Congratulations to Katy Leslie, one of our two Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship recipients!

Leslie has enjoyed living in the Okanagan for the last 14 years after moving here from Northern Ontario. Her and her husband have three rescue dogs that keep them busy. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, visiting hot springs and spending time at the lake with family.

As noted by her nominator, Leslie’s life-long passion for education is apparent in all that she does. She is an active participant in all classes, in-situs, and field experiences, demonstrating keen instincts, professionalism, and enthusiasm.  She is incredibly skilled at creating rich learning experiences for her students. She is able bring joy to students through carefully crafted lessons that feature multiple entry points, connections to the environment, and plenty of opportunities to share and learn from each other.

“This award encourages me to continue striving towards my goal of making a positive impact in the lives of students,” says Leslie. “It motivates me to uphold the values of care, support, and connection that were so important to me growing up. Ultimately, it strengthens my resolve to be the kind of educator who provides a stable and inspiring environment where every child feels valued and empowered to learn.”

Question and Answer with Leslie

Why did you decide to enter the field of teaching?

Growing up, I moved frequently, and amidst all the changes, school was my constant. It was a place where I always felt a strong sense of connection and safety. This stability was largely due to the exceptional care and support of my teachers, who went above and beyond to make me feel valued and understood. Their dedication left a profound impact on me and encouraged me to give back in the same way. I hope to create that same safe and nurturing environment for my future students, where they can feel secure, supported, inspired to learn and nurture their gifts.

What has been a favourite memory or experience so far in the program?

My favorite memory of the program is from the very first day when we gathered in circle for a cedar brushing ceremony from Syilx Elders and my friend tum. It was meaningful to begin our learning together in ceremony, to move forward as a collective of future educators in a good way.

What advice do you have for prospective Bachelor of Education students?

My advice for students entering the Bachelor of Education program is to take the time to nurture authentic relationships with your peers, mentor teachers, instructors and the children you will teach. Time in the program goes by quickly, but investing in these connections will make a lasting and impactful difference in your educational journey and professional growth.

We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to think and learn alongside Indigenous scholars from Syilx homelands and beyond. Embracing this collective knowledge has had the most profound impact on my evolving teaching pedagogy. It has taught me the importance of weaving together diverse perspectives and practices to create a more inclusive and holistic educational approach.

I believe building these authentic relationships and embracing collective knowledge will not only transform your learning experience, but will also prepare you to create meaningful and supportive learning environments for your future students.

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.

Congratulations to Luke Roblesky, one of our two Madeline Korfman Memorial Scholarship recipients!

Roblesky has lived in the Okanagan area for most of his life — growing up in Summerland before moving to Kelowna a few years ago.

Living in the Syilx Okanagan region, Roblesky developed an appreciation and love for the outdoors. He spends his free time paddleboarding, mountain biking, and playing beach volleyball. He also enjoys experimenting with new technologies, and exploring how it can be integrated into teaching. He is passionate about community, and volunteers at Project Literacy as a digital tutor, where he teaches seniors how to safely use electronic devices, and avoid fraud and security concerns.

As noted by his nominator, Roblesky demonstrated a scholar-practitioner and pedagogical stance in all aspects of his candidacy. During his field experience, he built time into his lesson to get to know his students better and for them to learn more about each other through community building activities. His awareness and honoring of the voices of his students could be seen in his responsiveness to their ideas, suggestions and demonstrated needs.

“I am deeply grateful to the OSE for nominating me for this award, recognizing both my potential and my achievements,” he says. ”Receiving the Madeline Korfman Scholarship not only reassures me that my dedication to the teaching profession is valued but also reaffirms my belief that when you are on the right track, things will work out. Winning this scholarship is a significant milestone in my journey, motivating me to continue striving for excellence. I am eager to channel my enthusiasm for education into my teaching career, aspiring to make a meaningful difference in the lives of my students, just as my teachers did for me.”

Question and Answer with Roblesky

Why did you decide to enter the field of teaching?

I decided to enter the field of teaching because of my deep-seated passion for learning and my desire to inspire others. For me, a meaningful career is one where I can have a positive impact on others’ lives. From a young age, it became clear to me that I enjoy working alongside and inspiring others. Throughout my life, I have often taken on work and volunteer experiences that foster collaboration and education. These diverse opportunities, ranging from serving as a swim coach to engaging in international language exchange programs and tutoring positions, have been key in shaping my passion for teaching. The genuine fulfillment I experienced from witnessing the progress and growth of my students, along with the rewarding feeling of making a positive impact on their lives, solidified my passion for teaching and my ultimate decision to pursue it as a lifelong career.

What has been a favourite memory or experience so far in the program?

Over the past 10 months in the Bachelor of Education program at UBCO, I have experienced a wealth of diverse moments, making it challenging to highlight just one. What stands out most to me is the strong sense of community within the program. The instructors and field advisors are incredibly approachable, consistently offering guidance and support. From day one, we have been given numerous opportunities to connect with our classmates, building new friendships that I believe will last a lifetime.

One concept that really stuck with me from the Indigenous guest speakers was the emphasis on connecting with the land. We have had the opportunity to do this through activities such as the Water Ceremony and the KLO Ecological Restoration project. Furthermore, outside of the classroom, what initially started as just a few of us playing volleyball at lunchtime has grown into two full teams playing nearly every lunch break.

What advice do you have for prospective Bachelor of Education students?

Keep an open mind and an organized set of notes. As you progress through the program, you will collect many resources and activities from the learning blocks and advisory sessions. At first glance, some of these may not seem directly relevant to the specific subjects you are teaching, but you will be surprised by how many of them can be adapted into your lessons.

Get frequent, actionable feedback. If you ask, the students will give you honest insights about your classes, including lessons, activities, and teaching style. Give the students some control over the direction of the class by conducting exit tickets or other surveys and using the information to adapt your teaching.

Establish your personal boundaries early on. With teaching, there really is no limit to how much time and effort you can invest in your work, so it’s important to define limits that work for you personally.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and take the time to discover your unique teaching style. It can be intimidating to observe experienced educators deliver what seem like flawless lessons, especially when you’re just starting out and aware that your own lessons may not yet reach that level. Remember that everyone starts somewhere, and it’s through experimenting with different approaches—some of which will succeed brilliantly while others may not—that you’ll develop your own pedagogical stance. Embrace the learning process, knowing that each attempt, whether it shines or flops, brings you closer to becoming the impactful teacher you aspire to be.

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.

The UBC Board of Governors has accepted the President’s recommendation to appoint Dr. Jan Hare as the Dean of the Faculty of Education for a five-year term, commencing July 1, 2024.

Dr. Hare, an Anishinaabe-kwe scholar and educator from the M’Chigeeng First Nation in northern Ontario, is a professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education of the UBC Faculty of Education. Since 2021, she has served as Dean pro tem of the Faculty of Education and has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Pedagogy.

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Originally posted on the Faculty of Education news page. 

Congratulations to Dr. Jody Dlouhy-Nelson, BEd French Pathways Field Experience Coordinator, and Dr. Amber Hartwell, Field Advisor, for receiving 2024 CATE Recognition Awards for Theses and Dissertations on Teacher Education!

Dr. Dlouhy-Nelson received her PhD in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies from UBC Okanagan, with her focus in illuminating how beginning teachers create decolonizing and Indigenizing spaces for their students in this Place of the Syilx People. Her dissertation is available on the UBC library website.

Dr. Hartwell received her EdD from the University of Calgary, with her focus on the impact of ERT on digital technology use in K-12 teacher practice. Her dissertation is available on PRISM.

The Canadian Association for Teacher Education (CATE) awards serve to promote teacher education research and scholarship in pre-service education, in- service education, and professional development, showing evidence of connecting and contributing to the body of literature in any one or combinations of these areas.

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Congratulations to the Class of 2024! We are bursting with pride and are excited to see where your journeys take you.

We have a few special acknowledgments:

Congratulations to our Bachelor of Education, Head of Graduating Class, Allie Siegmann!

allie siegmann

Read her story

Congratulations to our Maxwell Cameron Award recipients, Erik Junker-Andersen!

erik junker-andersen

Read his story

Congratulations to our Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts Teaching recipient, Kelsie Balehowsky! 

 KELSIE BALEHOWSKY

Read her story

Congratulations to our Sharon McCoubrey Award in Visual Arts recipient and 2022/2023 Bachelor of Education graduate, Kelsie Balehowsky!

“I have been fangirling over Dr. Sharon McCoubrey and her work for many, many years. To receive her award is really quite surreal and simply put, a huge honour,” says Balehowsky. “Dr. McCoubrey is inspiring on so many levels and I can only aspire to be half as impactful in my career as her. Also a big shout out to the Lake Country Art Gallery and the work she does there. If you are reading this and haven’t checked out the amazing work the LCAG does, take this as a sign to visit and support!”

This is what her nominator had to say:

Kelsie has a BFA from UBCO in printmaking and photography, and she always impressed me with her skills as an artist, her creative thought processes, and her ability to integrate FPPL and Indigenous perspectives into her teaching.  Her internship was beyond excellent—it was exceptional!   Additionally, Kelsie is a truly nice person, a wonderful teacher, and one of the best future art educators that I have ever had the pleasure to teach.

***

When Kelsie Balehowsky is not teaching, she is enjoying time outside with her partner and son — camping, backpacking, canoeing, hiking, foraging, and trying to identify every plant and animal in her path! She lives to be outside, learning from and on the land, and is grateful to be living on syilx land. She is also a practicing artist with a deep love for the arts community.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH BALEHOWSKY

Why did you decide to enter the field of teaching?
After I graduated high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do exactly, so I spent a handful of years traveling the world in hopes for an answer. In all my travels, I unintentionally ended up befriending teachers and found I was always excited to hear about what a life of an educator entails. In 2010, I finally decided to go to university to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with the goal of going into education. During my studies I had the privilege of working at public art galleries and fell in love with all things art education. I took a detour and pursued a career in Museum Art Education, where I spent 10 years running art education programs for public art galleries and my community. I saw firsthand the power of art as a tool for education and decided it was finally time to immerse myself fully in the world of public education.

What inspires your art?

I love using the camera as a tool for storytelling. I am also drawn to the history and physical hands-on process of printmaking. More recently I have been inspired and excited about exploring sculpture and making my own inks from materials I forage or salvage on my hikes. I love the feeling of being an amateur at a new medium. The excitement of trying something new, exploring, learning a new process, making mistakes. It is something that brings me great joy and has been an honour to share with my students. I am a firm believer in process-based art experiences and the rich learning it provides.

In my personal practice I love to use art as a tool to educate, advocate, and connect with my community.

What was your experience like with the Okanagan School of Education?

I loved my time with the Okanagan School of Education. The faculty were inspiring and it was so meaningful to develop relationships and connections with so many like-minded, passionate individuals.

The work the School is doing in terms of decolonization and indigenization is powerful. I am grateful for the focus and time spent learning about the legacy of the land I inhabit, and how to incorporate syilx history, wisdom and land-based education in the classroom.

What advice do you have for incoming teacher candidates?

You have some brilliant minds at your fingertips and whose job it is to help you. Soak it in! Connect, ask questions, explore, challenge, unlearn, understand.

In the words of Richard Wagamese: “Teachings come from everywhere when you open yourself to them. That’s the trick of it really, to open yourself to everything and everything opens itself to you.”

 Congratulations Kelsie!

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 in elementary schools.

Recipients of the Sharon McCoubrey Award provide artwork for a limited-edition mentor teacher appreciation certificate.

Each year, UBC Okanagan faculties award a student with the University of BC Medal for the Head of Graduating Class. This award is presented to the top student based on their academic performance throughout their program. In the Bachelor of Education (BEd) program, this award is provided to the student not only based on their academic performance, but also the individual that exemplifies being a scholar-practitioner.

The Okanagan School of Education is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient is Allie Siegmann!

Allie was eager to take on additional responsibilities, contribute to school life, and support the work of colleagues. She supported Golf Academy with her mentor and made connections with student leadership teachers to become involved in school leadership activities, and participated in the Provincial Leadership Conference held in the Okanagan Valley. Allie worked diligently to integrate the history of First Peoples in Canada, and Indigenous ways of knowing, as well as raise awareness of “reconcili-action.” Allie has an inspiring ability to situate herself as a settler working within an Indigenous context that was dedicated to developing her own understanding of the First Peoples Principles of Learning. She was also a leader in her cohort, organizing intramurals and social events to foster connectedness amongst peers.

“Learning about how the award represents being a holistic learning, made receiving it that much more special,” says Siegmann. “I went into the teaching program with an open heart and open mind, and I feel like I took all the opportunities that I could to learn. I feel like that represents well, now as a teacher, because I can provide a lot for my students to learn.”

***

Raised in Lake Country, Allie Siegmann’s path to becoming an educator was not marked by a single defining moment but rather a culmination of experiences. From a young age, she knew that education was her calling — coaching children’s curling and dance for several years. She experienced the gift of a positive learning environment firsthand and it inspired her to pay it forward.

“I have always loved school and was one of the very lucky people to be able to have a positive school experience,” she says. “Even as a kid I understood I was in this fortunate position, and it quickly became a goal that I wanted to create a positive experience for all kids.”

Now, as a teacher, Siegmann finds herself immersed in a vibrant community of learners, where every day presents new opportunities for growth and discovery. In her courses, she strives to create a learning environment that honors diversity, celebrates Indigenous heritage, and fosters a deep connection to the land.

One of her greatest joys is witnessing the transformative power of education. Through experiential learning and engagement, she instills in them a sense of responsibility to be agents of change in their own lives and communities.

“We had a lesson where we analyzed the Calls to Action and looked at how we could see them being applied within today’s society. It was really interesting to see the kids read the calls and make the connections with actions like Truth and Reconciliation Day or hearing a land acknowledgement at a hockey game. I explained that it’s good that they get to learn from this primary source, apply it, and see actual change in society, because they are the change. I think in social studies, they often read things and think well it’s in the past, but this activity really allowed them to connect with the now, and see how we are the now.”

But Siegmann’s journey isn’t just about imparting knowledge; it’s about embracing the joy of learning. For her, education isn’t just about academics; it’s about fostering a love of learning that extends beyond the classroom walls.

“Starting in my current position was challenging, and I was feeling a little down until a colleague reminded me that if I’m not having fun, the students aren’t having fun,” she says. “It caused me to reflect on my school experience and my classroom experience. Learning is so much more fun when you let it be.”

As Siegmann reflects on her journey, she is grateful for the experiences that have shaped her into the educator she is today. From her Community Field Experience in Germany, where she was able to share her knowledge of the BC curriculum with her host school’s principal and teacher, to being part of the Body Break team with Chris Luff and Scott Konkin.

For future teacher candidates, Siegmann encourages them to embrace the journey, cherish every opportunity, and above all, be kind.

“Allow the learning to happen and take absolutely every opportunity you can to challenge yourself (even the juggling, and learning the ukulele). Get to know everyone in your program. Go in with an open mind and be kind to everyone. Take on all experiences, and especially as a teacher, plan with pencil, because you have to be adaptable.”

The Research Forum on Educator Wellbeing is accepting proposals. Presentations are welcomed on research, practitioner, policy, or other initiatives focused on educator wellbeing. The term ‘educator’ encompasses teachers, instructors, administrators, education assistants, counsellors, and other associated and connected professionals working within education systems.

This forum, that will take place Oct. 24 and 25, is an opportunity for sharing research and practice about educator wellbeing in diverse contexts and from multiple approaches. Including:

• Mindfulness and SEL – Dr. Julia Mahfouz, University of Colorado, Denver
• Psychological Safety in School Organizations – Dr. Fei Wang, University of British
  Columbia
• Mentoring and Teacher Wellbeing – Dr. Ellen Hahn, Dr. Angela Adair, Rhonda
  Wheeler, Auburn University
• Comprehensive School Health – Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew, University of Calgary
  and Kerri Murray, EverActive Schools

The deadline to submit your proposal is July 31, 2024.

Proposal decisions will be communicated by August 25, 2024.

Learn more

Hosted by: 

This event is a key outcome of a pan-Canadian study of wellbeing in teacher education programs, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (research team: Sabre Cherkowski, Karen Ragoonaden, Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Lorraine Godden, Keith Walker and Tim Claypool).

We are pleased to share that Dr. Christopher Martin’s book, The Right to Higher Education: A Political Theory, received an Honourable Mention, Outstanding Scholarly Publication on Justice in Education Award from the Philosophical Studies in Education SIG at AERA in April 2024.

The book has also received Outstanding Book Prize from the North American Associate for Philosophy and Education / Theory and Research in Education, and was the 2023 winner of the Canadian Association of Foundations of Education (CAFE) Outstanding Publication Award.

Abstract

Q&A with Dr. Martin

Should a person’s right to education end after high school? Dr. Christopher Martin’s recent book, The Right to Higher Education sets out a novel account of the point and purpose of higher education, something that has been a controversial debate both in public settings and in policy.

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Congratulations to Dr. John-Tyler Binfet on receiving 2023-2024 Outstanding Instructor Award. The Outstanding Instructor Award recognizes those who have demonstrated a continued commitment to having positive impacts on students’ experiences in their classrooms.

Renowned for his student-centric approach, Dr. Binfet fosters participatory learning experiences that empower students to excel. He has mentored and guided numerous graduate students to success, with many receiving accolades for their achievements. Through research and teaching assistantships, he cultivates a supportive environment where students hone their research skills and voice.

With over 45 courses taught, Dr. Binfet has enriched the educational landscape at UBC Okanagan, championing collaborative learning and diversity. His leadership extends beyond the classroom, as he is the founder and director of B.A.R.K. (Building Academic Retention Through K9s), a program devoted to exploring the role of therapy dogs in fostering well-being on campus and in the community that is much-loved by those that attend. He is also the Director of Graduate Programs, where he continues to strengthen the School’s programs through his expertise.

As a scholar, his research grants have resulted in 38 peer-reviewed articles(27 co-authored with students), one book, Cultivating Kindness: an educators guide, and two co-authored books, Virtual human-animal interactions: Supporting learning, social connections and well-being and Canine-assisted interventions: A comprehensive guide to credentialing therapy dog teams.

Dr. Binfet’s scholarly contributions, coupled with his compassionate leadership, exemplify excellence in education.