KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT FALL EDITION 2006 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 Snakes, Fire and Bug Spray: A 1948 Northern Teaching Experience Gwyn Bailey, ’49 BEd The Power of Puppets Welcome Back, Randy Wimmer! Aspiring Teacher’s Declaration The Orange is the Faculty of Education’s alumni magazine. Published twice a KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT year by the Faculty’s Office of External Relations, the Orange is distributed to alumni, friends, faculty, students and staff. Greetings from the Dean of Education Fern Snart Director of External Relations/Editor Dean Michele Shea September is always a special time of year, full of promise for the year ahead. The energy and excitement on campus is palpable as we welcome new and returning students, faculty, staff, External Relations Team alumni and friends to the Faculty of Education. As I write this message on an exceptionally Sean Mowat, Asheley Cowie, Dawn warm day in early September, I thought I would share with you some of the highlights of a Ford, Thea Hawryluk busy and rewarding summer. Graphic Design I had the pleasure of traveling to Washington, DC in June for the “Alberta at the Smithsonian” Creative Services event and was proud to represent our university and faculty at various events and meetings. One of the highlights was the opportunity to host a dinner for our Washington area alumni. Contributing writers and photographers Where possible, I plan on hosting similar events as part of my future travels. Dawn Ford, Michael Holly, Gordon McIntosh, Inspired by President Indira Samarasekera’s Dare to Discover; A Vision for a Great University Sean Mowat, Michele Shea, Richard Siemens, (available online at www.president.ualberta.ca), we completed the faculty’s contribution to the Fern Snart university’s academic plan this past May. A truly collaborative effort led to the development of the plan, which will guide our activities in the months and years ahead. Send your comments to: The Faculty of Education co-hosted the 7th annual Canadian Indigenous Language and Literacy Office of External Relations Development Institute (CILLDI) this past July. CILLDI’s mandate is the preservation of endan- Faculty of Education gered Indigenous languages by developing research skills and teaching expertise in those who University of Alberta speak the language. CILLDI also offers a Cree immersion program for children ages 6-12, which 4-107 Education North has been very successful to-date. Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5 The School of Library and Information Studies was recently granted a full seven-year accredita- Tel: 780.492.7755 tion by the American Library Association. MLIS graduates are certified to obtain professional Fax: 780.492.0155 work in the field across North America. This stamp of approval speaks to the strong MLIS cur- E-mail: [email protected] riculum and the School’s outstanding faculty and staff. www.education.ualberta.ca We celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the Korean Teacher Education Program (KTEP). KTEP provides a four week professional development program of active learning for middle school and high school teachers of English from Kangwon-do, Alberta’s sister province in Korea. Similarly we hosted a group of Japanese teachers within the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program (HTEP). The first graduates of the Master of Education in Educational Studies (MES) program crossed the stage at the June convocation ceremonies. The MES program is an alternative delivery graduate program for working professionals and offers three strands of specialization focusing on leadership, educational improvement and site-based research. The program has met with great success and we plan on adding a 4th stream in the next year. By the time you read this, Reunion Weekend 2006 will have come and gone and planning will already be underway for 2007. As you may know, Reunion 2008 will mark the university’s 100th birthday and all alumni are invited to come back to campus for this milestone celebra- tion. We’d love to see you. I hope you will enjoy the fall edition of the Orange and that it fosters a sense of connection to, and pride in, the Faculty of Education. Indeed we have much of which to be proud. I encourage you to stay in touch and to come back and see us when you can. Fern Snart, ‘79 PhD Dean THE ORANGE I FALL 2 0 0 6 6 PAGE KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT FALL EDITION 2006 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 COVER STORY 10 Snakes, Fire and Bug Spray: A 1948 Northern Teaching Experience Gwyn Bailey, ’49 BEd, recalls her many adventures while teaching in northern Alberta in the late 1940’s. FEATURES 4 The Power of Puppets Marshall Wynnychuk, ’60 BEd, 13 MES Program Celebrates ’65 Dip(Ed), talks about using its First Graduates puppets in the classroom to help his students succeed. The Faculty of Education celebrates its first graduates of the Master of Education in Educational Studies (MES) program 16 Research and Discovery for Education’s Undergrads The first recipients of the Faculty of Education’s Roger S. Smith Award talk about how they spent their summer. 6 Welcome Back, Randy Wimmer! DEPARTMENTS Randy Wimmer, ’87 BEd, ’96 MEd, ’03 EdD, returns to the U 8 Reunion Weekend 2006 of A after a three year stint at the University of Saskatchewan. 18 Alumni Awards 19 Upcoming Alumni Events 19 Class Notes 14 Aspiring Teacher’s Declaration: Never Say Never Kuen Tang, ’06 BEd, is determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. THE ORANGE I FALL 2 0 0 6 5 PAGE The Power of Puppets BY Sean Mowat When Marshall Wynnychuk, ’60 BEd, ’65 especially the problem students,” he says. “Not subjects and earned the adoration of many Dip(Ed), was a young boy in the late 1930’s, only did student motivation and excitement children and the honour of being recognized he spent many hours in the Vegreville “jungle”, increase, but knowledge retention improved by the Puppeteers of America as the first edu- which is what the residents of the time dramatically. Students would spend extra cational TV show in Canada to use a puppet. unaffectionately called the area by the grain time researching the character and writing As a member of the Puppeteers of America, elevators. Marshall, showing uncharacteristic the story for a puppet show because they Marshall attended several of their conventions compassion for a young boy, would not only wanted it to be good.” Marshall adds, “Most and during one of them he was approached bring food to the homeless men who called students might re-write a regular report twice, by the legendary Jim Henson. “This was pre- the jungle their home, but he would also if pushed, but when writing a puppet-play stu- Sesame Street,” Marshall says. “Jim asked me if spend time with them, listening to their stories dents would re-write the script as many times he could see my puppets in action, so I showed and learning the art of beadwork. As a gift of as it took to get it right and they did it without him a video, after which he said, ‘your puppets appreciation, one of the homeless men gave me having to tell them.” are doers, and mine are real yappers!’”. Marshall a rudimentary plaster-of-paris puppet, He adds, “Students were more confident when aptly named “Monko” for its resemblance to Marshall recalls the time he introduced his reciting reports, performing and answering an ape. Unbeknownst to Marshall at the time, young son to the now famous puppeteer. questions using puppets, because it was the his “jungle” experience was a defining and “By this time Sesame Street had become a puppet that made the mistakes and was cor- prophetic moment in his life. household name,” he says. “Upon being rected, not them. One student, who stuttered introduced to Henson my son quipped, ‘My Marshall began performing magic and puppet during normal conversation, never stuttered Dad is a puppeteer, but he is not as good as shows for his Vegreville neighbours when he when he was performing with a puppet.” was just eight years old. At the age of 15, Marshall moved his act onto the stage as a regular at the “Vegreville Amateur Night”. He “Students were more confident when reciting reports, performing recalls, “My shows back in those days were and answering questions using puppets, because it was the puppet mostly magic but, lacking a pretty assistant, I had to use Monko-the-puppet instead.” It that made the mistakes and was corrected, not them.” wasn’t until 1953, when Marshall began his teaching career in Vermillion, that the real magic started and Marshall discovered that In 1966, when Marshall was teaching at you!’ Every time after that meeting, whenever puppets were powerful educational tools. Sherbrooke Elementary School in Edmonton, Jim and I were together, he would say, ‘Are you any better yet?’” “At first, I had the children using puppets only he was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. The Department of Education wanted to in Christmas concerts every year, but after I Marshall successfully used puppets in his produce an educational series for children to saw how much puppetry teaching until he retired from the Edmonton be aired on CBC, and they asked Marshall if increased student enthu- Public School Board in 1993. Reflecting on his he would be interested in creating a series siasm, I decided to try teaching career, and how puppets influenced with a puppet theme. “Obviously I was very using it to teach subject the lives of his students, he explains, “Problem honoured to be asked and I was excited at the material,” explains kids throughout the city were often sent to prospect of being able to teach on television.