UNews - Faculty of Education

Bust-a-Backpack campaign outdoes expectations

caroline.zentner — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 17:55:54 +0000

The teachers of tomorrow are helping today’s students with their annual Bust-a-Backpack campaign, an initiative of the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

In the annual campaign, now in its ninth year, Faculty of Education students fundraise to fill backpacks full of school supplies, which they then donate to local schools.

Kailey Doucette, centre, is flanked by Eric Trinh on the left, the EUS tutoring services director, and Lucas Miller on the right, the EUS vice-president finance.

“We really think it’s important to engage our community and our schools and help students that we may one day be teaching to gather school supplies they maybe couldn’t afford,” says Kailey Doucette, EUS social activities director. “They need those supplies to feel like they are on equal footing with their classmates and to help them in their general learning.”

The executive of the EUS spurred the six sections of professional semester one (PS1) students and faculty members on a friendly competition to see who could fill the most backpacks. They set a goal of 40. In addition to school supplies like notebooks, binders, scissors, glue, calculators, crayons and pencils, the students reached out to their friends, family and employers for donations. When the totals were calculated, they had 48 filled backpacks, four boxes of supplies and $504 in cash, which they used to buy children’s books.

“Our members definitely reached out into the community, much more so than I was expecting but it’s awesome they did,” says Doucette. “We are very proud of our members. They went above and beyond anything we could have expected and their contributions will truly make a difference in the Lethbridge community.”

This year, the society decided to adopt Westminster Elementary School and Wilson Middle School.

“We really want to see where the backpacks are going and see the impact that we’re making,” says Doucette.

Media are invited to attend the delivery of backpacks and supplies to the Wilson Middle School office at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The school is located at 2003 9 Ave. N.

Malawi teacher sees new possibilities through U of L studies

caroline.zentner — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 21:01:52 +0000

Travelling halfway around the world to take classes in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Education has opened Wyson Ndhlovu’s eyes to the possibilities. Now, he looks to bring this new world of potential to his homeland and create opportunities for the young Malawi girls he teaches at the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Girls Education Project.

Through a collaborative agreement between the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, the U of L and the Malawi school, Ndhlovu has spent the past seven months in Lethbridge taking a full load of classes designed to give the deputy headmaster a new perspective on teaching and education.

Wyson Ndhlovu, centre, walks through the coulees with U of L President Mike Mahon, right, and Pat Killoran, past president of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge.

“The purpose of the whole thing is for me to have an educational and cultural experience and to take back home what I feel is appropriate and applicable at our school,” says Ndhlovu, who has ventured away from Malawi for the first time in his life. “I didn’t know what I’d learn but now that I’m here, there’s so much.”

“Having Wyson in our education classes has provided our students with an alternative perspective on teaching and learning across the world,” says Dr. Richelle Marynowski, an education professor. “The students really took him in as one of their own and coordinated book donations and a fundraiser event to support the students at his school."

His trip is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, while the U of L has given Ndhlovu free tuition for the eight courses he was enrolled in over the spring and summer sessions. Rotary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ have also previously combined to outfit a computer lab at Ndhlovu’s school, an all-girls academy for 400 rural students.

“With so many issues in the world, the fundamental way to improve these is through education,” says Pat Killoran, past president of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge.

He says the club initially considered bringing one or two students from Malawi to Canada to assist in their education but instead decided a greater impact might be achieved by helping the school’s teachers help themselves.

“We saw the Canadian experience, both culturally and educationally, as being something that could add a dimension to the teaching staff and, in turn, impact the students,” says Killoran.

Malawi is a landlocked nation in southeastern Africa that is home to more than 16 million people in an area roughly 20 per cent the size of Alberta. Largely agricultural, its citizens struggle with poverty and educational opportunities are severely lacking, especially for young girls. In 2006, Canadian teacher Christie Johnson joined with Malawi educator Memory Mdyetseni to form Atsikana Pa Ulendo (Girls On The Move), and the school has blossomed ever since. It currently operates thanks to a collaboration between the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Malawi Education Foundation (located in Canada) and the APU Malawi Trust (located in Malawi).

Ndhlovu says a lack of resources is the greatest problem he and his teachers face, but with the help of donors, they are slowly bringing technology into the classroom. While that may not allow his students to participate in scientific experiments, for example, at least now they will be able to watch them on video to gain a greater appreciation for the lesson that cannot be achieved through a textbook.

“When I came here I was exposed to different technologies through the lessons I had,” says Ndhlovu. “My professors would often use video presentations and I also taught practicum at Victoria Park High School and we used these resources and I found I was very motivated by it. This is something we need to adopt in our school back in Malawi.”

He’s also learned some valuable teaching techniques that he looks to incorporate back home.

“The difference I’ve noticed is that in Malawi, I used to plan a lesson that was one-size-fits all. With my experience here, I see that’s not the way,” he says. “You have to plan and teach bearing in mind that the students have different abilities. So, as you plan a lesson, you must think about every student in the class.”

Killoran says the success of Ndhlovu’s school in the 10 years that it has been open is remarkable, and slowly, communities are being changed, along with the future of young girls in Malawi.

“The girls who have graduated are now going back into their communities with education and doing things that weren’t being done before and certainly weren’t being done by girls,” he says. “We’re seeing a number of girls going to university, a number of girls getting jobs, a number of girls taking control of their lives.”

More information can be found on the history of Atsikana Pa Ulendo at the school’s website: http://malawigirlsonthemove.com/.

Canadian curriculum, literacy and life writing as metissage

darcy.tamayose — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:56:26 +0000

In our multicultural, multi-lingual society, a growing number of educators are using life writing to build bridges of understanding between increasingly diverse populations.

“Life writing is articulating your own and others’ lived experiences, ideas, values, and feelings,” explains Dr. Erika Hasebe-Ludt, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. Students who practice it gain a deeper sense of identity. Sharing their stories imparts historical and cultural knowledge, and it has the potential to raise empathy in others.

Dr. Erika Hasebe-Ludt at work with literacy cohort graduate students Joanne Polec and Daniel Buchanan.

The stories of individuals often connect with and add a visceral component to larger historical, political, and economic narratives. According to Hasebe-Ludt, this creates a living, organic curriculum that is not abstract or detached. “Life writing can be applied in all subjects,” she says, “and is adaptable to all ages.”

Hasebe-Ludt, who for more than a decade has researched this literacy genre and curriculum area with Drs. Cynthia Chambers (U of L), Carl Leggo (UBC), along with colleagues from a life-writing collective across Canada, points out that life writing is more than printed text. It is an arts-based inquiry that incorporates performance, oral storytelling, artifacts, filmmaking, and more. The resulting métissage, or mixed composition of stories, respects a culture’s traditional literacies including vernacular modes. It also opens up new and multiple literacies to writers and readers within that culture or community.

Hasebe-Ludt was recently appointed interim editor of the Canadian Journal of Education. She is also co-president of the Canadian Association of Curriculum Studies (CACS). Her publications include A Heart of Wisdom: Life Writing as Empathetic Inquiry, Life Writing and Literary Métissage as an Ethos of Our Times, and Contemplating Curriculum: Genealogies/Times/Places, co-edited and authored with fellow researchers. These collections give teachers and other educators ideas for implementing life writing in their classrooms.

“My hope is for this form of inquiry to be an integral part of the curriculum, enabling all students to construct their identities and develop their skills, refine their voices as readers and writers, and contribute to a knowledge-based, literate and just society,” says Hasebe-Ludt.

In 2014 Dr. Erika Hasebe-Ludt received the Ted T. Aoki Award for Distinguished Service in Canadian Curriculum Studies. The eminent curriculum scholar, after whom the award was named, had been a longtime mentor until his passing in 2012.

A community approach: supporting early language and literacy

darcy.tamayose — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:33:46 +0000

One of Dr. Noella Piquette’s current research foci is prevention of reading difficulties. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Education professor says,“There’s trustworthy evidence setting out what it takes to teach children to read,” she says. “By following it, can we have most children reading and writing comfortably?”

Dr. Noella Piquette says that parents can help their children by conversing with them regularly and reading to them every day.

After researching together for over 10 years, Piquette and Drs. Robert Savage (McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) and Eileen Wood (Wilfred Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) launched a five-year, cross-provincial study, following National Reading Panel and Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network recommendations.

“Instead of trying to solve issues for students already experiencing reading disabilities, we decided to start much earlier.”

Their project involves working with children from the time they’re in kindergarten until Grade 4. The study involves four Alberta schools, in which Piquette conducts regular workshops with parents and teachers together.

“We have fun, engaging activities to work with at home,” she says.

She stresses to parents that the two essential things they can do for their children’s academic success is to engage them in conversation and read to them every day.

“Our research has shown significant gains in children’s listening comprehension and enjoyment of reading,” she asserts.

In another study, Child Strength, Piquette collaborates with Dr. Robin Gibb from the U of L Department of Neuroscience, on a study involving emergent literacy and executive function.

“We’re creating activities for Coalhurst, Alberta’s Parent Link Centre to introduce to very young children,” she says.

The play-based activities include skills like thinking, sorting, and expressing emotion. Parents receive materials to continue with at home.

“After the first week parents were over the moon,” states Piquette. “They couldn’t believe the difference the activities made in children as young as two."

"We have the joy of knowing there’s already research to prove this,” adds Piquette, whose goal is to make evidence-based information available to parents in a manner they can use.

Now in its second year, Child Strength is expanding with additional activities in more communities. Piquette and Gibb plan to make their activity sets available free to daycare and early childhood centres.

As keen as Piquette’s interest is in supporting learners, she is equally committed to those who teach them. Of primary importance to her is helping educators gain knowledge, improve practice, and feel supported, encouraged and validated. She works with Foothills School Division, creating resources for new kindergarten, grades 1-3 teachers.

“A second study grew from this when kindergarten teachers wanted support learning more about inquiry and play-based learning,” she says.

“These studies all fold into each other,” Piquette states, “and the results profoundly confirm what is so necessary for children, parents, and teachers.”

For more information, visit Piquette's web page, Alberta Education or Abacadabra.

UNews - Faculty of Education

Bust-a-Backpack campaign outdoes expectations

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Malawi teacher sees new possibilities through U of L studies

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Canadian curriculum, literacy and life writing as metissage

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A community approach: supporting early language and literacy

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