The privilege to teach: Reflections of aboriginal teaching experiences through poetry
Carmen Rodriguez de France, University of Victoria

Poetry has been used as an act of resistance, of love, of compassion, of meaning making, and exploration. Poetry, from the Greek ‘poiesis’ (meaning or creating) can generate spaces for multiple interpretations and layering of meanings, which can be deciphered and/or deconstructed by the reader or the listener but also by the poet/writer.

This session offers poems, which are reflections of our teaching experiences in the Faculty of Education in two different fields of study.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

Re-imagining author visits as spaces of cultural learning
Margot Jessica Filipenko, University of British Columbia

In this panel presentation, a teacher educator, education librarian, teacher-librarian, teacher-candidate and professional author collaborate to explore: 1) the pedagogical significance of reaching beyond classroom walls to engage with professional authors and illustrators from local communities; 2) creating spaces, real and virtual, for professional authors and young writers to meet; and, 3) how a module in the required Language Arts course in the Teacher Education Program at the University of British Columbia is supporting teacher candidates, understanding of the powerful role local authors can play in mentoring the voices of young writers.

Panel presentation

Reflections of Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) graduates teaching in band controlled environments
Randolph Wimmer (University of Alberta), Louise Legare, Yvette Arcand and Michael Cottrell, University of Saskatchewan

Our work explores the experiences of the 30 ITEP graduates during their first two years of teaching in band controlled environments. In this session we will identify some of the issues and challenges faced by beginning First Nation teachers in making the transition from the academy to the classroom and in applying theory to practice. Particular attention will be given to what our participants told us about their field experiences (student teaching, internship) as a part of their teacher education program.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

The ‘radical hope’ of historical consciousness in teacher education
Lisa Panayotidis and Hans Smits, University of Calgary

In this paper we consider how we might draw attention to the historical basis for teacher education (not simply its history, but how it is historically constituted for example in the university, or often in odds with political or policy interventions) and provide a way of thinking differently about our practices, and the questions of purposes for which we prepare teachers. Taking up Hannah Arendt's ideas of "hope" and "renewal," and particularly Jonathan Lear's notion of "radical hope" we uncover the possibilities inherent in a rich form of historical study which challenges common-sensical ideas about teacher education and curriculum knowing as a trouble-free technical rationalist enterprise.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

A content analysis of undergraduate courses in educational administration
Paul Newton, University of Alberta and Mark Swanson, Concordia University College

This paper explores the nature of educational administration within teacher education programs in Canada. Our purpose in this study was to explore what elements of educational administration is currently being taught to teacher candidates in Canada and the way in which the field of educational administration has been conceptualized within undergraduate teacher education. We conclude by arguing that teacher leadership, and not law and legislation, should be central to the study of educational administration in teacher education.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

Aboriginal students and teacher candidates explore pedagogies of place and space through the Heritage Fair project
Lynne Wiltse and Colleen Seymour, Thompson Rivers University

This presentation will highlight findings from a collaborative school-university-community research project designed to explore ways to merge the out-of-school literacy resources of Aboriginal students with school literacies. Intermediate-aged Aboriginal students in a band-run school on the local reserve explored their local community practices through their involvement in the Heritage (or Historica) Fair Project. Teacher candidates from a Language and Literacy methods course were paired with students in a mentorship role, to assist them with their projects and to learn about students’ language and literacy practices in a situated and participatory manner.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

Facilitating university-school connections in physical education teacher education
Nancy Elizabeth Melnychuk and Daniel Bruce Robinson, University of Alberta

The intent of this investigative project was to provide opportunities for a physical education teacher educator and field experience associate to collaborate with junior and senior high school mentor teachers and student teachers in improving teacher preparation in secondary school physical education.  The sharing of expertise focussed on three areas in which pre-service teachers and their mentors have historically experienced a disconnect between university coursework and “real world” teaching; namely, planning, teaching and assessing.  Disconnects and ideas for change will be highlighted as well as insights into the positive links between university instruction and the field experience.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

Life writing in cosmopolitan spaces and places: Rewriting literacies in Canadian teacher education
Nane Jordan, Erika Hasebe-Ludt, Cynthia Chambers, Carl Leggo, Anita Sinner, Christy Audet and Tasha Diamant, University of British Columbia

In this interactive symposium, a collective of education researchers, public school teachers and graduate students engage life writing as a literacy and literary research praxis in teacher education and connected public school classrooms. We inhabit cosmopolitan places and spaces, especially metropolitan Vancouver and Calgary. Through collaborative and individual teaching, practicing and theorizing, we investigate the role of autobiographical and life writing as a new literacy for our times that aims to transform social, political, and educational curricula and policies towards living ethically and writing well in the "mongrel cities" (Sandercock, 2003) we inhabit.

Workshop and/or symposium

Community mapping hands-on workshop: Creating a sense of place and transforming pedagogy
Maeve Frances Lydon, University of Victoria

This workshop uses experiential learning and case studies to demonstrate the power of using mapping for classroom and community learning, transformation and real-life curriculum and/or community projects. Mapping creates a sense of self, of place and connection to others. It can be used to awaken the historic and geographic imaginations of learners and to acknowledge community and environmental assets and spaces. Maeve Lydon has worked in classroom and communities locally and globally and will base her work on the Common Ground and Green Map initiatives...www.commongroundproject.ca and www.greenmap.org. Mapping and maps are used worldwide to affirm and improve communities and connect learners of all ages to their home places. In Canada indigenous world-views and names have also been integrated into the mapmaking.

Workshop and/or symposium

Curriculum integration: What preservice teacher education students need to know
Sheryl MacMath, OISE/University of Toronto

Using data gathered from three mixed-method case studies, we examined the implementation of curriculum integration in an elementary, middle school, and high school setting. Our analyses revealed five recommendations regarding how to better prepare pre-service teacher candidates to effectively implement curriculum integration in their classrooms. These recommendations include implications for the planning, implementing, and assessing of integrated units.

Single and/or multiple paper presentation

Write on: Featuring the literacy processes in the science classroom
Julia Krahn and Alyssa Watson, University of Manitoba

This workshop will focus on the important role that writing can play in the science classroom. During science lessons children often complete work sheets designed by the teacher or write methodically about their explorations in a science notebook or journal. Our presentation offers suggestions for a more creative approach to document and assess student's learning. Topics will include: what is important in assessing science knowledge, how to implement a variety of writing activities for science learning, and the research that supports these concepts. Participants will come away from this presentation with practical strategies for the classroom.

Workshop and/or symposium