dr. helen dewaard (contract lecturer, teaching critical digital literacy courses in the faculty of education) has successfully defended her phd dissertation, media and digital literacies in canadian teacher educators' open educational practices: a post-intentional phenomenology. helen was supervised by dr. michael hoechsmann.

helen explains that her research “delved into the lived experiences of fourteen teacher educators from across canada in their endeavours to infuse media and digital literacies into their open educational practices. through the use of a post-intentional phenomenological framework and methodology, with a crystallization approach to data analysis, the research revealed the complex navigations teacher educators make to support student learning with open web resources for communication, creative production, collaboration, and criticality. using a navigational gyroscope as a metaphor, the research suggests that teacher educators stabilized their view of the horizon while locating a view of the end goal for themselves and their 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , and grounded themselves in order to provide foundations for student learning, as they navigated the multiple, complex, contextual, and rapidly moving elements swirled around them.”

helen produced her dissertation in two formats, reflecting her open educational practice as a researcher and a scholar. her dissertation can be accessed as a public document created with scalar software that was shared “live” as it was being written, and as a pdf manuscript archived in the university library.

congratulations, helen!

dr. ellen field (assistant professor, orillia) has recently participated in a number of interviews, panels, and roundtables, some in conjunction with the united nations climate change conference held november 30-december 12, 2023.

in one interview with cbc news, ellen spoke about climate anxiety as experienced by many youth—and what can be done to address it.

she explained that while there’s no singular definition of climate anxiety, “it can be understood as heightened distress, related to the climate crisis. this can be characterized as a constellation of strong interconnected emotions, like worry, fear, sadness, anger, and powerlessness. people may experience it in different ways, based on… whether they’ve experienced climate impacts previously... as well as their own sense of agency or ability to be resilient in the face of the crisis.”

noting that strong emotional responses to climate change are understandable and appropriate, considering the scale and urgency of the crisis, as discussed in her paper with dr. lindsay galway, she turned attention to how young people experiencing climate anxiety can feel empowered.

talking about the crisis, and spending time in nature can help to offset feelings of powerlessness, she said. equally important was getting involved in actions through their schools.

“schools—where young people spend the majority of their time—have a significant role to play. teaching 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 about the crisis and the solutions available to us is important, as well as getting them involved in actions that are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. this can help young people feel that they’re part of the solution and that their school, and larger community, is taking action.”

in another interview, ellen discussed the “gaps of inconsistency” in climate change education across canadian schools. 

emerging from her research on climate change curriculum and policies across canada, she notes that across jurisdictions, there’s inconsistency where the topic shows up in the curriculum. predominantly, climate change is covered in science units, but sometimes it’s in social studies. further, it often turns up as a topic in elective senior high school level classes, which means 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can opt out of them.

citing another research study that analyzed climate policies at the school board level also released this year, ellen explained that only four school boards of the nearly 400 across canada currently have climate action plans.

“improvements require action from the top, by policy-makers and school board decision-makers alike. if we’re in this moment that we need to halve our emissions by 2030, we need to make sure that every institution is doing what they can. school boards in particular have a role to play.”

an accompanying website has been built to support school boards engaged in creating climate action policies, which includes highlighting strengths of existing policies, resources for planning, recommendations for policy-makers, and a superintendent pledge.

dr. gerald walton (professor, faculty of education, thunder bay) has received a contribution to teaching award for the 2022-2023 academic year.

the committee noted gerald’s commitment to excellence in teaching and dedication to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. in particular, they recognized that gerald’s teaching “stands out for its adherence to humane educational principles, as well as advocacy for the needs of all learners.” they further noted that gerald’s efforts to create a sense of belonging among 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 has not gone unnoticed, as the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 who nominated him spoke of his “unwavering support in all dimensions of academic life, going above and beyond to ensure their success.”

gerald explains that “it is a big honour me that i was nominated by international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 . apart from guiding them on how to achieve at the graduate level, i felt it was important to validate challenges that many experience such as language barriers, culture shock, loneliness, homesickness, and even racism, that i have never had to face in my studies. i admire their courage to leave their home countries to study here and i said so a few times in class. i hold 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to high standards, but i also wanted to recognize the hurdles that many, perhaps even most, international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 face. it's wonderful to receive such praise in the form of a nomination for this award.”  

congratulations, gerald!

photo credit: mr. ankit siwach