Spring 2010

EDUCATION IN FOCUS

Speaker Series highlights expertiseFaculty of Education team develops IQ quiz for Test the NationEducation professor draws inspiration from theDalai LamaAssistant professor takes part in prestigiousU.S. State Department programInternational students raise money for Haiti’s earthquake victimsKudos in the CommunityEvents calendar

In this edition:

Meet Dean Dennis SumaraDr. Dennis Sumara joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary as Dean On September 1, 2009. In this capacity, he oversees approximately 120 faculty members and staff, and determines the vision for the future of the Faculty of Education.

Dennis received his BA and BEd in 1980 from the University of Lethbridge, his MEd in 1990 from the University of Leth-bridge, and his PhD in 1994 from the University of Alberta. From 2006 to summer 2009, Dennis was Professor and Head of the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. Prior to his appointment at UBC, he held academic positions at the University of Alberta, York University, and Simon Fraser University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in language arts education, teacher education, curriculum theory, and qualitative research methods. He has also had ten years’ experience as a junior high school language arts teacher in rural southwestern Alberta.

Dennis was Founding Editor of the Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies and has served in the editorial capacity with numerous peer-reviewed journals. His specific areas of expertise within the field of education include literacy education, teacher education and curriculum studies. His research program focuses on the study of literary engagement and curriculum, analyses of normative and counter-normative discourses in teacher education, and the theoretical and practical implications of complexity science to the field of education.

Dennis is author or co-author of five books, including Why Reading Literature in School Still Matters: Interpretation, Imagination, Insight, which won the 2003 USA National Reading Conference’s Ed Fry Book Award. He has published many research papers and essays in journals such as Harvard Educational Review, Educational Theory, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Journal of Literacy Research, International Journal of Qualitative Research in Education and In-ternational Journal of Educational Action Research.

A message from the DeanWelcome to the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary!

On behalf of the staff and faculty, current students and alumni, and our many external partners, I’d like to invite you to enjoy this edition of the University of Calgary Faculty of Education’s newsletter.

Our faculty is one of Canada’s leading centres for educational stud-ies and we are continually evolving to improve the manner in which we teach and learn. We strive to be innovative, creative, and dynamic in our programs, and our graduates possess the qualities of leader-ship and engagement necessary to be successful in today’s changing world.

Today, more than ever, the emphasis is on excellence and innovation in education—both for the teachers coming from academic institutions and for the students they’ll engage; for those whose studies will lead to careers in counselling; and for those who will continue to conduct research into the process of learning and the pursuit of knowledge.

At the University of Calgary, we are engaging new ideas in education.

Dennis Sumara, PhDProfessor & Dean, Faculty of EducationUniversity of Calgary

The first two evenings in the Engaging New Ideas in Education speaker series have been a huge success. On Decem-ber 1st, Dr. Brent Davis addressed “Re-ally Good Math Teachers: What do They (Need to) Know?”, and on January 19th,

Dr. Hetty Roessingh discussed “How Many Words do you Know? Lan-

g u a g e , Learning and Lit-eracy for

K-12 and Beyond”. Both events drew large audiences, both from within the University and the out-side community. Two more events are scheduled for February and March; see Events Calendar on back cover for more details.

In The News...Dr. Darren Lund attended the Engage NOW conference in October, where the Dalai Lama shared his thoughts on social responsibility. Lund’s own presentation at that conference pro-vided concrete strategies for network-ing, engaging the media and ac-cessing resources. While there,

he recog-nized the opportuni-ty to con-nect with an important segment of the social justice movement—youth leaders.

Currently, Lund is interviewing former youth leaders in an at-tempt to better understand the ways in which taking a leader-ship role can impact individuals in long-lasting ways. He hopes this collaboration will give voice to youth leaders whom he feels have long been ignored for their work in shaping our understand-ing of social justice activism.

To read more about these stories, and more about the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary, visit: www.educ.ucalgary.ca

Engaging New Ideas in Education Inspired by the Dalai Lama

Testing the NationWhen the popular CBC TV series Test the Nation aired on January 25, tens of thousands of Canadians took a specially developed IQ test, along with the studio audience. One group watching that night did not take the test..because they already knew the questions and the answers. It was not because they cheated; rather, they helped to create the 50 question test. Led by Associate Dean of Research Dr. Don Saklofske, and working alongside a similar team from Trent University, four Faculty of Education grad stu-dents researched just what makes a person smart.

Dr. Rahat Naqvi, assistant professor in the Division of Teacher Preparation was selected by the US Depart-ment of State to take in a three week study tour focus-ing on religious tolerance in America. Her tour took her to Washington, Indianapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. Naqvi says “My experiences in this pro-gram focused on America’s educational policies and efforts being made to reach out and promote interfaith dialogue.”

Dr. Rahat Naqvi in front of the U.S.Department of Education in Washington D.C.

International students in the Faculty of Education’s English for Academic Purposes program worked to-gether to raise funds to aid in the recovery and re-building in Haiti following the devastating earthquake in early January. On January 25th, the group held an all-day bake sale and raised more than $2000, which will be sent to the Canadian Red Cross. Well done, students!

Support for Haiti from International Students

Faculty of Education Dean Dennis Sumara and Vice Dean Dr. Vicki Schwean check

out the goodies at the bake sale

Exploring Religious Tolerance in America

Dr. Hetty Roessingh discusses language needs

Kudos…

Join our mailing listTo keep up with the activities of the

Faculty of Education, or to update your contact information email:

edalumni@ucalgary.ca

Contact usFaculty of EducationUniversity of Calgary

2500 University Drive, NWCalgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

403.220.5627www.educ.ucalgary.ca

Faculty of Education Office of Media & Communications:Betty Rice: bwrice@ucalgary.ca; 403.220.2619Clayton MacGillivray: clmacgil@ucalgary.ca; 403.220.7310

...to Dr. Bonnie Shapiro, for winning the Alberta Teachers’ Association 2009 Educational Research Award, and $5000, and also for being selected for a Faculty of Education Teaching Excellence Award;

…to Dr. Darren Lund, for also receiving a Faculty of Education Teaching Excellence Award;

...to U-CAPES (University of Calgary Applied Psychological and Educational Services) for recognition by the Canadian Psychological Association, and for their award of the 2009 Innovative Access to Psychological Services Award, and $8000;

...to Dr. Carmen Boulter, on the release of The Pyramid Code, a five-part video series based on her research work on ancient Egypt;

...to Ines Sametband, Master of Applied Psychology candidate, who received a $10,000 grant to examine the role culture plays in counselling;

...to Dr. Hetty Roessingh, who was awarded $150,000 by Alberta Employment and Immigration to develop a course to help ESL students prepare for university;

...to alumnus Pamela Schultz, who was selected by her students at Calgary’s E.W. Coffin School for the Calgary Hitmen “Front of the Class” Award. Pamela and her entire class were treated to tickets at a recent Hitmen game, and she was featured on the Jumbotron for her efforts;

…to doctoral student Danielle Brady, APSY, who was awarded the $35,000 Lloyd and Florence Cooper Doctoral Schol-arship in Integrative Medicine;

...to our faculty and staff who raised over $800 in spare change in December 2009 to donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Calgary. This donation helped provide non-perishable breakfasts, snacks and lunches to students in need in schools throughout the city.

Events Calendar

Engaging New Ideas in Education:

Heritage Day & 10th Anniversary

Engaging New Ideas in Education: Celebration,English for Academic Purposes

Dr. Nancy Arthur

Graduate Student conference:

February 25

March 23

March 5-6

Dr. Tom Ricento

Education Faculty in the Media

Dr. Charlie Webber discussed the pros and cons of homework for K-12 students onAlberta Primetime

Dr. Lynn Bosetti discussed single-gender schools in the Calgary Herald

Dr. Pam Bishop discussed year-round schools on Alberta Primetime

Dr. Kent Donlevy discussed incidents of students recording teachers on TheCalgary Eyeopener

UOFC ● THIS IS NOW

Integral Education