Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt
Welcome to the May 2020 edition of Innovatus, a special issue of YFile devoted to teaching and learning innovation at York University.
This month, I am delighted to partner with the Faculty of Education on this special spotlight edition. Together with Dean Lyndon Martin, we are sharing with you many of the exciting endeavours that the Faculty of Education has undertaken to enhance teaching and learning for its students.
As part of its focus on offering an exceptional educational experience for its students, the Faculty of Education is constantly expanding and refining its programs and curriculum to ensure students are well positioned to fulfil the Faculty’s mission – “reineventing education for a diverse, complex world.”
Lyndon Martin
We are proud of our reputation of being a centre of innovation and community-based learning where students can put theory into practice to answer some of the most pressing and challenging questions faced in education today. Research in the Faculty also goes beyond the walls of the University and extends into communities and classrooms where it will have the greatest impact. Our local and global partnerships align with our strategic plan and seek to involve communities deeply and broadly in all of our work.
The following stories offer just a snapshot of the innovative programs, practices, and activities that students in the Faculty of Education participate in and engage with − in order to make a difference.
Featured in this edition of Innovatus:
Students co-plan and teach a mathematics lesson to their peers
Faculty of Education students in Heather Bourrie’s “Thinking Mathematically” course recently had an opportunity to participate in an experiential education activity to co-plan and teach a mathematics lesson for their peers. Read more.
Open access archive builds important connections with northern community
Two York University professors brought a digital open-access archive of internationally acclaimed scientific research back to a northern community this past fall. During their visit, Faculty of Education Professor Steve Alsop and Faculty of Science Professor Dawn Bazely scheduled a series of public and targeted talks and presentations and meetings with the community to introduce the archive. Their audiences included students in Grades 5 to 9 at the local Duke of Marlborough School. Read more.
New program trains environmental leaders of the future
Rooted in concern for the Earth, a new Faculty of Education program will teach youth who are concerned about the environment the leadership skills they need to champion their cause. Rooted & Rising is a certificate program that grew out of the interest Toronto-area youth showed in part in the Fridays for Future environmental demonstrations inspired by teen Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Read more.
York University to grant master’s degrees to first cohort of refugees in Kenya
Five students at the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya are waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to wind down before celebrating their new master’s degrees. The master’s degree in education is part of a continuum of post-secondary programs offered at Dadaab as part of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Project. Read more.
A new set of courses creates space for Indigenous students to ‘Make Good Tracks’
Susan Dion, an associate professor of Indigenous education at York University, has brought her research and knowledge in Indigenous education to a set of Faculty of Education courses, cohorts and programs that are rooted in Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies. This unique set of opportunities offers Indigenous students four different ways to connect with Indigenous knowledge, history and culture. Read more.
Innovatus is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs.
In closing, I extend a personal invitation to you to share your experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the Innovatus story form, which is available at tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573.
Sincerely,
Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt
Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning
Lyndon Martin
Dean, Faculty of Education