Brent Saccucci has a vision of how his future classroom will look. He pictures a massive piece of paper on one wall of the room, with a heart painted in the middle and this question written underneath: “What makes this classroom a place for you to be heard and accepted?”

All around the heart, Brent imagines there will be quotes from his students (or, as he calls them, “my kids”), saying what makes that room a place in which they can be present, a place in which they want to learn.

It’s early March, and I sit with a group of undergrad students in EDPS 401: Sexuality, Gender, and Culture in Education.

I feel like I’m taking part in history: it’s the first year the course has been offered in the Faculty of Education, and it happens to be the week Bill 10 was passed in Alberta’s legislature, allowing gay-straight alliances to form in any school where students want them.

The course was created by professor Kristopher Wells, one of Edmonton’s most prominent voices for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) rights.

Patricia Boechler has an office and a lab in the Education North building, but the Faculty of Education’s Associate Dean, Research, is gradually being pulled in more and more directions.

“The work we do in the field of educational technology reaches beyond our walls, it has become completely interdisciplinary,” she explains. Educational technology research has applications across campus, and the Technology and Learning Sciences Lab (TALS) in the Faculty of Education has become a hub of expertise regarding changes in how we learn and teach.

As you know, assessment is a big part of being a teacher and as future educators, you are going to be doing a lot of training in this area during your time here in the Faculty of Education. This week we are talking to Dr. Jacqueline Leighton, Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology about assessment. We'd love it if you'd share your thoughts on assessment in the comments section below the video.

Mary Pinkoski and Minister Faust are more than writers. They’re also teachers and literary ambassadors.

She’s the City of Edmonton’s Poet Laureate. He’s the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Alberta. Both are Education alumni who have found success in Edmonton’s arts community, and each one holds a unique literary position with a cool opportunity to help teach and inspire other writers.

Poetry for the people

Education student Nabeel Jaffer has a passion for poop.

When the friendly and entrepreneurial 27 year old hands you his business card, the first thing you see are the words “TOILET NERD” emblazoned under his name in uppercase letters.

Jaffer doesn’t take himself too seriously, but once you get him talking about his passion—a non-profit organization called the Manavta Project that builds sustainable sanitation facilities at rural schools in Nepal—he is all business.

By Jane Marshall

Imagine living in a remote Northern Alberta community and wanting to attend university. It would typically involve packing up and leaving for the city, a big dose of courage, and substantial financial sacrifices.

Fortunately for Deborah Gladue-McLeod, her path to a Bachelor of Education degree didn’t force her to leave her First Nations community in Wabasca, Alberta.

Katrina Kully-Martens was working as a research assistant studying educational psychology in relation to children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and she was excited to share her experience with others. But when she spoke about her work, the response was often the same.

“I talked to people of all kinds, from all educational backgrounds. And most of them said: ‘Oh, it’s so sad that they have FASD, and there’s nothing you can do about it, is there?’”

When Mark Templeton discovered he could teach what he loves and share his passion for the arts, his whole perspective changed.