L faculty members travelling to Belize for summer sessions.

In March 2008, upon securing special funding from Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, the cohort visited the Lethbridge campus and local schools.

During their visit, they made their capstone presentations, bringing their studies to conclusion.

But it wasn’t just the Belize graduate students who benefited from the experience.

Student teachers at the U of L were given an opportunity to learn about the teaching profession in another country. Visitors also exchanged research and teaching experiences with members of the Calgary cohort of graduate students.

“I think many of the undergraduates

learned how universal some of the joys and challenges of teaching are – they were able to identify with (the Belize teachers),” says Winsor. “Although some of the challenges teachers face may be different, the task is the same – to teach children.”

At graduation ceremonies in Belize in June, the graduates and their families expressed heartfelt appreciation to the University of Lethbridge and the Faculty of Education. Speaking on behalf of the group, June Young, principal of Roaring Creek Primary School, commented, “You have left your imprint on our hearts, and we will always be grateful for this opportunity and for the friends we have made in Lethbridge.”

“Although some of the challenges teachers face may be different, the task is the same – to teach children.” Dr. Pamela Winsor Th e Le g ac y |

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Telling history

Dr. Brian Titley is the Faculty’s first University Scholar

“I think it’s important that people be informed and understand how things came to be the way they are.”

Dr. Brian Titley

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Dr. Brian Titley considers himself an educator first and foremost – a teacher of teachers who aims to inspire his students so that one day they’ll inspire their own. But since July 2008 when Titley became one of the U of L’s first University Scholars (along with two other professors from different Faculties), he’s earned license to pursue his other passion – the historical study of political and religious influences on various institutions, organizations and cultures around the world – with more vigour than ever before.

Titley’s list of published books and articles reads like an epic story that journeys through time, exploring the cultural fabric, political climate and religious circumstances of numerous countries at different points in history. He’s covered many controversial topics since 1983, including the role of the Catholic Church in the Irish education system and the administration of Indian Affairs in Canada. As a newly appointed University Scholar, Titley has chosen the history of Magdalen asylums in North America as the subject for his next line of research, and he plans to tackle the work in the same way he’s approached every other hot-button topic he’s written about – with measured aplomb delicately laced with devil’s advocacy.

“I’m a critical historian,” Titley says. “I think it’s important that people be informed and understand how things came to be the way they are. If the facts around a situation

aren’t complimentary or don’t sit well with certain people – well, that’s part of the game.

When you challenge establishments, you’re going to get a reaction.”

While the subjects that Titley researches may be complex political minefields, he disseminates his findings in a comparatively straightforward way, writing with story-like prose in order to make his work accessible and engaging to a wide audience.

“Academic writing is often extremely turgid and laden with a lot of unnecessary jargon,” he says. “What I try to do is write interesting stories and reveal how politics and religion played a role in them. My goal is to help people understand things that haven’t been written about before and be engaged by what they’re reading.”

Titley calls his work a kind of “reinterpretation of conventional wisdom” and sees no end to the topics he’d be interested in investigating.

“The nice thing about the history of politics and education is that there is so much that hasn’t been explained,” he says.

“I’m curious about a lot of different things.

I like to make sense of the world through my research.”

As a University Scholar, Titley receives funds for a two-year course of study and is granted relief from teaching one course each year. He will also present a public lecture as part of the newly established University Scholar’s Lecture Series at the U of L.

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Shared Vision

Lessons in teaching A teaching practicum introduced U of L education student Andrew Doyle to a part of Alberta and a pair of classrooms he may never have experienced

“I really enjoyed going through the semester with the same 37 people – that was probably the best time I’ve ever had at school.”

Andrew Doyle

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While living on a farm in Mountain View, Alta., a village just outside Waterton, and teaching students in kindergarten and Grade 1, Andrew Doyle learned not only how to teach age ranges different from his university focus on junior high and high school, but also how to teach students in a rural setting.

“I’d never been on a farm before, so living on one was definitely a culture shock,” he says. “But now that I’ve spent my

practicum there, I wouldn’t want to have done anything different.”

Born in Calgary, Doyle moved to Lethbridge while in junior high when his mom attended the U of L’s Faculty of Education.

Coming from a family of schoolteachers, including a great-aunt who is a past Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) president, Doyle enrolled at the U of L in 2007. He now spends holiday dinners chatting with his mom about lesson plans.

“Being a teacher interested me for a long time and having my mom at the U of L definitely helped me choose where to go,” he says. “I really enjoyed going through the semester with the same 37 people – that was probably the best time I’ve ever had at school.”

Friendships at university also helped Doyle settle into his practicum at Mountain View, where he and a classmate lived with a

family. Two friends from the program taught in nearby towns – connections that made it easier to adjust to practicum life.

After returning to classes at the U of L, Doyle was elected president of the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS) in January 2008. He now helps organize conferences and professional development activities hosted by the Faculty and the ATA. In September 2008, he coordinated the Anti-

Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Awareness Week, which raised both awareness and funds to keep communication outlets open for children who are affected by bullying.

Now planning for life after university, Doyle is prepared for any challenge.

“I graduate next year and feel ready to go where I need to,” he says. “After my practicum experience, I feel comfortable going anywhere.”

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Global learning

Lisa Ziebart puts her U of L education into practice in foreign classrooms

Photo submitted

Right now, halfway around the world, Lisa Ziebart (BA/BEd ’07) is quite likely getting ready for another day at the front of the classroom, preparing lesson plans from the Alberta curriculum for a group of eager students at the International School of Macau. Sound intriguing? Eccentric?

Challenging? According to Ziebart, it’s all of the above.

With a year of teaching internationally already under her belt (she taught in Taiwan right after graduation), Ziebart began a two-year posting in Macau, which is on the south coast of China, in August 2008. So far, the challenges are many, and Ziebart says she’s glad to have to chosen the U of L as her training ground.

Ziebart applied to the U of L after finishing the university transfer program for education at Camosun College in her hometown of Victoria.

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“My cousin raved about the Faculty of Education at U of L,” she says. “So I applied first for general studies and ended up loving it. What attracted me was the small size of the Faculty. I knew I’d get a great education because I’d have more one-on-one help from my professors.”

Ziebart was accepted into the Faculty upon her first application, and dove headlong into a program that she says was intensive and challenging, but prepared her extremely well.

“What really opened my eyes was the third practicum when I was teaching and not really part of university life,” Ziebart says. “During my first year of teaching I worked with other first-year teachers who were not nearly as ready for the task as me. They would come to bounce ideas off me and ask questions, and I was able to help them.”

Ziebart always intended to teach internationally – combining her love of travel with her passion for the classroom. She heard about the position in Macau through another U of L student, and soon discovered that the school had many Alberta connections. The principal attended the University of Alberta, while the vice-principal and one of the founding governors both are associated with the U of L. The school has been following the Alberta curriculum since 2005.

“The Faculty of Education continues to develop international connections, more field experiences and promotes the PSIII practicum abroad,” Ziebart says.

In two years, when her posting in Macau is complete, Ziebart plans to return to the U of L to complete a master’s degree. After that, a world of opportunity will await.

Setting the stage for tomorrow

Ramona Big Head and a cast of students from the Blackfoot Confederacy will bring a forgotten piece of North American history to life in New York City

It’s a story that never should have been forgotten. This fall, U of L alumna Ramona Big Head (BEd ’96) will take 23 students from the Blackfoot Confederacy and the surrounding area with her all the way to New York City to perform “Strike them Hard!”

The Baker Massacre – a play that speaks to a long-lost tragedy that many have never even heard about.

Big Head wrote the script as her final thesis project while pursuing her master of education at the U of L. It brings to life a piece of history that dates back more than 135 years to a cold day in January.

It was 1870 and U.S. Major Eugene Baker and his troops had been given orders to find a group of troublemakers in the area and “strike them hard.” When they came across a Blackfeet camp set up along the Marias River in northern Montana, they mistook it as their target.

Despite a signed declaration from the superintendent of Indian Affairs stating that

the peaceful camp was not to be attacked, 217 Blackfeet people – mostly women, children and the elderly – were killed.

When Big Head first learned about the massacre through an Aboriginal Elder mentor program she helped develop, she was shocked to discover that her great-great grandmother, who although only a child at the time, was among the small group who survived.

“I was really angry when I first heard about the massacre, especially when I realized that there was a direct connection to my ancestry,” says Big Head.

“But today I can talk about the Baker Massacre and not be angry about it. Why? Because I am doing something about it. I wrote the play to remind my people of what our ancestors endured. We’re a testimony to their strength.”

Following a recommendation from her master’s supervisor, Big Head submitted a proposal for the play to be included in

Performing the World ’08 – a New York City festival that brings together more than 400 activists, scholars and researchers from around the world who share a common goal to use performance to foster growth and development.

Exceeding Big Head’s greatest expectations, the play was the first submission to ever be accepted from a First Nations group. Big Head and a cast of students ranging in ages from six to 18 are preparing for a performance of a lifetime on a stage off Broadway.

“While there are many ways to tell a story, for me this is the best way – to have children learn the story, perform it and share it with others. These kids are learning and teaching others about the strength and resiliency of our people. It is something they will never forget.”

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The student becomes the teacher

In two decades of teaching, Sherrie Nickel (BEd ’86) has learned that regardless of a student’s age, the core approach to education remains the same

“I believe creativity can have long-lasting effects beyond academia – it can help build wholeness and wellness of self.”

Sherrie Nickel

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Sherrie Nickel (BEd ’86) grew up supervising young children at summertime arts camps.

Twenty years later, the U of L alumna has been seconded to the Faculty of Education, where she now teaches undergraduate courses and directs student practica, all the while working on her own master’s degree.

She says in many ways undergraduate students respond the same as rambunctious tots.

“I spent my summers at arts and crafts

camps around Lethbridge, and I loved that it was so active and busy,” she says. “My relationship with undergraduate students is very different since they’re adults now.

But I use the same pedagogy: start with the end in mind and provide modifications to meet the individual needs of students, while holding students accountable for their own learning.”

Nickel says teaching education courses and supervising practica are fascinating – but

there is a steep learning curve. A supportive Faculty helps, as do the students, who bring motivation and interest to their classes.

“You reach that point when you become more confident and capable in your content areas, and learn that your program delivery is good and sound,” she says. “That gives you the confidence to pass on knowledge to older students.”

Nickel, who grew up in Coaldale, was drawn to the U of L because of its

reputable program. She studied literature and drama before focusing on education.

Now taking graduate classes in the general stream, Nickel says despite the shift to new technologies, such as online courses and video conferencing, classes remain much the same since her undergraduate days.

That said, she enjoys that graduate studies are tailored to the needs of individual students. Her research project examines creative learning – a

concentration she chose after a class with U of L education professor Dr. Jim Henry inspired her to try to engage student creativity in all subject areas, from science to the fine arts.

“We did a lot of work on ourselves in class, and also picked up some tips and tricks to help increase creativity in our students,” says Nickel. “I believe creativity can have long-lasting effects beyond academia – it can help build wholeness and Th e Le g ac y |

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The art of teaching

Hard at work on a soapstone sculpture for the Faculty of Education’s new home in Turcotte Hall, U of L alumnus Jonathan Legg explains how art and teaching are linked

As Jonathan Legg (BA/BEd ’96, MEd ’03) chisels away at the green, black, white and brown streaked soapstone, he describes the statue, which represents a community of three figures joined at the waist and supporting each other, as a metaphor for the process of education.

He explains that the different colours and textures represent diversity while the figures’ staggered sizes demonstrate growth. Each figure makes a distinct gesture: for example, a hand shielding eyes to symbolize vision.

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“Creativity is so important to education, since one feeds the other in many ways,” he says. “If I change one hand placement or proportion in the statue, it forces the whole composition to change. The same analogy applies to education: if you change a single lesson or relationship with a student, everything can change.”

Legg focused on stone carving in university. He worked with soapstone, black and white marbles/limestone, sandstone and granite, and learned to shape around

the unique grains and composition of the rocks. After graduating, he taught for five years before returning to the U of L to complete his master of

“I’m working with the idea of the university as a sacred space – a place people go to receive wisdom.” Jonathan Legg

education, where he focused on adult and creative education. Legg’s master’s research led to a 33-minute documentary exploring the creative process of four industrial designers.

“During my five years of teaching, I learned I was not just an artist, but was also very interested in creative activity and thinking,” he says. “I’m interested in how to infuse creativity into the learning process so students become both critical thinkers and creative problem solvers.”

Now teaching creativity, art and design at Lethbridge College, Legg is thrilled to be working on a sculpture for the Faculty of Education’s new home in Turcotte Hall.

“I’m working with the idea of the university as a sacred space – a place people go to receive wisdom. I also think of education as very much a visionary process, that idea of helping engage growth across a person’s lifespan.”

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October 17, 2008 – the official opening of Turcotte Hall – marks the next chapter in the history of the Faculty of Education...

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