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THEORAN ES P R I N G & S U M M E R E D I T I O N Y E A R E2002 V O LE05 I S S U EE01

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L B E R T A | F A C U L T Y O F E D U C A T I O N

Riding the Rapidst h e K r i s t a M a c L e a n S t o r y

Education. Rethought.

The Mag i c o f the Ch i ld S tudy Centre | Abor i g ina l Teacher Educa t ion Program Sobsey Wins Amer i can Sp ir i t Award | Car la Try E lementary Educa t ion Scho larsh ip

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Also in this issue:

Born and raised in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, thissmiling strawberry blonde came to Alberta in 1995 on an athletics and leadershipscholarship to join the cross-country ski team atAugustana University College in Camrose. Kristais now in her second and final year of the after-degree BEd program at the U of A. A secondaryeducation student with a major in physicaleducation and a minor in social studies, Krista isan inspiration to all who know her. As sheshares her life experiences, one can't help butbe in awe and feel motivated to press on.

“In 1995, I was recruited for the cross-country ski team at Augustana UniversityCollege in Camrose. I was involved incompetitive cross-country skiing from 1994to 1999. I was an alternate for the CanadaGames in 1995, competed in the CanadaWinter Games in 1999, and retired fromcompetitive skiing in 1999 after the CanadaGames. Skiing is a part of my lifestyle and Iwill always ski. Because I began skiingcompetitively at a later age than most cross-country skiers, I had to make up for the losttime. The sport helped to make me moreindependent and helped me develop good social skills.”

In the summer, Krista also participates inkayaking, canoeing, and river-rafting. “I flewout west when I was 17 to go to Augustanaand knew no one; the same is true when Iwent out east to Ottawa to pursue river-rafting. The first two weeks of guide trainingwere intense! Long days: we trained from7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. – theory, lectures,swimming rapids, rope training, and rescue.River rapids are measured on gradients (firstclass being the lowest grade and fifth classbeing the highest). On our first trip on theOttawa River, we were on class 3 rapids. Thewhole trip I was saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I can'tdo this,’ but by the end of guide training(two weeks), I was one of the strongestrookies. I got a lot of river time and it was the best thing I have done in my life.Becoming a river guide has challenged me more than anything else. My heart still pounds before every rapid!”

Krista’s heart did more than pound on theafternoon of August 24, 1998. She wastaking a crew on one of her many routineriver rafting trips on the Ottawa River whenlightning struck. “We started out on the tripat 11:00 a.m. At around 12:30 in theafternoon, the sky started to turn black. Therain was so heavy it hurt. I had neverexperienced such a severe change in weatheras long as I had been rafting. I had a numberof novice rafters on the trip.

“We had gone over our first set of rapids andwere approaching our second set. These wereclass 3 to 4 rapids. A girl in her 30s on thetrip was really worried and said to me, ‘Youknow, Krista, I'm getting nervous...

RidingB Y N I C O L E K I F F I A K

the Krista MacLean Storythe Rapids

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P E E L & E N J O Y

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RIDING THE RAPIDS:THE KRISTA

MACLEAN STORY

P A G E 2

THE CHILD STUDY CENTRE

P A G E 4

ABORIGINAL TEACHEREDUCATION PROGRAM

P A G E 6

BLUE QUILLS PROGRAM

P A G E 8

FIRST NATIONSEDUCATION GRADUATE

PROGRAM

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CARLA TRYMEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

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AMERICANSPIRITAWARD

P A G E 1 3

ATA EDUCATIONALRESEARCH AWARD

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CONTACT US

P A G E 1 5

A GIFT TO THEDEPARTMENT OF

SECONDARY EDUCATION

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BRENT DAVIS:CANADA RESEARCH

CHAIR

P A G E 1 8

THANKS TO ALBERTA TEACHERS

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Whatever you put into an

individual sport you get out

of it,” says Krista MacLean.

has anyone ever been struck by lightningbefore?’ I replied, ‘No, you guys, you havenothing to worry about, no one's beenstruck before!’ No sooner had I made thiscomment, when BANG, I was hit! I wasrushed to hospital by ambulance and was inand out of consciousness for seven hours.Fortunately, we were just on top of the rapidprior to the lightning strike. If we had beenfarther down the rapid, it would have been alot harder to rescue me.

“A day after the accident, I was very sore. My muscles ached for two weeks. One thingI knew was I had to get back on the river assoon as possible or I would always have thefear of ‘what if something happens?’ So the

day after the lightning struck, I went back onthe river. When something happens that is amajor life-changing incident, you may notrealize why it is happening to you at thetime, but at some point in your life you willrealize why it has happened. This happenedto me because I was able to handle itmentally, physically, and emotionally.” Herlife philosophy became clear after that.

“My philosophy of life is if you can't handleit, it won't happen to you. The purpose is tomake you stronger and to make you moreunderstanding and open-minded. After theaccident and even today, people say to me(including other river guides), ‘Why do youstill do this?’ My response to them is, ‘When

you feel so passionate and you lovesomething so much, I'm not going to let an accident prevent me from doingsomething I love!’ If there is something youfeel passionate about, you have to put it intoperspective because you are still alive andyou can handle it. You have to keep ondoing what you were meant to do.

“In grade 6, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.At my school, the kindergarten kids wereteamed up with the grade 6s in a mentoringprogram, kind of like study buddy. I waswalking with my little buddy, pointing outdifferent sites, and my little buddy said, ‘You would make a really good teacher.’ His teacher was with us at the time and sheaffirmed, ‘Yes, Krista, you would make areally good teacher.’

“On my IPT experience, my cooperatingteacher said to me, ‘Krista, you are going to make a very strong teacher. You areteaching at the level that student teachersteach at the very end of their practicum.’This was the first day of my IPT. My cooperating teacher had asked me if I wanted to sit back for a bit or jump in. I chose to jump.”

The rocky rapids in Krista’s life havecontributed to her stout-hearted sense of selfand her overall character. “If anything, theseevents have made me stronger and definitelyaware of how precious life is.”

Welcome to the new Faculty of EducationAlumni newsletter, The Orange. This is ournew skin, a look that reflects the changingface of our faculty and the new imagewe’re presenting to the community. When we started Bridges, our goal was to build a connection between alumni and their faculty. Now we’ve achieved our mission, and it’s time to look forward.

The Orange represents everything westrive to be: innovative and bold, yet trueto our fundamental role as educators andprofessionals. Inside you’ll still find all theinformation you need to ‘keep current’with your faculty.

We hope you’re pleased with our newface, and we look forward to hearing yourfeedback on the updated layout. Dig in!

Education RethoughtW e l c o m e t o t h e n e w F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n A l u m n i N e w s l e t t e r

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the orangeKrista MacLean

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TheMagicIt doesn’t matter who you are or where youhave come from: the minute you walk intothe Child Study Centre something magicalcomes over you. The bright surroundingsare filled with children’s drawings, writing,and research displayed prominently andproudly throughout the Centre. From thework at the little tables and chairs to theaquarium housing live crickets that are partof the junior kindergarten students’ projecton insects, you are overwhelmed with thepositive energy that generates from this classroom.

Every student – regardless of capabilities – isseen as having something valuable to offer.There is the constant chatter of children’svoices, their laughter. Children are interested,they are learning – they are engaged.

The Child Study Centre offers a rich program that provides interestingexperiences designed to make children’slearning memorable rather thanmemorized. The project approach builds on the experiences of the children. “Webelieve that children need to relate theirschool experience to their everyday lives athome and elsewhere,” says Centre DirectorSylvia Chard. “Going home in the car,going to the store, going for walks or to theplayground. Children will be observant,

curious, and questioning. This programprovides a learning environment where the children learn through investigation,observation, and discussion.”

One aspect of the children’s experience inthe Child Study Centre is in-depth projects.These are investigations of local, everydayreal-life objects, places, and events. Thesetopics are selected jointly by the teacherand students, who discuss commoninterests and decide what they would like to learn more about. The topics range fromplants, animals, rocks, the hospital, cars, thegrocery store, bicycles, and so forth. Byfocusing on specific projects, children developvaried interests, learn to make choices in the work they do, represent what they arelearning, and develop the language to share their experience with family members.

“Central to the philosophy of the ChildStudy Centre is the interdependence at theheart of our relationships: the children, theteachers, the families, and the community.We believe that the elements of the child’slife combine and interrelate to form acontinually evolving and dynamic whole,where everyone involved is challenged toparticipate in the processes of exploration,questioning, creating, and learning,” says Sylvia.

“The classroom culture is one ofcollaboration rather than competitionamong children. The informality of theteaching and learning styles enables theteachers to know the children intimatelyand the children to draw on their strengthsas they learn in a variety of ways.”

Parents appreciate the inclusive nature ofthe program and the alternative approachto learning style offered at the Centre. They see the educational practices as empoweringtheir children’s thinking and creativity anddeveloping their child’s originality withinthe learning community of the classroom.

“I have found a sense of partnership andmuch caring for my children’s learning,”says one parent. “From the teaching there,my children are developing a great delightin learning about the world around themand in integrating this knowledge, layingthe foundation for lifelong learning.”

The Child Study Centre has a distinguishedhistory: over 30 years of excellent practicein the field of early childhood education.What was in 1969 a small program serving 30 four-and five-year-old childrenhas grown into a program serving over 130 children. Currently the program is offered at three separate locations: thejunior kindergarten program located in the Faculty of Education, kindergarten at Ring House 3

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of the Child Study CentreB Y C O L L E E N H A W R E L U K

(a historic home on the U of A campus),grades 1 and 2 also in the Faculty of Education, and grade 3 a short walk away at Garneau School.

“The parents appreciated the educationalpractices, which worked so well for theirchildren, that they wanted them to continueinto the primary grades,” says Sue Lynch,acting Director of the Child Study Centre.“As a result of this encouragement and thesupport of the Faculty of Education, we were able to negotiate a partnership withEdmonton Public Schools to extend theprogram at Garneau School to includegrades 1 to 5 this fall followed by grade 6 next year.

“What this means for the University is agreater capacity to demonstrate excellence inprogramming for children from age three to13 and to conduct research studies focusedon preschool and elementary schoollearning,” she adds.

Part of what makes the Child Study Centreunique is the partnership between teachingand learning. The Centre offers outstandingeducational opportunities to children andtheir families while providing world-renowned expertise in the area of earlychildhood education to faculty, students,teachers, consultants, and visiting educatorsfrom throughout the world.

Each year approximately 120 undergraduatestudents specializing in early childhood education work with the children at theCentre, observing their learning andsupporting them in their project work.Graduate students and faculty conductresearch into best practices in early childhoodeducation. These activities provide an addedbenefit to the programming at the Centre andto the education received by the teachers of tomorrow.

The university context is also important tothe children and staff, as they have the entirecampus to offer as a learning laboratory forthe children. There are wonderful places for the children to visit, explore, and learn from.

Sue Lynch, Acting Director andSylvia Chard, Centre Director

Every student – regardless of capabilities –

is seen as having something valuable to offer.

of the Centre. “Our research on earlylearning needs to be extended and the findings need to be communicatedthroughout the networks of early childhoodeducation programs in Alberta,” says Sue.“The Centre can play an important role inshedding light on the development andevaluation of early learning programs in theEdmonton area and across the province.”

It is not uncommon to see a parade ofchildren, holding hands, walking across thecampus. Depending on the topic of study,they could be headed for Engineering tolearn how cars run or to the Department of Paleontology to study dinosaur bones.

This fall the Child Study Centre is launchinga campaign to raise $100,000 to enhance the research and demonstration capacity

EducationWhat began as as a casual conversationbetween two colleagues concerned aboutthe lack of programming aimed atAboriginal students, has turned into a major focus of the Faculty of Education.

Although Gordon McIntosh and AliceKeewatin were not aware of it, the timing of their conversation was perfect. SyncrudeCanada Ltd. had recently given theUniversity of Alberta a gift of $500,000 tolaunch the Aboriginal Career Initiative withthe goal of increasing the number ofAboriginal students graduating from variousprograms at the University.

“The primary goal of the Aboriginal CareerInitiative between Syncrude and theUniversity of Alberta is to support programsand services aimed at increasing the numberof Aboriginal graduates from the Faculty of Engineering, School of Business, Facultyof Education, and those faculties associatedwith Aboriginal health careers,” states KjerstiPowell, Syncrude Manager, CorporateLearning and Organization Development.“Although Syncrude does not recruit directlyfrom the Faculty of Education, we recognizethat having more Aboriginal educators inthe system will help us achieve this goallonger-term.

“Since early intervention through the K-12 system is an essential lever to prepareAboriginal youth for post-secondaryeducation, it was an obvious area tosupport. Specifically, the opportunity toattract additional Aboriginal studentsthrough innovative practices such as thecommunity-based teacher educationprogram into the post-secondary systemmakes it a win-win solution. The moreAboriginal teachers there are in the systemto facilitate learning and to serve as rolemodels, the higher the probability thatAboriginal students will be successful incompleting their high school diplomas.”

However, achieving this goal is not a straightforward task. In fact, thesolution is multi-faceted and theresults will evolve over several years.“We recognized right from theonset that this would be a long-terminvestment — we won’t realize thebenefits for some time. However, wehave to start somewhere and thisseemed to be the right time andplace,” said Kjersti.

The Aboriginal Teacher

B Y C O L L E E N H A W R E L U K

T h e m o r e A b o r i g i n a l

t e a c h e r s t h e r e a r e i n t h e

s y s t e m , t h e h i g h e r t h e

p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t

A b o r i g i n a l s t u d e n t s

w i l l b e s u c c e s s f u l

i n c o m p l e t i n g t h e i r

h i g h s c h o o l d i p l o m a s . ”

Kjersti Powell,Manager, Corporate Learning and

Organization Development, Syncrude

“

– K j e r s t i P o w e l l

“At Syncrude, we have a long history ofemploying Aboriginal people. In fact, we are recognized as the largest industrialemployer of Aboriginal people in Canada.Our commitment is to provide opportunitiesfor employment that takes positive advantageof the skills and knowledge of all employees.However, the oil sands business is technicallycomplex so we need employees who have a strong educational foundation and areprepared to continue their learning on the job.”

“In order to increase the number ofAboriginal students who attend post-secondary programs, attention must bedirected to those factors that influence highschool achievement and graduation for thesestudents,” explains Fern Snart, AssociateDean (Academic). “Initial efforts to achievethe overall goals outlined within Syncrude’sinitiative need to begin in the classroom.”

Currently, the high school completion ratefor Aboriginal students is 37% versus 65%for the general population and the drop-outrate before completion of grade 9 forAboriginal students is 18% versus 3%.

One powerful way to affect the educationalsuccess of Aboriginal youth is to increase the number of Aboriginal teachers. It is well documented that Aboriginal teachersfacilitate the achievement of these studentsthrough factors such as positive rolemodeling, lower staff turnover, andsensitivity to the cultural and learning needs of their students.

However, many potential students faceroadblocks that can make it difficult toattend university. The Faculty needed todetermine how to overcome this challenge.

Over the next two years, a small team madeup of Fern Snart, Gordon McIntosh, YvonneNorton, Stan Wilson, and Alice Keewatinconducted a feasibility study that was fundedby Syncrude ($108,600) and the AboriginalHuman Resource Development Council ofCanada ($30,000). They traveled extensively,met with key stakeholders from many

Aboriginal communities, spoke to neighboringprovinces with similar programs and potentialstudents to determine what was truly neededto make a difference to the education of ourAboriginal youth and to Aboriginal teachers.

The research demonstrated that the need to implement a community-based teachereducation program was long over due. “The community-based aspect is key!” states Patricia Makokis, site co-coordinatorfor the Aboriginal Teacher EducationProgram located at Blue Quills First Nations College in St. Paul, Alberta. “Many of our students could not go on to the U of A for financial and family obligations. Bringing the program to the

students is what makes it so unique.

“Our students want to become teachers ofour own children. However, the distance,finances, family obligations, relocation, etc.make it just another challenge to add to the many they face daily in obtaining a post-secondary education.”

Now that a plan was in place, the nextchallenge was to find funds to make aprogram such as this work. In the spring of 2001, the committee learned that theirrequest for funding to Alberta Learning had

H o w i t a l l b e g a n

A B O R I G I N A L T E A C H E R E D U C A T I O NC O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 5

The need to implement a community-based teacher

education program was long over due.

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Turn the page to learn more about the Faculty of Education’s Aboriginal programs.

been approved – with some slightalterations. “We had requested funding tooffer the four-year BEd program on-sitewithin several communities on a rotationalbasis,” stated Fern Snart. “However, AlbertaLearning asked us initially to partner withtwo community colleges to meet the needsof their students through collaborativedegree-completion programs, one cohort at each college.

“Currently, we are offering the final twoyears of the BEd program in collaborationwith Blue Quills First Nations College near

Program

Blue Quills

The Aboriginal Teacher Education Program,which began classes at the Blue Quills FirstNations College at St. Paul, Alberta inJanuary, is providing its 21 educationstudents – most of them Aboriginals – aneducational opportunity they might nototherwise have received.

And this is the case with the students in theU of A’s new community-based Aboriginalteacher education program.

Karen Jackson, a Cree who lives on theSaddle Lake Reserve near St. Paul, says it just wouldn’t be fair to her immediate orextended families if she were to pack up and move to Edmonton. Jackson’s twochildren “are still creating memories” withher mother-in-law, who has been diagnosedwith lung cancer.

A devotee of lifelong learning who places ahigh value on education, Jackson said shefaced the prospect of selfishly attendinguniversity now or taking care of her kids. “Iasked myself, ‘Should I pursue this degree orwalk my talk and educate my children first?’”

Her son, in grade 3, earned school awards in February for academic and athleticachievements. Her daughter, in grade 7,maintains an average of 89%. Jacksondidn’t want to take good things away from her children.

“Say I went full-tilt at the U of A and my kidswere going through the culture shock ofmoving into a big city and forming newfriendships, and they were not ready for that.My son is in hockey and my daughter is anhonour student. I didn’t want to take thataway. Why should they suffer academicallywhen I am academically pursuing my owninterests?”

The decision was also based on how effectiveJackson might or might not be as a teacher.“If I’m not successful at home with my own kids, then what business do I have in a classroom?”

Student Claudine Cardinal, a mother ofthree, says her Cree culture permeates theprogram. Students, instructors, and NativeElders participate in sharing circles eachweek, providing an open forum whereconcerns can be expressed. Smudgeceremonies and sweats – important spiritualrituals – are also held frequently.

“There are Elders on site, and they come inand talk to us, as people who will beteaching – they come and talk to us aboutreal-life stuff. We believe in addressing ouremotional, spiritual, physical, and intellectualselves, and they take care of aspects wemight neglect because we are so busyworking on our minds, writing papers, andtaking tests,” Cardinal says. “They really aretrying to help us, that’s for sure.”

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Program

B Y R I C H A R D C A I R N E Y

I r e a l l y b e l i e v e

w h a t w e a r e d o i n g

i s c o m m u n i t y

d e v e l o p m e n t . ”

A r e s e r v e i s a d i f f e r e n t c o m m u n i t y w i t h a w h o l e

d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s y s t e m a n d d i f f e r e n t n o r m s t h a n

a t o w n o r a c i t y. ”

“

“

Karen Jackson

– C l a u d i n e C a r d i n a l

– L e o n a M a k o k i s

Cardinal is certain that the presence ofAboriginal teachers is important in theeducation of Aboriginal youth.

“It gives them someone to identify with, someone who knows the kind ofcommunity they come from,” she says. “A reserve is a whole different communitywith a whole different value system anddifferent norms than a town or a city.”

Non-Aboriginals who teach Aboriginalstudents are most successful when they“walk in with no preconceived notions orstereotypes and realize they are in adifferent culture,” says Cardinal.

And teachers need to be an integral part ofthe community, she adds. “If your studentssee you in class and then in informalsettings like a pow wow or a round dancethen they might think, ‘I can do that too.’“

Student Bill Halfe comes from a long line of teachers. His father taught at SaddleLake and in the town of St. Paul. One of his uncles is the principal of a junior highschool in Saddle Lake, and one of hiscousins teaches at Elk Point and Frog Lake.

He agrees that Native students need Native role models, and he believes part of a teacher’s job is to be a role model. Part of being an effective teacher to Aboriginalstudents is to thoroughly understand theculture and its unique challenges.

“Where our problems lie is not inelementary schools; it is in grade 6 and inthat kids on the reserve are more open to

alcohol and drugs...whereas white kids are maybe not as exposed to it until high school.”

Students “need to feel they belong to agroup,” and teachers can help fill that need

in and outside of the classroom, bybecoming community leaders.

“You can be a positive role model andorganize activities that get a kid interestedin a subject, and hopefully I can work on that.”

Halfe has studied at the U of A before, butis not in a position to attend full timebecause of other commitments. “I guess Iam a country boy. I have horses and dogsand animals that are my responsibility athome,” he says.

“I really believe what we are doing iscommunity development,” says Blue Quills’President Leona Makokis. “We have beenpushing to get our own people inclassrooms. They are role models, they arepart of the community; it enhances thewhole community. It has a major ripple effect.” than

k y

ou

Thanks to Education alumni, the renovation to the Reading andLanguage Centre will start later thisspring. As of March 2002, you havecontributed over $84,000 toward the Centre, and thousands more to scholarships, bursaries, and the Dean’s fund.

This tremendous support allows us to improve the Reading andLanguage Centre’s literacyassessment and remediation servicesin the community. It also helps toenhance the learning experience for our undergraduate and graduate students.

To all of those Education alumniwho answered the call from astudent, responded to a letter orcalendar request, we thank you.Over 1,300 individual donationswere made to this project.

Still, over $20,000 in pledgesremains outstanding. The total cost of this improvement project is $100,000. If you have made a pledge and not yet sent in yourdonation, please do so. We wouldlike to announce, “EducationAlumni did it all!”

“We have been pushing to get our own people in classrooms. They are role models, they are part of the community.”

Thank YouEducation Alumni!

Claudine Cardinal

Bill Halfe

Thank You ATCOStudents enrolled in the AboriginalTeacher Education Program, andare experiencing financialdifficulty, will now have the helpthey need. Thanks to ATCO abursary has been established toassist students with their studies.

— Leona Makokis

First NaI t ’s v i t a l f o r t e a c h e r s t o a c k n o w l e d g e

t h e i r s t u d e n t s i n t h i s c o n t e x t i f t h e y

w a n t t o c o n n e c t w i t h t h e m . “ I t ’s e v e n

m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n k n o w i n g t h e i r

n a m e s , ” s a y s S t a n Wi l s o n .

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Stan Wilson nods knowingly when he hearsthe phrase Indian time. The pejorative (somewould say racist) term, familiar to anyonewho has lived near an Aboriginal community,is used to express non-Aboriginals’ frustrationwith what they perceive to be Aboriginals’inability to stick to a schedule. To Wilson, the term perfectly illustrates the differencesbetween mainstream Canadian andAboriginal culture and why the two can clash so tragically.

“Mainstream culture is rooted in what I call ‘clock time,’ while Aboriginal culture isrooted in ‘event time,’” Wilson explained.“It’s like the difference between basketballand baseball. When you play basketball, theclock governs the game, but baseball goeson as long as it takes to play nine innings.”

This fundamental difference, among a host of others, can lead to profoundmisunderstandings and difficulties in aneducational setting. In Wilson’s view, thesecultural roadblocks are among the reasonspoor academic achievement is so common inthe Aboriginal population. In general, theeducation system presents a Judeo-Christianworld view – even Native studies programsare taught from the perspective of anoutsider looking in. All too often, Wilsonexplained, Aboriginal students at all levels areinadvertently marginalized by this approach,and as a result an alarming proportion ofFirst Nations children founder or drop out of the system entirely.

“Some of the behavior we see is rooteddirectly in Native tradition (clashing withclassroom culture) or as a reaction to culturalencroachment,” Wilson said.

Another cultural difference that can have a profound effect in the classroom is theconcept of self. For nearly all Aboriginalcultures, individuals’ sense of identity isdeeply rooted in their communities and the land, a concept he describes as “therelational self.” Wilson said that it’s vital forteachers to acknowledge their students inthis context if they want to connect withthem. “It’s even more important thanknowing their names,” he explained. Foreducators steeped in the Judeo-Christianconcept of individual self, it can be difficultto grasp, let alone appreciate its significance.

This is where the University of Alberta’s FirstNations Education Graduate Program

comes in. Developed by Stan Wilson and hiswife, Peggy, the program allows Educationgraduate students to approach issues from a distinctly Aboriginal world view. It isdesigned particularly for graduate studentswith experience in some area of educationadministration or policy-making, or thoseinterested in researching Indigenouseducational issues. The three-year PhDprogram prepares graduates foradministrative and faculty positions in tribal colleges, senior education positions in Aboriginal governments, administrative and teaching positions in band-controlledschools, and faculty positions in mainstream universities.

The graduate program and theundergraduate community-based AboriginalTeacher Education Program work together to meet the needs of Aboriginal youth ondifferent levels. Whereas the AboriginalTeacher Education Program focuses oneducating teachers, the graduate programproduces education leaders who can improveconditions for Aboriginal pupils. The result isthat more children stay in school, will go onto higher education, and in the end helpraise living standards in their communities.

Presently the program has 15 students, eightworking on their master's degrees and sevenon their doctorates. Its unique approach toAboriginal education is gaining global prominence; the Wilsons routinely answer inquiries from as far away as Australia,

Education Graduate Program

The program allows Education graduate students to

approach issues from a distinctly Aboriginal world view.

F I R S T N A T I O N S G R A D U A T E P R O G R A MC O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 0

B Y A N D R E W H A N O N

New Zealand, Hawaii, and Alaska – anywherethere’s an Indigenous minority.

“In other programs you can pick up snippetsand elements of Indigenous perspective, butit's imbedded in other stuff,” said Wilson. “Asfar as we know, this is the only program thatrequires an Aboriginal perspective.”

tions

When Carla Try died in February 2001, theFaculty of Education and the teachingprofession lost a bright star.

“Carla didn’t become a teacher as a careerchoice, she became a teacher because sheloved children,” says Cathy Nissen, principalof St. Martha’s Catholic Elementary Schoolwhere Carla was just two days into her finalpracticum assignment when she came downwith what seemed like a bad cold. “She wasso vibrant and had an immediate impact,people were naturally drawn to her. Mostpeople strive to accomplish this in a lifetime;she did it in two days,” said Nissen shortlyafter Carla’s death.

A 21-year-old 4th-year Elementary Educationstudent, Carla was anxious to finish herBachelor of Education degree. She lookedforward to teaching kindergarten. Her sisterSherry said she knew that Carla was very illwhen she had to call in sick.

“She had worked so hard to get to this pointand was so excited to be working with kids.It was strange for her to miss this chance.”

The next day she was taken to the hospital.Two weeks later, she died of respiratory failure.

At the June convocation, the University ofAlberta granted a posthumous degree toCarla. This was a first for the Faculty and the

University. “What made it extra special is that it had never been done before. I believe that it was because the peoplewho had met Carla knew how special she was,” said Alan Try, Carla’s father.

To recognize Carla’s commitment toteaching, the Faculty was proud to help the Try family by creating an endowedscholarship in her name. The Carla TryElementary Education Scholarship will beawarded to a 4th-year student on the basisof academic standing and a demonstratedcommitment to the education ofelementary-level students.

Granting the degree and establishing thescholarship helped to provide some closurefor the family. “The University really pickedup the ball,” says Alan. “She earned herdegree – unfortunately, she was only a few days into living her dream.”

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AngelGod Made anw h o w a s a t e a c h e r

“She earned her degree —

unfortunately she was

only a few days into

living her dream.”

To contribute to the Carla Try Elementary Education Scholarship

or for information on establishing a scholarship please call (780) 492-5642

or send a cheque to the Faculty of Education, 845 Education South,

Edmonton, Alberta, T6E 2G5.

Pictured above: Carla Try (left) at her sister Sherry’s high schoolgraduation. In February, Sherry applied to the Respiratory Technology Program at N.A.I.T.

Dr. Dick Sobsey has received his fair share ofrecognition for research on violence againstthe disabled. But when the Governor of NewYork wrote to tell him he’d won the nationalJoseph Werner American Spirit Award, theprofessor of educational psychology wascaught completely off guard.

“It was a little bit strange,” says Sobsey, a recipient this year of the U of A’s annualKillam Professorship. “I thought, with all the stories coming out of the World Trade Center, couldn’t they find someonewho better exemplifies the idea ofcommunity spirit?”

But according to New York humanitarianJoseph Werner, Sobsey’s JP Das DevelopmentalDisabilities Centre at the U of A was theperfect example of that spirit.

Reached by phone at his home in New York, Werner said he did an “enormous amount ofresearch” to find an organization that helpspeople with disabilities.

“I found many that helped only children, and in the process of doing research I cameacross Dick Sobsey,” said the retired schoolteacher. Werner said he was impressed thatresearchers at the JP Das Centre focused onhelping both children and adults withdisabilities who have experienced mental,physical, or sexual abuse.

“When I contacted [Sobsey] he was so nicethat he gave names of other organizationsinvolved and hardly mentioned his ownname,” said Werner. He insisted Sobsey was

an ideal choice because he was raised in New York and had done much for peoplewith disabilities in both the U.S. and Canada.“And as I see it, Canada is like a cousin to America.”

Previous recipients of the five-year-old Spirit of America Award include the FireDepartment Volunteers (1996), the GuideDog Foundation for the Blind (1997), andChild Find of America (1998). “I’m of theopinion that life is but a short interval of time and while we’re here we should dosomething constructive to leave the world a better place,” Werner added.

Sobsey, who has an 11-year-old child of hisown with severe disabilities, has beenworking with people with disabilities for 30 years since attending several New Yorkinstitutions in the early 1960s. Lately he has been studying rates of violence against

children with disabilities – who he says arethree times more likely to suffer abuse thanother children – and is currently examiningthe news media’s effect on rates of child homicide.

In news archives between 1994 and 2000, he says, there are thousands of stories on the case of Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewanfather who killed his daughter who hadcerebral palsy in 1993.

AmericanAdvocate for disabled wins

Spirit AwardB Y G E O F F M C M A S T E R

American Spirit Award winner Dick Sobsey

“By accepting the challenge to make a difference

in the lives of others, you have helped to ensure

a bright future for many.” — New York Governor George Pataki

in a letter congratulating Sobsey.

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WinResearch

ATA EducationalAward

Faculty of Education Staff

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Faculty of Education alumni and faculty wererecently honored by the Alberta Teachers’Association for their work on the Small ClassSize Project, which was selected as the 2001winner of the ATA Educational Research Award.

Fern Snart (‘79 PhD), Associate Dean(Academic) in the Faculty of Education,coordinated the research team for theProject. Margaret Haughey (‘72 MEd, ‘76PhD) and Jose da Costa, faculty members in Educational Policy Studies, were the co-researchers for the project.

Projects focusing on school and classroompractice, tied to the Alberta context, areeligible for this prestigious ATA award. A stipend of $5,000 is given for the winningproject. The research for the winning projectwas carried out between January and June2000. The U of A researchers worked in

tandem with the Edmonton Public Schoolsimplementation team chaired by Karen Bardy (‘75 BEd), consisting of Anne Mulgrew (‘67 BEd), Susan Bell (‘85 MEd) and SandraCarl-Townsend (‘84 BEd). Special fundingfrom Alberta Learning enabled theorganization of small classes of grade 1students in 10 Edmonton inner-city schools.Whereas average sizes for these classes wouldhave been about 25, these project classeshad 15 or fewer students.

Timelines for the organization of the projectwere short. Funding from Alberta Learningwas made available in December 1999. Ten new teachers were hired by theEdmonton Public Schools, and in January the Small Class Size Project was under way.

Special professional developmentopportunities were made available to theparticipating teachers, led by the EdmontonPublic Schools and the U of A. Nine of theteachers enrolled in a special graduate classassociated with the project and these

teachers conducted research (case studies ofindividual learners) as part of the overalldata-gathering effort.

The effective duration of the project wasshort: not much longer than four months. Inthe words of Fern Snart, “It took a few weeksfor the classes to come together as groups,and the final testing was done in late May.So it was a four-month window. In scores onreading and writing measures, the studentstypically gained much more in this span thanwould have been expected of grade 1students in these schools.”

These quantitative findings were impressive.The qualitative studies also made animpressive contribution to the project byhelping the researchers understand what wasreally happening in these classrooms. “By May and June, many of the studentswere catching fire – motivationally andachievement-wise,“ Snart said.

The case studies of selected students done by nine teachers in the project lent furtherinsight. “These case studies demonstratedthe very powerful influence, particularly withthese young students, of a capable,motivated teacher, a caring adult, who had time to make the learning processmeaningful,” Snart observed.

The Small Class Size Project was based on apartnership between the Faculty of Educationand the Edmonton Public Schools. Asked tocomment on the effectiveness of thepartnership, Fern Snart said, “We had a very,very successful working partnership. Theproject had real mutual benefit.”

B Y G O R D O N M C I N T O S H

For more information see Related Links on page 20.

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St. Paul, Alberta. Starting in September 2002,we will begin our second two-year degreecompletion program through Northern LakesCollege in Slave Lake, Alberta, and in 2003 wewill begin a full four-year community-basedBEd degree program.”

“This program is unique first and foremostbecause it is community-based in a FirstNations College, on reserve lands,” says PatMakokis. “Further, we sat in joint orientationfor a week; collectively sharing our stories;learning/sharing about our Cree culture.

What was so nice to see was all of theprofessors, and other U of A staff come to ourterritory, to learn from us, to share our worldview of our collective teacher ed. experiences.This dialogue opened the doors to a morecomfortable work relationship; the staff camehere to take cultural sensitivity training fromour College staff. This is a first and breakingground for how academic institutions

sometimes have done business. As the sayinggoes, go to the people, learn from them...inthe end, the people will say, we have done itourselves. Yes, we are doing this ourselves(through partnerships, on our land, in ourterritory, for our people, collaboratively).”

“This is exciting for the Faculty and for thecommunities we have developed closepartnerships with,” says Snart. “Although itwill be a long road, I see it as the first step inmaking a difference to the education ofAboriginal youth.”

Syncrude made a wise investment in theirdonation to the Faculty of Education. Without

their gift the Faculty would not have been able to see the Aboriginal Teacher EducationProgram evolve and grow to fruition, andSyncrude would not have been able to realizetheir goal of more Aboriginals graduating fromuniversity. But more important, their gift willmake significant, life-altering changes to manyAboriginal people and their families forgenerations to come.

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Published twice yearly

by the Faculty of Education,

University of Alberta

Co-editors:

Colleen Hawreluk

and Gordon McIntosh

Contributors:

Richard Cairney, Andrew

Hanon, Nicole Kiffiak, Geoff

McMaster, Andrea Morris, and

Carolyn Yewchuk.

Technical Editor:

Naomi Stinson

Graphic Designer:

Calder Bateman Communications

Photographer:

New Visions Photography

Contact Information:

Colleen Hawreluk Director, Communications

Faculty of Education, University of Alberta845 Education SouthEdmonton, Alberta CANADA T6G 2G5

(780) 492-5642 Fax: (780) 492-0236

e-mail:colleen.hawreluk@ualberta.ca

“What was so nice to see was all of the professors,

and other U of A staff come to our territory,

to learn from us, to share our world view.”

“Most of them say that in some cases it’sjustifiable to kill your kid. What we’reresearching is whether that has led to moremurders of kids in Canada.“

“In our opinion, and I think the data support itstrongly, while the homicide rate in Canada hasdropped to its lowest level in 30 years, thenumber of parents killing their kids has jumpedto an all time high.” He says his study will bepublished in a couple of months.

In his letter of congratulations, New YorkGovernor George Pataki praised Sobsey and hiscentre for demonstrating “outstanding service”and exemplifying "the high standards of your institution.

“Your efforts on behalf of the people of Canadaand the United States who are vulnerable tovarious forms of abuse are commendable,including your role in training teachers ofchildren with severe and multiple disabilities...By accepting the challenge to make adifference in the lives of others, you havehelped to ensure a bright future for many.”

A M E R I C A N S P I R I T A W A R DC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1 3

See our online version atwww.education.ualberta.ca

The Faculty of Education Web site is a great way to keep in touch with your classmates –let us know what you’re doing and check up on all the people you lost track of!

Visit your friends today at: www.education.ualberta.ca

What ever happened to what’s-his-name?

Upon Jim’s death the Faculty will receive$400,000 to ensure that the scholarship lives onand that students continue to benefit from hisforesight and generosity. This scholarship issupported financially by both Jim Parsons and hiswife Tara Fenwick, a member of the Departmentof Educational Policy Studies.

In so many ways, Jim Parsons has given his lifeto the Faculty of Education. He has been aprofessor here for almost 27 years, andalthough the Faculty has much to thank Jimfor, he sees the Faculty as a gift to him. “As a kid from a farming town in Pennsylvania, I never thought I would live in an academic

world,” Jim says. “I am so fortunate tohave had the space here to becreative, and to be a teacher. I haveworked with so many great scholarsand have had wonderful models forliving. I came here as a very youngperson – this is the only academichome I know.”

Jim started his career in socialstudies, then also moved intoresearch design. Having an interestin seeing the big picture, hetaught the research design course(EDSE 511) for years, both at theU of A, and at other universities asa visiting professor. But he alwayshad an interest in ChristianReligious Education – there was a void he wanted to fill.

“In Catholic Education, there are manyopportunities to reconcile faith and strongscholarship. At the time, there was no placefor cutting-edge protestant scholarship. TheChurch is a great pedagogical site, but I havenever felt the call to be the salt of the Church.Perhaps because I am a social studies person, I believe Christians should not fortressthemselves inside the Church. We need tocome out and be the salt of the Earth.”

Support from the Faculty, especially from KenJacknicke, former Chair of the Department ofSecondary Education, allowed Jim to shape adoctoral program at the University of Albertainstead of going back to the United Stateswhere it would have been more readilyaccepted. “It is the entire Department whosupports graduate students, really – andcurrent Chair Terry Carson who helps toprovide a unique academic symbiosis. OurPhD students would not get this sort ofacademic preparation anywhere else.

“It started as a dribble with a few students,”says Jim. “Teachers and scholars like BerniePotvin and Barbara Rice. Over time, interest inthe program has grown. As far as I know, noother place in North America has this type ofprogram. We’re oversubscribed.”

Over the years in various circles, Jim has beenasked to defend Christianity. When questioned,he sees an opportunity to explain a basic truthabout Christianity: “In the book of Acts, whenPeter was asked by the Roman centurionCornelius to explain Christ, he told this simplestory. ‘There was a man named Jesus, and hewent around doing good.’ The fact is, Jesusloved everybody. He is a pretty good modelfor living.”

Jim was led to establish this program by twocharacteristics – he is a committed Christian,and he is entrepreneurial.

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A gift to the Department of Secondary EducationIn 1998 Jim Parsons establ ished the Dr. Jim Parsons Graduate

Scholarship in Christ ian Rel igious Education. After some thought

Jim decided to double his pol icy to ensure two students would

benefit from the scholarship rather than just one: “I fe l t one

student would get lonely, that they needed to have a friend.”

B Y A N D R E A M O R R I S

Jim Parsons

Charitable Gifts

He saw a need for this program and for it to continue. Another central characteristicthat led him to set up the Jim ParsonsScholarships is that he is paternal. He caresdeeply for his students.

In the early 1990s, one of his students,Frederick Mbeo (MEd ‘75, PhD ‘94) fromTanzania, had an emergency. His son had a terrible accident and he needed to gohome. “He didn't have the money,”remembers Jim. “And I couldn't help.” Fredwas able to get home, but not being able to

help him changed Jim. “Our students comefrom all over the world. We need to take careof them.”

The creation of the Dr. Jim Parsons GraduateScholarships in Christian Religious Educationensures that the program will continue andthat at least two students will be supportedin the program. “Two people can build acommunity,” he says.

This discussion led to reflection on his career and his legacy.

When I asked Jim how it made him feel tocreate a lasting legacy, he replied, “Youknow, I was just reading the Old Testamentstory of Abraham, and the essence is this:‘God blessed him for a reason – so he couldbless others.’ This is what I'm trying to do. I have been so blessed to be a teacher, andto have enough to share with others. Thebest legacy I can hope for is that mychildren are proud of me.” Jim is alsoreferring to his students. “Maybe, when theytake my place, they'll do the same thing.”

Mark Your CalendarsCome celebrate the Art of Teaching and meet our Alumni Pride award winners Ted Harrison and Myer Horowitz. Education alumni and friends of the University of Alberta are invited to join us for a reception and lunch in the Education Centre on Saturday October 5th. For more information, please visit our reunion Web site at www.quasar.ualberta.ca/AISI/reunion/home.htm or call Dawn Ford at (780) 492-0195.

Gift of a New PolicyThe donor receives a number of benefits bymaking this irrevocable gift of a new lifeinsurance policy:

• If regular payments are being made on the policy, the annual premiums are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.

• While the policy is being paid off, the resulting tax credit will help defray approximately 44% of the premium cost.

• The donor can designate how the money is to be used by the U of A.

Gift of an Existing PolicyIf a person chooses, he or she can make theUniversity of Alberta the owner andbeneficiary of an existing policy.

• A charitable tax receipt is issued for the cash surrender value of the policy.

• The donor can designate how the money is to be used by the University.

Naming the U of A as Beneficiarybut not Owner of a PolicyNaming the U of A as beneficiary still offers tax benefits to the donor.

• Any death benefits paid directly to the charity as beneficiary under the policy will entitle the donor to a donation receipt.

• The estate would then receive a charitable tax receipt, which would reduce the tax payable on the deceased’s final tax return and possibly for the previous year’s tax return as well.

Life Insurance forWealth ReplacementThe decision to make a large gift to theUniversity of Alberta is often a difficult onebecause many donors are reluctant to lessenthe legacy (inheritance) they wish to leavefor their children.

• A donor can make a large gift now, receive a charitable tax receipt, and use the resulting tax savings to purchase a new life insurance policy.

• The children could be made the beneficiaries of this new life insurance policy.

• The result is that the donor has made an important contribution to the University, the children still share the inheritance, and the University has received a valuable gift.

Life insurance is one of the most common ways in which an individual may choose to make a charitable gift.

There are a number of ways that this can be done with each method having its own advantages.

with Life Insurance

If you would like more information

on life insurance, or any other gift

planning vehicle, please contact the

University of Alberta Gift Planning

Office at (780) 492-0332, or call

toll free at 1-888-799-9899.

The Canada Research Chairs

are funded by a prestigious

federal program that assists

universities in recruiting

academics of exceptional

research accomplishment

and promise. The rigorous

selection procedure includes

faculty nomination, vetting

by university committee,

and national adjudication

in Ottawa.

BrentB Y C A R O L Y N Y E W C H U K

Brent's appointment as a Canada ResearchChair recognizes his research expertise in curriculum theory, teacher education, and especially mathematics education.

For Brent, the appointment marks a return to his alma mater and to a department whereinfluential mentors have shaped his interest in researching alternative approaches toclassroom instruction and curriculum. Theseinclude Sol Sigurdson, supervisor of his MEd(1990), Tom Kieren, supervisor of his PhD(1994), and Max van Manen, member of his examining committee. In particular, Tom Kieren's research into mathematicalunderstanding and Max van Manen's insightson phenomenology and pedagogy figuredprominently in his doctoral studies.

Brent Davis considers himself first andforemost a teacher. After earning his BEdfrom the University of Alberta in 1984, hereturned to his home town, Grande Prairie, to teach junior high mathematics. But after a number of years, he found himselfdissatisfied with how he was teaching, andon sabbatical from his school board returnedto the U of A to pursue a master's degree inmathematics education.

When he returned to the classroom with anMEd, however, he was more convinced thanever that there was more to be learned aboutlearning and that he needed to conductfurther research into an alternate way oflooking at mathematics instruction.

In the doctoral program, Brent focused on the educational implications of recentdevelopments in neurology, ecology,mathematics, and cultural studies –specifically, those shifts in emphasis that havecome together into the field of complexityscience. Complexity science theory is focusedon events in which individual agents (such asants, neurons, and humans) come togetherinto more complex unities (such as ant hills,brains, and cities).

Brent's doctoral work resulted in thepublication of a book, Teaching Mathematics:Toward a Sound Alternative (1996). The texthas been adopted in graduate andundergraduate courses in curriculum andinstruction at universities in Canada, theUnited States, Australia, New Zealand, thePhilippines, South Africa, and other countries.

The following year, he published an article,with Dennis Sumara as co-author, in theHarvard Educational Review entitled“Cognition, Complexity and TeacherEducation.” This article has had a far-reaching impact on curriculum theory and onteacher education programs in North America.

In the recent book, Engaging Minds: Learningand Teaching in a Complex World (2000),Brent and his co-authors, Dennis Sumara andRebecca Luce-Kapler, have taken complexityscience theory and used it to reframe howwe talk and think about classroom teachingand learning. From this perspective, thestandard elements of teacher education suchas lesson planning, motivation, and evaluationmust be approached in new ways.

Engaging Minds has been adopted at the U of A as the reference text in EDFX 200:Introduction to the Profession of Teaching. It has also been adopted as a text elsewhere,but the highest praise for the book has comefrom Brent’s mother whose first impressionwas that “It kind of looks like commonsense.” But after reading it, she said, “This is

a really good book. I wish I had written it.”Great praise indeed from a teacher with 40 years’ experience.

Almost all of Brent's research has beenconducted in classrooms, often with himselfas instructor. Most recently, he was invited to a middle school in the Los Angeles areawhere the average performance of studentsfalls below state norms. Here he taughtmathematics to a class of 30 Hispanicstudents to see whether the instructionalprinciples emerging from complexity sciencetheory could be effectively applied outside of Canadian middle-class settings. (They can.)

In his spare time, Brent, in partnership withDennis Sumara and others, breeds whippets,small racing dogs. Applying complexityscience theory to dog breeding and showing,they have successfully exhibited worldchampions and most recently won the Best Puppy in Show at the 2001 AmericanNational Whippet Club Show in Dallas.

B r e n t D a v i s j o i n e d t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f S e c o n d a r y

E d u c a t i o n o n M a y 1 , 2 0 0 1 , a n d w a s a p p o i n t e d t o a

C a n a d a R e s e a r c h C h a i r i n M a t h e m a t i c s E d u c a t i o n

a n d t h e E c o l o g y o f L e a r n i n g o n J u l y 1 .

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Canada Research Chair Davis

The Alberta Teachers’Association Web Site:

www.teachers.ab.ca

The Government of Alberta - Alberta Learning Web Site:

www.learning.gov.ab.ca

The Alberta Learning,Class Size Survey, 2002 on-line:www.learning.gov.ab.ca/k_12/special/classsize.asp

The Edmonton Public Schools Small Class Size Study online:

www.learning.gov.ab.ca/classsize

F I R S T N A T I O N S G R A D U A T E P R O G R A MC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1 1

Although the benefit of the First NationsEducation Graduate Program to Aboriginalcommunities is obvious, Wilson is alsoconfident that it offers a subtler benefit to society as a whole. For decades, socialscientists have engaged in the intellectualtug-of-war between multiculturalism andcultural assimilation, but Wilson proposesa third model: cultural fusion. Instead of a cultural mosaic, made of separate butinterdependent components, or a meltingpot, in which all cultures are absorbed bythe dominant one, he suggests we viewsociety as an alloy, in which the mostdesirable properties of each culture are fused.

”Sometimes it takes only a tiny amount ofa metal to make an alloy much stronger,”Wilson said. “Even if Canada’s Aboriginalpopulation makes up only six percent ofthe general population, its contribution, ifallowed, could strengthen us all.”

R E L A T E D L I N K S

Educational Policy Studies | Educational Psychology | Elementary EducationSecondary Education | School of Library and Information Studies

F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n

www.education.ualberta.ca

The Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta offers the largest teacher education

program in Canada. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the teachers of Alberta

and The Alberta Teachers’ Association:

• As valued partners in the

education and mentoring

of our student teachers

• As involved professionals on

university committees and

working groups

• As respected research partners

into best practices in education

• As dedicated, caring professionals in

the education of Alberta’s children

Thank youAlberta Teachers

We thank you for your essential role in

establishing our Faculty as one of Canada’s finest.

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