- Faculty of Education
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia
- Rural education, Professional Development, Inclusive Education, Self-regulated Learning, Middle Years Education, Universal Design for Learning, and 27 morePractitioner Inquiry, Teacher collaboration, Pedagogy, Literacy Education, Culturally relevant pedagogy, English Language Arts, Narrative Inquiry, Case Study, Integrated Curriculum, Metacognition, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning Strategies, Transformative Learning, Self-regulation, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Assessment for learning, Formative Assessment, Teachers' professional development, Adolescent Literacy, Reading, Learning and Teaching, Curriculum Studies, Teaching and Learning, Philosophy of Science, Literacy, Space and Place, and Inclusionedit
- Dr. Leyton Schnellert is an Associate Professor in UBC’s Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy. He is the Eleanor Rix P... moreDr. Leyton Schnellert is an Associate Professor in UBC’s Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy. He is the Eleanor Rix Professor in Rural Teacher Education. His scholarship attends to how teachers and teaching and learners and learning can mindfully embrace student diversity and inclusive education. Dr. Schnellert is the Pedagogy and Participation research cluster lead in UBC's Institute for Community Engaged Research and co-chair of BC’s Rural Education Advisory. His community-based collaborative work contributes a counterargument to top-down approaches that operate from deficit models, instead drawing from communities’ funds of knowledge to build participatory, place-conscious, and culturally responsive practices. His books, films, and research are widely referenced in local, national and international contexts.edit
Empowering teachers for evidenced based practice Kimberley MacNeil, Deborah L. Butler and Leyton Schnellert show how specific professional development approaches empowered teachers to engage in collaborative, inquiry-orientated learning... more
Empowering teachers for evidenced based practice
Kimberley MacNeil, Deborah L. Butler and Leyton Schnellert show how specific professional development approaches empowered teachers to engage in collaborative, inquiry-orientated learning and to effectively use evidenced-based resources to enhance classroom practice.
Kimberley MacNeil, Deborah L. Butler and Leyton Schnellert show how specific professional development approaches empowered teachers to engage in collaborative, inquiry-orientated learning and to effectively use evidenced-based resources to enhance classroom practice.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Learning and Teaching, Evidence Based Practice, Self-regulated Learning, and 11 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Practice, Community of Inquiry, Professional Learning, Educational Change, Professional Learning Communities, and Collaborative Inquiry
Informed by critical disability studies and disability justice, this article describes the reflections of two university researchers co-researching with self-advocates (individuals with intellectual disability), theatre artists,... more
Informed by critical disability studies and disability justice, this article describes the reflections of two university researchers co-researching with self-advocates (individuals with intellectual disability), theatre artists, researchers, and a community living society to create social justice disability theatre as critical participatory research (CPAR), demonstrating how disability theatre can contribute to and advance inclusive research practice. Disability justice-informed theatre as CPAR has direct relevance to people with intellectual disabilities; offers a platform where selfadvocates' diverse ways to communicate and be in the world are honoured and taken up as resources to the research and community; and can generate mentorship opportunities for selfadvocates to learn, practice, and develop research skills. Significances include showing how the theatre creation process (devising, developing, and refining scenes) is research in itself and how tensions are recognized as sites of possibility. Future research should explore how increasing pathways to communication, co-creation of KT strategies, and protocols for power sharing and problem solving within disability theatre as CPAR impact the roles, outcomes, and experiences of disabled and non-disabled researchers and audience members.
Research Interests: Participatory Research, Participatory Action Research, Action Research, Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, and 15 moreInclusive Education, Disability Studies in Education, Intellectual Disability, Employment, Arts-based methodologies, Arts-Based Research, Community Based Participatory Research, Community-Based Participatory Research, Arts-Based Educational Research, Disability Rights, Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Disability Justice, Collaborative Action Research Methodologies, and Critical Participatory Action Research
Accelerated by our collective pandemic experience, systems of schooling saw a groundswell of momentum to reconsider where and how learning might continue across Canada. Education Outdoors emerged as a relational pedagogical practice... more
Accelerated by our collective pandemic experience, systems of schooling saw a groundswell of momentum to reconsider where and how learning might continue across Canada. Education Outdoors emerged as a relational pedagogical practice whereby elementary school teachers began to locate curricular learning in schoolyards and adjacent natural spaces. In jurisdictions where schools remained open for students to attend in person, many educators took advantage of public health directives to locate learning outdoors as much as possible. Within this critical participatory action research study, elementary school teachers described how they took up emergent learning by locating curricular learning outdoors. Three significant findings from this include: (1) participating teachers' emergent curricular practice out-of-doors included time and space for unstructured play; (2) teachers highlighted the pedagogical value of risky play in relationship to student wellness, classroom management, and motivation for curricular learning; and (3) with collegial mentorship, teachers can develop the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance opportunities for risky play as a pedagogical approach to outdoor play and learning in elementary schools, even if they did not have a strong personal history of outdoor play. This study offers insight into the funds of knowledge, dispositions, and professional identities of elementary school teachers who embrace risky play as a pedagogical practice and how they navigate systemic challenges unique to education outdoors.
Research Interests: Environmental Education, Participatory Action Research, Professional Identity, Outdoor Education, Environmental Education and Play, and 10 moreOutdoor Play and Learning, Children's Outdoor Education, Outdoor Learning, Emergent Learning, Outdoor Education and Learning, Teacher Professional Identity, Childrens Risky Play, School gardens, Psychology and Outdoor Education, and Benefits of Outdoor Learning
We sought to understand the experiences of inservice teachers in teacher education/school district partnerships. Classroom teachers collaborated with teacher candidates to explore literacy practices in situ. We employed case study... more
We sought to understand the experiences of inservice teachers in teacher education/school district partnerships. Classroom teachers collaborated with teacher candidates to explore literacy practices in situ. We employed case study methodology collecting data through interviews and field notes. Teachers described: how a supportive community helped them take risks in their practice; (re)conceptualizing their practice through in situ co-planning, co-teaching, and co-reflecting; growing in their confidence as mentors and learners; witnessing equity-oriented pedagogy in action; and navigating tensions which offered opportunities for professional growth. This study highlights the potential of such initiatives for teachers' professional learning, practice change, and praxis.
Research Interests: Literacy, Teacher Education, Mentoring, English Language Arts, Teachers' professional development, and 15 moreInclusive Education, Teacher Leadership, Teacher professional development, In Situ Hybridization, Community-Based Participatory Research, Community of Practice, Professional Development Schools, Community of Inquiry, Community Based Research, Teacher Preparation, Language Arts, Collaborative Inquiry, Mentoring and Induction for new teachers, Public School-University Partnerships, and Mentorship of Beginning Teachers
How can education change networks (ECNs) support Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and community members to create relationships and ultimately better meet the needs of Indigenous (and all) learners? We have been investigating this... more
How can education change networks (ECNs) support Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and community members to create relationships and ultimately better meet the needs of Indigenous (and all) learners? We have been investigating this question as part of an emerging field of research concerned with developing decolonizing education practices in relationship with Indigenous communities. Overall, we have found that ECNs based on relationality within ethical spaces of engagement have the greatest potential for positive change. Specifically, our research has found that ECNs are most effective when they keep the focus of the learning explicit, acknowledge local protocols, make space to engage with local Indigenous knowledge and Knowledge Keepers, and identify and address structural barriers.
Research Interests: Participatory Action Research, Diversity, Community Based Education, Diversity & Inclusion, Equity, and 15 moreProfessional Learning Community, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, Educational Leadership and Change, Community-Engaged Scholarship, School Change, Professional Learning, Decolonization, Community Based Research, Educational Change, Professional Learning Communities, Indigenization, Equity and Diversity, Collaborative Inquiry, Indigenization and Decolonization, and Professional Learning Networks
The Decolonizing Professional Learning gathering that took place in Newfoundland was a starting point for what we hope will become a larger conversation and impetus for collaborative action across Canada. There is already some... more
The Decolonizing Professional Learning gathering that took place in
Newfoundland was a starting point for what we hope will become
a larger conversation and impetus for collaborative action across
Canada. There is already some pan-Canadian work that genuinely
connects researchers and practitioners with a commitment to
educational change and improvement. We know from previous
research that a considerable number of professional learning activities
are happening across Canada, but there are inequities in access
to quality professional learning for people who work in education
(Campbell et al., 2017). There is also a need to consider the purpose
and content of such professional learning. If educators are to care for
all students and support them in developing to their fullest potential,
it is essential that professional learning activities for educators are
critically examined to ensure that structural inequities are not un/
intentionally reproduced.
Newfoundland was a starting point for what we hope will become
a larger conversation and impetus for collaborative action across
Canada. There is already some pan-Canadian work that genuinely
connects researchers and practitioners with a commitment to
educational change and improvement. We know from previous
research that a considerable number of professional learning activities
are happening across Canada, but there are inequities in access
to quality professional learning for people who work in education
(Campbell et al., 2017). There is also a need to consider the purpose
and content of such professional learning. If educators are to care for
all students and support them in developing to their fullest potential,
it is essential that professional learning activities for educators are
critically examined to ensure that structural inequities are not un/
intentionally reproduced.
Research Interests: Inquiry Based Learning, Collaboration, Social Justice, Educational Equity and Justice, Teachers' professional development, and 15 moreDiversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Community Based Participatory Research, Community-Based Participatory Research, Educational Leadership and Change, Decolonization, Community Based Research, Educational Change, Teacher collaboration, Professional Learning Communities, Transformational Innovation in Education, Professional Learning Networks, and Transformative Educational Leadership
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often excluded from conversations about sexual health; when included, well-meaning researchers and support workers often speak for individuals instead of creating... more
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often excluded from conversations about sexual health; when included, well-meaning researchers and support workers often speak for individuals instead of creating opportunities for their voices to be heard. To support the sexual agency of people with intellectual disabilities, who refer to themselves as self-advocates (SAs), we embarked on a Research-based Theater (RbT) project, Romance, Relationships, and Rights, with the goal to address misconceptions of individuals with IDD and sexuality. Throughout the project, ethical tensions percolated from ableist assumptions about "legal capacity," consent both on and off stage, and conflicting perspectives on aesthetics. Throughout this article, we discuss these ethical dilemmas and offer recommendations for future work with SAs in co-creating RbT through the lens of disability justice and critical disability studies.
Research Interests: Applied Ethics, Disability Studies, Human Rights, Critical Disability Studies, Applied Theatre, and 15 moreDevised Theatre, Applied Drama/Theatre, Informed Consent, Inclusive Education, Qualitative Research Methods, Arts-based methodologies, Arts-Based Research, Arts-Based Educational Research, Disability Rights, Consent, Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sexual Consent, Disability Justice, and Disability Theatre
The implementation of a revised curriculum in British Columbia, Canada's rural schools and school districts is providing rich opportunities to study and document processes that support and prompt system change, as well to generate... more
The implementation of a revised curriculum in British Columbia, Canada's rural schools and school districts is providing rich opportunities to study and document processes that support and prompt system change, as well to generate knowledge that can be shared across the province and more widely. This project aimed to study closely the practices and structures within BC's Growing Innovation in Rural Sites of Learning professional learning network (PLN), to examine how this partnership between a university, the Ministry of Education, and the BC Rural Education Advisory is spurring innovation through collaborative, inquiry-based professional learning. This study examined how a PLN can generate and mobilize knowledge related to innovative and effective practice, particularly across rural or remote communities, and the role of PLNs in provoking and sustaining educational innovation. Key findings revealed that innovation occurs when educators find openings and gaps that create space and necessity for change, and that collaboration and reflection are key factors in sustaining and spreading innovation. Key drivers of this change included the new curriculum in BC as well as student learning needs and the challenges of the various rural contexts. Key factors in sustainability included administrative and district support as well as the ability to share their learning, including within the network.
Research Interests: Education, Space and Place, Case Study Research, Learning Networks, Qualitative Research (Education), and 15 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Rural education, School effectiveness and school improvement, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Rurality, School Improvement, School Effectiveness, Place-Based Education, Teacher Learning, Educational Change, Place-conscious teacher education, Educational Transformation, and Professional Learning Networks
Critical participatory action researchers (CPAR) (Kemmis et al., 2014; Ledwith & Springett, 2014) created conditions for 25 parents and teachers to join as co-researchers in this research study. Together, they co-created a hybrid... more
Critical participatory action researchers (CPAR) (Kemmis et al., 2014; Ledwith & Springett, 2014) created conditions for 25 parents and teachers to join as co-researchers in this research study. Together, they co-created a hybrid discursive third space (Gee, 1996; Gutierrez, 2008) that invited alignment of their respective funds of knowledge (Gonzalez et al., 2005). Participants engaged in iterative processes of conscientization (Freire, 1976) through story, dialogue, and reflections that led to a convergence of teaching and parenting through relational connectivity and metaphoric bridges of togetherness and trust disrupting previously held institutionalized and unquestioned hegemonic borders, rules, and roles.
Research Interests: Literacy, Teaching and Learning, Education, Participatory Research, Participatory Action Research, and 15 moreChildren and Families, Learning and Teaching, Family, Learning Networks, Professional Learning Community, Community Learning, Critical Literacy, School, Family Literacy, Families, Funds of Knowledge, Home-School Links, Professional Learning Networks, Critical Participatory Action Research, and Home Literacy and Family Literacy
Individuals with intellectual disability are often left out of and overlooked in discussions on sexual health and sexuality. Given this, we undertook a participatory theatre research project to better respond to the needs of the... more
Individuals with intellectual disability are often left out of and overlooked in discussions on sexual health and sexuality. Given this, we undertook a participatory theatre research project to better respond to the needs of the individuals with intellectual and developmental disability regarding their sexual agency and sexual citizenship. The project, entitled Romance, Relationships, and Rights arose when the executive director of a community living agency approached researchers at the University of British Columbia's Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship to learn about how they, as an agency, could better support their community. To disrupt sexual ableism and traditional theatre hierarchies, we collaboratively turned to participatory and disability theatre with the aim to advance and promote the sexual citizenship of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability, who refer to themselves as self-advocates-those who speak and act with agency. The challenges of equitable co-creation arose throughout the theatre process.
Research Interests: Participatory Action Research, Research Methodology, Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Educational Research, and 15 moreApplied Theatre, Devised Theatre, Applied Drama/Theatre, Inclusion, Sexual Health, Diversity & Inclusion, Disability Studies in Education, Intellectual Disability, Arts-Based Research, Community-Based Participatory Research, Arts-Based Educational Research, Sexual and reproductive health and rights, Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Developmental disabilities, and Disability Justice
This research examined how stakeholders from one school district experienced “accountability” within a context where responsibility for student learning was being distributed across the system. Using a case study design, we examined: What... more
This research examined how stakeholders from one school district experienced “accountability” within a context where responsibility for student learning was being distributed across the system. Using a case study design, we examined: What conditions supported stakeholders in multiple roles to exercise responsibility for student learning? Analyses of documents and interviews revealed conditions that enabled teachers, instructional leaders, and administrators to share responsibility in relation to their roles, and empowered teachers to engage in inquiry for continuous improvement and build from their sense of professionalism and responsibility. Implications are discussed for empowering teachers, and other stakeholders, to exercise responsibility in the context of an accountability system.
Research Interests: Literacy, Education, Trust, Evidence Based Practice, Accountability, and 15 moreFormative Assessment, Collaboration, Self-regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Continuous Improvement, Teachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Teacher professional development, Teacher Learning, Educational Change, Legal Ethics/professional Responsibility, Teacher Professional Learning, Professional Learning Communities, Professional Learning Networks, and collaborative inquriy
This collaborative self-study outlines how we, as teacher educators, drew from our experiences and research from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-July 2020) to inform the development of online pandemic pedagogies for the new... more
This collaborative self-study outlines how we, as teacher educators, drew from our experiences and research from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-July 2020) to inform the development of online pandemic pedagogies for the new cohort in Middle Years/Self-Regulated Learning Bachelor of Education Program in the fall of 2020. During this time, we were teaching online and supporting teacher candidates whose only face-to-face learning was in their practicum, when they engaged directly with their students. Like many teacher education programs in Canada, our program is typically offered face-to-face. As teacher educators, we embrace and enact responsive teaching as a shared pedagogical stance in our face-to-face teaching. However, the pandemic required us to reimagine the ways in which teacher education can occur online. We were challenged to apply characteristics in our own practice that we purport our middle years teacher candidates need to develop in order to be effective in their practice as new teachers. As a team, we grappled with ways to teach course content, provide engaging learning experiences, and model collaborative, caring relationships online. The transition to remote learning led us to develop two inquiry questions:
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Learning and Teaching, Middle School/Level Education, Self-regulated Learning, and 15 moreSelf-Regulated Learning (Education), Educational Equity and Justice, Qualitative Research (Education), Online Learning, Inclusive Education, Relationality, Partnership, Self-Study, Educational Change, Social Emotional Learning, Teacher Candidates, Teaching Practicum, Teacher Educator Dilemmas, Collaborative Teaching, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Indigenous communities and students have been marginalized by colonial practices, disproportionally referred to special education programs, and encounter systematic prejudice and discrimination in education systems that lack respect for... more
Indigenous communities and students have been marginalized by colonial practices, disproportionally referred to special education programs, and encounter systematic prejudice and discrimination in education systems that lack respect for their ways of knowing and being. To disrupt hierarchical practices and structures that enact a hidden curriculum of privilege and racism, reconciliation and educational and system transformation need to work in tandem. Drawing on critical case study guided by Indigenous Storywork principles, we are researching how Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) can support educators and Indigenous community partners’ collaboration to decentre colonizing education practices. Analysis of preliminary data offers a window into the potential and complexity of engaging in decolonizing work that asks educators to unpack their role in reconciliation efforts and unlearn much of what they believed to be ethical practice. Findings include: participants awakening to structural inequities and racism; white/settler participants engaging with difficult knowledge; educators emphasizing their need for external resources to decolonize their practice; and a delicate balance between educators feeling challenged, feeling hopeful, and recognizing the distance yet to be travelled. This study demonstrates that collaboration with Indigenous community partners within education change networks (ECNs) holds potential to support pedagogical transformation and ultimately redefine student success.
Research Interests: Inquiry Based Learning, Indigenous Knowledge, Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, Educational Equity and Justice, and 15 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Strengths Based Practice, Teacher Inquiry, Equity, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Community-Based Participatory Research, Community of Inquiry, Decolonization, Community Based Research, Indigenization, Funds of Knowledge, Professional Learning Networks, and Indigenous ways of knowing
In this self-study, we, an instructional team of four teacher educators, inquired into the experience of teacher candidates as we adapted our work at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to remote learning led us to... more
In this self-study, we, an instructional team of four teacher educators, inquired into the experience of teacher candidates as we adapted our work at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to remote learning led us to arrive at the inquiry question: How did the approaches we privileged prior to the pandemic influence our teaching and teacher candidate learning at the beginning of the pandemic? Teacher candidates from the 2019-2020 cohort offered several insights into what made a difference for them when the program abruptly shifted online just as they were beginning their practicum. These themes included consistent gatherings of the cohort for collegial support, professional learning and well-being; the benefits of explicit and embedded social and emotional learning (SEL); and opportunities to apply SEL and selfregulated learning approaches during their online practicum. This self-study offered us insight into the practices we value (e.g., relational, equity-oriented pedagogy in the middle years) and how we can take these up online. Interestingly, we found relational, synchronous, SEL-infused pedagogy to be central to teacher candidates' learning, well-being, and success. Barriers encountered had to be addressed with immediacy, particularly in light of the call for antiracist education.
Research Interests:
Too often, individuals with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) are left out of discussions on romantic relationships and sexuality. However, many individuals with IDD want to become sexually expressive, fulfilled persons who... more
Too often, individuals with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) are left out of discussions on romantic relationships and sexuality. However, many individuals with IDD want to become sexually expressive, fulfilled persons who are sexually active, yet they are oft en denied the sexual health education to support their sexual agency. Given this, we conducted a three year disability Research-based Theatre (RbT) project in New Westminster, British Columbia to better respond to the needs of individuals with IDD, who refer to themselves as self-advocates—those who speak and act with agenc —regarding their sexual agency. The project, entitled Romance, Relationships, and Rights ( RRR ), sought to disrupt sexual ableism, and present the lived experiences of self-advocates on stage. Throughout the three phases of RRR, the themes of sexual agency, self-advocacy, and self-determination arose. As an extension of this previous work, we take up these themes in a critical self study where we reflect on the project across, within, and between each phase by focusing on the implications for sexual health education. We present findings about the impact of creating RRR to engage in a retrospective dialogue across all three phases to offer recommendations for intersectional, accessible, inclusive, and comprehensive sexual health education. Key recommendations include recognizing self-advocates’ rights to self determination and sexual agency, active involvement, and hands-on approach to sexual health education where accessibility, flexibility, and an awareness of needs are built in to lesson plans and curriculum.
Research Interests: Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Sexual Health, Disability Studies in Education, Intellectual Disability, and 14 moreArts-based methodologies, Arts-Based Research, Intersectionality, Disability, Community-Based Participatory Research, Arts-Based Educational Research, Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Self Study, Self-Study, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Developmental disabilities, Self Determination, Sexual Health Education, and Disability Justice
This article offers perspectives shared by self-advocates in the first phase of a community-based participatory research project untaken to address barriers that individuals with intellectual disabilities face with respect to sexual... more
This article offers perspectives shared by self-advocates in the first phase of a community-based participatory research project untaken to address barriers that individuals with intellectual disabilities face with respect to sexual health knowledge. Using descriptive qualitative methods, we interviewed 19 individuals with intellectual disability about their experiences and knowledge related to sexual health. The research question guiding this project was: What are self-advocates' with intellectual disabilities experiences learning about sexual health and sexuality? The findings highlight that participants faced barriers and lack of access to sexual health education, and while they learned about sexual health through formal sexual health education, frequently this knowledge came through lived experience. Finally, the findings underscore that participants knew what they wanted with respect to sexual health education and offered recommendations. The importance of accessible sexual health education for self-advocates that supports their rights and desires to express their sexuality and sexual agency is highlighted.
Research Interests: Education, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Inclusion, and 13 moreInclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Sexual Health, Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Disability Studies in Education, Intellectual Disability, Disability, Sex Education, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Developmental disabilities, Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Sexuality and Sexual Diversity
Purpose - This research investigated whether structuring an inquiry-oriented professional learning network to include school-based co-teaching partners would amplify educators' success in taking up and adapting evidence-based... more
Purpose - This research investigated whether structuring an inquiry-oriented professional learning network to include school-based co-teaching partners would amplify educators' success in taking up and adapting evidence-based understandings and practices as meaningful in their contexts. Our research questions were: (1) What conditions did educators identify in the PLN overall that supported their co-construction of knowledge and practice development together? and (2) How did including co-teaching partners in the PLN help participants to mobilize knowledge and/or practices in the contexts where they were working?
Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative case study design was used because of its potential to examine how and why questions about complex processes as situated in context (Butler, 2011; Yin, 2014). A case study methodology allowed us to collect and coordinate multiple forms of evidence (i.e. interviews, teacher reflective writing, classroom artifacts, field notes) to examine both how conditions created within the PLN supported learning and how co-teaching partners were mobilizing what they were learning in their school contexts. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed abductively through an iterative and recursive process (Braun et al., 2018).
Findings - Conditions within the PLN overall that participants identified as supportive to their knowledge mobilization and practice development included: having a shared focus, feeling accountability to the group, collaborative enactment of practices within the PLN, large group sharing and debriefing, sustained cycles of collaborative inquiry, affective support, valuing diversity and drawing from expert others as resources. Participants also identified the benefits that accrued specifically from working with co-teaching partners. In addition, findings showed how the degree to which partners engaged in rich forms of collaborative inquiry could be related to their learning and situated practice development.
Originality/value - Findings show the generative potential of inviting co-teaching partners into a PLN to engage in collaborative inquiry with others. PLNs offer the benefit of engaging with educators from outside of one's practice context, which enables pushing their thinking in new directions. Our findings add to the literature by revealing how in situ knowledge mobilization can be amplified when educators participating within a PLN are also working through cycles of inquiry with a co-teaching partner. Overall, this study offers a PLN model where teachers have built-in support for knowledge co-creation and mobilization both within and outside of their school contexts.
Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative case study design was used because of its potential to examine how and why questions about complex processes as situated in context (Butler, 2011; Yin, 2014). A case study methodology allowed us to collect and coordinate multiple forms of evidence (i.e. interviews, teacher reflective writing, classroom artifacts, field notes) to examine both how conditions created within the PLN supported learning and how co-teaching partners were mobilizing what they were learning in their school contexts. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed abductively through an iterative and recursive process (Braun et al., 2018).
Findings - Conditions within the PLN overall that participants identified as supportive to their knowledge mobilization and practice development included: having a shared focus, feeling accountability to the group, collaborative enactment of practices within the PLN, large group sharing and debriefing, sustained cycles of collaborative inquiry, affective support, valuing diversity and drawing from expert others as resources. Participants also identified the benefits that accrued specifically from working with co-teaching partners. In addition, findings showed how the degree to which partners engaged in rich forms of collaborative inquiry could be related to their learning and situated practice development.
Originality/value - Findings show the generative potential of inviting co-teaching partners into a PLN to engage in collaborative inquiry with others. PLNs offer the benefit of engaging with educators from outside of one's practice context, which enables pushing their thinking in new directions. Our findings add to the literature by revealing how in situ knowledge mobilization can be amplified when educators participating within a PLN are also working through cycles of inquiry with a co-teaching partner. Overall, this study offers a PLN model where teachers have built-in support for knowledge co-creation and mobilization both within and outside of their school contexts.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Learning and Teaching, Case Study Research, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, and 14 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Inquiry, Professional Learning, Case Study, Educational Change, Professional Learning Communities, Systemic Change, Case Study Method, and Collaborative Inquiry
This guest blog post overviews Through a Different Lens' journey centring the voices and funds of knowledge of diverse learners as a means to pedagogical, curricular, and school transformation. It then delves into how partnering with... more
This guest blog post overviews Through a Different Lens' journey centring the voices and funds of knowledge of diverse learners as a means to pedagogical, curricular, and school transformation. It then delves into how partnering with equity-seeking communities - specifically Indigenous community members, elders, knowledge keepers, and researchers - can move us forward in educational reconciliation efforts.
Research Interests: Inquiry Based Learning, Community Engagement & Participation, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, Educational Equity and Justice, and 11 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Professional Learning Community, Reconciliation, Teacher professional development, Community of Inquiry, Decolonization, Indigenous Worldviews and Cultures, Community participation and engagement, and Storytelling and Indigenous Worldviews
What can we learn from British Columbia's system-wide educational transformation efforts to shift from a centralized standards-based curriculum toward flexible learning paths? This article identifies factors that have supported success.
Research Interests: 21st Century Literacies, Learning and Teaching, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, Professional Development, and 14 moreTeachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Professional Learning Community, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Inquiry, Community-academic partnerships, 21st Century Education, Educational Change, Teacher collaboration, Teacher Professional Learning, Systems Change, Professional Learning Communities, Educational innovation and change, and 21st Century Skills
It has long been recognized that collaboration fosters richer forms of learning and innovation than any individual can achieve on their own. But, given contemporary demands of citizens in the 21st century's information society, calls to... more
It has long been recognized that collaboration fosters richer forms of learning and innovation than any individual can achieve on their own. But, given contemporary demands of citizens in the 21st century's information society, calls to foster learners’ collaborative capacities are intensifying in both research and professional literatures. Lee, Huh, and Reigeluth (2015) suggested that, “developing networking skills, maintaining collaborative relationships with people, and making decisions as a team are considered essential skills to be successful in the new era” (p. 562). Correspondingly, researchers and educators alike are currently seeking ways to support learners’ developing capacities as collaborative learners. In this chapter, we contribute by describing how socially shared forms of strategic processing are necessary to, and can be supported within, collaborative activity. To that end, we drew from diverse strands in the literature that have: (a) studied collaborative learning processes; (b) surfaced the kinds of norms, expectations, and academic discourse that students need to navigate when learning collaboratively; (c) identified pedagogical practices that support socially shared forms of strategic processing; and (d) examined collaborative learning processes in various pedagogical frameworks, such as cooperative learning, computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL); collaborative
problem- or project-based learning; and collaborative
inquiry.
problem- or project-based learning; and collaborative
inquiry.
Research Interests:
Educational renewal in rural schools and communities can be stymied by many challenges including teacher isolation, staff turnover, and failing resource-based economies. Education change networks within and across rural communities can... more
Educational renewal in rural schools and communities can be stymied by many challenges including teacher isolation, staff turnover, and failing resource-based economies. Education change networks within and across rural communities can nurture educator’s professional development through collaborative inquiry and connect educators interested in taking up equity-oriented, place-conscious pedagogies. This afterword draws from the chapters in Rural Teacher Education: Connecting land and People to outline how rural education transformation can benefit from and be realized within education change networks that take up multiple perspectives including the more-than-humanworld, reconciliation with Indigenous communities, and service learning.
Research Interests:
In this article, we describe efforts underway in Canada to empower learning across the lifespan by nurturing capacities for self-evaluation. More specifically, we explore why and how self-evaluation capacities can be enhanced by nurturing... more
In this article, we describe efforts underway in Canada to empower learning across the lifespan by nurturing capacities for self-evaluation. More specifically, we explore why and how self-evaluation capacities can be enhanced by nurturing self-regulation of learning (SRL). When self-regulating effectively, learners work deliberately through "cycles of strategic action" to develop a clear sense of direction, plan for how to achieve goals, select, adapt, or invent strategies for learning, monitor progress towards goals, and adjust efforts as needed. This brief description suggests how the capacity to monitor and judge progress in relation to goals (i.e., self-evaluation) is at the heart of self-regulation. What can policy-makers do to create conditions that nurture self-regulation, and as part of that, build capacities for self-evaluation? Drawing on examples from across the K-12 school system and professional education contexts in British Columbia, we describe how policy-makers can make a systems-level impact by establishing three kinds of mutually-supportive conditions: (1) an orientation to education that creates space for learners to take ownership over learning; (2) a competency-focused curriculum; and (3) capacity building for SRL-promoting pedagogical practices, and in particular, embedded supports for learners' development of capacities for self-evaluation. Published in French as Accroître la possibilité d’apprendre
tout au long de la vie: Développer la capacité à s’autoévaluer en facilitant l’autorégulation de
ses apprentissages. Administration et education: Spécial Canada, 165(1), 205-213. Association Française des Acteurs de l’Education. France.
tout au long de la vie: Développer la capacité à s’autoévaluer en facilitant l’autorégulation de
ses apprentissages. Administration et education: Spécial Canada, 165(1), 205-213. Association Française des Acteurs de l’Education. France.
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Narrative inquiry’s capacities to reveal relational complexities and nuances of individuals and settings in varied contexts purposefully shape the lived curriculum within a community middle school setting. The experiential narratives of... more
Narrative inquiry’s capacities to reveal relational complexities and nuances of individuals and settings in varied contexts purposefully shape the lived curriculum within a community middle school setting. The experiential narratives of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and mentors contributing to the curricular documentation of the makings of this community have not only provided a medium to access these relations but also become an educative catalyst, opening into ongoing deliberations concerning the nature of education, knowledge, and what it means to be a community, by all involved. Grounded in Dewey’s primary notion of experience, participatory practices position each community member to bring their narratives of experience into the makings and remakings of community, elucidating modes of being and associated habits. Representative voices illuminate the mobilizing potential of narrative inquiry as a vital medium for reframing education within all institutions, communities, and beyond.
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In this critical community self-study, we describe the development of the Interdisciplinary Disability and Inclusion Research Collaborative (IDIRC) at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. IDIRC is a self-organizing collective... more
In this critical community self-study, we describe the development of the Interdisciplinary Disability and Inclusion Research Collaborative (IDIRC) at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. IDIRC is a self-organizing collective involving eleven faculty, students and staff devoted to Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and the relationships between CDS, practice and social change. We ask: What are the social relations, commitments, activities, and research needs of this university's researchers, students and staff in relation to disability and inclusion? Through a constant comparative analysis of interview data we surfaced themes related to the social relations, commitments, activities and research needs of our members. Our findings and discussion illustrate how similar cross-disciplinary groups might build inclusive spaces, which unite staff, graduate students and faculty towards disrupting normativity, interdisciplinarity, and praxis within and beyond academia. IDIRC attends to the embodiment of values and theoretical perspectives that are relational, diversity-positive, intersectional and advocacy-oriented.
Research Interests: Disability Studies, Interdisciplinarity, Critical Disability Studies, Accessibility, Higher Education, and 15 moreInclusion, Qualitative Research, Interdisciplinary Higher Education, Diversity & Inclusion, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Disability Studies in Education, Equity, Interdisciplinary research (Social Sciences), Intersectionality, Disability, Collaborative Research, Community of Inquiry, Self-Study, Critical Disability Theory, and Collaborative Action Research Methodologies
In this study, a university professor and school district literacy coordinator co-designed and co-taught a literacy methods course where teacher candidates participated in dynamic learning in classrooms, exploring how theory can meet... more
In this study, a university professor and school district literacy coordinator co-designed and co-taught a literacy methods course where teacher candidates participated in dynamic learning in classrooms, exploring how theory can meet practice when students' funds of knowledge are valued through responsive teaching. Case study methodology was taken up to understand and enhance this in situ teacher education approach. Four themes were derived through qualitative analysis: 1) theory / practice connections in situ; 2) diverse learners and the need for responsivity in teaching; 3) in situ learning through collaboration; and 4) benefits and tensions at the school and program level. Findings suggest that school / university in situ teacher education partnerships can provide rich contextual and situational learning that disrupt normative conceptions of teaching, learning and literacy.
Dans le cadre de ce projet de recherche, un professeur d'université et un coordonnateur en littératie au conseil scolaire ont élaboré et enseigné en collaboration un cours en méthodologie d'enseignement de la lecture. Au sein de ce cours, les futurs enseignants ont exploré par un processus d'apprentissage dynamique en classe de quelle manière la théorie s'allie à la pratique lorsque le bagage de connaissances des élèves est sollicité par un enseignement adapté. La méthodologie de l'étude de cas a été utilisée pour comprendre et mettre en valeur cette approche in situ de formation des enseignants. Quatre thèmes ont émergé de l'analyse qualitative : 1) les liens entre la théorie et la pratique in situ 2) la diversité des apprenants et le besoin d'adaptabilité en enseignement, 3) l'apprentissage in situ par la collaboration et 4) les bénéfices et les tensions au niveau de l'école et du programme. Les conclusions de la recherche démontrent que les partenariats in situ école / université pour former de futurs enseignants peuvent permettre de riches apprentissages en contextes et situations authen-tiques qui chamboulent les conceptions traditionnelles de l'enseignement, de l'apprentissage et de la littératie.
Dans le cadre de ce projet de recherche, un professeur d'université et un coordonnateur en littératie au conseil scolaire ont élaboré et enseigné en collaboration un cours en méthodologie d'enseignement de la lecture. Au sein de ce cours, les futurs enseignants ont exploré par un processus d'apprentissage dynamique en classe de quelle manière la théorie s'allie à la pratique lorsque le bagage de connaissances des élèves est sollicité par un enseignement adapté. La méthodologie de l'étude de cas a été utilisée pour comprendre et mettre en valeur cette approche in situ de formation des enseignants. Quatre thèmes ont émergé de l'analyse qualitative : 1) les liens entre la théorie et la pratique in situ 2) la diversité des apprenants et le besoin d'adaptabilité en enseignement, 3) l'apprentissage in situ par la collaboration et 4) les bénéfices et les tensions au niveau de l'école et du programme. Les conclusions de la recherche démontrent que les partenariats in situ école / université pour former de futurs enseignants peuvent permettre de riches apprentissages en contextes et situations authen-tiques qui chamboulent les conceptions traditionnelles de l'enseignement, de l'apprentissage et de la littératie.
Research Interests: Literacy, Teacher Education, Case Study Research, Teacher Training, Teachers' professional development, and 9 moreInclusive Education, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, Professional Development Schools, Case Study, Literacy Education, PDS, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Public School-University Partnerships, and Collaborative Teaching
This critical case study examines how taking up diversity and plurality within in situ literacy and language arts courses in a Bachelor of Education program created a critical discursive space within mainstream teacher education. Data in... more
This critical case study examines how taking up diversity and plurality within in situ literacy and language arts courses in a Bachelor of Education program created a critical discursive space within mainstream teacher education. Data in this research included interviews with teacher candidates and course assignments. Findings suggest that teacher candidates learned to seek and value diverse students’ funds of knowledge, grappled with inclusive practices, and developed equity-oriented pedagogy within in situ teacher education coursework. Through this project we contribute to the rising recognition that in situ teacher education through a lens of diversity can generate curriculum drawing from the literacies and lifeworld experiences of all learners. Available at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol29/iss1/5/.
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This chapter focuses on an inquiry-oriented and multi-partner approach to teacher education and teacher professional learning created to inspire and support transformational change. In the project described in this chapter, the formation... more
This chapter focuses on an inquiry-oriented and multi-partner approach to teacher education and teacher professional learning created to inspire and support transformational change. In the project described in this chapter, the formation of and interactions between three regional professional learning networks (PLNs) empowered educators to re-imagine and redesign practices and structures across institutions, roles and regions in British Columbia (BC).
Research Interests: Teacher Education, Social Networking, Complexity Theory, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, and 9 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Inquiry, Educational Change, and Professional Learning Communities
This article documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences of reciprocal learning teams of teachers within a small, rural secondary school. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers... more
This article documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences of reciprocal learning teams of teachers within a small, rural secondary school. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers experienced collaborative professional development (PD) and how their experiences contributed to developing the culture and structure of their school. Collected data were analyzed using an iterative process of coding, categorizing, and abstracting data. Three themes emerged: (a) self- and co-regulated learning in teams invigorated collegial relationships and contributed to a sense of agency toward change at the school level; (b) differentiating support for collaborative inquiry among teachers and within teams is critical; and (c) creating structures to support collaborative inquiry among teachers engages teachers in their ongoing professional learning. This case study of a rural secondary school demonstrates how deep and substantial school change can happen when teachers co-construct and co-regulate their PD.
Research Interests: Inquiry Based Learning, Case Study Research, Collaboration, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, and 8 moreRural education, Professional Learning Community, Teacher Leadership, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, School culture, Case Study, and Educational Change
This contribution to the Canadian Association for Educational Psychology 2016-17 Dialogic posits where self-regulated learning (SRL) research should be heading. The author suggests that SRL researchers should attend to the development of... more
This contribution to the Canadian Association for Educational Psychology 2016-17 Dialogic posits where self-regulated learning (SRL) research should be heading. The author suggests that SRL researchers should attend to the development of student SRL within innovative learning environments and the development of 21st century competencies such as creative and critical thinking, communication, and social and personal responsibility.
Research Interests: Communication, 21st Century Literacies, Teaching and Learning, Education, Teacher Education, and 14 moreInquiry Based Learning, Educational Psychology, Learning and Teaching, Critical Thinking, Self-regulated Learning, Self-Efficacy, Pedagogy, Teachers' professional development, Self-directed learning, Creative thinking, Learning environments, Self-regulation, Educational innovation and change, and 21st Century Skills
This short paper is based on a presentation at the Canadian Association of Educational Psychology Self-Regulated Learning symposium at the Canadian Society for Studies in Education 2015 conference. It suggests that when knowledges from... more
This short paper is based on a presentation at the Canadian Association of Educational Psychology Self-Regulated Learning symposium at the Canadian Society for Studies in Education 2015 conference.
It suggests that when knowledges from both families and teachers are contributed, integrated and valued, both teacher and parent efficacy, engagement, level of trust, and possibilities for co-regulated learning are also enhanced.
It suggests that when knowledges from both families and teachers are contributed, integrated and valued, both teacher and parent efficacy, engagement, level of trust, and possibilities for co-regulated learning are also enhanced.
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Research Interests:
The purpose of this case study was to examine how teachers experienced professional development as collaborative inquiry, and how their experiences contributed to their development as teacher leaders. Three overarching themes were... more
The purpose of this case study was to examine how teachers experienced professional development as collaborative inquiry, and how their experiences contributed to their development as teacher leaders. Three overarching themes were identified through iterative qualitative analysis of multiple data sources including interviews, observations, participant reflections, and classroom artifacts. Through inquiry foci derived and developed in small learning teams, teachers were able to establish increased ownership and sense of agency towards change at the classroom and school level. The authors recommend sustained focus on (a) the emergent and fluid nature of teacher leadership experienced and fostered through collaborative inquiry; (b) attention to educators' personal and interpersonal social and emotional competencies as an important aspect of teacher leadership; and (c) how rural and/or small secondary school contexts offer and require situated leadership development opportunities. This case study offers the field illustrations of teacher leadership that challenge typology-oriented descriptions.
Research Interests: Educational Leadership, Inquiry Based Learning, Case Study Research, Collaboration, Rural Development, and 14 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Rural education, Teacher Leadership, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, Community Based Participatory Research, Community-Based Participatory Research, Community of Practice, Educational Leadership, Teacher leadership, informal social and political networks in schools, cultures and Policy development, Community of Inquiry, Community Based Research, Case Study, and Educational Change
Intertwining case study with practitioner inquiry, a research team seeks language for the conduct of mindful curricular enactment in an alternative public middle school. The school is committed to valuing students’ narratives of... more
Intertwining case study with practitioner inquiry, a research team seeks language for the conduct of mindful curricular enactment in an alternative public middle school. The school is committed to valuing students’ narratives of experience, the resources all bring to the school, and the given particularities of contexts, subject matter, and situations, as the makings comprising learning within and through community. A collaborative approach to inquiry that involves all team partners in the research process and engages the unique strengths that each brings focuses on how this alternative school provides a case for accessing how and why mindful curricular enactment orients accordingly. It is the makings forming this curricular movement, and the room found within these makings to reorganize and reconstruct thinking, that primary attention is oriented towards. Deweyan ‘roominess’ negotiated through such curricular enactment is documented as mindful attention to curriculum-making that fosters the needed room—the conditions and supports sustaining an individual/collective movement of thinking. Such movement is revealed as necessarily receptive, inciting community (re)making. Its inspirited nature is revealed through participatory modes of being and associated habits embracing knowledge-making as generative, elemental to being human, in need of other(s), assuming temporal/ spatial agency, and interdependent with imagination, instilling embodied understandings.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Curriculum Design, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning and Teaching, and 12 moreCurriculum Studies, Collaboration, Curriculum Theory, Inclusive Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Emergence, Curriculum, Community of Inquiry, Agency, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Public School-University Partnerships, and Curiculum Studies
In this peer reviewed Psychology Today piece, we (Schnellert and Butler) summarize and illustrate (1) our research into professional development as collaborative inquiry and how this positions teachers as self- and co-regulating learners;... more
In this peer reviewed Psychology Today piece, we (Schnellert and Butler) summarize and illustrate (1) our research into professional development as collaborative inquiry and how this positions teachers as self- and co-regulating learners; (2) how collaborative inquiry empowers educators and enables sustained' shifts in their learning and practice; and (3) how researchers can engage with the field as supports and resources to professional learning communities' collaborative inquiry.
Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psyched/201612/teachers-self-and-co-regulating-learners
Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psyched/201612/teachers-self-and-co-regulating-learners
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Action Research, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning and Teaching, and 11 moreCollaboration, Self-regulated Learning, Practitioner Inquiry, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Classroom Action Research, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, and Self-regulation
Over 10 years our lives and work have intersected in ways that integrate personal and professional development through a range of scholarly and social contexts. Across these contexts, we have been engaged in an extended conversation about... more
Over 10 years our lives and work have intersected in ways that integrate personal and professional development through a range of scholarly and social contexts. Across these contexts, we have been engaged in an extended conversation about social justice-oriented theory and practice in education. Three years ago we found ourselves in the same Faculty of Education as new faculty members. Soon after taking up our positions, a significant mindfulness initiative was launched in the faculty as a whole, as part of an overarching effort to reposition and brand the faculty. As scholar-practitioners who already took up mindfulness in our own scholarship and pedagogies (Schnellert, Richardson & Cherkowski, 2014), we struggled to engage with a mindfulness discourse that did not espouse criticality and potentially even furthered a neo-liberal agenda based in individualistic approaches focused, for example, on stress reduction. We arrived with our own intellectual and experiential understandings of mindfulness based in years of practice informed by our personal and professional commitments.
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What might braiding social justice orientations to teaching, learning, and educational change with collaborative inquiry-based professional development afford teachers, their students, and our communities? This article unpacks two... more
What might braiding social justice orientations to teaching, learning, and educational change with collaborative inquiry-based professional development afford teachers, their students, and our communities? This article unpacks two professional development initiatives to articulate how inquiry co-constructed by and with teachers can take up diversity as generative. The Aboriginal Early Literacy and Curriculum for All projects involved iterative and critical examinations of practice and opportunities for educators to collaboratively consider and create practices that address contextual and social factors. Educators worked together to situate emerging knowledge and beliefs while also challenging the sources and consequences of assumptions.
Research Interests: Literacy, Teaching and Learning, Education, Special Education, Diversity, and 10 moreLearning and Teaching, Social Justice, Indigenous Knowledge, Social Justice in Education, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Inclusive Education, Equity, Teacher Development, and Teacher professional development
In this self-study research, we explore how the work of significant and diverse curriculum scholars informed the learning of teacher candidates within an intensive summer semester that serves as the foundation for a Secondary Teacher... more
In this self-study research, we explore how the work of significant and diverse curriculum scholars informed the learning of teacher candidates within an intensive summer semester that serves as the foundation for a Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) at a Canadian university. Questions that guided our inquiry include: How did teacher candidates take up and negotiate theory as part of their emerging professional identities? How did teacher candidates understand the relationship between pedagogy and their learning of/through curriculum theory? How did teacher candidates embody diverse theories and how did they understand the significance of this within and beyond this foundational semester? And finally, as teacher educators, how are our beliefs, understandings and practices developing through this self-study? We employed qualitative, inductive coding and engaged in iterative cycles of analysis with learning artifacts and interview transcripts from 26 teacher candidates. We identified the rich and layered themes of emergence, complexity, and awakeness, which revealed shifts in teacher candidates’ awareness in relation to their evolving identities. We discuss these themes in relation to the above questions and locate the influences of the selected theorists. This research contributes to the field of curriculum studies through offering a living case that explores how taking up diverse and contemporary curriculum theorists has potential to both support teacher candidates to experience praxis and shift the ground of teacher education.
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Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Special Education, Educational Psychology, Learning and Teaching, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), and 6 moreSelf-regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Inclusive Education, Learning Disabilities, Self-regulation, and Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice
Teacher professional development has been identified as essential to educational reform. Moreover, research suggests the power of inquiry communities in spurring teacher professional learning and shifts in classroom practice. However, not... more
Teacher professional development has been identified as essential to educational reform. Moreover, research suggests the power of inquiry communities in spurring teacher professional learning and shifts in classroom practice. However, not enough is known about what conditions within a community of inquiry might be necessary to inspire, support, sustain, and coordinate educators’ investment in systems-level change. To fill this gap, this article reports findings from the last year of a longitudinal case study of a school district seeking to advance adolescent literacy in subject-area classrooms. We extended from prior findings to investigate whether and how educators’ self-perceptions of efficacy and agency could be related to their engagement in a district-level, inquiry-based initiative. Participants were 43 teachers and school- and district-based leaders. Multiple forms of evidence (i.e., interviews, artifacts, field-notes) were collected and coordinated within a case study design. Findings suggested that the vast majority of participants experienced increases in efficacy that could be associated with their engagement in collaborative inquiry, which in turn had potential to fuel on-going change efforts. At the same time, leaders’ careful attention to preserving teachers’ agency appeared to support their sustained investment in continuous cycles of goal-directed practice improvement. Implications are discussed for structuring professional development within systemic improvement initiatives.
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Professional development for teacher educators must recognize and account for how aspects of our pedagogies often run counter to institutional, managerial, and bureaucratic demands. We need professional development that nurtures our... more
Professional development for teacher educators must recognize and account for how aspects of our pedagogies often run counter to institutional, managerial, and bureaucratic demands. We need professional development that nurtures our minds, hearts, and spirits, and that is congruent with our values. In this paper, three teacher educators who co-teach an intensive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based semester in a secondary teacher education program, explore how collaborative approaches to narrative forms of inquiry and reflexive analysis supported them to enact their learning, as well as helped them to surface the situated, complex, and emergent aspects of their own—as well as their students’—identities.
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This knowledge translation article defines collaborative inquiry, its’ positive potential for teacher professional development and student learning, and structures to nurture collaborative inquiry and empower educators in their... more
This knowledge translation article defines collaborative inquiry, its’ positive potential for teacher professional development and student learning, and structures to nurture collaborative inquiry and empower educators in their professional development.
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Research Interests:
This paper reports findings from a longitudinal project in which secondary teachers were working collaboratively to support adolescents' self-regulated learning through reading (LTR) in subject-area classrooms. We build from prior... more
This paper reports findings from a longitudinal project in which secondary teachers were working collaboratively to support adolescents' self-regulated learning through reading (LTR) in subject-area classrooms. We build from prior research to “connect the dots” between teachers' engagement in self- and co-regulated inquiry, associated shifts in classroom practice, and student self-regulation. More specifically, we investigated whether and how teachers working within a community of inquiry were mobilizing research to shape classroom practice and advance student learning. Drawing on evidence from 18 teachers and their respective classrooms, we describe findings related to the following research questions: (1) While engaged in self- and co-regulated inquiry, what types of practices did teachers enact to support LTR in their subject-area classrooms? (2) How did teachers draw on research-based resources to inform practice development? (3) What kinds of practices could be associated with gains in students' self-regulated LTR? In our discussion, we highlight contributions to understanding how teachers can be supported to situate research in authentic classroom environments and about qualities of practices supportive of students' self-regulated LTR. We also identify limitations of this work and important future directions.
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This article presents an in-depth case study of a complex community of inquiry. In this community, teachers worked collaboratively to build from situated assessments of students' learning through reading to refine and monitor practices... more
This article presents an in-depth case study of a complex community of inquiry. In this community, teachers worked collaboratively to build from situated assessments of students' learning through reading to refine and monitor practices designed to enhance student learning in their subject-area classrooms. In this report, we present evidence to address three questions: (1) What did inquiry look like within this community?; (2) How was collaboration implicated in teachers' inquiry?; and (3) How was engagement in inquiry related to meaningful shifts in teachers' practice and learning? This research contributes by uncovering important links between teacher inquiry, collaboration, and educational change.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning and Teaching, Adolescent Literacy, Formative Assessment, and 11 moreCollaboration, Self-regulated Learning, Practitioner Inquiry, Reading, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Community of Practice, Community of Inquiry, Educational Change, and Assessment for learning
In this research, we drew on a model of self-regulated learning (SRL) (Butler & Cartier, 2005; Cartier & Butler, 2004) to investigate student engagement in learning through reading (LTR) as situated in context. Our overarching goals were... more
In this research, we drew on a model of self-regulated learning (SRL) (Butler & Cartier, 2005; Cartier & Butler, 2004) to investigate student engagement in learning through reading (LTR) as situated in context. Our overarching goals were to enhance theoretical understanding about SRL as situated, identify patterns in self-regulated learning through reading (LTR) for secondary students within and across classrooms, and continue developing productive methodological strategies for investigating SRL and LTR. To those ends, we employed a mixed-methods design to find patterns within and across 31 classrooms at multiple levels of aggregation. Participants were 646 secondary students engaged in curriculum-based LTR activities. Findings were derived from two coupled assessments: A self-report questionnaire and a performance-based measure of LTR. We used frequency, factor analytic, and cluster analyses to create descriptive profiles of SRL (across emotion, motivation, cognition, and metacognition). Main findings were: (1) important mismatches between students’ self-reported LTR engagement and the demands of LTR activities; (2) four coherent profiles of LTR engagement (actively engaged; disengaged; high stress/actively inefficient; passive/inactively efficient), (3) moderate links between students’ self-reported LTR profiles and LTR performance; and (4) differences in SRL profiles that reflected individual-context interactions. We close by distilling implications for understanding, researching, and fostering SRL as situated within naturalistic settings.
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This research examines how engaging teachers in collaboratively constructing situated assessments enhances teacher professional development, fosters meaningful shifts to practice, and supports productive conceptions of accountability. We... more
This research examines how engaging teachers in collaboratively constructing situated assessments enhances teacher professional development, fosters meaningful shifts to practice, and supports productive conceptions of accountability. We conducted case studies of six teachers engaged as partners in investigating new approaches to assessing and fostering literacy. Findings suggested that supporting teachers to generate, interpret, and act upon assessment data within instructional change cycles assisted them in monitoring student performance, grounding instructional decisions in data, and enacting changes to practice. We also document how collaboratively constructing assessments with teachers supported conceptions of accountability considered meaningful by individuals adopting differing socio-political perspectives.
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Research Interests:
What is the worth of ongoing dialogue among colleagues? Any such collaboration tells its own story of significance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was said to begin continuing conversations by asking, “What has become clear since last we met?” In... more
What is the worth of ongoing dialogue among colleagues? Any such collaboration tells its own story of significance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was said to begin continuing conversations by asking, “What has become clear since last we met?” In our case, we were five colleagues from a faculty of education seeking to gain clarity around our own and each other’s research and writing. We came together on Tuesday afternoons prepared to share reflections on our daily experiences alongside what we were reading and writing, and elaborate the riffs we posted on-line between conversations. It wasn’t long into our journey together before an underlying direction turned up—the nature of knowledge and of knowing. This meeting point of individual interest, as a fivefold focus on epistemology, had a constant bearing on our dialogue. Our four-month road trip, so to speak, consisted of weekly commutes through the landscapes of practice, teaching, research, and philosophy. Its significance concerns our individual clarity that unfolded in the turns of understanding each other’s perspective. In the end, we chose to integrate our experience in the form of a play, situated as a road trip to an imaginary conference in Edmonton, which featured epistemology. Our story, depicted in the play, is about the nuggets we discovered together along the way. We invite you to embark upon your own journey of collaborative inquiry into epistemology.
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This piece describes how a school, as part of a district adolescent literacy initiative, offered a literacy enrichment block to students at-promise within its school-wide literacy plan. District- and school-wide attributes of the project... more
This piece describes how a school, as part of a district adolescent literacy initiative, offered a literacy enrichment block to students at-promise within its school-wide literacy plan. District- and school-wide attributes of the project are highlighted as well as a detailed description of Reading Workshop, the "second shot of thoughtful literacy instruction." Article appears on pages 7-22.
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This teacher research project features two educators investigating their practice to integrate indigenous knowledge, address the aftermath of residential schools on Canada's aboriginal peoples, nurture student self-regulated learning, and... more
This teacher research project features two educators investigating their practice to integrate indigenous knowledge, address the aftermath of residential schools on Canada's aboriginal peoples, nurture student self-regulated learning, and develop literacy practices. This piece was published in English Practice. 47.2 (2005): 19-28.
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In a time of rapid policy and curriculum change, teachers must be knowledge workers who continue to develop professionally. Professional learning networks (PLNs) offer teachers the opportunity to develop professionally by positioning them... more
In a time of rapid policy and curriculum change, teachers must be knowledge workers who continue to develop professionally. Professional learning networks (PLNs) offer teachers the opportunity to develop professionally by positioning them as inquirers into their own practice and authors and agents of situated innovation. Six examples of PLNs are introduced in this book to illustrate key attributes of PLNs that build educators’ ownership, practice, and expertise. Also highlighted is the potential of PLNs to address questions of equity, both for educators working in remote and rural communities who have limited access to professional development and other resources, and diverse learners and equity-seeking communities (e.g., Indigenous communities, non-dominant cultural groups). Scholar, practitioner, and policy audiences can benefit greatly from the PLNs described here and draw from these case studies to inform equity-oriented PLNs centering the importance of teachers, students, engagement, collaboration, and rural place in educational transformation efforts.
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The book offers illustrative examples of inclusive pedagogy and ways that educators can work together to support all learners. Classrooms examples of educators working together span grade levels and content areas making inclusive... more
The book offers illustrative examples of inclusive pedagogy and ways that educators can work together to support all learners. Classrooms examples of educators working together span grade levels and content areas making inclusive education visible and tangible.
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In this third volume of It’s All About Thinking, the authors focus their expertise on teaching and learning in the middle years, translating principles into practices and exploring questions such as: How can we help students develop... more
In this third volume of It’s All About Thinking, the authors focus their expertise on teaching and learning in the middle years, translating principles into practices and exploring questions such as:
How can we help students develop the competencies they need to become successful learners?
How can we create pathways to deep learning of important concepts?
How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms?
Nicole, Linda and Leyton explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help busy teachers develop communities where all students learn. These three experienced educators offer a welcoming and “can-do” approach to the big ideas in middle years education today. In this book, you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners (arts integration, open-ended strategies, cooperative learning, inquiry/project-based learning, community/social-emotional learning, formative assessment/self-regulated learning, diverse texts, new literacies/emerging technologies)
- units and lessons crafted using curriculum design frameworks (universal design for learning and backward design)
- assessment for, as, and of learning
- fully fleshed-out lessons and lesson sequences to help students develop deep learning and 21st Century learning competencies
assessment tools (and student samples) for concepts drawn from middle years curricula
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible to teachers
- real school examples of collaboration - teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
How can we help students develop the competencies they need to become successful learners?
How can we create pathways to deep learning of important concepts?
How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms?
Nicole, Linda and Leyton explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help busy teachers develop communities where all students learn. These three experienced educators offer a welcoming and “can-do” approach to the big ideas in middle years education today. In this book, you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners (arts integration, open-ended strategies, cooperative learning, inquiry/project-based learning, community/social-emotional learning, formative assessment/self-regulated learning, diverse texts, new literacies/emerging technologies)
- units and lessons crafted using curriculum design frameworks (universal design for learning and backward design)
- assessment for, as, and of learning
- fully fleshed-out lessons and lesson sequences to help students develop deep learning and 21st Century learning competencies
assessment tools (and student samples) for concepts drawn from middle years curricula
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible to teachers
- real school examples of collaboration - teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
Research Interests: Literacy, Teaching and Learning, Education, Teacher Education, Learning and Teaching, and 22 moreFormative Assessment, Middle School/Level Education, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Self-regulated Learning, Metacognition, Pedagogy, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Teaching Methodology, Universal Design for Learning, Universal Design Education, Teachers' professional development, Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Teacher professional development, Middle Years of Schooling, Social-Emotional Learning, Literature Circles, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Teacher collaboration, Assessment for learning, Collaboration Between Special and General Education Teachers, and Middle School Teaching Methods
In this second volume of It’s All About Thinking, the authors focus their expertise on the disciplines of mathematics and science, translating principles into practices that help other educators with their students. How can we help... more
In this second volume of It’s All About Thinking, the authors focus their expertise on the disciplines of mathematics and science, translating principles into practices that help other educators with their students.
How can we help students develop the thinking skills they need to become successful learners?
How does this relate to deep learning of important concepts in mathematics and science?
How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms where they develop understanding and thinking skills?
In this book, Faye, Leyton and Carole explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help teachers develop communities where all students learn. This book is written by three experienced educators who offer a welcoming and “can-do” approach to the big ideas in math and science education today. In this book you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners (Information circles, open-ended strategies, inquiry, manipulatives and models)
lessons crafted using curriculum design frameworks (udl and backwards design)
- assessment for, as, and of learning
- fully fleshed-out lessons and lesson sequences; inductive teaching to help students develop deep learning and thinking skills in Math and Science
- assessment tools (and student samples) for concepts drawn from learning outcomes in Math and Science curricula
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible
- real school examples of collaboration — teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
How can we help students develop the thinking skills they need to become successful learners?
How does this relate to deep learning of important concepts in mathematics and science?
How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms where they develop understanding and thinking skills?
In this book, Faye, Leyton and Carole explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help teachers develop communities where all students learn. This book is written by three experienced educators who offer a welcoming and “can-do” approach to the big ideas in math and science education today. In this book you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners (Information circles, open-ended strategies, inquiry, manipulatives and models)
lessons crafted using curriculum design frameworks (udl and backwards design)
- assessment for, as, and of learning
- fully fleshed-out lessons and lesson sequences; inductive teaching to help students develop deep learning and thinking skills in Math and Science
- assessment tools (and student samples) for concepts drawn from learning outcomes in Math and Science curricula
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible
- real school examples of collaboration — teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Teacher Education, Science Education, Mathematics Education, and 13 moreLearning and Teaching, Formative Assessment, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, Teachers' professional development, Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Backward design, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Teacher collaboration, Assessment for learning, and Collaboration Between Special and General Education Teachers
Four dedicated educators pull in the current big ideas in teaching — formative assessment, backward design, inquiry learning, strategic teaching, metacognition — and put them together in a way that makes sense. Pulling Together shows how... more
Four dedicated educators pull in the current big ideas in teaching — formative assessment, backward design, inquiry learning, strategic teaching, metacognition — and put them together in a way that makes sense. Pulling Together shows how this collaborative process is reflected in all aspects of the literacy learning process, from unit planning to the inquiry process to linking assessment to responsive lesson design. The book explores working together with students to develop and explore essential ideas and practices, including:
- responsive teaching and assessment
- reading as a personalized and meaningful experience
- critical literacy
- responsive teaching and assessment
- reading as a personalized and meaningful experience
- critical literacy
Research Interests: Literacy, Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning and Teaching, and 12 moreAdolescent Literacy, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, English Language Arts, Pedagogy, Teachers' professional development, Inclusive Education, Teacher Inquiry, Teacher professional development, English Education, Community of Inquiry, and Inquiry-based teaching and learning
How can we help students develop the thinking skills they need to be successful learners? How does this relate to deep learning of important concepts? How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms where they... more
How can we help students develop the thinking skills they need to be successful learners? How does this relate to deep learning of important concepts? How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms where they develop understanding and thinking skills? In this book, Faye and Leyton explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help busy teachers develop communities where all students learn.
This book is written by two experienced educators who offer a welcoming and “can do” approach to the big ideas in education today. In this book, you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners, e.g., literature and information circles, open-ended strategies, cooperative learning, inquiry
- curriculum design frameworks, e.g., universal design for learning (UDL) and backward design
- assessment for, of, and as learning
- lessons to help students develop deep learning and thinking skills in English, Social Studies, and Humanities
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible
- real school examples of collaboration — teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
This book is written by two experienced educators who offer a welcoming and “can do” approach to the big ideas in education today. In this book, you will find:
- insightful ways to teach diverse learners, e.g., literature and information circles, open-ended strategies, cooperative learning, inquiry
- curriculum design frameworks, e.g., universal design for learning (UDL) and backward design
- assessment for, of, and as learning
- lessons to help students develop deep learning and thinking skills in English, Social Studies, and Humanities
- excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible
- real school examples of collaboration — teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students
Research Interests: Literacy, Teaching and Learning, Education, Teacher Education, Learning and Teaching, and 19 moreAdolescent Literacy, Formative Assessment, Middle School/Level Education, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), English Language Arts, Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, Universal Design Education, Teachers' professional development, Inclusive Education, Secondary English Language Arts, Teacher Development, Teacher professional development, English Education, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, teaching Strategies, Teacher Preparation, and Assessment for learning
The research reported here grappled with the challenge of designing and facilitating teacher professional development that bridges theory and practice so as to enhance teacher practice and learning and student learning outcomes. A case... more
The research reported here grappled with the challenge of designing and facilitating teacher professional development that bridges theory and practice so as to enhance teacher practice and learning and student learning outcomes. A case study design was employed to study a community of inquiry (CoI) located within a Southern Arctic school district within which classroom teachers and special education teachers worked as partners to improve their writing instruction and increase access to learning and outcomes for students in inclusive classrooms. This research addressed three questions: (1) what practices did educators engage in as co-teachers within a CoI to consider, explore, and construct more inclusive writing instruction?; (2) how and why did collaborative, action- oriented inquiry cycles help teachers to develop understandings and practices that addressed, nurtured and supported diverse students’ literacy learning?; and (3) what conditions and qualities within professional development activities supported teacher learning and development of practice?. Findings suggested that teachers can make situated changes to practice that increase diverse students’ access to curriculum and learning when they: (1) set, enact, monitor and adapt context-specific goals for both students and themselves; (2) work collaboratively and problem-solve with others while trying to make shifts in practice; and (3) draw in resources as supports that can be adapted within their inquiries. In addition, co-teaching was found to be an approach that not only increased student access to curriculum and learning but had significant potential to support teacher learning and sustained shifts in practice. Implications for teachers’ learning, changes to practice, collaboration and professional development are discussed.
Research Interests: Literacy, Inquiry Based Learning, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Writing, Universal Design for Learning, and 11 moreTeachers' professional development, Inclusive Education, Rural education, Teacher Inquiry, Professional Learning Community, Community of Practice, Community of Inquiry, Co-teaching, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Teacher collaboration, and Collaboration Between Special and General Education Teachers
We Deserve to Work was researched, created, and acted by a team of self advocates with disabilities and theatre artists supported by the Community Living Society, Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship, and Massey Theatre to... more
We Deserve to Work was researched, created, and acted by a team of self advocates with disabilities and theatre artists supported by the Community Living Society, Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship, and Massey Theatre to better understand and share stories about the rights of people with disabilities to find and keep meaningful employment – and some obstacles they encounter along the way. Funding for this project was provided by the Vancouver Foundation.
Research Interests: Social Change, Education, Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Accessibility, and 15 moreApplied Theatre, Social Justice, Applied Drama/Theatre, Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Social Inclusion, Disability Studies in Education, Intellectual Disability, Disability, Disability Rights, Supported Employment, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Developmental disabilities, Advocacy, and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders
Indigenous communities value every one of their members for their gifts and talents, beyond their challenges and differences; it is a community effort. We have much to learn from Indigenous perspectives on disability and inclusion. This... more
Indigenous communities value every one of their members for their gifts and talents, beyond their challenges and differences; it is a community effort. We have much to learn from Indigenous perspectives on disability and inclusion. This film calls educators to welcome the gifts of Indigenous students with disabilities and to recognize their culture as part of the who they are and how they learn. Indigenous self-advocates, family members, educators, and knowledge keepers explain cultural approaches to inclusion and disability and the importance of incorporating Indigenous knowledge and ways of being and doing, in the education of all children. BC school districts can enrich the learning of all students with this knowledge by connecting with their Indigenous community and finding ways to collaborate.
Research Interests: Special Education, Indigenous education, Learning and Teaching, Self-Determination Theory, Inclusion, and 8 moreDiversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Disability Studies in Education, Special Educational Needs, Disability, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Self Determination Theory, and Indigenous Self-Determination
In this film, self-advocates, educators, family members, and employment experts spotlight key considerations for nurturing career pathways for students. Everyone deserves to be recognized as a contributing member of society through... more
In this film, self-advocates, educators, family members, and employment experts spotlight key considerations for nurturing career pathways for students. Everyone deserves to be recognized as a contributing member of society through employment.
Research Interests: Special Education, Self-Determination Theory, Inclusion, Self-regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), and 11 moreSpecial Educational Needs and Transitions, Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Special Educational Needs, Special Education Teacher Education, Employment, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Self Determination Theory, Self Determination, and Special needs education
British Columbia has embraced a competency-based curriculum. At the heart of this pedagogical approach is nurturing self-determination within ALL learners. Every student has the right to set goals, make plans, make mistakes, reflect on... more
British Columbia has embraced a competency-based curriculum. At the heart of this pedagogical approach is nurturing self-determination within ALL learners. Every student has the right to set goals, make plans, make mistakes, reflect on their learning, and recognize their growth and agency. The same needs to be true for students with developmental disabilities by supporting them to own their voice and fostering their self-determination like the rest of their peers so that we all see them as contributors and important members of our society.
Research Interests: Special Education, Self-Determination Theory, Inclusion, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Self-Regulated Learning (Education), and 8 moreInclusive Education, Special Educational Needs, Diversity and Inclusion, Goal Setting, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Self Determination Theory, and Special needs education
This final segment from the 2020 Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years webinar series introduces ideas for middle years educators navigating blended learning. Concepts were derived with and from educators and teacher inquiry groups... more
This final segment from the 2020 Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years webinar series introduces ideas for middle years educators navigating blended learning. Concepts were derived with and from educators and teacher inquiry groups across BC and the Northwest Territories during COVID19. Examples from Brooke Haller and Desert Sands Community School (SD74), Melissa Burdock (SD67), Jennifer Moody and Eagle Mountain's Team Wolf (SD43), and Chinook MacLean (SD83) are featured.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Inquiry Based Learning, Blended E-Learning, Learning and Teaching, Middle School/Level Education, and 8 moreOutdoor Education, Blended And Mobile Learning, Blended Learning, Middle Years of Schooling, Outdoor Learning, Middle Schools, Coronavirus COVID-19, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
This segment from the Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years Webinar Series from May 27, 2020 revisits key concepts and practices related to middle years teaching and learning. Participant contributions (reflections/responses) from the... more
This segment from the Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years Webinar Series from May 27, 2020 revisits key concepts and practices related to middle years teaching and learning. Participant contributions (reflections/responses) from the Mad Tea Party online liberating structure are included with identifying information removed. Extended example from Selkirk Secondary (Kimberly, BC)'s CORE8 Team (Meg Baker, Jeff Keiver, Carson Loftsgard, Amy Perry, and Caroline Soles).
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Middle school teachers discuss their experience working together to share and develop their practice as part of a cross-district learning team.
Research Interests: Literacy, Middle School/Level Education, Teachers' professional development, Lesson Study, Professional Learning Community, and 7 moreTeacher professional development, Middle Years of Schooling, Literacy Education, Disciplinary Literacy, Professional Learning Communities, Collaborative Inquiry, and Professional Learning Networks
In this segment of the Engaging all Learners in the Middle Years webinar series, Dr. Leyton Schnellert (UBC) highlights aspects of young adolescent identity development and implications for middle years teachers. Vicki Roberts, educator... more
In this segment of the Engaging all Learners in the Middle Years webinar series, Dr. Leyton Schnellert (UBC) highlights aspects of young adolescent identity development and implications for middle years teachers. Vicki Roberts, educator from Greater Victoria School District #61, shares an extended example. Click here to view the video: https://youtu.be/tF8zBOUVCkg.
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Romance, Relationships and Rights confronts misconceptions about adults with intellectual disabilities. Audiences are challenged to think differently about how we value, respect, and support self-advocates' rights to romance and intimate... more
Romance, Relationships and Rights confronts misconceptions about adults with intellectual disabilities. Audiences are challenged to think differently about how we value, respect, and support self-advocates' rights to romance and intimate relationships. The production is based on research by the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship and was co-created with self-advocates supported by the Community Living Society.
This is a video of the full performance of Romance, Relationships and Rights (May 2019).
ISSN: 978-1-988804-22-4.
Reference as:
Schnellert, L., Nelson, J., Hole, R. & The Romance, Relationships, and Rights Company (2019). Romance, Relationships, and Rights: A Community Creation. ISBN: 978-1-988804-22-4, Kelowna, British Columbia: Institute for Community Engaged Research Press, Kelowna, British Columbia. Downloaded from https://www.academia.edu/39790848/Romance_Relationships_and_Rights_A_Community_Creation.
This is a video of the full performance of Romance, Relationships and Rights (May 2019).
ISSN: 978-1-988804-22-4.
Reference as:
Schnellert, L., Nelson, J., Hole, R. & The Romance, Relationships, and Rights Company (2019). Romance, Relationships, and Rights: A Community Creation. ISBN: 978-1-988804-22-4, Kelowna, British Columbia: Institute for Community Engaged Research Press, Kelowna, British Columbia. Downloaded from https://www.academia.edu/39790848/Romance_Relationships_and_Rights_A_Community_Creation.
Research Interests: Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Community Engagement & Participation, Community Based Education, Devised Theatre, and 15 moreSocial Inclusion, Intellectual Disability, Arts-Based Research, Diversity and Inclusion, Interpersonal Romantic Relationships, Community Empowerment, Community theatre, Theatre for Social Change, Community-Based Participatory Research, Arts-Based Educational Research, Community Based Research, Arts-Based Participatory Action Research, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Community Engaged Research, and Research-based Theatre
This short film introduces the production, Romance, Relationships, and Rights, a devised theatre production created by and with self-advocates that confronted misconceptions about adults with intellectual disabilities and challenged... more
This short film introduces the production, Romance, Relationships, and Rights, a devised theatre production created by and with self-advocates that confronted misconceptions about adults with intellectual disabilities and challenged audiences to think differently about how we value, respect, and support self advocates' rights to romance and intimate relationships. See the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyELdpqeOyw.
Research Interests: Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Self-Determination Theory, Sexuality, Applied Theatre, and 14 moreDevised Theatre, Applied Drama/Theatre, Inclusion, Romantic Relationships, Diversity & Inclusion, Intellectual Disability, Interpersonal Romantic Relationships, Community theatre, Theatre for Social Change, Community-Based Participatory Research, Disability Rights, Community Based Research, Romance, and Self Determination
This short film highlights the learning that occurred at the 6th Annual Small Secondary Schools Think Tank at UBC Okanagan in May 2019. Based on interviews with students, Lillooet Secondary School in School District No. 74 is working to... more
This short film highlights the learning that occurred at the 6th Annual Small Secondary Schools Think Tank at UBC Okanagan in May 2019. Based on interviews with students, Lillooet Secondary School in School District No. 74 is working to foster a sense of belonging for their Indigenous learners. Through an empathetic design process participants, rural educators from across British Columbia, supported the case study school to deepen their efforts toward equity-oriented, culturally responsive practices that welcome and nurture all learners. ISBN: 978-1-988804-19-4. More more information on the Think Tank process, see: https://www.academia.edu/36924743/Participatory_Design_to_Foster_Voice_Using_Case_Studies_as_Provocations_for_Change
Research Interests: Community Engagement & Participation, Rural Development, Indigenous Knowledge, Educational Equity and Justice, Teachers' professional development, and 15 moreInclusive Education, Design thinking, Secondary Education, Reconciliation, Rural Schools, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, Sense of belonging, Decolonization, Educational Change, Empathy in Education, Social Emotional Learning, Empathic Design, Community participation and engagement, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, and Indigeous Education
In this short film, we overview the potential of critical literacy as an inclusive pedagogical approach that welcomes children’s funds of knowledge; supports them to seek out diverse, non-dominant and absent perspectives; and empowers... more
In this short film, we overview the potential of critical literacy as an inclusive pedagogical approach that welcomes children’s funds of knowledge; supports them to seek out diverse, non-dominant and absent perspectives; and empowers children to see themselves as changemakers.
ISBN: 978-1-988804-08-8
Link to film: https://youtu.be/yuamzeQX6c4
ISBN: 978-1-988804-08-8
Link to film: https://youtu.be/yuamzeQX6c4
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Each year the Faculty of Education at UBC’s Okanagan Campus hosts the Small Secondary School Think Tank where educators come together for two days of collaboration, inspiration and innovation. Teams from small, primarily rural, secondary... more
Each year the Faculty of Education at UBC’s Okanagan Campus hosts the Small Secondary School Think Tank where educators come together for two days of collaboration, inspiration and innovation. Teams from small, primarily rural, secondary schools and school districts participate in an empathetic design process to support a case study school. In May 2018, the fifth annual think tank saw representatives from BC's Ministry of Education, fourteen school districts, teacher education programs, the community, and BC's Rural Education Advisory collaborate to grow local innovations and identify possible solutions to common challenges. See film at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qYi8BtUyNc
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In this short film, we overview the potential of literacy centres and stations to empower children to self-regulate their learning, differentiate learning and teaching, and extend and deepen content areas learning. Link to film:... more
In this short film, we overview the potential of literacy centres and stations to empower children to self-regulate their learning, differentiate learning and teaching, and extend and deepen content areas learning. Link to film: https://youtu.be/MJaSLEnfbdU.
ISBN: 978-1-988804-07-1.
ISBN: 978-1-988804-07-1.
Research Interests: Literacy, Self-regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Teachers' professional development, Diversity & Inclusion, and 8 moreInclusive Education, Teacher professional development, Elementary Education, Self-regulation, Agency, Primary Education, Literacy Education, and Differentiation
This film offers a glimpse into a learning community where educators support one another as they develop their practice to engage the diverse learners in their classrooms. Over the span of a school year, educators posed questions for... more
This film offers a glimpse into a learning community where educators support one another as they develop their practice to engage the diverse learners in their classrooms. Over the span of a school year, educators posed questions for inquiry that took up a pedagogical approach to nurture the strengths, interests and stretches of their learners. Of note, teacher candidates were welcomed as members of this community of pedagogical inquiry. password: sd10
Research Interests: Teacher Education, Lifelong Learning, Self-regulated Learning, Rural Development, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), and 10 moreProfessional Development, Teachers' professional development, Rural education, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Self-regulation, Community of Inquiry, Professional Learning, Lifelong learning and adult education, and Professional Learning Communities
This film documents how the West Kootenay Rural Teacher Education Program (WKTEP) embraces place-consciousness as its signature pedagogy. Teacher candidates, teachers, administrators, students, and faculty share place-conscious... more
This film documents how the West Kootenay Rural Teacher Education Program (WKTEP) embraces place-consciousness as its signature pedagogy. Teacher candidates, teachers, administrators, students, and faculty share place-conscious experiences they have designed and participated within. ISBN 978-9-188804-04-0.
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This short film offers a glimpse into Eagle River Secondary School's journey. This rural school collaborated with Dr Leyton Schnellert as part of British Columbia's Innovation Partnership initiative to document how the innovative... more
This short film offers a glimpse into Eagle River Secondary School's journey. This rural school collaborated with Dr Leyton Schnellert as part of British Columbia's Innovation Partnership initiative to document how the innovative practices and structures they created leveraged BC's revised curriculum. Practices and approaches they explored included multi-age classes, interdisciplinary core and elective courses, student choice, hands-on learning, competency-based learning (e.g., critical and creative thinking, communication, personal and social awareness and responsibility), and inquiry-based learning.
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This film offers a glimpse into Eagle Mountain Middle School in the Coquitlam School District who collaborated with Dr Leyton Schnellert as part of British Columbia's Innovation Partnership initiative to document their efforts leveraging... more
This film offers a glimpse into Eagle Mountain Middle School in the Coquitlam School District who collaborated with Dr Leyton Schnellert as part of British Columbia's Innovation Partnership initiative to document their efforts leveraging BC's revised curriculum to create a school that welcomes the strengths, stretches and interests of all learners. Embracing middle school philosophy, Eagle Mountain Middle School educators and students work in teams to develop learning communities that take up such approaches as collaborative teaching and learning, place-consciousness, exploratory learning, inquiry-based teaching and learning, competency-based learning (e.g., critical and creative thinking, communication, personal and social awareness and responsibility), students as mentors, and hands-on learning.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Inquiry Based Learning, Learning and Teaching, Middle School/Level Education, and 9 moreDesign Innovation, Collaborative Learning, Community-Based Participatory Research, Community Based Research, Educational Change, Educational Innovation, Community-University Partnerships, Middle Schools, and Collaborative Teaching
This short film documents the genesis of an innovative inquiry-oriented program for grades 9 and 10 students. Welcoming student passions, interests and the development of their whole persons, educators nurture inquiry learning as... more
This short film documents the genesis of an innovative inquiry-oriented program for grades 9 and 10 students. Welcoming student passions, interests and the development of their whole persons, educators nurture inquiry learning as emergent, personal, self-determined and genuine. An example of community based research, UBCO researcher Leyton Schnellert worked with the team as part of the British Columbia's Innovation Partnership Initiative.
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In this short film, members of Rutland Middle School's staff share their efforts to embrace middle school philosophy through inquiry, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration to transform their practice and school. Password for film: isbn
Research Interests: Education, Inquiry Based Learning, Collaboration, Middle School/Level Education, Professional Development, and 11 moreTeachers' professional development, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Arts Integration, Educational Change, Teacher collaboration, Educational Innovation, Coteaching, Social Emotional Learning, Collaborative Inquiry, and Teacher Teams
This film tells the story of the transformational possibilities that can be realized when pre-service teacher education courses are offered in schools. Working together with educators in four middle and secondary schools spanning three... more
This film tells the story of the transformational possibilities that can be realized when pre-service teacher education courses are offered in schools. Working together with educators in four middle and secondary schools spanning three school districts, this project recasts how teacher candidates are prepared and highlights interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented, and relational orientations to teaching and learning. View film at: youtu.be/oIcgSn_9hFE?a
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Teacher Education, Lifelong Learning, Learning and Teaching, and 11 moreCollaboration, Middle School/Level Education, Teacher Training, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Secondary Education, Adolescent Education (Education), Preservice Teacher Education, Teacher Preparation, Teacher education, Pre/Inservice developing teacher identity, disposition, and philosophy statements, TE curricula and pedagogy as a content area of study, critical pedagogy & methodologies, and University School Collaborations
In this project UBCO teacher candidates, teachers from the Okanagan and Shuswap regions, UBCO faculty, and Ministry of Education staff engaged in collaborative inquiry to consider and explore the potential of BC’s K-12 curriculum renewal.... more
In this project UBCO teacher candidates, teachers from the Okanagan and Shuswap regions, UBCO faculty, and Ministry of Education staff engaged in collaborative inquiry to consider and explore the potential of BC’s K-12 curriculum renewal. Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJgNvI3oCm8&feature=youtu.be&a
Research Interests: Education, Teacher Education, Inquiry Based Learning, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, and 8 moreTeachers' professional development, School effectiveness and school improvement, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Community of Inquiry, Curriculum change, Professional Learning Communities, and University School District Collaboration
This example of student inquiry in a multi-age rural classroom illustrates student inquiry. Tracy Wallis, the classroom teacher, describes how shared content area learning experiences fueled students' individual inquiries. See film:... more
This example of student inquiry in a multi-age rural classroom illustrates student inquiry. Tracy Wallis, the classroom teacher, describes how shared content area learning experiences fueled students' individual inquiries. See film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MV56F3UHWI
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This study examined the professional development (PD) of teachers within the Through a Different Lens (TADL) professional learning network (PLN). The project’s focus was to empower teachers to remove barriers to success that many... more
This study examined the professional development (PD) of teachers within the Through a Different Lens (TADL) professional learning network (PLN). The project’s focus was to empower teachers to remove barriers to success that many equity-seeking students face. We conducted an in-depth case study (author, 2015; Meriam, 1998). Data was collected from 77 teachers. Multiple forms of data were juxtaposed in order to trace: 1) how TADL fostered teacher learning/practice change, 2) relationships between practice change and student outcomes. The TADL PLN met 7 times over the school year. Data was collected in the form of student case studies, teacher interviews, field notes, and artifacts. Data was iteratively analyzed. As patterns emerged themes were supported, reframed and/or collapsed using confirming and disconfirming evidence. Several themes were derived: 1. Educators benefited from choice just as students do: offering options, such as inquiry groups differentiated by pedagical focus, book clubs and PD sessions gave entry points for educator learning. 2. When teachers connected their inquiry with a particular student in mind, the focus student and other students benefitted. Particular practices that made a difference:
● establishing a positive relationship with students at-risk of not completing school.
● personalizing learning, including offering choice, connecting to student interests, and strength-based learning.
Equity-oriented PLNs such as TADL can develop more ownership and agency in teachers and students by (re)framing diversity as a strength, creating pathways for at-risk learners based on their strengths/interests, and making innovations for diverse learners accessible to all students.
● establishing a positive relationship with students at-risk of not completing school.
● personalizing learning, including offering choice, connecting to student interests, and strength-based learning.
Equity-oriented PLNs such as TADL can develop more ownership and agency in teachers and students by (re)framing diversity as a strength, creating pathways for at-risk learners based on their strengths/interests, and making innovations for diverse learners accessible to all students.
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In the research described herein, we draw on a model of Self-Regulated Learning in Complex Activities(Butler & Cartier, 2005; Cartier & Butler, 2004) to investigate student engagement in learning through reading (LTR) as situated in... more
In the research described herein, we draw on a model of Self-Regulated Learning in Complex Activities(Butler & Cartier, 2005; Cartier & Butler, 2004) to investigate student engagement in learning through reading (LTR) as situated in multiple layers of context. We employed a unique, mixed-methods design to find patterns within and across 31 classroomsat multiple levels of aggregation. Participants were
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Research Interests:
Professional learning structured as collaborative inquiry between educators and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community partners and researchers has the potential to foster culturally sustaining and responsive practices... more
Professional learning structured as collaborative inquiry between educators and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community partners and researchers has the potential to foster culturally sustaining and responsive practices that broaden and decolonize understandings of student success and pedagogy (Lopez, 2020; Paris, 2021; Schnellert et al., 2022). Our research offers an example of K-12 educators who have primarily white/settler identities working with Indigenous educators, Knowledge Holders, and researchers within an education change network (ECN). In the Welcoming Indigenous Ways of Knowing ECN Indigenous educators and Knowledge Holders participated in all aspects of the ECN from planning to implementation. Sylix Indigenous Knowledge Holders shared local knowledge and protocols to support educators in welcoming local Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing into their classrooms. Our time together also included attention to anti-racism, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (2015) Calls to Action, and the lasting impact of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.
Research Interests: Education, Indigenous education, Inquiry Based Learning, Community Engagement & Participation, Collaboration, and 15 moreInclusion, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Diversity & Inclusion, Equity, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, Community-Based Participatory Research, Decolonization, Community Based Research, K-12 Education, Educational Change, Professional Learning Communities, and Community Engaged Research
In our research, we examine how teachers are leveraging and contextualizing British Columbia’s curriculum to meet local needs, develop competencies of 21st century learners, and develop pedagogies that draw from and lift up students’... more
In our research, we examine how teachers are leveraging and contextualizing British Columbia’s curriculum to meet local needs, develop competencies of 21st century learners, and develop pedagogies that draw from and lift up students’ funds of knowledge and identity. This case study examines how Education Change Networks (ECNs) can foster teacher leadership and collective work towards common goals in ways that respond to the needs of communities and welcome local holistic Indigenous ways of knowing and being. In partnership with the Ministry of Education who support seed funding grants, project leaders were invited to collaborate with local First Nations and Indigenous community members and focus on improving literacy and numeracy for Indigenous students using current research.
Research Interests: Education, Educational Leadership, Professional Development, Teachers' professional development, Inclusive Education, and 15 moreRural education, Teacher Inquiry, Equity, Professional Learning Community, Teacher Leadership, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Rurality, Community of Practice, Community of Inquiry, Innovation and Creativity in Education, Place-Based Education, Educational Innovation, Community Engaged Research, and Teacher Change/Professional Development
Schools can reinforce colonial structures or be transformed into sites of change; therefore, many Canadian educators, school districts, and Ministries of Education are seeking ways to better support the needs of Indigenous students. Our... more
Schools can reinforce colonial structures or be transformed into sites of change; therefore, many Canadian educators, school districts, and Ministries of Education are seeking ways to better support the needs of Indigenous students. Our research investigates how Education Change Networks (ECNs) can support educators to collaborate with Indigenous community members and researchers to better meet the needs of all learners by taking up holistic Indigenous ways of knowing and being in inclusive classrooms.
Research Interests: Inquiry Based Learning, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, Indigenous Knowledge, Educational Equity and Justice, and 13 moreTeachers' professional development, Teacher Inquiry, Equity, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Inquiry, Decolonization, Educational Change, Teacher collaboration, Professional Learning Communities, Teacher Change/Professional Development, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
Change initiatives at the system level (i.e., national, state/provincial) tend to be designed and led by policy makers, educators, and academics from cities and more densely populated areas. This positions rural students, communities, and... more
Change initiatives at the system level (i.e., national, state/provincial) tend to be designed and led by policy makers, educators, and academics from cities and more densely populated areas. This positions rural students, communities, and teachers at a disadvantage trying to retrofit directions and approaches for rural schools. Educational innovation does not only originate in cities and universities. Consequential education knowledge and contributions also reside in rural schools and communities. In our work with rural educators, we disrupt top-down approaches to professional development, knowledge production, and educational research through a collaborative inquiry-oriented professional learning network (PLN).
Research Interests: Space and Place, Inquiry Based Learning, Collaboration, Practitioner Inquiry, Teachers' professional development, and 15 moreRural education, Equity, Professional Learning Community, Teacher professional development, Educational Leadership and Change, Community of Inquiry, Qualitative inquiry, Educational Change, Teacher collaboration, Educational Innovation, Professional Learning Communities, Social Emotional Learning, Educational innovation and change, Collaborative Inquiry, and Professional Learning Networks
In this short contribution to the American Education Research Association's Studying and Self-Regulated Learning (SSRL) SIG newsletter we outline a partnership between UBC's Self-Regulated Learning in the Middle Years B.Ed. Cohort and... more
In this short contribution to the American Education Research Association's Studying and Self-Regulated Learning (SSRL) SIG newsletter we outline a partnership between UBC's Self-Regulated Learning in the Middle Years B.Ed. Cohort and BC's School District No. 43 (Coquitlamd).
Research Interests: Teacher Education, Self-regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning (Education), Teachers' professional development, Teacher professional development, and 5 moreMiddle Years of Schooling, Self-regulation, Social Emotional Learning, Metacognitive Self-Regulation, and Public School-University Partnerships
This short article in the British Columbia Teachers' Federation Teacher Magazine introduces the Disrupting Misconceptions about Students with Development Disabilities film series.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Special Education, Teacher Education, Disability Studies, and 11 moreCritical Pedagogy, Self-Determination Theory, Inclusive education (Learning And Teaching), Inclusive Education, Special Educational Needs, Disability, Self Advocacy and Empowerment, Special Education Needs and Inclusive Practice, Self Determination Theory, Self Determination, and Special needs education
We want to bring student voice into our classrooms. We want the strengths, stretches, and interests of our students to inform our teaching. We take up this learning tool in classrooms as part of relational formative assessment and... more
We want to bring student voice into our classrooms. We want the strengths, stretches, and interests of our students to inform our teaching. We take up this learning tool in classrooms as part of relational formative assessment and community building. Examples of how we have introduced and used this tool to learn about our students and build a class profile can be found in several of our books (Brownlie, Feniak & Schnellert, 2016; Brownlie & Fullerton & Schnellert; Brownlie & Schnellert, 2009; Schnellert, Datto, Ediger & Panas, 2009; Schnellert, Watson & Widdess, 2015).
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Teachers continue to struggle to implement teaching and learning practices that support all students in the classroom, despite significant research in the area. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) help to bridge the divide between... more
Teachers continue to struggle to implement teaching and learning practices that support all students in the classroom, despite significant research in the area. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) help to bridge the divide between theory and research by facilitating implementation of research-based pedagogy in classrooms, and creating research that is relevant to school contexts. This symposium presents seven examples of how RPPs can be implemented to advance knowledge about pedagogical practices that support inclusion. Findings suggest the dialogue between researchers and practitioners led to the co-construction of knowledge relevant to authentic environments. RPPs facilitated powerful relationships between teachers and researchers that built on the expertise of both, and resulted in intimate connections between research and pedagogy that meaningfully and immediately informed one another.
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Reflexive, decentering practices that disrupt historically hierarchical, transmission-oriented and/or colonial teaching and learning need to spread beyond diversity-specific teacher education courses and optional and/or one time... more
Reflexive, decentering practices that disrupt historically hierarchical, transmission-oriented and/or colonial teaching and learning need to spread beyond diversity-specific teacher education courses and optional and/or one time professional development experiences. In this study, teacher candidates in a small urban center were immersed immediately in diverse school settings that not only provided them opportunities to make theoretical/practice connections, but also disrupted their conceptions of teaching, learning, education and curriculum. This contextual model of teacher education offered dynamic learning in classrooms exploring when and how theory can meet practice when students’ funds of knowledge are valued through responsive teaching.
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This study examined individual and collaborative professional development (PD) of teachers within inquiry teams, and perceived effects on teacher practice and student outcomes. The focus of PD in this project was inclusive classrooms and... more
This study examined individual and collaborative professional development (PD) of teachers within inquiry teams, and perceived effects on teacher practice and student outcomes. The focus of PD in this project was inclusive classrooms and making learning engaging and relevant for all students. We attempted to remove barriers to success that many vulnerable students face; create strength-based classrooms where students can learn in alternative ways; and provide relevant learning opportunities. Participating teachers engaged together in five to seven PD meetings over the course of the school year.
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By the time they reach the secondary level, it is routinely expected that adolescents will know how to access and learn from informational texts. However, contrary to this expectation, and consonant with research findings, teachers often... more
By the time they reach the secondary level, it is routinely expected that adolescents will know how to access and learn from informational texts. However, contrary to this expectation, and consonant with research findings, teachers often report that adolescents are not proficient at “reading to learn” within important content domains (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies). In the work that we describe in this article, we tackle this critical discrepancy head-on. Building on an eight-year collaboration between a School District and researchers at the University of British Columbia, the goals in our current project are three-fold: (1) to understand influences on, and barriers to, secondary students’ successful engagement in reading to learn in various content domains; (2) to identify principles and practices for supporting adolescents’ learning through reading; and (3) to develop a model for providing professional development that assists content area teachers to promote more successful reading and learning by students.
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This book illustrates key attributes of professional learning networks that build educators’ ownership, practice, and expertise and highlights the potential of PLNs to address questions of equity, both for educators working in rural... more
This book illustrates key attributes of professional learning networks that build educators’ ownership, practice, and expertise and highlights the potential of PLNs to address questions of equity, both for educators working in rural communities who have limited access to professional development and diverse learners and equity-seeking communities.
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In this self-study research, we explore how the work of significant and diverse curriculum scholars informed the learning of teacher candidates within an intensive summer semester that serves as the foundation for a Secondary Teacher... more
In this self-study research, we explore how the work of significant and diverse curriculum scholars informed the learning of teacher candidates within an intensive summer semester that serves as the foundation for a Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) at a Canadian university. Questions that guided our inquiry include: How did teacher candidates take up and negotiate theory as part of their emerging professional identities? How did teacher candidates understand the relationship between pedagogy and their learning of/through curriculum theory? How did teacher candidates embody diverse theories and how did they understand the significance of this within and beyond this foundational semester? And finally, as teacher educators, how are our beliefs, understandings and practices developing through this self-study? We employed a qualitative, grounded theory approach and engaged in iterative cycles of analysis with learning artifacts and interview transcripts from 26 teacher candidat...
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The purpose of this case study was to examine how teachers experienced professional development as collaborative inquiry, and how their experiences contributed to their development as teacher leaders. Three overarching themes were... more
The purpose of this case study was to examine how teachers experienced professional development as collaborative inquiry, and how their experiences contributed to their development as teacher leaders. Three overarching themes were identified through iterative qualitative analysis of multiple data sources including interviews, observations, participant reflections, and classroom artifacts. Through inquiry foci derived and developed in small learning teams, teachers were able to establish increased ownership and sense of agency towards change at the classroom and school level. The authors recommend sustained focus on (a) the emergent and fluid nature of teacher leadership experienced and fostered through collaborative inquiry; (b) attention to educators’ personal and interpersonal social and emotional competencies as an important aspect of teacher leadership; and (c) how rural and/or small secondary school contexts offer and require situated leadership development opportunities. This ...
Research Interests: Educational Leadership, Inquiry Based Learning, Case Study Research, Collaboration, Rural Development, and 10 moreProfessional Development, Rural education, Teacher Leadership, Teacher professional development, Collaborative Learning, Community of Practice, Community of Inquiry, Case Study, Educational Change, and Teachers Professional Development
A hybrid vehicle drive system is designed to have dimensions that are shorter in an axial direction and improved centering accuracy of a rotor, in order to prevent deterioration of motor performance. A rotor support plate ( 15 ) has a... more
A hybrid vehicle drive system is designed to have dimensions that are shorter in an axial direction and improved centering accuracy of a rotor, in order to prevent deterioration of motor performance. A rotor support plate ( 15 ) has a flat-plate shaped disk portion ( 15 b), and is fixed to a front cover ( 32 ) of a take off device ( 5 ), such as a torque converter, or the like, at the disk portion with a set block ( 67 ) and a bolt ( 69 ). A forward portion of the take off device is centered and supported by fitting a center piece ( 33 ) to a crankshaft ( 3 ). A support-plate hub ( 15 a) is in contact with the center piece ( 33 ) at a small area ( 33 c) in a vicinity of a fixing plane P of the disk portion ( 15 b) and the set block ( 67 ), and thus centering of the rotor ( 13 ) is executed.
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Research Interests:
Educational renewal in rural schools and communities can be stymied by many challenges including teacher isolation, staff turnover, and failing resource-based economies. Education change networks within and across rural communities can... more
Educational renewal in rural schools and communities can be stymied by many challenges including teacher isolation, staff turnover, and failing resource-based economies. Education change networks within and across rural communities can nuture educators’ professional development through collaborative inquiry and connect educators interested in taking up equity-oriented, place-conscious pedagogies. This afterward draws from the chapters in this book to outline how rural education transformation can benefit from and be realized within education change networks that take up multiple perspectives including the more-than-human world, reconciliation with Indigenous communities, and service learning.