Category: Posters and Creative Works

This new category is a way for presenters to create a visual representation of their research or project work and share it asynchronously. Works will be posted for comment the week before the conference (Feb 26-March 5). Come to meet the researchers during the ‘Conversations with Asynchronous Presenters’ session on March 6th.

A Path To Inclusion: Disability Awareness Course for Educators

Posted on by Melissa Lyon

Are you a person who is interested in making K-12 schools more inclusive for people with disabilities? If so, check out the video below that outlines the highlights of my applied research project that I created for the part-time VIU Master of Education in Special Education program. My project is an online course for educators on the topics of disability awareness and inclusion. 

As a person with a disability myself, I have a unique perspective of experiencing Special Education from both sides; both as both a student and as an educator. In this video I give you a short introduction to my life as a person with both cerebral palsy and epilepsy. I also outline what the research says regarding teachers’ concerns about inclusion, and what the experts state should be done to alleviate these concerns to create greater inclusivity in the classroom. As the video concludes, I provide an overview of the online course that I created for teachers and teaching assistants that is based on the research that I have conducted. 


After watching this video, if you would like to view the course I have created, you can find the login information and a print overview of the course here. I would welcome any feedback you have on the course. Enjoy the movie! 

~ Melissa Lyon

YouTube Video Link

** Thank you to Dr. Bob Esliger for being an outstanding supervisor for my applied project!

Connecting Growth Mindset & Core Competencies

Posted on by Jessica Pires

Hi everyone!

My name is Jessica Pires and I am a second-year MEDL student here at VIU. I am also a Middle School teacher in SD #63.

Attached is a short video explaining my project-driven thesis. Below you will find the link to my website (this is still a work in progress). My project is based on the research of growth mindset and competency-based learning. Essentially, I created a workbook for students that is rooted in the research behind a growth mindset and is a practical area for students to acknowledge, reflect and understand the core competencies. Along with this is a website that has teacher resources suggesting lesson plans for how this could be used in the classroom. 

Thank you so much for viewing this! I hope you enjoy it!

LINK TO WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/view/coregrowth/home

-Jessica Pires

**A special thank you to my supervisor Jim Ansell for all of your support**

How can we utilize technology as an adaptive and supportive strategy to assist elementary teachers in implementing physical activity in the classroom?

Posted on by bindygill

Bindy Gill Master’s Thesis/Project Video link:
https://viu.video.yuja.com/V/Video?v=659630&node=3177733&a=75371464

Throughout my personal life, I have seen the benefits of having physical activity and movement intertwined in my day to day living and teaching. There is more motivation and focus, a better positive mindset and attitude, a willingness to take on challenges, problem solving and prompt wholesome feelings of wellness.

In my journey as an educator, I have seen an increase in sedentary time for children. As a result, children today can face increased physical and emotional health concerns. A potential approach to address these concerns is an accessible content website created to encourage and support teachers to facilitate opportunities for regular physical activity into their curriculum. Another theme of this project thesis was to address the challenging teacher task of improving student attentiveness in sedentary learning environments. The primary literature for time-on-task research substantiates the importance of physical activity to enhance student focus and responsiveness across the curriculum.

To these complementary ends, I designed a website with the aim to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity in the classroom, as well as mitigate some barriers or challenges faced in implementing daily physical activity. It is hoped that Fit Stops (fitstops.weebly.com) will act as a resource guide for teachers to implement physical activity in the classroom by offering easy to access web-based resources that will help overcome these barriers and time-on-task challenges.

A Picture Book for Emotional Regulation in Early Childhood

Posted on by lissethelias

Adriana Elias, MEDS student

The video below presents a picture book for emotional regulation. This picture book is written in Spanish and has English audio. Besides, the infographic summarizes the main concepts depicted in the story. Through this applied project, I developed this story to reinforce emotional skills like identifying feelings and communicating them. Whit this learning tool, readers can practice acceptance and understanding of feelings using curiosity and kindness. Emotional abilities can reinforce other skills, like boosting self-confidence, improving performance, developing decision-making skills, supporting independence, and enhancing sociability. The earlier we start this learning process, the better children can master these abilities and improve wellness.

References:

  • Domitrovich, C., Durlak, J. A., Stanley K. C., & Weisberg, R. P. (2017). Social-Emotional competence: An essential factor for promoting positive adjustment and reducing risk in school children. Child Development, 88(2). https:/doi.org/408-416. 10.1111/cdev.12739
    Cambridge University Press (2021). What is dialogic reading? https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2019/04/18/dialogic-reading/
  • Breugelmans, S., Ambadar, Z., Vaca, J., Poortinga, Y., Setiandi, B., Widiyanto, P., & Philipot, P. (2005). Body sensations associated with emotions in Raramuri Indians, rural Javanese, and three student samples. American Psychology Association, 5(2), 166-174. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.166
  • Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
  • Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E., Hari, R., & Hietanen, J. (2013). Bodily maps of emotions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 111(2), 646-651. https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
  • Llenas, A. (2012). The color Monster. Flamboyant.

A Self-Study on Early-Primary Literacy

Posted on by larissahowlett
May be an image of 1 person and smiling

Hi! And welcome to my asynchronous presentation for the 2021 VIU Research Conference. On this post you will find a link to my blog, as well as a video summarizing my research question and method. Please start with the video first, then move to the blog for a bit more detailed information on my research.

As a new early-primary educator, I am interested to know how I can become the most effective literacy educator for my grade 1/2 students, with effective teaching strategies proven by research.

Please feel free to ask me anything, in regards to my research focus, the process, and/or my time in the MEDL program. I would love to provide any support that I can for 4th year students and individuals interested in similar topics.

Click the video below to hear a summary on my research focus and a brief introduction to my blog.

Blog Link: https://larissaandliteracy.wordpress.com/

Thanks for viewing!

– Larissa

The Optimal Set of Teaching Tools and Materials for Globally-based ESL Teachers of Young Learners

Posted on by Olive Pasynkova

Hello!

My name is Olive Pasynkova, I am an ESL teacher from Russia with almost five years of teaching experience. I am currently pursuing my Master’s of Education in Educational Leadership. I love teaching and try to use arts and crafts in my classrooms together with my students. However, not always do teachers have access to all the resources. This problem has been a part of many educational practices in language centres across the globe. Hopefully, we could make Teaching Tools and Materials more available for teachers and students in the future. Here is my research, I hope you enjoy it. Please, do not hesitate to ask me any questions, I look forward to your comments.

Olive.-PosterDownload

Leadership and Wellbeing: The Most Interesting Woman in the World

Posted on by luanarbuckle

“I am not the most interesting woman in the world, but I do laugh at myself and I can be very serious about research…”

Researcher & Artist, Luan Arbuckle

The poster below, is an attempt at peer pedagogical humour, and not the reason for my study but one of the findings I have observed and experienced in research and my MEDL program.  Recognizing the importance of laughter in a class setting I have selected humour as the narrative of this creative work and lead with “Leadership and Wellbeing” in the title, and end with “The Most Interesting Woman in the World” as the joke. XX 😉

The use of humour as a narrative can reflect, challenge, and reveal tensions within a given society’s construct.  Humour manages ambivalence, reduces stress and enhances leadership. 

My research asks:

1. What was the experience of transitioning to alternative delivery in K -12 schools in BC during COVID-19?

2. What learnings can be surfaced, in order, to plan for future alternative delivery offerings in K-12?

3. How can learnings inform content and delivery in teacher education and education assistant post-secondary programs?


My research examines wellbeing and the relationship it clearly plays with students, educators, and families in their communities, local school districts and independent schools and is the goal behind this research. Aligned with the lifecycle framework identified in VIU’s Strategic Plan: Scholarship, Research and Creativity Activity (2017-20), specifically collaborating and co-creating knowledge that can be shared with the public realm, I aim to serve our communities and schools during this time of crisis.

In addition to the anticipated outcomes and knowledge sharing events I will be well positioned to seek external funding to expand the breadth and depth of the research through opportunities like Vancouver Foundation’s Participatory Action Research grants.

Creative Poster