Reimagining Teacher Education through Design Thinking Principles: Curriculum in the Key of Life

Inspired by Arendt’s (2009) “task of renewing a common world” (p. 193), a team of ten instructors took on the challenge of reimagining a teacher preparation course entitled Curriculum II - Arts & Humanities. Through the dominant discourses of management, accountability and technique-driven preparation, the act of teaching is interpreted as a “service rendered” (Pinar, 2012, p. 36), measured “objectively” by demonstrable deliverables and pre-determined outcomes. Our team provoked these discourses by asserting that human beings are inherently attuned to deeper learning through wonderment, interpretation, ideation and experimentation (Whitehead, 1929). The principles of design thinking – a problem-based process which, through curiosity, empathy and interdisciplinary thinking, generates playful and collaborative creative experimentation – offered a space within which to open up deeper educational conversations with pre-service teachers. Invoking the metaphor of a choral performance, this series of miniature musical movements “in the key of life” express the challenging, enlivening and multivocal nature of curriculum and pedagogy enacted through Design Thinking principles. From contemplating the power of self-reflection and collective action, to meeting challenges and resistance with courage, to listening with heart to people and places, and to responding with joy and hope in the face of our place and circumstances, each individual movement gives voice to the echoes that linger long after the official coursework is complete. Together, these voices join together in a chorus of authentic and responsive curriculum renewal

Where do you come from? Navigating Identity Formation in Canadian Western African Youth in Alberta

With the increase of immigrants from non-Western countries to Canada, it has been noted that the demographics of the nation will change over time. Research in Canada still tends to group people of African descent as Black without considering the difference in their countries of origins, socio-economic background, values and cultural context. Adopting a social constructivist lens, and using the Phinney’s three - stage model of ethnic identity development, this phenomenological study examines the experiences of eight second generation youth of Western African descent in two major cities in Alberta as they navigate the identity formation process. Factors that influence their adoption of an identity, and the characteristics and importance of their adopted identity were also investigated. Face to face interviews were conducted in Edmonton and Calgary, with the sessions audio-taped, transcribed and analysed. Results from analysis of the narratives collected from the youth involved in the study was skewed towards the adoption of their parent’s nationality. Experiences that contributed towards their adoption of the identity include parental influence, interaction with members of the Canadian society, and socializing with members of their parent’s cultural community. Merged in the lives of the youth, these diverse experiences led to the adoption of an identity. However, their adopted identities were not static, but fluid in nature leading to a hybridity in their identification. The study also includes implications of the results from the research study for immigrant parents, educators, policy makers, service providers, as well as recommendations for the future research

Seven Voices, Seven Developers, Seven One Things that Guide Our Practice

Educational development philosophy statements provide a framework to communicate the values and beliefs that guide the practices and approaches of individual educational developers across various career stages. This paper presents narratives to illustrate how seven educational developers conceptualize the one thing that guides our work through the process of reflecting on the beliefs that we articulate through our educational development philosophy statements. Although each narrative illustrates our diverse backgrounds and philosophies, common themes are revealed relating to reflective practice, scholarly approaches, and facilitating change, which lead to improvements in student learning. This exploration suggests further opportunity to conduct research on how educational development philosophy statements illuminate implicit definitions and beliefs about this diverse and evolving field

A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Higher Education Curriculum Development, Review & Renewal Projects

“A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Higher Education Curriculum Development, Review & Renewal Projects” is a collaborative effort drawing on the collective experience of the authors, who have worked in different institutional contexts across Canada and beyond. Our goal is to provide practical guidance by describing curriculum development, review, and renewal practices in plain language, using a scholarly, evidence-informed, critical, and self-reflective approach. In writing this guide, we drew variously from theories of learning, well-established scholarship in education and curriculum studies, models of change management as applied to education, and the practice of educational development as informed by our own experiences and shared knowledges, to identify what in our view are best or promising practices for curriculum development