Category: Community Engagement

Rethinking Research Measurements

An international conference at the University of Regina from July 23 to 25, 2015, will explore ways of measuring the impact of research and being more accountable to the public.

“We have to rethink what forms the products of research will take. Peer-reviewed journal articles may not always be appropriate or even desirable,” explains Dr. Marc Spooner, a professor of Education at the University of Regina and a co-organizer of the event along with Dr. James McNinch.

About 20 world-class guest speakers from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States will be making presentations. More than 100 guests are expected to attend the event, including university presidents, professors, community members, government officials.

“Also, we have to do a better job of engaging the public,” says Dr. Spooner. “We have to be effective at explaining and disseminating our research findings both to the public and also to policy makers, stakeholders, government – including public talks, not just at the university but in our communities as well.”

Dr. Spooner says it’s significant that this important international event is taking place at the University of Regina.

“The U of R is innovative and fresh enough in our thinking to dare to have these perhaps difficult conversations about what counts as research and why. It’s the same with research impact. We are nimble, open-minded, and creative. We are bold enough to challenge the status quo, to interrogate tradition, and to trust open dialogue.”

Dr. Spooner believes that what counts as scholarly impact must continue to evolve.

“Important advances in community-based and participatory approaches to research – which involve our communities – continue to develop and become a more commonly applied type of scholarship,” he says.

“It means we are at the forefront of examining research impact and of engaging in meaningful scholarship. We have the opportunity to be a national and international leader in supporting and rewarding the wide array of valuable scholarship in all its manifestations our world so desperately needs,” he adds.

Reposted from U of R Feature Stories

By Dale Johnson

Education professor recipient of International Young Scholar Award

REPOST: By Dale Johnson Posted: May 27, 2015 U of R Feature Stories

What a difference a year makes.

Education professor Dr. Lee Schaefer attended the International Association for Higher Education in Physical Education (AIESEP) global conference for the first time last year in New Zealand. He says “I was star struck. All of these people from Europe, New Zealand, and Australia whose work you have been reading are now standing in front of you presenting. I left the conference inspired – and made a commitment to become more involved in the association.”

Well, he will certainly be more involved at this year’s conference, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, July 8 to 15, 2015.

Dr. Schaefer will be called up on stage and presented with a Young Scholar Award from AIESEP.  The award recognizes beginning scholars in the area of physical education and sport pedagogy who have made significant contributions to the field and portray scholarly promise for the future.

“My Dad is also going to be coming to Spain with me in July to watch the award ceremony, so it will be really special to have him there for that,” he says.

Dr. Schaefer is the only person in Canada to be so honoured. The other winners are from Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

“I was shocked when I found out that I had won the award. I’m really humbled. It means a lot to be recognized by an international organization that includes many of the most prolific researchers in the physical education pedagogy area. There are a number of amazing young scholars across Canada so to be chosen is really an honour,” says Dr. Schaefer.

Dr. Schaefer and the other winners have had their registration fees waived for the conference.

“Recognition like this makes you feel like the research and academic work you are doing matters to others, which is a great feeling. It was also certainly nice for family and friends to see this and get a sense of what I am actually doing at the university While this is an individual award, there is no way that it would have even been remotely possible without the support of my family – Laura, Everlee and Cove – and the collaboration of a number of friends and colleagues.”

Dr. Schaefer earned his B.Ed. at the University of Regina, and his M.Ed. and Ph.D. at the University of Alberta.

“This shows the increased emphasis and support for research is allowing faculty more opportunities to get their work out there,” says Dr. Schaefer. “As a beginning scholar I had reduced course time as well as a non-teaching semester that really allowed me to set the foundations for a solid research program.”

Over the last decade the University of Regina has led all other medium-sized universities in “research impact” according to Thomson-Reuters and Web of Science data. This means that the work of U of R professors was cited more than any other university. Research Impact is a real area of strength at the University – and one of the three priority areas in our new Strategic Plan.

Saskatchewan Business Teachers’ Association Annual High School Case Competition

The Annual Case Competition was held on Friday, May 1, 2015 at the University of Regina.  Business Ed high school students from across Saskatchewan participate in the competition.  This year, Campbell Collegiate Business Education students won first place. The University of Regina, Faculty of Education, Business Education Students Association (BESS) created the competition four years ago. See this video produced by Brandon Wu,  Strategy Lab.

SBTA 2015 from Strategy Lab on Vimeo.

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Work-life and Health of Teachers

Dr. Ron Martin
Dr. Ron Martin

Dr. Ron Martin will be the Keynote speaker for the Good Spirit School Division annual conference in Yorkton, SK on May 19, 2015

Dr. Martin’s talk will describe research (funded by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation) about the work-life and health of teachers in Regina and Saskatoon. Outcomes from this research (e.g., findings about the most salient stressors reported by teachers) were used as the basis for a subsequent intervention study. The study (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; SSHRC) involved the delivery of an intervention that was designed to help new teachers (i.e., students graduating from our teacher education program and beginning their first paid teaching positions) to better manage key work-related stressors and to remain on the job. The key stressors that were targeted for intervention were: 1) working with students with diverse needs in the classroom; 2) dealing with challenging student behaviors in the classroom; and 3) managing legal and ethical issues on the job.

Keynote Engagements

 

Dr. Alec Couros, Keynote Speaker for IT4K12 2015, 04 Jun 2015
Couros

 

Developing Teacher Candidates in a Networked World

It’s no longer enough for faculties of education to deliver static, technical courses on the methods of teaching.

By Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt

Recently, preservice teachers in two of our classes at the Faculty of Education, University Regina, participated in #saskedchat, a weekly Twitter chat hosted by and for Saskatchewan educators. Although the chat typically runs on Thursday nights, organizers scheduled a “special edition” of the chat on the topic of supporting new teachers. Almost instantly, our students were immersed in a global discussion about education – and what’s more, they were instantly connected to a large network of practicing teachers who were able to provide them with advice and tips for success. But while the Twitter chat was an enriching experience for our students, participation in events like these is only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to preparing new teachers to learn and flourish in a digital world.

As the field of education changes rapidly, it’s no longer enough for faculties of education to deliver static, technical courses on the methods of teaching. Instead, we need to help pre-service teachers develop the skills and understandings that will allow them to navigate and succeed in today’s global classrooms. And perhaps even more importantly, we need to help future teachers build the personal learning networks that will provide both the support system and continuous professional development opportunities needed to become and remain successful educators.

Read more on CEA

BLC 14 Keynote

2014 COHERE Keynote

Dr. Marc Spoooner

Gender, Justice, and the Indian Residential School Claims Process

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At the Gender, Justice, and the Indian Residential School Claims Process for the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corporation presentation.

Dr. Cindy Hanson (Faculty of Education, University of Regina), Judy Hughes (Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corp.), and Elder Sylvia Popowich presented Gender, Justice, and the Indian Residential School Claims Process for the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corporation on February 12, 2015, from 2-4 p.m.

The lecture focused on Canadian government policies aimed at Survivors of Indian Residential Schools (IRS) that are becoming one of the largest compensation processes in the world. The costs and volume of applicants to the Independent Assessment Process (IAP), an out-of-court process for the resolution of serious physical and sexual abuse claims suffered at IRS continues to grow. Although many reports focus on the magnitude of the process, attention aimed at how the model works from the perspective of a gender lens are much less understood and raise serious questions in the design of policies aimed at “healing and reconciliation” (the stated goals of the IAP). A community-university research collaboration funded by the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre resulted in meetings with survivors, support workers, lawyers and adjudicators to gain a deeper understanding of the capacity of the IAP model to facilitate personal and community healing by examining the model from the perspective of culturally relevant gender analysis.

This talk brought together an elder, a representative of a community organization and a University of Regina scholar to discuss discrimination within the IAP model and how this example can inform other policies and programs.