Congratulations to our Doctoral Studies Outstanding Conference Presentation recipient, Darlene Loland!

Darlene has shown great initiative for presenting her emerging scholarship for her doctoral studies at peer-reviewed venues such as the American Educational Research Association and the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.

Her general research interests include organizational wellbeing and mental health in education, teacher professional learning, mindfulness, and place-based learning.

“My experience at the Okanagan School of Education has been very rewarding both personally and professionally,” says Darlene. “I am grateful to work with such a supportive and inspiring group of faculty members and fellow students.”

Question and Answer Session with Darlene

What does receiving this award mean to you?

I am honored to receive the Doctoral Studies Conference Presentation Award this year. I really appreciate having the opportunity to share my work and build conversations with my colleagues!

What is your research project?

Taking findings from mindfulness research and combining that with research on the restorative effects of engaging with nature, I plan to explore how mindful nature experience supports teacher mental health and wellbeing.

What difference do you hope your research will make?

With stress and anxiety becoming the plague of the modern classroom, there is great need to address mental health and wellbeing proactively in our schools. Having taught for more than 20 years I was alarmed by the changes I was noticing in student and teacher wellbeing and consequently sought out research to understand what was going on and ways to help. This search for knowledge ultimately led me to begin my PhD. I hope to find an effective approach of promoting and supporting wellbeing for teachers that can be used individually and with classes of children. I would like to see mental health and wellbeing advanced as a priority in school districts.

What’s your advice for future graduate students?

• Follow your heart and let what you are passionate about lead you!
• Be kind to yourself, remembering that learning is a process.
• Actively seek out and embrace moments of connection to learn from and with others.

Supervisor: Dr. Sabre Cherkowski

We look forward to celebrating with you in-person when it’s safe to do so. Until then, we’d like to share with you our wishes for your future:

Learn more about UBC Okanagan’s 2020 graduation at virtualgraduation.ok.ubc.ca.

We also have a few special acknowledgments:

Congratulations to our Bachelor of Education, Head of Graduating Class, Alyssa Pembleton! 

Read Alyssa’s story

Congratulations to our 2020 Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts Teaching recipient, Jamie Roodzant! 

Read Jamie’s story

Congratulations to PhD graduate, Cindy Bourne!

A congratulatory message to the 2020 graduates plus a special congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Cindy Bourne, from her doctoral supervisor Dr. Susan Crichton. Congratulations Dr. Bourne!

Watch the video:

Congratulations to the Sharon McCoubrey Award recipient and 2019/2020 Bachelor of Education graduate Jamie Roodzant!

Question and Answer Session with Jamie

What has your experience been like at the Okanagan School of Education

Art has the freedom and flexibility for every student to explore what interests them and to allow that to enrich their education. This was highlighted for me during my time at Okanagan School of Education, where my professors welcomed my alternative methods for assignments–drawing my essays–and therefore allowed me to enrich my own learning.

Why did you decide to enter the field of education?

Teaching has always been a passion of mine. Growing up with five younger siblings, I have always been in a role of mentoring and leading, which lead to an interest in teaching early on. In high school that interest was fostered by an amazing teacher I had, who gave me plenty of opportunities to teach. He even went so far as to create a course for me, allowing me to teach Kindergarten to grade 5 art for a semester. This experience truly cemented my desire to teach.

The ability to stand beside the next generation and push them to become their best self –to find their passion– is truly a gift. I believe that art gives students the ability to explore themselves and the world around them; it gives them a chance to express difficult subjects and emotions.

What does receiving the award mean to you?

The validation this award provides is incredibly meaningful and I’m honoured to receive it.

Congratulations to the Head of Graduating Class recipient Alyssa Pembleton!

Question and Answer Session with Alyssa

What does receiving the award mean to you?

Being the recipient of the Head of Graduating Class Award represents the relationships I feel fortunate to have built while learning alongside OSE professors, colleagues, mentor teachers, and above all else, the students during my practicum placements at Charles Bloom Secondary and Rutland Senior Secondary. Being considered for and then receiving the award is a tribute to the outstanding educators who continue to inspire me to develop my very best practice. As a life-long learner, practicing and nurturing growth mindset is an important area of focus. Therefore, I aspire to mentor and learn from future teacher candidates.

What was your experience like at the Okanagan School of Education

Looking back on the program, I appreciate the diverse skills that can be gleaned from each professor’s practice and personality. I did not envision so many outstanding experiences having such a significant impact on shaping my identity and the energy I infuse in my practice. For instance, on the first day of the program, IndigenEYEZ shared two phrases with our class, “creating space” and “recognizing the way people show up”. These ideas instantly became key mantras underpinning my growth and voice throughout the program and especially now in my practice as an educator with School District 23-Central Okanagan. Intent on making my learning visible, the OSE provided rich spaces to contribute critical and creative reflections for shared understanding. For example, after being invited to explore the beauty of place-based learning in the communities of Hartley Bay and Haida Gwaii, I was confronted with the emotions of sharing in, and then sharing out, what can only be described as the most authentic and immersive form of being professionally loved. The moments that form this memory remind me to always be mindful of fostering a place for student-belonging in every educational sphere.

Why did you decide to enter the field of education?

My inspiration for becoming a teacher derives from the joys of learning in environments where I felt safe and supported by my educators. As a new teacher, I am excited to continue co-creating a sense of community and a safe space for humour, curiosity, playfulness, creativity, critical thinking, and equity to flourish. Sharing my love of learning, and celebrating the learning of students, is integral. My vision is to interweave my evolving teaching style with opportunities for students to communicate their identity while practicing social intelligence and self-regulation strategies. I look forward to extending my knowledge of student growth and development while attending this year’s summer institute with the OSE.

Congratulations to the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship recipient Laura Martin!

Question and Answer Session with Laura 

What does receiving the award mean to you?

I was very excited to find out that I received the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship. This is a very honorable award because I truly believe teaching begins with the heart. Learning is vulnerable and it can feel overwhelming for students at times. As a teacher, we are not just educating our students. We are role models. My goal is to provide a safe place for my students where they feel seen and heard. It’s taking the time out of the day to actively listen and meeting them where they are at in their learning journey.

What has your experience been like at the Okanagan School of Education?

The Okanagan School of Education changed the way I thought about education. OSE reveals the importance of students taking ownership in their learning. Their approach is phenomenal and they provided me with invaluable tools I will be using throughout my career. The best part of the program was the diversity of experiences. I was in elementary schools second month into the program for literacy and numeracy and I loved every minute of it. After all, learning begins with the students. My most memorable moment was during my recent practicum. I designed a unit plan for science on habitats. By the end of it, I think I learned more from the students than they learned from me. That being said, teaching is all about learning together by exploring different ways to approach a problem. At the end of the unit, students shared with each other what they created through a gallery walk. After the walk, we sat in a circle with the talking stick and shared our ideas; it is moments like these I will never forget.

Why did you decide to enter the field of education?

Being recognized and feeling like your story matters is why I went into teaching. I believe every student has something important to offer. When I was in elementary school, I struggled and I felt extremely discouraged. However, it was one teacher who truly inspired me and changed the way I thought about school: this was my grandma. She said, “Laura, choose any book and start reading.” It was the first time in my education where I felt like I had control. The rest was history and I now read extensively. Teachers come in different forms like my grandma but I chose this profession because I want to be that teacher who gives students a voice and agency in their learning. I want them to choose their own book, or project.

About the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship

Scholarships totaling $2,000 have 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-1990s.

Congratulations to the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship recipient, Makenzie Houston!

Question and Answer Session with Makenzie

What does receiving the award mean to you?

As a single mom of an active teenaged boy, returning to university has been financially strenuous and we have both had to make sacrifices in order to make it work. Receiving the financial assistance of the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship was an incredible and unexpected relief that will allow for my son to continue pursuing his sports passions this fall while I complete the program with much less of a financial strain. Although my practicum placement came with a unique set of challenges, I genuinely loved every moment of it and it really solidified that I am on the right career path. I learned so much from not only every teacher I met but also my students. Without a consistent teacher in the room I was able to build such a close and trusting relationship with them and within our classroom in general.  I would not have traded my experience for the world and am so profoundly grateful that the OSE Awards Committee saw this as deserving of a scholarship as I already felt blessed to have experienced it.

What has your experience been like at the Okanagan School of Education (OSE)? Do you have a favourite memory?

OSE has provided us with so many unique and amazing learning experiences it is impossible to choose just one. I feel that so many educators and community members have come together to give us the best quality education possible. Not only have I gained practical and theoretical knowledge about teaching and learning, but I have also grown so much as a person and developed friendships and professional relationships that will last long past the completion of the program. An aspect of my experience at the OSE which has been very unique and special for me is that my Faculty Advisor has been both my middle school teacher and my son’s middle school teacher before this. Having her see me through so many stages of my life and return in the final stage of my education has been a sentimental experience.

Why did you decide to enter the field of education?

Having an upbringing that was challenging at times and becoming a single mother at the age of 16, my teachers and school staff were a major support system in my life and contributed greatly to my academic success. They motivated me to believe in myself when I didn’t feel it was possible. My goal as a teacher is to be that safe place and consistent support for my students. I believe that educators are given a remarkable gift to be a positive role model and influence in their students’ lives and having my students be excited to see me every morning during my practicum was the most rewarding feeling imaginable. In my future I plan to pursue my master’s degree in school psychology to further enhance my ability to positively influence the trajectory of the students who need the most support.

About the Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship

Scholarships totaling $2,000 have 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-1990s.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Mellissa Carroll

For the first time in her 15 years of teaching secondary school, Mellissa Carroll has been instructing her students online.

“The only experience I had was working with the Google for Education platform, which essentially is a cloud-based location for classroom resources and communication,” says Carroll. “I was well versed in the top web apps used in secondary humanities and knew I was in a good position for the shift to online. That said, the way I’ve incorporated technology into my teaching up until COVID-19, has never been a replacement for the physical classroom.”

She can also empathize with some of the challenges her students may have been facing. In January 2020, she began her first online graduate course, and in mid-March, the last few classes of her in-person course had transitioned to online due to COVID-19.

“I am a social person and I like to bounce ideas off others, learn, and laugh with others. Transitioning to online in January was difficult for me. I felt more alone in my learning and didn’t experience the energy of others,” says Carroll. “I chose the UBCO Masters of Education program because I wanted to complete my degree in a (primarily) face to face program.”

***

Carroll began her Master of Education program with the intention of furthering exploring technology. Her interest in digital education steamed from a return to work after her second child.

“I realized that my practice had become stagnant and that what used to work to engage students and lead to success didn’t seem to have the same effect,” says Carroll. “My practice had to change. What was more, devices and wi-fi accessibility were finally allowing for technology to be incorporated reliably into the classroom.”

In her course Policy and Education (EADM 554), students take a close look at the ethical, political, and education principles that inform education policy and practice. A key aim of the course is to give students an opportunity to take a rigorous, research-intensive focus on a policy or related issue that interests them, either in their own research or their professional practice. Carroll decided to explore online educational technologies and their effect on a democratic education for her final research paper.

“I was initially excited about the potential of online educational resources,” says Carroll. “But the further down the rabbit hole I went, the more concerns I had about the educational ‘costs’ of these models. I couldn’t help but wonder whether all of this was good for my students.”

In her paper, she notes how educational technologies can promote a democratic education as they “improve access to education, create innovative social networks for learning, and deconstruct traditional structures of education.” These advantages can be seen through the “Great Equalizer Narrative,” a concept that essentially states that educational technologies alleviate the disparities between socioeconomic classes; and the “Disrupter Narrative,” where the belief is that leveraging technology can create an open model of education that could expand access to higher education.

There are also a number of barriers from even accessing digital education such as internet availability, devices, electricity and even student motivation to self-study.

Carroll mentions educational technology can have ‘hidden costs.’ This perspective is shaped as technology companies are often lobbying government and influencing school boards. In fact, there is generally millions of dollars at play as these companies attempt to guide policy with the focus of driving sales rather than student experience.

Even if companies are providing tools inexpensively to educators and students, there can still be a cost. Though it might not be monetary, it may mean a bombardment of advertising or access to student data.

“There is often excitement about the latest tech tool’s ability to add creativity to learning or assist overwhelmed teachers in organizing resources and assessment, but there has yet to be a technological solution for creating equity in education across regions, nations, or the globe,” states Carroll in her paper. “Educators need to temper their excitement with technology with a thoughtful grounding of intention.”

***

While Carroll notes that the pandemic has made online learning more necessary than before, she’s now seeing some of the opportunities, challenges and barriers as described in her research first-hand.

“Some students are really struggling with loneliness, and as a parent, I’m seeing my youngest child regress somewhat in his social skills,” says Carroll. “A number of students require additional support or simply the ability to raise their hand and ask a quick question. Online learning will be a struggle for these students. However, I have also witnessed one of my students, who rarely shares or contributes at school, find his voice and participate online more than he has all year. Other students are loving the freedom of working at their own pace. My thoughts are that some students will experience success in the remote learning environment, but many others will struggle socially, emotionally, or academically.”

About EADM 554: Policy and Education

Dr. Christopher Martin’s course has students explore how educational policy and practice in free and open societies should respond to dissenting views on education and its key aims. Topics include the role of the state and the free market in education, the nature and limits of teacher freedom of expression, and the aims of higher education. Students are encouraged to develop their own line of thinking on a controversial issue in education policy or practice, assess the merits of different points of view on that controversy, and present a clear and reasoned position of their own.

Along with Carroll’s paper on Debunking Digital Education, students’ projects explored the state provision of adult education, the tension between effective teaching and teacher autonomy, the aims and purposes of history education, justifying a national, equality-promoting curriculum for Pakistan, and a defense of a greater educational role for student support services in a university.

Congratulations to Margaret Macintyre Latta, university and community partners for receiving a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant!

Co-Curricular-Making: Honoring Indigenous Connections to Land, Culture and the Relational Self, is led by Margaret Macintyre Latta, director of the Okanagan School of Education with community partners including Okanagan Nation Alliance, Central Okanagan Public Schools, IndigenEYEZ, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna Museums Society and the universities of Alberta and Ottawa.

The initiative will be receiving $1 million grant to seek respectful ways for educators to approach their curricular practices oriented towards reconciling pedagogies and healthier ways to live in the world with others. The research will enhance understandings of Indigenous cultures and supports, and mobilize local, place-based, land-based First Nations ways of knowing and being.

Globally, classrooms are recognized as sites to address civil, racial, ecological, and social tensions and inspire reconciliation. A key understanding of the education field is that teaching and learning must reflect local traditions and perspectives. This project will ground reconciliation efforts accordingly, bringing a cross-section of community partners committed to curricular Indigenization into continual conversation with each other for an extended time. The partnership will enter into shared knowledge-building conversations, engaging local Knowledge-Keepers and Elders with participating educators and the extended community. Project partners collectively understand this to be the task of reconciliation—to work alongside each other, learning with, through, and from each other.

Read the news release

Okanagan School of Education faculty involvement includes Sabre Cherkowski and Karen Ragoonaden as co-investigators, and Wendy Klassen and William (Bill) Cohen as collaborators.

PLUS:

Co-investigators

Dwayne Donald, University of Alberta
Jan Hare, University of British Columbia
Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, University of Ottawa
Sandra Styres, University of Toronto
Terry Beaudry, Central Okanagan Public Schools

Collaborators

Adrienne Vedan, University of British Columbia
Joanne DeGuevara, Central Okanagan Public Schools
Jonathan Rever, Central Okanagan Public Schools
Kevin G. Kaiser, Central Okanagan Public Schools
Linda Digby, Kelowna Museums Society
Rhonda Ovelson, Central Okanagan Public Schools
Richard Oliver, Central Okanagan Public Schools
Desiree Marshall-Peer, Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program

Community partners

IndigenEYEZ
Kelowna Art Gallery
Kelowna Museums Society
Okanagan Nation Alliance
Central Okanagan Public Schools
University of Alberta
University of Ottawa

Each year the Provost recognizes individuals who make a significant impact on the culture of teaching and learning.

Congratulations to the 2020 Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award recipient, our very own Professor Karen Ragoonaden!

Here is what Dr. Ragoonaden’s nominator had to say:

Dr. Ragoonaden always treated me with respect, offering both support and encouragement. I always felt like a knowledgeable and empowered individual with her and with the colleagues and researchers she works. In academic and community arenas, Dr. Ragoonaden has constructed the round table, where everyone has a respected voice.

Dr. Ragoonaden is influential, inspirational and innovative. She truly takes the time to build relationships and to foster understanding. I have learned a number of invaluable skills and techniques from her, including allowing space for students to grown on their own. As my role model, Dr. Ragoonaden helped me develop a strength and a resilience which convert challenging moments into learning experiences.

Without a doubt, Dr. Ragoonaden is an excellent candidate for this award. She has affected the lives of numerous students, colleagues, and community members. She is the pebble thrown into the calm lake, creating ripples that flow outward affecting change in many lives. I am honoured to have her as my supervisor and mentor.

Excellence in teaching cannot be taught. Dr. Ragoonaden developed her mastery, based on theory, awareness and feedback. It is evident that her successes are attributable to her hard work, her persistence, and her dedication.

Congratulations to Dr. Sabre Cherkowski for receiving the 2020 Researcher of the Year Award, Social Sciences and Humanities.

Associate Professor Sabre Cherkowski is a catalyst for sustainable improvement in schools and leadership transformation within educational systems. She is recognized internationally for her innovative research examining the impact of positive learning environments on creating a flourishing effect in schools. Her work is aimed at nurturing the next generation to have a transformative impact on society.

Learn more about Dr. Cherkowski and her research.