Learning Transforms

Onowa McIvor is a researcher in Indigenous Language Revitalization at the University of Victoria. Before shifting her focus more strongly to research, McIvor was the Director of the Indigenous Education department in the Faculty of Education for nearly 10 years. Her scholarly work has earned her multiple federally-funded research grants and she is now working with nine Indigenous communities and organizations partners across the country, including several communities in British Columbia. It is the first nation-wide research project in Canada focused on Indigenous language revitalization. This Indigenous-led, community-based research is focused on hope and shines a light on the successes communities are having in continuing their languages into the future. One part of the research partnership explores how the fields of language revitalization and additional-language learning can learn from one another and exchange strategies to create new speakers. In this episode, McIvor explains how she hopes to build

Dr. Olav Krigolson is an associate professor in the School of Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education at UVic and the lead investigator of the Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience Laboratory. His research uses brain imaging to attempt to understand how we learn and make decisions. In this episode, Krigolson discusses his work with portable Electroencephalograms (EEG systems) and their potential application. Most notably, he is collaborating with NASA on a Mars simulation mission. Krigolson and his team are using Muse headbands to monitor participants’ brain waves from his lab at UVic as they complete their mission at the Mars habitat in Hawaii. “When I finished my PhD here in 2008, if you had told me that you could have a headband that you could buy at Best Buy that would accurately measure brain function, I would have told you that you were living in fantasy land,” says Krigolson. “And now, less than ten years later, there is a headband that can do that. So just like our cell phones got smaller and

Darlene Clover is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies at UVic. Her research and teaching focus on adult education in community spaces. In this episode, Clover discusses “museum hacks,” an alternative way to teach and learn in a museum setting. She encourages students to think about the stories that are not being told and to challenge their own assumptions about the works in the museum. Who is represented in the museum? Who isn’t? And, most importantly, what might this mean? Clover uses the example of women in art galleries. She notes their lack of representation both as subjects and as artists, and explains how adult educators can encourage the populations they work with to think critically about social and gender issues through museum representations. “We’re asking them to take note of the absences and the presences,” says Clover. “These series of questions ask us to look more deeply at the displays, at the artworks themselves, at the stories, the narratives, and

Mike Irvine is a UVic alumni bringing innovative and interactive learning opportunities to the classroom. In this episode, Irvine discusses the technology he has developed to live stream everything from ocean dives to bear viewings for classrooms. Students can watch and ask questions to on-site experts in real time. Irvine also discusses the various ways teachers can integrate his live streams into the BC curriculum. “Two thirds of the planet’s population is living in urban centres,” says Irvine. “We are so disconnected from those places and the research that’s taking place there.”

Donna McGhie-Richmond is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Psychology and Leadership Studies at the UVic. McGhie-Richmond is a passionate advocate for inclusive education. She is a research fellow of the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education, a national hub for collaborative research on inclusive education relative to teaching students with learning needs. “The diversity that we see in our communities really should be represented in our classrooms and in our schools.” Understanding the value inherent in our diverse communities begins at school where all children are welcomed, attend, and are supported to learn in regular education classrooms with their same-aged peers. In this episode, McGhie-Richmond discusses the myriad benefits of this style of learning of inclusive education and how it can support teachers in becoming effective teachers of all students.

Dr. David Blades is working directly with the BC Ministry of Education and other governments across Canada to change the way we teach science in schools. "Teachers need to do more than teach scientific facts; they need to relate their lessons to the students' roles as citizens, so that kids can, for example, combat global warming at home," says Blades. Blades also teaches his own students how to make science relevant in their future classrooms. "If you can't explain a lesson's importance, then you shouldn't teach it. You need to connect it to life."

Chaw-win-is was the Indigenous Resurgence Coordinator at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education until August 2018. Chaw-win-is graduated with an MA in Indigenous Governance at UVic and completed two years in the English department in the Literatures of the West Coast Program. She has been involved in Indigenous Education in various roles, including teaching, community coordinating, intercultural education and Indigenous Language Revitalization for several years. In this podcast, Chaw-win-is discusses the process of indigenous resurgence. From why we do a territorial acknowledgment, to better understanding our history and trauma, and why indigenizing education is important.

Dr. Tim Black is chair of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies and Associate Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Victoria. For the past twenty years, he has worked with the Canadian military and veterans as a researcher and clinician. Working with Wounded Warriors Canada, Black co-founded their COPE (Couple Overcoming PTSD Everyday) Program to help reduce the impact of PTSD on families of veterans and first responders. In this podcast, Black discusses the Trauma Resiliency Program he designed, alongside Alex Sterling, for Wounded Warriors. The program focuses on team-based training to develop trauma-resilient skills for those who experienced traumatic events. “What’s new about this program,” Black says, “is the focus on changing the culture of psychological injuries from one of perceived weakness to one where hard work is required, teamwork is valued and transformation is the goal.”