When Practicum Facilitator Anne Schlarp found out that her cousins, who are both educators, would be visiting Canada as a respite from the war in Ukraine under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) program, she decided to connect her cousin's daughter Vika, a grade 4 teacher of English in Ukraine, with Vickie Morgado, a grade 4 teacher at St. Philip Elementary School in Dufferin-Peel, and York University Mentor.
“Vickie was a technology coach and Elementary Guidance Experiential Learning teacher and has presented internationally,” said Schlarp. “She is also a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Global Goals Ambassador, National Geographic Certified Educator, and has presented a variety of workshops for York education students over the years, so her credentials speak to her experience and expertise.”
This past fall, Vika and Vickie began to meet virtually, sharing their classrooms and discussing options for collaboration. Due to the time difference of seven hours, they realized that they wouldn’t be able to videoconference, so they started by sending welcome videos to each other. The students used a platform called Flip, which allowed them to discuss and share their videos. They started by discussing digital citizenship, putting their newly learned skills into practice.
Chloe Furtado, a year 2 York PJ student, met with Vickie to plan out their activities. Chloe created a welcome video for the Ukranian students along with a graphic organizer which she designed in Canva as a script and writing piece for the students to collaborate on. They modeled it for the students and then the students began writing.
As Vickie and her students prepared for their Christmas concert, they chose Carol of the Bells, a Ukrainian Christmas Carol to perform. To kick off the concert, Vika and her students sent a video welcome message to the St. Philip community. The students from St. Philip’s created beautiful Christmas cards and together with some treats and writing journals, sent a parcel to Boryslav, Ukraine.
The grade 4 Canadian students were incredibly engaged and eager to share their voices and connect with their new Ukrainian peers. Working with Vika, also provided a human context and peek into the beauty of Ukraine and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Vika sent her Canadian friends, a video where her students were in a hold and secure position due to the sirens that were warning them of danger.
Both the Canadian and Ukrainian students were inquisitive about this exciting opportunity, which was inquiry-based learning at it’s best. The opportunity to explore Ukraine, sparked their curiosity and interest in learning more about how their Ukrainian peers were dealing with the war.
The students learned a number things by collaborating and communicating with their Ukrainian peers that allowed them to practice their oral and communication skills, writing skills, digital citizenship, and demonstrated empathy and compassion in their sharing of ideas and experiences. They understood that despite the many cultural differences, they were fundamentally the same– all loved and created in the image of God. It was a way to embed the Catholic Graduate Expectations of effective communication and faith in action.
Article by York U Practicum Facilitator Anne Schlarp
A student retrospective by year 2 BEd student Chloe Furtado
During my practicum placement at St. Philips Catholic Elementary School, I had the opportunity to work collaboratively alongside Vickie Morgado as we began a global collaboration project with a class in the Ukraine. In November 2023, we began communicating back and forth with Vika Matkivska, an English teacher in the Ukraine.