Fall Convocation 2020 will see the inaugural cohort of the Health and Physical Education Master of Education students graduate. Led by Elementary Education professors Doug Gleddie and Hayley Morrison and Secondary Education professor Lauren Sulz, the program is designed to allow teachers to pursue their master’s degree over two years through a combination of online courses and a two-week in-person component in each summer of the program.

It started with a crisis that made international news.

In 2016, forest fires ravaged Fort McMurray. Almost 100,000 people were evacuated and 2,400 homes were destroyed. In the aftermath, Nathalie Reid’s research into trauma-sensitive pedagogy found many student-focused resources, but there were few resources for educators also experiencing trauma.

Reid, who crosses the virtual convocation stage to receive her PhD in Elementary Education on June 12, realized that the significant research gap might present an opportunity to better support teachers in schools.

How can schools effectively support health and wellness for students and teachers alike to provide an optimal learning environment? The Mitacs Elevate postdoctoral fellow is hoping to help provide answers about how to build healthy school communities for Albertans from kindergarten to post-secondary—then share the model with the rest of the world.

Awareness of how trauma impacts student wellness and learning is growing, with protocols like the Trauma Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) providing a roadmap for teachers to help create trauma-sensitive classrooms. But a University of Alberta education researcher says such protocols are incomplete without a key element: teachers’ experiences.

I have a hard time slowing things down in the summer months generally speaking (there are just so many interesting things to do!) but with three trips to Europe between May – August, co-leading a summer institute for teachers in July, and various research meetings, this summer was particularly eventful and, dare I say, fun.

Andrew Morgan had a dozen years of experience as a classroom teacher in Edmonton when he decided to return to the University of Alberta, where he’d earned his bachelor of education, to pursue a master’s degree in elementary education. In addition to adding credentials that will enable him to pursue future career prospects, Morgan says he wanted to embody an important lesson.

Teachers and professionals in related fields who work with young children have a new way to upgrade their early childhood education knowledge and skills—without interrupting their careers—thanks to an online certificate program just launched at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Education.

After teaching music in an elementary classroom for 35 years, all it took to reignite the spark of learning for Irena Szmihelsky was an open studies music education course.

“It was an eye-opener,” says Szmihelsky of that first course. “It’s almost shameful for me to say how little I know in music after teaching it for so many years. I thought to myself, ‘I’m doing myself an injustice by ignoring the possibilities before me.’”

Step into Jessica Maloughney’s (BEd’11) Grade 2 classroom at St. Patrick’s Community School in Red Deer, Alta., and you may be reminded of a six-year-old’s bedroom. Minecraft posters decorate the walls, Lego figurines are tucked around the classroom, and collections of Star Wars and Frozen books populate the bookshelf.

The year Lori Friesen (‘12 PhD) began teaching, she adopted a puppy: a Maltese-poodle named Tango. It was the first dog she’d had since the passing of her beloved childhood dog, and she was thrilled. So were her Grade 1 students, who begged to meet the puppy. Seeing the learning opportunities for students, Friesen agreed to bring the dog to class.

Once Tango had been introduced to the children, pairs of students were allowed 10 minutes with the dog in the reading corner. That’s when the canine magic began. “They started bringing books to read to her,” recalls Friesen.