Noah Arney

Noah Arney, PhD student, traces his interest in education back to a university professor he had during his undergraduate degree.

“The way that she taught was so engaging and so caring, and it made me want to be able to do that same thing to help other people,” he says. “I’ve always tried to remember the way that she made people feel in her classes and the way that she made people want to learn, grow and develop.”

For the last two decades, Noah has moved through education from almost every angle — as a high school teacher, an academic and career advisor and a career development faculty member, before working in policy and administration.

It was while working in student affairs Noah decided to further his education and pursue his master’s degree. His research focused on Indigenous students’ perspectives on work-integrated learning and on educational policy development.

“Since completing my masters, I hadn’t stopped thinking about the different questions I had left over from my master’s research,” he says. “I was thinking a lot about the purpose of philosophy of education. How is it useful? How is it applied? How is it taught? It eventually led me to my research question, why do we teach philosophy of education to educators in the first place?”

He reached out to Dr. Chris Martin to explore the idea further, and began the doctoral program in September 2025. Much of Noah’s research is reframing the conversation around philosophy of education.

“Philosophical thinking and the work of philosophy is something that makes you a better educator. It helps you to think critically about the things that you were doing, to change them in response to things that are changing, to consider them differently, and to try new things and then to assess those things.”

While still early into his research, one finding has surprised him.

“Our understandings of these things have changed significantly over a relatively short period of time. A lot of people think about philosophy of education as a noun, as a thing you have, or that you follow somebody’s philosophy of education, but what I’m trying to push towards is thinking of it as a verb, a thing that you do. What’s been really surprising is that the term ‘philosophy of education’ only starts showing up in English in the 1840s, so it’s only about 200 years old. And the idea of universal education, even at the elementary level, was new then and was one of the earliest things advocated for by philosophers of education, so it’s relatively new yet   often taken for granted, but it was a massive, hard-won change.”

His hope is that his research will reach the people who design teacher education programs — to help them understand why space for theory and philosophical thinking matters, especially as governments in Ontario, and even internationally in the UK and Australia, increasingly question its place in the curriculum.

Alongside his doctoral work, Noah runs a research group through the Centre for Mindful Engagement, bringing together K–12 and university educators from BC and abroad to discuss questions about educational purpose and ethics.

“We come together and we talk about our research, but also discuss important and difficult questions within education today,” he says. “What is the purpose of education? What are good educational outcomes? Questions around philosophical and theoretical ideas and questions within education.”

For those considering pursuing their doctoral degree, Noah says be prepared to read.

“You’re going to read a lot,” he says with a laugh. “I’m someone who reads about 50 books a year, and thought I knew how much reading to expect, and no matter how much reading you think it’s going to be, it’s going to be a lot more. I’d also suggest start reading now. Read broadly, read in the field that you’re interested in, and really learn how to read academic articles.”

***

In recognition of his dedication and passion for education, Noah received the 2026 Outstanding Doctoral-Level Graduate Student Award.

“I’m very thankful to receive this award,” says Noah. “I’m thankful for the work that my supervisor, Dr. Martin, has done and to everyone in the faculty, including Lindsay Cox, the graduate coordinator. Everyone’s support has helped inspired me to write, and go to conferences and present.”

The award will be formally celebrated at the School’s Welcome and Awards Night in November.

Courtnay Boateng

When Courtnay Boateng entered the Master of Education program, her initial research question was broad: how can AI make equitable education more accessible? Course by course, her question began to narrow first into accessibility generally, then into how AI might support neurodivergent students, including those with autism and ADHD — a focus inspired in part by her own ADHD diagnosis as an adult.

“After the diagnosis, it started making sense when I had struggles in school,” says Courtnay. “When I thought about a future career path, I started thinking more about how can we help teachers reach more students without adding to their workload. I knew AI was a vehicle for it, but I didn’t quite know how.”

In one of her courses as part of a student engagement assignment, Courtnay designed a concept for an online RPG-style education platform. In the platform, school subjects became maps and assignments became quests, alongside a collaborative library where teachers could build and share AI-assisted lesson plans. The response from her teacher peers was overwhelmingly positive — they wanted something like that library to actually exist.

“There is no province-wide repository for lesson plans that is interactive, or that includes AI supports,” says Courtnay. “That, to me, seemed like a massive gap.”

Courtnay originally decided to build a guide to help teachers prompt AI tools effectively. It grew to more than 60 pages.

“I was looking at this guide that I was putting together, and I thought this is really not helpful,” says Courtnay. “It looked quite overwhelming.”

In order to make her research project a reality, Courtnay had to rethink her approach. Fortunately, that guide became the foundation for what Courtnay and her husband, a software developer, started building together, a platform called CARL (hicarl.ai). Rather than relying on pre-loaded prompts, CARL’s backend draws on hundreds of lines of instructions developed from Courtnay’s research — covering frameworks like the 5E instructional model, guardrails against assuming students’ family structures or socioeconomic backgrounds, and guidance for representing diverse cultures and worldviews accurately in AI-generated content and images.

“With my own children in schools, I want them to see themselves in their lessons. I want all students to see themselves represented in the content,” says Courtnay.

Artwork by Courtnay Boateng

CARL has grown well beyond its original scope as a capstone concept. Courtnay estimates that she and her husband each spend 60 to 70 hours a week building the platform

“We don’t know how to do anything half-baked,” she says with a laugh.

CARL also incorporates research into social-emotional learning, including guidance for teachers on introducing trauma-informed practices sensitively and encouraging productive failure as part of the learning process.

“We really want teacher wellness and sustainable education practices to be more accessible,” says Courtnay, adding that many teachers are working significant overtime just to keep up.

Building a Canadian-based option mattered too. Most comparable AI tools for educators are American, Courtnay noted, raising questions around privacy law and data hosting that a Canadian platform.

More than a degree, Courtnay notes that the program gave her direct access to the practical realities of teachers’ classrooms and helped to influence her new career path.

“The program gave me the opportunity to really dig in to make sure that every single tool that we are offering, or that we have built in, is based on research and what is going to be practically helpful to teachers,” she says. “Getting to take all this theory and apply it to something that is so practical and so useful — it was exciting to actually see a direct connection between the education I did and the job I’m currently building for myself.”

For those considering pursuing a master’s degree, Courtnay recommends following genuine interest, staying flexible when plans shift, and not being afraid of any detours.

“You cannot learn from success the way you can from failure,” she said. “Even the failures along the way are beneficial in the long run.”

***

In recognition of her research and extensive work, Courtnay received the 2026 Outstanding Project Award. Having built CARL alongside her husband late into so many nights, Courtnay says the award isn’t just personal recognition.

“Receiving the award is affirmation that what we have created has value. We made something here that is worthy of recognition,” she says.

The award will be formally celebrated at the School’s Welcome and Awards Night in November.

What is social citizenship? Join Dr. Catherine Broom and her team for an upcoming workshop to learn about recent research on Canadian citizenship, identity and belonging, and how these findings can be used in your classrooms.

Thursday, August 27, 2026
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In-person at UBCO or online via Zoom

Register

The in-person workshop will include lunch and parking on campus for the duration of the event.

Participants will advance their knowledge of citizenship scholarship and receive teaching resources including lesson ideas and plans. The materials are suitable for Kindergarten to Grade 12 classes, with broad and adaptable resources.

The research findings are based Dr. Broom’s recently completed study on Canadian Citizenship, Identity and Belonging.

In-person participation is limited to 20 attendees, please register by July 31, 2026.

Open to current School of Education students, alumni, and practicing educators. 

Congratulations to Mack Irwin, one of our two Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship recipients!

As noted by his nominator: “His passion and joy for teaching was evident in our co-planning and co-teaching in-situ experiences. Mack is extraordinarily kind, hard-working, and humble. He is open to new ideas and always keen to learn more. He worked collaboratively with his teaching team, bringing a positive energy that was described by his team as contagious.”

For Mack, the recognition is really about the cohort.

“I feel really honoured to be recognized,” he says. “There’s so much love for teaching in that room, I think there are 130 people who could get the award and be completely deserving. I’m constantly learning things from my peers.”

***

Mack Irwin, BEd ’27, has spent much of the last decade chasing a variety of pursuits while living in Scotland, Whistler, and New Zealand — including ski instructor, restaurant work, and careers as both a brewer and a distiller, before settling in Kelowna and beginning his journey toward teaching.

“All of those opportunities have really left me with different things,” Mack says, “I think they do make a part of who I am, and there are things from all of those experiences that I can really connect to as an educator.”

Reflecting on his own childhood school experiences, Mack says that some of his strongest memories come from sports and outdoor education programs.

“That’s where I learned to love being in the outdoors and appreciate the place we live, the ground under our feet, the plants and animals around us.”

It’s a passion that he hopes to continue to share with his future classes — and one that he has already begun to share during his practicum experience. During his field experience at KLO Middle School, Mack picked up mountain bike coaching, and spent time working with the school’s student-run hydroponic growing facility — a custom-built shipping container that students manage from planting through harvest and distribution.

“I tried to spend an hour a day in the farm, as they call it,” he says. “It was a real eye-opener for me in terms of educational structures and curriculum where you can make some really big experiences.”

One of the most meaningful parts of the program, Mack notes, has been its deliberate, sustained focus on Indigenous pedagogies and Syilx ways of knowing and being, including opportunities to learn directly from Elders.

“The exposure we have to Syilx ways of knowing and being has been really rich. I think there’s just been such a focus from every single step of this journey on helping us become teachers who can teach in a way that honours truth and reconciliation,” he says. “Over the course of the program, my comfort, my familiarity, and my confidence as an educator who wants to teach in ways that empower Indigenous peoples and ways of being here has grown. I think that’s a real strength of this program.”

For incoming teacher candidates, Mack’s advice is simple: stay open-minded.

“You’re going to do lots of art activities, you’re going to be asked to be part of things that might make you feel a little shy,” he says. “But by being open to these, you deepen your experience so much.”

Mack points to one assignment in particular where he allowed himself to be more open. Rather than writing a traditional research essay for a course, he mapped out his learning journey as a drawing instead, and came away with insights a written essay wouldn’t have offered.

“This program is a really fun launch pad for all sorts of personal interests and things you might want to learn more about,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to try something you’re interested in or are wondering about in a safe environment.”

About the Madeline Betty Korfman Scholarship

This scholarship has been endowed through a bequest by Madeline Betty Korfman to honour her love for teaching. Madeline Korfman taught school in southwestern Saskatchewan before relocating to the Okanagan in the mid-1900s. This scholarship is awarded to two teacher candidates who significantly demonstrate a “love for teaching” based on the recommendation of Okanagan School of Education faculty.

Can everyday conversation be the catalyst for change? Join authors Derek Gladwin and Kedrick James for a discussion on language and the ecological crisis, centered on their book, Becoming Ecological.

Thursday, July 23
3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Classroom 1, Downtown Kelowna Regional Library
1380 Ellis St, Kelowna

The book offers a new perspective as it explores how language, meaning and communication can support us in the process of “becoming ecological” in our daily lives. From food and compost to AI, climate anxiety, and even the nature of reality, the book is a hopeful invitation to see the world a little differently.

Learn how the words we use can shift how we think, relate to one another, and imagine the future. Leave with a fresh way of looking at the world around you.

The discussion will be followed by a Q&A.

Event is free to attend and welcome to all. As space is limited, we do ask that you please register.

Register

Meet the authors

Dr. Derek Gladwin is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at UBC Vancouver, where he teaches in the Department of Language and Literacy Education and is a Faculty Associate in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. He co-founded UBC’s Systems Beings Lab and the Collaborative Transdisciplinary PhD Cohort in Energy Transition.

A former UBC Sustainability Fellow and Catalyst Scholar in the Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, his research explores how “education” as a widely conceived approach can support societal transformation through systems literacy, socio-ecological awareness, regenerative learning models, practical philosophy, and arts-based inquiry. He is the author or editor of eight books, including Ecological Exile (2018), Rewriting Our Stories (2021), and Becoming Ecological (2026). He also serves as Senior Editor for Environmental & Sustainability Education in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.

Dr. Kedrick James is currently Director of the UBC Okanagan School of Education and a Professor of Teaching in Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education at UBC Vancouver. His diverse background, including roles in education, digital literacy and language studies, the arts and ecology, informs his interdisciplinary approach to scholarly research, teaching and service. Formerly director of the Digital Literacy Centre at UBC, he created public place- and arts-based educational technologies.

His leadership and multiple advisory roles within the UBC Faculty of Education underscore his dedication to academic excellence and mentorship. Dr. James was honoured with the Murray Elliott Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education in 2018 and has served as a UBC Sustainability Fellow. He is a co-Chair of the upcoming 2026 International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry and teaches courses both in Canada and in Mexico.

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of our 2026 Vicki Green Award. The awards are for students studying social, economic, ecological, environmental and/or political sustainability issues. Recipients for the award are selected based on how their research will implement contemplative, transformational, imaginative, or creative interdisciplinary understandings in sustainability for children, youth or teachers.

We are delighted to share their accomplishments and to congratulate each recipient on their well-earned recognition:

• Elnaz Zamanzade
• Abitha John

We will be sharing their student stories in the coming weeks.

A celebratory event in conjunction with our Welcome Night will be hosted in November.

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of our 2026 graduate awards. These awards recognize students whose scholarship, leadership, and commitment to education have made meaningful contributions both within our programs and in the wider communities they serve. We are delighted to share their accomplishments and to congratulate each recipient on their well-earned recognition:

• Master of Education, Outstanding Project Award, Courtnay Boateng
• Doctoral Studies Outstanding Conference Presentation Award, Christine Abbot
• Doctoral Studies Outstanding Publication Award, Jason Andrews, Jody Billingsley & Leona Prince
• Outstanding Doctoral-Level Graduate Student Award, Noah Arney
• Outstanding Master-Level Graduate Student Award, Michelle Scranton

We will be sharing their student stories in the coming weeks.

A celebratory event in conjunction with our Welcome Night will be hosted in November.

March Hutchinson, BEd ’26, had a childhood filled with creative and outdoor experiences. Those opportunities developed her sense of confidence, freedom and possibility. Today, she continues those same experiences as an artist, mother, gardener, hiker, forager and lake lounger; but it’s her passion for art that she’s been able to carry forward into her work as a visual arts teacher.

“I was drawn to education because it feels like meaningful work,” says March. “I believe young people need opportunities to feel seen, to take risks, and to build the skills and resilience they’ll need to navigate an increasingly complicated world. Being part of that feels well worth the effort.”

For March, art is central to that work — not just as a subject to be taught, but as a way of seeing and understanding the world.

“One of the things I value most about art is that it evolves alongside us, reflecting changing interests, experiences, and perspectives,” she says. “Art offers a way to understand both past and present societies, and can be a powerful vehicle for exploring cultural perspectives different from our own.”

She has designed the projects in her classroom to be open enough to invite creativity, while still requiring persistence, craftsmanship, and thoughtful decision-making.

“I think of the projects as bounded freedom,” she says, “I want students to have opportunities for genuine self-expression while also developing new skills and meeting clear learning goals.”

During her practicum, as part of Truth and Reconciliation Day (Orange Shirt Day), March designed and co-facilitated a public art project with her mentor. The pair had students reflect on their learning about colonization and their role in the ongoing process of reconciliation. They then walked through an ideation process before they created individual and collaborative chalk murals at the school’s entrance.

“The students worked for hours and covered nearly 600 square feet of pavement with their artwork,” says March. “They were deeply proud of what they created.”

The project reinforced to her that reconciliation is ongoing work.

“An important part of that work is helping people see themselves as participants in the process—understanding the past, listening to perspectives in the present, and recognizing their role in helping build a more equitable future,” she says.

Her “bounded freedom” philosophy continued throughout her practicum, and was encapsulated in a final drawing project that invited students to explore “the world through your eyes — or someone else’s.” The prompt encouraged thinking about narrative, symbolism, and perspective, while leaving room for a wide range of outcomes. Some students created large-scale drawings. Others developed a series of smaller works. Some experimented with non-traditional approaches including drawing with wire or cut paper. The results were as varied as the students themselves, and that was entirely the point.

Reflecting on her time in the program, March says the most meaningful realization wasn’t a single moment, but the development of a deeper understanding of how much work goes into keeping a school community afloat.

“Schools are messy, complicated places, constantly balancing limited resources, diverse student needs, personalities, schedules, emotions, and the realities of institutional life,” she says. “In many ways, it feels like a very large ship being adjusted while it’s already underway.”

The more time she spent in schools, the more she came to appreciate the vast range of people  teachers, support staff, administrators, custodians, educational assistants, counsellors, bus drivers, volunteers, and families, who show up every day to keep that ship moving.

“Despite all the moving pieces, there are remarkable individuals showing up every day to create places where learning, connection, and growth can happen,” she says.

For incoming teacher candidates, she recommends they fully immerse themselves int their field experiences.

“Field experiences are where the most important learning happens,” she says. ” Always remember that educators are learners too. Every situation is different, and there is rarely one perfect solution. Teaching requires presence, curiosity, adaptability, and reflection.

Don’t be afraid to borrow great ideas. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And don’t be afraid to be yourself. Students connect most deeply with authenticity; often just as inspired by humility and perseverance as they are by expertise.”

In recognition of her passion for, and leadership in the arts, March received the Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts Teaching.

“Receiving this award feels like an affirmation of the passion and commitment I bring to teaching art and to supporting students in their creative growth,” says March. “As a new teacher, the financial support is also deeply appreciated. Beginning a career while managing student debt can be challenging, and this award provides some breathing room as I transition into the profession. I am grateful to the donors, to UBC Okanagan, and to the mentors, classmates, and students who have shaped my journey so far.”

About the Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts Teaching

Associate Professor Emeritus Sharon McCoubrey created the award to be presented to a Bachelor of Education student who has demonstrated leadership and passion for creativity with a commitment to advancing the teaching of visual arts.

Convocation is a time for both celebration and reflection.

To all of our graduates, today marks the completion of your program and a passage into new responsibilities, relationships and possibilities.

We hope your time with us has been shaped by curiosity, care and collaboration. That you had the opportunity to engage deeply with questions that matter, learned alongside your peers and mentors, and committed yourself to work rooted in community and place. Those experiences will continue to resonate in the lives you touch and the classrooms, schools, and organizations you help shape.

Today (and every day), we celebrate your hard work and your commitment to learning and growth. We are proud of all you have accomplished, and grateful to have shared in your journey.

In addition to celebrating all of our graduates today, we have a few special acknowledgments:

• Congratulations to our Bachelor of Education, Head of Graduating Class, Andrea Cotter
• Congratulations to our Maxwell Cameron Award recipients, Elizabeth MacDonald and Jenna Corbett.
• Congratulations to our Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts Teaching recipient, March Hutchinson.

Congratulations once again.

Questions about how to access photos or video from convocation? Visit graduation.ok.ubc.ca

Long before Jenna Corbett, BEd ’26, stood at the front of a classroom, she was already a teacher. A competitive gymnast from a young age, she coached gymnastics throughout high school and university, and picked up volleyball along the way. Helping people understand things, she says, is something she’s always gravitated toward.

“Whether it was coaching or even just helping my friends in school,” she says, “I’ve always really enjoyed helping people get to where they want to go.”

Following her high-school graduation, Jenna attended the University of Victoria for her undergraduate degree in Geography with a minor in English. After completing her degree and before attending UBCO for her BEd, she took a year off to travel Europe, and Asia. The experience left its mark.

“I really like learning about the world and the people in it,” she says. “It’s what makes me excited to teach social studies.”

Her passion for people and their stories is what inspired Jenna to create an unforgettable project for her students. During her practicum, Jenna was teaching a unit on missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada — a topic she had largely taught herself in order to teach it well. As the unit progressed, she found herself pondering how she can move her students’ perspectives from seeing the large numbers, to humanizing the individual people within them.

Her response was a project that asked students to do exactly that. Drawing on a database of hundreds of cases, students each chose one woman to research her story, her relationships, and her life. Jenna left the final form deliberately open.

“I really wanted them to look into what inspired these people in their lives, what they enjoyed doing,” she says. “I feel like it’s a lot more powerful when you can read all these individual stories, and it compiles into such a big story, but you’re seeing each person.”

The finished stories exceeded her expectations. Some students went far beyond what was expected, producing work of depth and artistry that reflected their genuine engagement with the women behind the cases. A gallery walk gave the whole class a chance to move through their classmates’ work together, pausing and reflecting as they went.

“It was really meaningful to watch the students provide their questions or comments on each other’s project,” Jenna says.

Inspired by watching her students walk through the gallery, she decided the work shouldn’t end with the unit. She contacted the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna — her first time arranging any kind of public exhibition — and arranged to have the red dresses displayed publicly in May, during Red Dress awareness events. Her mentor teacher decided to continue the project with her own class the following semester. By the time the exhibit opened, two classes’ worth of dresses hung at the Rotary Centre.

“It’s really meaningful that she decided to keep the project going,” says Jenna. “I hope they’re able to continue building the collection.”

That instinct to connect learning with community is something Jenna hopes to carry forward. Now  as a substitute teacher in Revelstoke, she’s already thinking about what community partnerships might look like there. It’s also a lesson she hopes to share with future teacher candidates.

“Get as involved as you can. It’s one of the only times you’ll have an opportunity to get outside of your comfort zone, and experience different classrooms and communities.”

In recognition of her work, Jenna was named one of this year’s recipients of the Maxwell Cameron Award. The recognition, she says, felt especially meaningful because of what she’d had to put into the work.

“I am really grateful to receive the award,” she says. “I wasn’t aware of the award until near the end of my practicum. I was just trying to do a project that did justice to the topic, so to be recognized for that feels really special.”

About the Maxwell Cameron Award

The Maxwell A. Cameron Award is given annually by the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) to students completing the final year of the Bachelor of Education degree in elementary and secondary school teaching. The recipients of the award are those students who are considered to be outstanding students in the graduating class who have initiated, worked, or participated in a project that created positive change globally or in their local community, and or, been actively involved in issues related to poverty, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, antiracism, peace, global or environmental issues.

The award is named after Maxwell Cameron who headed the Department of Education at UBC in the mid-1940s. Prior to that, he was on staff as an associate professor and director of UBC’s summer school.