Realizing a life-long dream: Honorary PDP certificate for Mrs. Edna Anderson

Mrs. Edna Anderson has been regarded by her community as a teacher to the New Westminster children for many years. Though circumstances had kept her from pursuing a teaching career, on December 11, 2006, Mrs. Anderson received an honourary PDP certificate from the Faculty of Education at SFU during a graduation ceremony for teacher candidates.

2nd Annual BCTF Day at SFU

On Thursday, December 7, the Faculty of Education at SFU hosted the 2nd annual BCTF Day. School teachers from across the province volunteered their time, knowledge, and skills with our students by leading workshops on topics that ranged from “Poverty As a Classroom Issue” to “Strategies for Discussing Controversial Issues” and “Breaking the Silence: Lesbian/Gay issues in schools”.

Unique Colloquium Series

The Faculty of Education, in partnership with the Department of Women’s Studies and the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, is sponsoring a unique colloquium series titled “Women, War and Peace”, situated in the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. Organized by the Education Graduate Students’ Association the series features eminent South-Asian feminist scholar Dr. Neloufer de Mel, who will give two talks, one on peace pedagogy, and the other on the female suicide bomber. She will also screen a short documentary film, Women by the Sea, on the impact of the catastrophic 2004 tsunami for women in the affected areas.

Building international opportunities for counselling psychology students

New opportunities and possibilities for international counselling program exchanges were discussed when Dr. Natalee Popadiuk, Assistant Professor in the Counselling Psychology Master’s Program recently hosted two visiting international scholars from Finland and China.

Experiential Learning in China for the SFU Women’s Basketball Team

Having recently returned from an athletic and academic trip to China, the SFU women’s basketball team made a traditional Chinese toast before sharing their learning experiences with both domestic and international SFU students in Images Theatre at the Burnaby campus.

Education Professor Appointed to Federal Funding Body

Due in part to the outstanding research work of our faculty, our innovative program offerings, and our collaborative community outreach initiatives, the Faculty of Education continues to be recognized for its expertise and leadership in the field of education.

International student inspired to initiate change

Julia Jin is in the second year of the Master of Education Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language program she is taking through International Programs in the Faculty of Education. Originally from China, in this authored article Julia shares her insights, her experience, her personal and professional growth, as well as, what inspires her to initiate change back home.

Interior Road Show

The Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University hit the road May 1 – 3 to honour close ties with communities in Prince George, Kamloops, and Kelowna.

New course for successful transition to university

Following the success of the new Foundations of Academic Literacy program offered through the Faculty of Education, a special topic has been added to the January course offerings.

Applications open for Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Learning Design

Applications are being accepted for the Faculty of Education's new Ph.D. program in Educational Technology and Learning Design. This exciting new program, offered at SFU's Burnaby campus, is the first of its kind in British Columbia.

B.C. and China sign pact on degrees

Government officials from B.C. and China have signed an agreement allowing for more post-secondary degrees, diplomas and certificates to be recognized by both governments.

The importance of professional relationships

On November 20, 2006, a symposium on the theme “Relationship Matters” for PDP students was held at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School.

Questions raised about Fraser Institute School rankings

John Nesbit, Phil Winne, and Carmen Gress point out that school ratings such as the Fraser Institute’s inevitably have some error built into them.

New International Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction

The Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University will be offering a new international Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction, sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), beginning Fall 2006.

Ruth Foster Wins Award From Canadian Geographic

Ruth Foster, former faculty associate in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, has influenced the lives of over 450 students through her work forming and maintaining the Centennial School Salmon Project.

Faculty member receives two prestigious honours

Dr. David B. Zandvliet, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, received a Certificate of Recognition from the Association for Community Education in British Columbia in May and was honoured with the 2005 award for Best Published Paper from a Learning Environments special interest group of the American Educational Researchers’ Association in April.

Faculty of Education Professor Wins Award from the CUFA/BC

Dr. Roland Case, a professor in the Faculty of Education at SFU, has been honoured with a Career Achievement Award by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia.

The Faculty of Education at the SFU Open House

Saturday, June 3 was a special day at Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus as the Faculty of Education – with more than 190 volunteers, including students, faculty and staff – celebrated 40 years of outstanding teacher education during the largest and most successful SFU Open House to date.

Handbook of Educational Psychology (2nd ed) Hits Stores

Dr. Philip H. Winne, a Canada Research Chair and professor in the Faculty of Education at SFU, has co-edited the second edition of the groundbreaking book, “Handbook of Educational Psychology”.

New Director of Administrative Relations Announced

The Faculty of Education at SFU is pleased to announce that Celeste Snowber has accepted the position of Director of Administrative Relations.

Alfie Kohn Talk Available Online

On May 4, 2006, Alfie Kohn spoke about the risk of tougher standards in education to a near capacity crowd at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue as part of the Faculty of Education's "Education Matters Lecture Series". If you missed Alfie's presentation about "The Deadly Effects of Tougher Standards in Education: Challenging High Stakes Testing and Other Impediments to Learning".

Celebrating 40 Years with BC School Districts

Field Programs celebrated SFU's relationships with school districts in BC at a 40th Anniversary "Celebration of our Collaboration in Teachers' Professional Development" on April 28 at the Diamond Alumni Centre.

SFU 2005 Awards

We are pleased to announce that Faculty of Education students in postgraduate, doctoral and undergraduate programs were honoured at the SFU Awards Ceremony held on the Burnaby campus in February. The prestigious awards and scholarships recognized the dedication of the students and the high quality of the faculty members who supervised them.

Lynn Reader, The Personal Achievement Award

We congratulate Lynn Reader, of Professional Programs, who has been awarded the SFU Staff Personal Achievement Award, 2006 for "Overcoming adversity or prevailing over difficult circumstances by demonstrating courage, resilience and determination".

Diane Kelso, Employment/Student Service Award

We congratulate Diane Kelso, who has been awarded the SFU Employment/Student Service Award, 2006, for "Enhancing the University's ability to meet their Employee/Student needs in an efficient and professional manner by going the 'extra mile' and anticipating and proactively meeting their expectations".

SFU Surrey's fourth annual open house

Monday, February 27 The Faculty of Education showcased their programs at SFU Surrey’s fourth annual open house. The well-attended event in February encouraged prospective students to interact with faculty and staff from undergraduate, PDP and graduate programs. The informal and energetic event was in keeping with the intimate environment at SFU’s Surrey Campus and what the Faculty of Education offers in their programs, which feature small class sizes and a supportive atmosphere.

On the issue of class sizes

Following a report on class sizes released Thursday, February 9, 2006, by the BC government, the dean of the Faculty of Education, Paul Shaker, was on The Bill Good Show (CKNW) today to comment on the issue. The discussion focused on the value of smaller class sizes, the importance of the teacher/student relationship, and the increase in diversity in the classrooms specifically in terms of ESL and learning disabilities.

FOE Inks Agreement with Top Korean University

The Faculty of Education and South Korea’s Cheonan University have signed an official letter of agreement recognizing one another as affiliated institutions and pledging to develop a cooperative relationship. The Burnaby-New Westminster area has the largest Korean population in Canada.

FOE and BCTF Co-Host Unprecedented Campus Event

In an unprecedented collaboration, the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) co-hosted ‘BCTF Day on Campus at SFU’. Members of the teachers’ union facilitated workshops with students in the Faculty’s Professional Development Program (PDP), establishing an important connection with future teachers.

Student Teachers in Cuba

For seven student teachers in the Professional Development Program (PDP), their practicum is taking place very differently - they're teaching French as a second language at the Che Guevara High School in Santa Clara, Cuba.

Congratulations to our PDP Graduates

Wednesday December 14, Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby, BC, served as the venue for the December Graduation ceremony for over 160 students of the Professional Programs in the Faculty of Education. With their loved ones, the new graduates celebrated the successful completion of their year-long teacher education program.