Bringing the nature of science back to the classroom
Sharon P. Macpherson, University of Calgary

How can student teachers make science fun, engaging and relevant to students’ lives? This workshop will address the issue of the disconnect between how science is often taught in the classroom as being content focused and how science is actually lived in the lives of scientists. Through an activity called the “Nature of Science Card Game” people will be able to participate in recognizing that defining science is complex, engaging and has a variety of viewpoints. The activity will allow people to discuss, compare and negotiate their understanding of science with other individuals in a fun, interactive way.

Workshop and/or Symposium

Fluency – The Bridge to Reading Success
Heather Baptie and Terry Dobson, Central Okanagan School District

This interactive and highly practical workshop will emphasize the importance of fluency in attaining literacy. The presenters will highlight their district’s fluency development initiatives and provide authentic evidence to support what current research says about the importance of fluency instruction. They will discuss how they improved student motivation and increased the quality and quantity of reading experiences for their struggling readers. Practical strategies for effectively teaching this skill will be presented.

Workshop and/or Symposium

Field experience as a catalyst for academic change
Mary Callele, Donna Douglas-Elliott and Irene Oakes, University of Saskatchewan

This interactive session will focus on the influence of field experiences on the development of a more autonomous pre-service teacher education at the University of Saskatchewan.  Field experience, situated as it is between the theory of the undergraduate program and the practice of teaching, is instrumental in affecting real change in education.  This new focus on praxis, the connection of theory and practice, invites a constructivist approach for teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and the faculty at the university.  This has begun a ripple effect in the field of education within Saskatchewan, the breadth of which can only be imagined.

Presenters will share newly articulated goals of the undergraduate program at the University of Saskatchewan, and will discuss the changes in thinking about teaching and learning.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations

EI TELNIWT: Student experiences in a required Indigenous knowledge course
Onowa McIvor and Carmen Rodriguez de France, University of Victoria

Preliminary findings of a research project which follow the experiences of student teachers in a required Indigenous course at the University of Victoria will be presented. Student experiences were captured through pre and post course self-evaluation surveys and interviews with self-selecting students. Students evaluate their level of knowledge of Indigenous issues, their sense of preparation for the teaching profession as it pertains to their contact with Aboriginal students and their families as well as their pre and post attitudes towards required courses on Indigenous issues. This research will inform Education and other faculties about the benefits and potential difficulties of including required Indigenous knowledge courses in their programs. It will also inform the Faculty of Education as to the efficacy of the course(s) they offer in preparing pre-service teachers for their inevitable contact with Aboriginal children and their families in the school system.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations
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School Improvement: The IQ framework and its influences on goal setting at Simon Alaittuq School
Bev Anne Hill, University of Victoria

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the school improvement process at Simon Alaittuq School in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada and to illustrate the application of the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) framework to a government initiated school improvement process. This paper represents and defines quality leading and learning from the perspective of an educational community which reveres traditional Inuit knowledge and has sought to incorporate it throughout its reform initiative. Lastly, the paper considers how this culturally inclusive school improvement framework builds a commitment to equity, local ways of knowing and inclusivity, all foundations of learning-centered schooling.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations

Borderless youth: Today’s students in digital spaces
James Lorne Nahachewsky, University of Victoria

This paper presentation explores three situated student-generated digital texts. These local and global texts, distributed through YouTube, problematize traditional notions of learning and ‘learner’ in contemporary educational spaces.  Pre-service teachers, and other educators, will find the multiple ways of students’ knowing and meaning-making discussed in this presentation of interest as they enter classrooms in a Digital age.

Single Paper and/or Multiple Presentation
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DigiVisual poetics: Intermedia and art education
Cam Hutchison, University of Manitoba

Intermedia is a term used to explain artworks that fall between traditionally defined art forms. This presentation will examine the exploratory space at the intersection of visual art and poetry and will discuss the implications of combining an integrated art and poetry unit with the creative use of computer based animation and video in the classroom. A theoretical framework supporting unique, integrated, new media, visual arts, ELA, and technology curricula will be outlined as an instructional process through which, young artists can create digital, visual poems that integrate text, visuals, symbols, sounds and movement.

Single Paper and/or Multiple Presentation

Story vines: An interactive story telling process
Julie-Ann Kniskern, Katherine Johnson and Erin Watkins, Brandon University

Story vines, which originated in Africa as part of the oral story telling culture, have now become a strategy for story telling across cultures.  Story vines fit into the theme of the conference "Wcistenek: Pedagogies of Spaces and Places" because this strategy began as part of oral story telling culture in Africa and is now used in schools throughout Canada. What is a story vine? It is simply a story-on-a-rope, held to hang vertically from the hand of the storyteller. However, its creation is a set of complex processes, culminating with a series of "prompts" (icons, figurines) placed along the braided rope as a set of sequenced reminders about the story as the storyteller proceeds to entrance his/her audience with the story. Pedagogically, it encourages teachers to strive to help students develop a variety of oral skills that will enable them to adapt their speech to the requirements of the audience and the situation. It provides students with language models in literature, media and the classroom through interaction in group situations. It builds student's awareness of the importance of structuring what they say. In addition, it provides experiences which will increase fluency of expression.

The students who will be presenting with me will be actively involved in the presentation as well as helping the participants in the creation of a story vine. They will demonstrate story vines they have made in my class as well as those created with their students when they were student teaching. Each participant in the Story Vine workshop will create his/her own story vine which can then be used as a model with their students. A handout will be provided describing the steps in creating a story vine. The only limit in creating a story vine is one's imagination.

Workshops and/or symposium

A tapestry of tales: A reflection and presentation of a cross-cultural student teaching experience through narrative inquiry
Stacey Alexis Abramson, University of Manitoba

Stories surround and define the places and spaces in which teacher candidates are immersed throughout their practicum experiences. The method of narrative inquiry encourages a dialogue and holistic understanding of this journey, through the gathering and critical analysis of stories and histories of those who are met along the way. It opens up a wealth of valuable knowledge about the students in their classrooms, their colleagues at both the university and practicum, and the profession of teaching as a whole. In this paper, I will critically and authentically tell the story of my cross-cultural student teaching experience at an inner-city junior high through the method of narrative inquiry. Through reflection and analysis of personal, student, colleague and mentor stories, both visual and aural, I will convey a holistic learning experience that both student teachers and in-service educators alike can gain insight from.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation
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Inclusive post-secondary education: Can the spaces we create as K-12 educators be truly transformative to the lives of students?
Heather Carley and Jessica Humphrey, University of Victoria

Students with intellectual disabilities are now attending colleges and universities in classrooms and work experiences alongside their non-disabled peers.  Think together about the nature of belonging and challenging our own assumptions about careers, living spaces, relationships, and autonomy.  This workshop explores how teaching practices and learning spaces can transform the expectations of students, families, and communities.

Workshops and/or symposium

The role of field experiences in a teacher education program
David William Chorney, University of Alberta

Teacher candidates enrolled in teacher education programs, routinely comment on the impact of their field experiences as part of their overall preparation to becoming certified educators. This presentation will debate the merits of terms such as field experience, internship and teaching practicum as well as draw on specific data from an ongoing research study where practicum experiences are a key component. The study tracks physical education majors as they progress through teacher education programs in two separate post-secondary institutions in Western Canada. The emphasis in this presentation will be on highlighting both qualitative and quantitative data specifically on practicum related questions from the administered surveys.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations
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School integrated teacher education in an elementary generalist PE course: Students video-reflections on their learning through doing
Tim Hopper and Samantha Dixon, University of Victoria

This session will highlight an innovation video-reflection used to assist students reflect on and interpret their learning through doing. This presentation will show how student teachers critically examine through a montage of video clips, the influence on their learning "how to teach" of a SITE based course. SITE courses refer to the systematic incorporation of school experiences into the teaching and learning of core concepts within university courses. Student teachers will narrate their experiences depicted in the video clips as reflections on the course to create an exciting space to investigate the transformative learning potential of SITE courses.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations

Internship in Nunavut
James McNinch, Del Fraser, Amber Kubat and Ooloota Maatiusi, University of Regina and Nunavut Arctic College

University of Regina student Amber Kubat and Faculty Advisor Del Fraser will share insights learned from a 4-month internship experience in an elementary school in Iqualuit, Nunavut.  The Arts-based curriculum of the school and the emphasis on bicultural and bilingual education, and the rapidly changing Arctic region provide the context in which Del and Amber modeled the professional development model of internship growth and reflection.  The Director of the Nunavut Teacher Education Program, Ooloota Matsui, and the Dean of the Regina Faculty of Education will suggest ways in which this unique partnership is mutually beneficial.

Panel presentation

The multidisciplinary approach: A teacher candidate’s perspective on the development of media school
JR Dingwall, University of Saskatchewan

The presenter has been interning at a special multidisciplinary programme, Media School.  In the presentation he will share the accomplishments and challenges that this approach can have.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations
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Music as a teaching tool for children – a pilot study
Shannon Dawn Reed, University of Lethbridge

Music has been identified as an influential stimulus for motivation and retention in relation to the learning process. Research has suggested that music has been beneficial in addressing children’s learning needs in regards to their attention in the classroom, the enhancement of their cognitive abilities, and has also been acknowledged as an effective approach to increase learning in children diagnosed with some form of disability.  This study explored whether young children would retain information better depending on the manner in which it was presented (i.e. a narrative or music). Results demonstrated that older children were able to recall more details than younger children, for immediate and delayed recall, when information was presented in the music condition.  Unexpectedly, although not significant, younger children demonstrated a higher performance for recalling information that was presented in the narrative condition.  Study limitations such as limited sample size, lack of repetition for learning conditions, novel testing situations, and unfamiliarity with the researcher may have significantly influenced the overall results.  Thus, further research is suggested in order to better understand music’s utility in formal learning environments with young children.

Single and/or multiple paper presentations

Draw from the past, create the future
Kathleen E. Weisner, Gulf Islands School District

Teachers have historically included visual arts to assist students in developing, representing and sharing understanding. Classroom visual arts activities can be extended into computer graphics. Students can use the computer to create pictures and record and illustrate learning. Computer graphics strengthen classroom lessons, support creativity and encourage sharing with family, community and the world.

I am introducing a program developed to teach early computer skills through art and design. My son wrote the software and I wrote a Teachers' Guide including a framework of school-wide, year-long lessons. K to 5 teachers can empower students in visual media communication.

Workshops and/or symposium

Responsive middle years programming – What our adolescents really need
Kathy Sanford, Luanne Krawetz, Andrea Kaufmann and Todd Powell, University of Victoria

This presentation will focus on a recently launched pilot middle years’ program in the Faculty of Education at UVic, and will offer several perspectives related to the relevance and success of the program so far, including program coordinator, instructor, and student perspectives. Issues related to differing expectations among participants in the program, responsiveness to society and the educational community, connections between university and schools, and assessment will be addressed.

Single Paper and/or Multiple Presentation
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Literacy Across The Curriculum
Adam Khan, Michelle Billeck, Lindsay Harms, Zachary Stewart and David Zynoberg, University of Winnipeg

Focused on the value of holistic education using cross-curricular teaching strategies and teacher collaboration, Literacy across the Curriculum is a cross-curricular framework concentrated on notions of inclusion under the broad thematic umbrella of literacy. Two distinct sample thematic units have been prepared to demonstrate the different aspects of this cross-curricular framework (Civil Rights Movement and Aboriginal Inclusion). It demonstrates the concepts of cross-curricular development and greater teacher collaboration, so students can reflect as a whole, on the major ideas and challenges that face individuals and society. Literacy across the Curriculum was created as a collaborative effort amongst five Faculty of Education Students.

Single or multiple paper presentation

Using story vines and readers theatre to develop relationships with text, peers, and audiences
Marlene McKay, University of Alberta

Story Vines and Readers theatre are two inclusive, collaborative, literature-based learning processes involving readers of all abilities. These two teaching strategies will be modeled and discussed with classroom examples, demonstrating how the process of planning, preparation, and presentation actively engages learners as they build relationships with the text, with each other and with their audience. Story vines and readers theatre will be explored through the lens of two theories, congruent with social constructivism, Cambourne’s (1988) eight conditions for learning and Rosenblatt’s, (1938, 1978) reader response theory.

Workshop and/or symposium
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Transforming Classrooms: Aboriginal Boys, Literature, and Reading
Barb McNeil, University of Regina

There is an urgent need to transform learning in Saskatchewan. The 2008 Saskatchewan Education Indicators Report indicates that “despite recent gains, the education level of the Aboriginal population is below that of the non-Aboriginal population” (p. 75). Boards of Education are now required to “put into practice annual improvement plans” (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2008) to address the situation. This is especially important in the area of school literacy as it is one of the primary pillars of the Continuous Improvement Framework Plan—the strategic planning mechanism that now drives education in Saskatchewan. This presentation will adopt a gender focus (Hammett & Sanford, 2008) and will specifically examine the school literacy situation of Aboriginal boys.

Single or multiple paper presentation

Changing schools – imagining a sustainable future
Matthew R. Christie and Jason Price, University of Victoria, Rick Kool, Royal Roads University

What does a sustainable future look like and what role does our education system play in it? This workshop will collaboratively explore the different perspectives on sustainability and how the classroom can expand to encompass it. An emphasis will be spent delving into the question: How do we create a future that is ecologically healthy and socially just? Come join this highly energetic open space discussion hosted by leading sustainable education experts and help envision a sustainable future.

Workshops and/or symposium