Twenty-five Faculty of Education faculty, graduate students, and postdocs are presenting at the 52nd Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) conference. As part of Congress 2024 (June 12 to June 17) whose theme is Sustaining Shared Futures, FoE researchers are participating in eight paper presentations, six symposium panels, one roundtable, and one arts-based session. Their scholarly work emphasizes the importance of understanding the intricate connections between human existence and global challenges by addressing complex social, economic, environmental, and technological issues that shape our future.

Twenty researchers from the Faculty of Education, including faculty, graduate students, and postdocs, will present a total of 20 sessions at the AERA annual conference from April 11 to April 15, 2024. The presentations include four papers, five symposium presentations, eight roundtables, three posters, and two business meetings, in response to the conference theme of “Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action.”

Diverse cultural backgrounds and personal experiences shape women's contributions to academia and advocacy for gender equity. In honour of International Women’s Day, Melisa Small-Cooke and Bahar Zandrazavi share their journeys, rooted in different cultures but converging on the importance of diverse perspectives in the curriculum and educational system.

In this blog, Dr. Shiva Hajian explores the innovative intersection of ChatGPT's AI capabilities and active learning principles in education through a captivating science project. The article delves into how combining ChatGPT with hands-on, experiential learning strategies, inspired by John Dewey's educational philosophies, transforms the complex subject of cell biology into an engaging, accessible activity. By turning theoretical knowledge into an edible craft, it highlights the potential of AI to enrich educational experiences, making learning more interactive, enjoyable, and effective for students.

Australian scholars Dr. Kevin Lowe and Dr. Greg Vass hosted a discussion and workshop on re-orienting teachers’ classroom practices through a Culturally Nourishing Schooling (CNS) approach to pedagogy. CNS is both collaborative—bringing together educators, local Cultural Mentors, and researchers—and critical, interrogating current curricula and educational policies from Indigenous standpoints. As Lowe and Vass argue, a CNS approach is necessary to develop and enact critically informed teaching practices that improve the schooling experiences and outcomes of Indigenous learners.

Morita Therapy, as described by Moritatherapy.ca, “is an indigenous Japanese psychotherapy developed by the late Dr. Shoma Morita (1874-1938) around 1919. With its rich history, Morita therapy invites people to approach so-called "negative" feelings as natural and inevitable human responses to circumstances. It encourages people to refrain from "judging" what is natural and inevitable (such as feeling sad or anxious) as "good or bad", just as we would not judge the angle of a mountaintop, the curvature of a bonsai tree, or the speed of river flow in the same way”.

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Jeff Sugarman has been honoured with the Award for Distinguished Theoretical and Philosophical Contributions to Psychology by the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24 of the American Psychological Association). This is the division's highest award, which recognizes one of its members each year for lifetime scholarly achievement.

Dr. Hill and Dr. Kerr, faculty members in the Faculty of Education and dedicated advocates for Indigenous education, have been awarded SFU CEI Awards for their collaborative Indigenous-focused research projects. Dr. Hill’s project, “Beyond the Equity Scan: Catalyzing the Resurgence of Local Indigenous Knowledges, Pre-colonial Pedagogies, and Inclusive Practices within Schools,” and Dr. Kerr's project, “Indigenous Sovereignty in Curriculum,” exemplify their unwavering commitment as non-Indigenous scholars to fostering Indigenous knowledge and responsive educational approaches through community collaborations in the interests of systemic transformation.

Forty-two Faculty of Education faculty, graduate students, and postdocs are presenting at the 51st Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE). This annual conference takes place at York University from May 27 to June 1, 2023. The FoE researchers are participating in 19 paper presentations, 12 symposium panels, two roundtables, and two special events. By presenting at the CSSE conference, they contribute to reimagining and transforming our world for the better.

How does a graduate student stay positive and motivated despite facing many institutional challenges? In this blog post by Dr. Shiva Hajian, 2022 recipient of the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal, learn how “mindful decision-making” played a major role in her journey toward a PhD in Educational Psychology. As Dr. Hajian expresses it, "The more self-aware and self-conscious you are, the more informed decisions you can make.

Twenty-eight researchers from the Faculty of Education, including faculty, graduate students, and postdocs, will present a total of 31 sessions at the AERA annual conference from April 13 to May 5, 2023. The presentations will include 11 papers, three posters, 11 roundtables, five symposium presentations, and one business meeting, in response to the conference theme of "Interrogating Consequential Education Research in Pursuit of Truth." The conference will be held online and in-person.

In honour of International Women's Day, we proudly highlight Faculty of Education graduate students whose research contributes to advancing gender equity and is making a meaningful impact in the lives of girls and women all around the world.

Encouraged by the diverse scholarship on display in the Faculty of Education, Joel shares his experience of “writing about writing about music". His new book discusses why and how people attempt to capture the power of music in words. This blog discusses his thoughts on this interdisciplinary work and embracing popular music as a worthwhile object of study.

Thirty-four Faculty of Education scholars (faculty, graduate students and postdocs) will present at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual conference, to be held online and in-person from April 22 to 25, 2022. The 34 FoE researchers will present 16 papers, six posters, six roundtables, two SIG meetings, and one journal talk, for a total of 31 sessions.

Our contemporary life has been strongly interwoven with technology and digital devices, and the crisis of COVID-19 has strengthened this connection and dependency more than ever. Young students need greater awareness of and desire to prepare for this new technological and digital future, as recommended by NSF, NSERC, CCA, and the Science, Technology and Innovation Council. This also requires curricula and pedagogical updates and adaption for acquiring such knowledge and achieving our goals in the future.

Addressing issues of equity through critical educational pedagogies is a theme which resonates in Dr. Pooja Dharamshi’s publication. In her study of literacy teacher educators’ (LTEs) early experiences and their conceptualizations of teacher education, she suggests that the development of effective teachers in diverse classrooms requires LTEs who embody broad concepts of literacy and critical perspectives.

Few philosophers of movement actually move for a living, and few movers think deeply, philosophically, about their practice. In this article, Damien Norris adds to the discussion of human movement, sport, and exercise. He is engaged with movement in practical ways and determined to understand his experiences philosophically.

The Research Hub continues to endow Education grad students with rich opportunities for growth and development. Tania Bakas, graduate student in the Counselling Psychology program, reflects on writing tips shared by Dr. Cher Hill in a recent Hub writing retreat and how these helped her quiet her inner writing saboteur and reclaim her writing flow.

Thirty Faculty of Education scholars (faculty, graduate students and postdocs) presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) annual conference, to be held online from May 30 to June 3, 2021. Sara Davidson and Fatemah Jalali were serving on the Program Committee, together with colleagues from institutions across Canada. The 30 FoE researchers will speak at 14 paper sessions, 12 symposium panels, two roundtables and one special event for a total of 30 sessions.

Experiential, place-based learning can cultivate a connection with the natural world. To address the climate crisis and other ecological devastation, we need to acknowledge and respect the entire more-than-human community—to teach learners of all ages not to be citizens of the economy, but citizens of the planet.

Modern education history has been punctuated by many attempts to personalize learning. As another wave of personalized learning rises across North America, including British Columbia, Michael Maser recounts his experiences using this approach to nurture learning and explains why it’s become the focus of his PhD studies.

As a physics student, teacher, and science educator, PhD student Solmaz Khodaeifaal redesigns and reconstructs students' physics learning path through the Science Circles Program. Learn how William Pinar's autobiographical method, currere, inspires new ways of teaching physics even to young students, helping them shape a more sustainable world.

Did you know the Research HUB offers guided writing retreats for grad students? Available online, the retreats combine long stretches of writing time with short workshops covering various academic writing and research skills. M.Ed. student Sally Ogis describes how these retreats help boost confidence and productivity.

There’s no better time to read “Modeling undergraduates’ selection of course modality: A large sample, multi-discipline study” by Kevin O’Neill, Nat´alia Lopes, John Nesbit, Suzanne Reinhardt, and Kanthi Jayasundera. You’ll find this piece in The Internet and Higher Education, one of the top academic journals in online education.

At a time when we need community connection more than ever, six faculty members recently shared research at the Faculty of Education’s Faculty Forum about a range of transformative community-engaged research (CER) projects.

We are delighted to introduce eight new faculty members who bring diverse academic backgrounds and scholarly interests to the Faculty of Education. On this page, you will learn about their research profiles.

Dr. Phil Winne’s webinar on “Learning analytics for self-regulated learning: Frameworks, methods & future work” explores seven challenging questions. The webinar was organized by Division 15—Educational Psychology (American Psychological Association).

We can’t pretend that what happens an ocean or a continent away has no impact on where we live. Unless we build relationships with our waters, soils, plants, animals, and birds, “environment” will remain an abstract term with little personal meaning.

We’re pleased to announce that 10 faculty members have been awarded SFU/SSHRC Institutional Grants for Spring 2020. SSHRC Small Research Grants support scholarly research in contemporary arts, humanities, and social sciences. Congratulations to the investigators, co-investigators, and students involved in these meaningful research projects.

Thanks to the internet and advancements in everyday technology, storytelling can now incorporate unlimited variations in mass multimedia formats. In recent years, storytelling has also leaped into Virtual Reality (VR), one of the most interesting technological advancements to date. Learn more in this article.

In 2019, the Frames Film Program (Frames) and the Friends of Simon (FOS) undertook an exciting collaboration to produce a video. More than a marketing tool, the project’s creative output represents a shared commitment to community engagement and youth development.

A collaborative project led by Dr. Fels and Dr. Bava in the performative arts program was the focus of This Possible’s Slow Fuse session. Researchers often interpret and write from and about their own experience, but how do researchers bring participants into coding or interpreting these emergent moments?

This seminar offers an intriguing discussion around how we understand “posthuman” and whether a difference exists between pre and posthumanism. Gain insights from Dr. Nathalie Sinclair and Dr. Petra Mikulan.

Learn about the experiences of four professors from different faculties, who provide their reflections and learning as they collaborated to design and deliver courses together.

Dr. Ling explains that a large part of cognitive learning involves how we model the world. Context means everything: part of our evolution and survival as a species is built on our ability to adapt to different contexts. How we ascribe meaning to experiences is critical to our learning.

Whether you are pursuing a doctorate or masters, the graduate journey is a rewarding experience. Graduate work opens up new doors into different ways of learning, new windows on research and more importantly, is a time to pursue our interests with depth, guidance and scholarship. Let the Research Hub be part of your graduate journey.

The SFU Educational Review Journal, run by Faculty of Education graduate students, promotes discussion and reflection within an inclusive academic community, supports diverse scholarship, and provides a safe space for peer-to-peer dialogue. The editorial team will hold its first-ever Symposium on October 19, 2019 to celebrate the work of its published authors.

Dr. Hui Nui, Dr. John Nesbit, Professor Joan Sharp, Qing Liu, and Kenny Teng are all motivated by one compelling question: how can students become better arguers and critical thinkers? Learn about the Dialectical Map (DMap), an argumentation tool developed by a former Faculty of Education PhD student.

Dr. Gary Barkhuizen from the University of Auckland discussed a longitudinal narrative inquiry into the identity of a Hong Kong study-abroad student. Drawing on narrative inquiry in applied linguistics, he also referenced his chapter on core dimensions in narrative inquiry in the Routledge Handbook on Research Methods in Applied Linguistics.

A new wave of scholars is taking up theories of new materialism and posthumanism in educational research. Jacqueline Barreiro, doctoral candidate in SFU’s Curriculum Theory and Implementation program, is one such scholar whose doctoral research focuses on educational implications of posthumanist theories as pedagogical tools of critique.

Gain a deep understanding of Dr. Yaroslav Senyshyn's work as an academic philosopher and an artist through this Fanfare Review of the pianist’s performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

Community engagement is an emerging form of research and practice around the world. Learn more from our conversation with Rachel Nelson, Associate Director of Partnerships & Programs from the SFU Surrey-TD Community Engagement Centre.

What’s all the buzz behind the Y Mind Program? The Research Hub team sat down with Sarah Blackmore, SFU MA Counselling Psychology alumna and manager of the YMCA Greater Vancouver Mental Wellness Programs, and with YMCA Director for Strategic Partnerships Samantha Hartley-Folz, to find out more.

The Scribjab project offered refreshing possibilities for creating alternate futures through the act of digital story creation, in which young people in particular use their creative voices to craft their own truths and counter-narratives.

The SFU Educational Review (SFUEdR) is a double-blind peer-reviewed, open-access journal welcoming a range of education topics and forms of inquiry into learning and teaching. The editors are excited to announce the newest Special Issue, Performative and Relational Ontologies in Education, which includes such research areas as posthumanism, post-structuralism, and new materiality.

This session of the Possible’s Slow Fuse saw another full house as Dr. Kevin O’Neill led an interactive dialogue on the often-used analogy between theatre and teaching. The impressive turnout included cross-faculty representation.

Dr. Michelle Pidgeon offered a thought-provoking seminar on Feb. 20 for the From the Ground Up Scholarship Series, organized by the SFU Surrey Faculty of Education. Colleagues from Burnaby and Surrey campus also attended.

This Possible's Slow Fuse Dialogue session was a fertile exploration of how the visceral imagination interfaces across different practices: ranging from pen-turning with exotic woods, to teacher education, to dance, to somataphorical inquiry, to questions about the seat of the soul and embodied imagination.

Motivated by constructionist theories of learning, Dr. Paula MacDowell developed educational media and integrated technology with curriculum to enhance learner engagement, empowerment, inclusion, and ingenuity. In this interview, she shared more about making AR: a new creative platform for transporting learning beyond traditional barriers of university classroom walls and screens.

Dr. Poh Tan explores teaching science through an objective and subjective lens: to nurture and cultivate scientific dispositions of listening, observing, theorizing, and hypothesizing from a place of emotion. Her research methodology uses self-study to understand her own practice and identity as a science educator when teaching science to children.

Learning Environment Research (LER) uses research tools to seek students’ feedback about their personal and collective learning experiences in different contexts. Dr. David Zandvleit explains that diverse student experience is one reason for using diverse sets of research tools and protocols in LER.

Engaging in teaching and research can take us on many journeys: sometimes personal, sometimes professional, sometimes geographical. In Jennifer Fane’s case, it has been all three.

Dr. Masahiro Minami’s act of envisioning the possible—for reconciliation in the aftermath of genocide—has wide-reaching implications. This article provides richness and emotional context for Dr. Minami’s work, which is particularly insightful for anyone working in the mental health field and in counseling.

At this From The Ground Up session, Dr. Engida Gebre shared his educational background as well as a bit about his past and current research projects focusing on STEM education, learning contexts, data literacy and representation. Follow the links to learn more about Dr. Engida’s research.