The Faculty of Education's January 2024 Education Exchange newsletter is now published.

This issue features a profile on the Humanities 101 program, a review of MEd student research on generative AI, alumni profiles, Faculty news, research and awards, the launch of the Anishinaabemowik digital archive of
Indigenous languages program documents, and more.

To access this issue, click here.

Dr. Ellen Field (Assistant Professor, Orillia) has recently participated in a number of interviews, panels, and roundtables, some in conjunction with the United Nations Climate Change conference held November 30-December 12, 2023.

In one interview with CBC News, Ellen spoke about climate anxiety as experienced by many youth—and what can be done to address it.

She explained that while there’s no singular definition of climate anxiety, “it can be understood as heightened distress, related to the climate crisis. This can be characterized as a constellation of strong interconnected emotions, like worry, fear, sadness, anger, and powerlessness. People may experience it in different ways, based on… whether they’ve experienced climate impacts previously... as well as their own sense of agency or ability to be resilient in the face of the crisis.”

Noting that strong emotional responses to climate change are understandable and appropriate, considering the scale and urgency of the crisis, as discussed in her paper with Dr. Lindsay Galway, she turned attention to how young people experiencing climate anxiety can feel empowered.

Talking about the crisis, and spending time in nature can help to offset feelings of powerlessness, she said. Equally important was getting involved in actions through their schools.

“Schools—where young people spend the majority of their time—have a significant role to play. Teaching students about the crisis and the solutions available to us is important, as well as getting them involved in actions that are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This can help young people feel that they’re part of the solution and that their school, and larger community, is taking action.”

In another interview, Ellen discussed the “gaps of inconsistency” in climate change education across Canadian schools. 

Emerging from her research on climate change curriculum and policies across Canada, she notes that across jurisdictions, there’s inconsistency where the topic shows up in the curriculum. Predominantly, climate change is covered in science units, but sometimes it’s in social studies. Further, it often turns up as a topic in elective senior high school level classes, which means students can opt out of them.

Citing another research study that analyzed climate policies at the school board level also released this year, Ellen explained that only four school boards of the nearly 400 across Canada currently have climate action plans.

“Improvements require action from the top, by policy-makers and school board decision-makers alike. If we’re in this moment that we need to halve our emissions by 2030, we need to make sure that every institution is doing what they can. School boards in particular have a role to play.”

An accompanying website has been built to support school boards engaged in creating climate action policies, which includes highlighting strengths of existing policies, resources for planning, recommendations for policy-makers, and a superintendent pledge.

Dr. Michael Hoechsmann (Professor, Faculty of Education, Orillia) has written a review of David Crighton’s Orillia-based artwork, published in Orillia Matters. David Crighton’s artwork is currently featured at Hibernation Arts Gallery in Orillia, and his work can be viewed on his website.

Michael writes that “David Crighton’s artwork tells the story of cities, large and small. More a surveyor or architect than a cartographer, Crighton gets into the bones of a city, its buildings, businesses, venues, and homes. Brick by brick, he documents the structures in which life is lived and culture is made in southern and central Ontario...

"These images, and the buildings depicted, are for audiences to admire, and they improve with time as they move indelibly from chronicle to nostalgia. In the process, they become part of our collective memory, commemorations of moments already experienced, or aspirational and vicarious glimpses into the potentials of the urban landscape… This work evokes nostalgia. And yearning. It is wistful, yet desirous. It is playful and artistic. And it is breathtakingly straightforward, a reflection of time standing still, of the bones of cities revealed.”

Below: “French's Fry Shack. Orillia” by David Crighton.

PhD student Mohit Dudeja was featured in a news article as part of the CBC's Making Their Mark, which explores the experiences of international students living in Thunder Bay.

In the article, "This international student in Thunder Bay, Ont., paid an unexpected price to study there: his mental health," Mohit shares some of the social and financial challenges he has experienced since he arrived in Canada from Delhi.

Gisella Scalese, Education Librarian, recently completed a two-year term as Co-President of the Ontario Teacher Education Library Association (OTELA). OTELA supports academic libraries in Ontario universities that offer both undergraduate and graduate education programs. OTELA members meet in person once yearly, and share information in virtual meetings held throughout the year.

"OTELA and its membership has been integral to my work as an Education Librarian at Lakehead University," Gisella says. "OTELA has fostered a community of librarians that are excited to share information with each other about teaching resources, collection building strategies, and ideas for connecting our students with these resources. During my term, we held an information-sharing meeting on systematic and scoping reviews for Education. I have held executive positions of Secretary and President in previous years and was honoured to be elected as Co-President from May 2021 to May 2023. I shared this role with Chelsie Lalonde at Ontario Tech University." 

The OTELA annual meeting is hosted at a different university campus each year. Lakehead University Library, on the Thunder Bay campus, hosted the OTELA meeting in 2019, and the Library is pleased to be hosting the upcoming 2024 meeting on the Orillia campus. The meeting will be organized by Chris Tomasini, Orillia Campus Librarian, and the new incoming OTELA Executive.

Dr. Gerald Walton (Professor, Faculty of Education, Thunder Bay) has received a Contribution to Teaching award for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The Committee noted Gerald’s commitment to excellence in teaching and dedication to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. In particular, they recognized that Gerald’s teaching “stands out for its adherence to humane educational principles, as well as advocacy for the needs of all learners.” They further noted that Gerald’s efforts to create a sense of belonging among students has not gone unnoticed, as the students who nominated him spoke of his “unwavering support in all dimensions of academic life, going above and beyond to ensure their success.”

Gerald explains that “it is a big honour me that I was nominated by international students. Apart from guiding them on how to achieve at the graduate level, I felt it was important to validate challenges that many experience such as language barriers, culture shock, loneliness, homesickness, and even racism, that I have never had to face in my studies. I admire their courage to leave their home countries to study here and I said so a few times in class. I hold students to high standards, but I also wanted to recognize the hurdles that many, perhaps even most, international students face. It's wonderful to receive such praise in the form of a nomination for this award.”  

Congratulations, Gerald!

Photo credit: Mr. Ankit Siwach

Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo (Associate Professor; Acting Chair, Undergraduate Education Programs; and Assistant Dean, Orillia) and Dr. Anne Showalter (ASK Project Manager and The MEHRIT Centre , Quality Alignment) are launching a new journal: the Journal of Applied Self-Regulation. The journal’s purpose is to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to share international research and knowledge about Shanker Self-Reg®.

Shanker Self-Reg is based on decades of research by Dr. Stuart Shanker, distinguished research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology and Founder & Visionary of The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd. (TMC). Through TMC, the research continues and grows in its application through the work of CEO Dr. Susan Hopkins.

“Self-regulation is the ability to remain calmly focused and alert during times of stress, and this knowledge can be applied to a multitude of situations,” says Sonia.

The first issue of the journal, to be published in the Fall of 2023, includes a compilation of conference proceedings from the Applied Self-Regulation Knowledge (ASK) Conference that took place at Lakehead University Orillia in May of 2023 with the support of a SSHRC Connection Grant. The conference focused on improving the mental health and well-being of post-secondary students, and included contributions from faculty members, graduate students, and mental health professionals.

The Journal of Applied Self-Regulation will be part of the ASK (Applied Self-Regulation Knowledge) website.

Dr. Pauline Sameshima (Professor, Faculty of Education) hosted a recent episode of Research Matters, a 30-minute community television program focused on research at Lakehead University. In this episode—titled Dr. Pauline Sameshima and the HOPE Collaboratory—Pauline spoke with three international researchers about their involvement in the HOPE Collaboratory.

The HOPE project is dedicated to developing a cure for HIV. HOPE, which stands for “HIV Obstruction by Programmed Epigenetics,” brings together scientists, researchers, artists, and community members. As noted on the HOPE website, the project “purposefully brings together diverse communities and uses creativity propulsion strategies to generate HIV cure research knowledge from a grassroots level, integrated with rigorous science.” HOPE includes 16 institutions around the world, one pharmaceutical company, and various community partnerships.

In the Research Matters video, Pauline speaks with Patricia Defechereux (HOPE Community Engagement Coordinator), Pisci Bruja Garcia De Oliveira (Community Educator from Brazil), and Luis Gutierrez-Mock (HOPE Community Advisory Board member).

For further information about Pauline’s involvement with the HOPE project, see Research in Action: Arts Build HOPE and a Bridge between Science and Public. Recently, she was also involved in the creation of an animation video, HIV Cure Strategy EXPLAINED via Animation.