Sidney Howlett, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Education in Environmental and Sustainability Education (Orillia campus), has launched Sidney Howlett Consulting, a new business aimed at aiding institutions in navigating the complexities of climate action.

Sidney’s consulting firm offers a comprehensive array of services tailored to support school boards in their efforts towards climate action. These services include climate action planning (e.g., developing sustainability plans and policies), professional development workshops, public speaking engagements, and research assistance.

She explains that her motivation to start the business stemmed from recognizing that a significant gap exists in the educational sector’s response to the climate crisis.

“The crux of the matter was when I co-authored a report with Dr. Ellen Field (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education), benchmarking climate leadership practices across Canadian school boards. We found that among 380 school boards, only 4 had developed climate action plans. I realized then that the education system is not adequately responding to this crisis, and I wanted to help at a systems level, to move toward the transformation we desperately need.”

Her venture was spurred by the assistance of the Ascend Accelerator program, a ten-week initiative hosted by Lakehead University’s Ingenuity incubator space. This program is tailored for young entrepreneurs, who are also Lakehead students, by offering a blend of workshops, mentorship, and financial support to kickstart their businesses.

“From access to a lawyer to review my service contracts to guidance in developing my website, the mentorship, funding, and workshops provided were instrumental in establishing my business,” Sidney says. “I have already had my first successful climate action consultation with a school board, and can’t wait to see the impact my services will have.”

Described by one reviewer as “[setting] the table for a rich dialogue on how post-secondary education can play a responsive role in these post-digital, neoliberal and neocolonial times,” the newly published Transformative Practice in Critical Media Literacy: Radical Democracy and Decolonized Pedagogy in Higher Education brings together a diverse selection of essays that examine contemporary challenges and opportunities in higher education.

The book’s editors are Dr. Steve Gennaro (York University), Dr. Nolan Higdon (Merrill College and University of California, Santa Cruz), and Dr. Michael Hoechsmann (Lakehead University, Orillia). It includes 18 powerful essays, including one by Lakehead Education Contract Lecturer Dr. Helen DeWaard, which melds Latin American traditions of Edu-communication with the exigencies of teaching digital literacies in Canadian Faculties of Education.

As noted on the Routledge website, “using a global and social justice lens, [this book] explores the transformative potential of critical media literacy in higher education. It also provides real examples of current critical media literacy practices around the globe and of successful experiences inside classrooms.”

Transformative Practice in Critical Media Literacy helps us rethink pedagogies and literacies in evolving post-secondary contexts and changing times. It will be of interest to scholars, students, policymakers, community members, and activists.

Dr. Ruth Beatty (Associate Professor, Orillia) has been awarded the Ontario Association for Mathematics Education (OAME) 2024 award for Exceptional and Creative Teaching in Post-Secondary Mathematics. This award recognizes “a post-secondary educator who demonstrates excellence in mathematics education, contributes to the overall development of students, and demonstrates leadership in the mathematics education community” (OAME).

Ruth was nominated for the award by one of her longstanding research partners. The award nomination letter indicated that many of the projects that Ruth has collaboratively facilitated (including the Connecting Indigenous Knowledge and Western Mathematical Ways of Knowing research and resulting First Nations and Métis Math Voices Project, as well as the Wiidookaadying Gikinoomaagewin: Gindaaswin Kendaaswin - Relationships & Reciprocity: Indigenous Mathematics Education Conference) have been deeply influential and transformative on the practices of mathematics educators, schools, and boards of education:

“Ruth’s work has influenced shifts in research methods and practices, as well as the teaching and learning of Mathematics in countless classrooms across Ontario, by emphasizing ethical relationality and centering instruction and the learning of mathematics through Indigenous culture.… She is a leader who leads from beside or behind, by recognizing and nurturing the strength, talents and knowledge of those around her.”

It was further noted that “Ruth has a unique gift for engaging others in the wonder and rigor of mathematics. She inspires all to embrace their inner mathematician and to connect meaningfully and deeply with mathematics through their lived experience, community and culture. Relationships are at the heart of all that Ruth does and are the means through which she serves as a catalyst for change in an ongoing pursuit for excellence, respect and dignity in mathematics, research, teaching and learning.”

Ruth will be formally recognized at the annual Ontario Association for Mathematics Education Conference, held in Kingston in May 2024. She will be further honoured in an article in the September Gazette (a publication of OAME), and on the OAME website.

Congratulations, Ruth!

Congratulations to BEd teacher candidate Georgia Tocheri (Intermediate/Senior division), winner of the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association “Helen G. Mitchell Award.”

This award honours one graduating student from each Faculty of Education in the province who best demonstrates the attributes of a potentially outstanding Classical/French as a Second Language/International language teacher.

Georgia was nominated by James Steele, Contract Lecturer (Faculty of Education) for her demonstrated excellence in the BEd program courses and practicums, and for applying effective second language methodologies that lead to success in the classroom.

Georgia, who graduates in June and is currently teaching in a Grade 3 French class, notes that “this award is very meaningful to me … my mom and my previous French teachers used to attend the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association conferences. I am so excited to start my career as a French Teacher.”

Congratulations, Georgia!

Dr. Helen DeWaard (Contract Lecturer, teaching Critical Digital Literacy courses in the Faculty of Education) has successfully defended her PhD dissertation, Media and digital literacies in Canadian teacher educators' open educational practices: A post-intentional phenomenology. Helen was supervised by Dr. Michael Hoechsmann.

Helen explains that her research “delved into the lived experiences of fourteen teacher educators from across Canada in their endeavours to infuse media and digital literacies into their open educational practices. Through the use of a post-intentional phenomenological framework and methodology, with a crystallization approach to data analysis, the research revealed the complex navigations teacher educators make to support student learning with open web resources for communication, creative production, collaboration, and criticality. Using a navigational gyroscope as a metaphor, the research suggests that teacher educators stabilized their view of the horizon while locating a view of the end goal for themselves and their students, and grounded themselves in order to provide foundations for student learning, as they navigated the multiple, complex, contextual, and rapidly moving elements swirled around them.”

Helen produced her dissertation in two formats, reflecting her open educational practice as a researcher and a scholar. Her dissertation can be accessed as a public document created with Scalar software that was shared “live” as it was being written, and as a PDF manuscript archived in the university library.

Congratulations, Helen!

Dr. Seth Agbo (Associate Professor, Orillia) has published a new book that is described as a “comprehensive guide for instructors and graduate students on preparing scholarly manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, theses, or dissertations in the humanities and social sciences” (Routledge, 2024).

The Scholars’ Publication Sourcebook Preparing Academic Manuscripts for Journals in the Humanities and Social Sciences is a 160-page practical guide that outlines each stage of a manuscript preparation, from identification of a topic to final publication. It draws on expertise from journal editors, editorial board members, peer reviewers, and research methods instructors. Case studies from various fields, including sociology, psychology, political science, business studies, policy research, and public health help to illustrate and understand the complex world of academic publishing.

The book will be of wide interest to scholars, graduate students and instructors alike, who are seeking insight into the publishing process in high-impact journals, theses, and dissertations.

Congratulations to Bonnie McDonald (Administrative Assistant, Graduate Studies and Research Office, Faculty of Education and Contract Lecturer, Gender and Women’s Studies Department) and Mohit Dudeja (PhD student, Faculty of Education and Contract Lecturer, Gender and Women’s Studies Department) for being recognized as “WellU Champions for Mental Health.”

Lakehead’s “WellU Champions for Mental Health” initiative highlights Lakehead staff and faculty members who go above and beyond to support student mental health. Champions are nominated by students for showing compassion, encouraging a sense of belonging, inspiring health-promoting behaviours, and promoting student well-being.

Bonnie shares that “mental health is acknowledging and recognizing that life can be rewarding while also challenging. Mental health can change from day to day and can be affected by different situations and environments. It is acknowledging that we do not always think the same or experience life the same as the person next us, and therefore we have to exhibit forgiveness and grace. Although I have a large class, I encourage students to reach out to me if they are experiencing difficulties. I attempt to touch base with students who have indicated they are struggling. I offer alternative deadlines, reach out to student services and am willing to advocate on their behalf (if and when it is appropriate). As an instructor, it is not only my job to ensure success in my course, but to promote the love of learning in a supportive environment.”

Mohit says “I see mental health as a state of equilibrium where individuals can navigate the complexities of life with a sense of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to form meaningful connections with others. I am dedicated to staying attuned to the well-being of my students, which involves being receptive to their concerns, promoting self-care practices, and facilitating discussions about mental health in a manner that respects cultural sensitivities. The goal is to create an atmosphere in which students feel at ease seeking support, both within and beyond the academic realm. Ultimately, mental health is a collective journey, and as an educator, I am committed to fostering a community that recognizes its significance.”

Pictured below: Bonnie McDonald (left) and Mohit Dudeja (right).

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.