Research
Leading workshop for project UpSkilling Teachers for the 21st Century
Authentic Assessment Policies in Saskatchewan: A Document Analysis
Funding Source: Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $7,500 September 2021
Role: Principal Investigator
This study aims to better understand the current state of assessment policy in the province through the lens of division-specific assessment policies. The questions that guide this project are: what is the state of division-specific assessment policies in Saskatchewan? What areas of overlap can be identified regarding content, theoretical grounding, and (inter)provincial policies?
The project will consist of a document-analysis of twenty-six division-specific assessment policies in Saskatchewan. While all of the school divisions have an assessment policy document (AP), these policies are rather wide ranging regarding breadth and depth. A number of school divisions have also produced rather detailed assessment handbooks to accompany their APs.
Funding Source: Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $7,500 September 2021
Role: Principal Investigator
This study aims to better understand the current state of assessment policy in the province through the lens of division-specific assessment policies. The questions that guide this project are: what is the state of division-specific assessment policies in Saskatchewan? What areas of overlap can be identified regarding content, theoretical grounding, and (inter)provincial policies?
The project will consist of a document-analysis of twenty-six division-specific assessment policies in Saskatchewan. While all of the school divisions have an assessment policy document (AP), these policies are rather wide ranging regarding breadth and depth. A number of school divisions have also produced rather detailed assessment handbooks to accompany their APs.
COVID-19 and Pre-Service Teacher Preparedness: Experiences from the Field
Funding Source: Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $5,000, September 2021
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigator: Pamela Osmond-Johnson)
This project focuses on the perspectives and experiences of pre-service teachers completing their field experiences during COVID-19. The aim is to deepen and extend understanding of the effect of COVID-19 on field experiences. The research questions that ground this study are: 1) How did COVID-19 impact field experiences? 2) How might our teacher education programming respond to gaps in pre-service teacher understanding, as identified by both pre-service and cooperating teachers?
Funding Source: Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $5,000, September 2021
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigator: Pamela Osmond-Johnson)
This project focuses on the perspectives and experiences of pre-service teachers completing their field experiences during COVID-19. The aim is to deepen and extend understanding of the effect of COVID-19 on field experiences. The research questions that ground this study are: 1) How did COVID-19 impact field experiences? 2) How might our teacher education programming respond to gaps in pre-service teacher understanding, as identified by both pre-service and cooperating teachers?
Assessment for and as Learning: Modernizing Assessment Practices in Saskatchewan Classrooms
Funding Source: Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) Seed Grant
Funding awarded: $4,992, July 2020
Role: Principal Investigator
This project responds to a pressing need for modernized assessment policy in Saskatchewan, focusing on policy development by key stakeholders at the provincial level. This study has two objectives: 1) to better understand the current state of assessment policy in the province through the lens of stakeholders, specifically, the Ministry of Education, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, and the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board; and 2) to ascertain school division approaches to assessment in light of an absence of provincial policy. This study will provide much needed data around obstacles to curricular reform in assessment at a variety of levels, identifying areas where stakeholder and board interests both converge and diverge around specific goals.
Funding Source: Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) Seed Grant
Funding awarded: $4,992, July 2020
Role: Principal Investigator
This project responds to a pressing need for modernized assessment policy in Saskatchewan, focusing on policy development by key stakeholders at the provincial level. This study has two objectives: 1) to better understand the current state of assessment policy in the province through the lens of stakeholders, specifically, the Ministry of Education, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, and the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board; and 2) to ascertain school division approaches to assessment in light of an absence of provincial policy. This study will provide much needed data around obstacles to curricular reform in assessment at a variety of levels, identifying areas where stakeholder and board interests both converge and diverge around specific goals.
Telling Stories in Multilingual Classrooms: Teacher Professional Development for Multimodal Learning and Assessment
Funding Source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant
Funding awarded: $64,630, June 2020
Role: Principal Investigator
This proposed project aims to address this gap in multimodal research, examining the assessment practices that are necessary for students’ multimodal learning, alongside professional development that can support teachers’ meaningful acquisition of these new competencies. Building on prior SSHRC-funded and externally-funded research programs, Telling Stories in Multilingual Classrooms: Teacher Professional Development for Multimodal Learning and Assessment will address the dire need for data on how to effectively assess multimodal learning. To this end, the proposed study has three objectives: 1) to understand how teachers interpret the relationship between multimodality and assessment; 2) to identify gaps in teacher knowledge and practice around incorporating multimodal assessment practices into classrooms in meaningful ways; and 3) to evaluate how a professional development session can support teachers in the acquisition of tools and strategies to assess students’ multimodal learning. This study will contribute to the limited research around teachers’ multimodal assessment practices, and provide teachers with training on how to assess multimodal learning in the classroom, with teacher-produced data, in-class observations, questionnaires and interviews tracking teacher skill development for the duration of the project.
Funding Source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant
Funding awarded: $64,630, June 2020
Role: Principal Investigator
This proposed project aims to address this gap in multimodal research, examining the assessment practices that are necessary for students’ multimodal learning, alongside professional development that can support teachers’ meaningful acquisition of these new competencies. Building on prior SSHRC-funded and externally-funded research programs, Telling Stories in Multilingual Classrooms: Teacher Professional Development for Multimodal Learning and Assessment will address the dire need for data on how to effectively assess multimodal learning. To this end, the proposed study has three objectives: 1) to understand how teachers interpret the relationship between multimodality and assessment; 2) to identify gaps in teacher knowledge and practice around incorporating multimodal assessment practices into classrooms in meaningful ways; and 3) to evaluate how a professional development session can support teachers in the acquisition of tools and strategies to assess students’ multimodal learning. This study will contribute to the limited research around teachers’ multimodal assessment practices, and provide teachers with training on how to assess multimodal learning in the classroom, with teacher-produced data, in-class observations, questionnaires and interviews tracking teacher skill development for the duration of the project.
Fostering a Maker Mindset: Supporting Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Classroom
Funding Source: Stirling McDowell Foundation Grant
Funding awarded: $10,460, July 2020
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators: Amy Singh, Aaron Warner, Trevor Hluskho)
This project centers on updating pedagogical practices around making, recognizing the need for students to be prepared for success in the 21st century, within the ever changing landscape of our technologically dependent society. In this action research project, teachers will work in small teams to develop and implement a unit around making, reflect upon their practice and student learning, and support other educators in the process. The project specifically evaluates: how teachers develop an understanding of making and maker pedagogy as they carry out a unit around making in their classrooms; the challenges and limitations teachers face in using making and fostering maker pedagogy in their classroom practice; in what ways teaching through a school-based maker community of practice impacts how making is taken up in classrooms, and how teachers consider their maker pedagogies; and how student learning is supported by incorporating making into the classroom.
Funding Source: Stirling McDowell Foundation Grant
Funding awarded: $10,460, July 2020
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators: Amy Singh, Aaron Warner, Trevor Hluskho)
This project centers on updating pedagogical practices around making, recognizing the need for students to be prepared for success in the 21st century, within the ever changing landscape of our technologically dependent society. In this action research project, teachers will work in small teams to develop and implement a unit around making, reflect upon their practice and student learning, and support other educators in the process. The project specifically evaluates: how teachers develop an understanding of making and maker pedagogy as they carry out a unit around making in their classrooms; the challenges and limitations teachers face in using making and fostering maker pedagogy in their classroom practice; in what ways teaching through a school-based maker community of practice impacts how making is taken up in classrooms, and how teachers consider their maker pedagogies; and how student learning is supported by incorporating making into the classroom.
Telling Our Stories: Youth, Digital Production, and Culturally Relevant Storytelling
Funding Source: Humanities Research Institute Living Heritage Microgrant and Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $2,000, March 2020; $8,683.92, September 2020 (Total: $10,683.92)
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators: Sara Schroeter and Melanie Brice)
This research project brings together children and Indigenous communities through digital storytelling to enable self-expression and multimodal literacy development. In this project, youth in a grade 5 classroom in a community-school in Regina are supported in the creation of digital stories based on the teachings of Elders (kehte-ayak), Old Ones (Lii Vyeu), Knowledge Keepers and community members who are invited into the classroom. Researchers will help facilitate these visits, provide training and support for the teacher in the creation of the digital storytelling unit, and archive Elder, Old One, and knowledge keeper stories for future classroom use. Researchers will also interview students about their learning through the production of culturally-grounded stories, and analyze the digital texts they produce.
Funding Source: Humanities Research Institute Living Heritage Microgrant and Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $2,000, March 2020; $8,683.92, September 2020 (Total: $10,683.92)
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators: Sara Schroeter and Melanie Brice)
This research project brings together children and Indigenous communities through digital storytelling to enable self-expression and multimodal literacy development. In this project, youth in a grade 5 classroom in a community-school in Regina are supported in the creation of digital stories based on the teachings of Elders (kehte-ayak), Old Ones (Lii Vyeu), Knowledge Keepers and community members who are invited into the classroom. Researchers will help facilitate these visits, provide training and support for the teacher in the creation of the digital storytelling unit, and archive Elder, Old One, and knowledge keeper stories for future classroom use. Researchers will also interview students about their learning through the production of culturally-grounded stories, and analyze the digital texts they produce.
Building Capacity for STEM Education and Digital Literacy
Funding Source: Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $4,996.78, February 2020
Role: Co-Investigator (Jesse Bazzul, Principal Investigator)
For this project, we are evaluating the impact of a small making workshop for pre-service teachers, assessing how it contributes to candidates’ digital literacy skills, their ability to use making to support STEM learning, and their perceptions of maker pedagogy. Teacher candidates attended two morning-long sessions wherein they gained experience using Makey Makeys, Ozobots, Spheros, and Scratch, and developed a short unit to use during their internship centering on one of these tools.
Funding Source: Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $4,996.78, February 2020
Role: Co-Investigator (Jesse Bazzul, Principal Investigator)
For this project, we are evaluating the impact of a small making workshop for pre-service teachers, assessing how it contributes to candidates’ digital literacy skills, their ability to use making to support STEM learning, and their perceptions of maker pedagogy. Teacher candidates attended two morning-long sessions wherein they gained experience using Makey Makeys, Ozobots, Spheros, and Scratch, and developed a short unit to use during their internship centering on one of these tools.
Continual Professional Learning and Currency of Practice Framework for Registered Teachers
Funding Source: Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board
Funding awarded: $43,193, November 2019
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Pamela Osmond-Johnson; Co-Investigators: Heather Phipps, and Kathryn Ricketts)
For this project, centering on teacher professional learning, the research team works in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board, (SPTRB) to provide a jurisdictional scan of existing data around the scope of professional learning supported by various agencies in the province, an overview of the experiences of teachers with respect to ease of access and opportunities to self-direct their professional learning, and the perspectives of teachers and educational stakeholders with respect to currency of practice in relation to teacher registration and employment.
Funding Source: Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board
Funding awarded: $43,193, November 2019
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Pamela Osmond-Johnson; Co-Investigators: Heather Phipps, and Kathryn Ricketts)
For this project, centering on teacher professional learning, the research team works in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board, (SPTRB) to provide a jurisdictional scan of existing data around the scope of professional learning supported by various agencies in the province, an overview of the experiences of teachers with respect to ease of access and opportunities to self-direct their professional learning, and the perspectives of teachers and educational stakeholders with respect to currency of practice in relation to teacher registration and employment.
Fostering a Maker Mindset Through Pedagogical Practices: Supporting Students’ Project- Based Learning Makerspaces
Funding Source: Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $5,000, February 2019
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators Aaron Warner, Trevor Hlushko and Amy Singh)
For this project, I am working alongside three teachers in Regina Public Schools to examine how teachers can be best supported in cultivating a maker mindset in their classrooms. Fifteen educators, who have shown interest in maker education through their attendance at a board-based maker education professional development session, will attend a full day workshop around maker education and constructivist learning, and be provided with the opportunity to deliver a series of researcher-created lessons using one of the following tools: Ozobots, SAMLabs, Makeblock M:Bots, Littlebits, and Micro:bits. Teachers will have access to these technological tools both during the delivery of the lessons, and afterward. The project will focus both on student learning and on the effectiveness of the workshop, ultimately aiming to better understand the effect of integrating such programming into classrooms and what teachers need to make this work possible.
Funding Source: Center for Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development, University of Regina
Funding awarded: $5,000, February 2019
Role: Principal Investigator (Co-Investigators Aaron Warner, Trevor Hlushko and Amy Singh)
For this project, I am working alongside three teachers in Regina Public Schools to examine how teachers can be best supported in cultivating a maker mindset in their classrooms. Fifteen educators, who have shown interest in maker education through their attendance at a board-based maker education professional development session, will attend a full day workshop around maker education and constructivist learning, and be provided with the opportunity to deliver a series of researcher-created lessons using one of the following tools: Ozobots, SAMLabs, Makeblock M:Bots, Littlebits, and Micro:bits. Teachers will have access to these technological tools both during the delivery of the lessons, and afterward. The project will focus both on student learning and on the effectiveness of the workshop, ultimately aiming to better understand the effect of integrating such programming into classrooms and what teachers need to make this work possible.