KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT FALL EDITION 2008 VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 On the preciousness of life the legacy of Dr. Fawzy Morcos Centenary and Homecoming Celebrations Past, Present and Future of Education KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT Centenary Message from the Dean With the University of Alberta celebrating its 100th year and our I was deeply touched by the turnout of alumni who came out Faculty celebrating its 65th, I thought it appropriate that the in record numbers to attend our Faculty’s Homecoming events theme of this issue of the Orange be the past, the present and the this past September. I was honored to be your host, and I am future. delighted that so many of you came home to celebrate with us. It was somewhat surreal to hear a story from a teacher who taught Our past 65 years as a Faculty are rich in discovery, innovation in a one-room school house on the prairie and then turn around and boldness. Becoming the first Faculty of Education in Canada to have a conversation with a teacher who is effectively using in 1942 set the stage for us to become leaders in many areas, and sophisticated technology to enhance the learning experience in we are proud of many other “firsts” over the years. her classroom. I will truly treasure the moments of sharing and The article “From Humble Beginnings to International Impact” visiting with all of you. takes us on a journey of the teaching profession in Alberta from Thank you all for your support, and I encourage you to stay in the turn of the century to today and beyond. The story begins touch and to come back and see us when you can. with the under-resourced one-room schoolhouse teacher and ends with a very exciting and realistic view of teachers and educa- Fern Snart, PhD 1979 Dean tion in years to come. THE ORANGE I FALL 2008 3 PAGE KEEPING ALUMNI CURRENT FALL EDITION 2008 VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 ON THE COVER: On the Preciousness of Life: the Legacy of Dr. Fawzy Morcos Dr. Fawzy Morcos, ’85 MEd, talks about his life’s work in obstetrics and gynecology and the changes he inspired in pre-natal education and the pregnancy and birthing process. FEATURES 5 Past, Present 7 Holding Tests and Future Accountable From Humble Beginnings Dr. David Slomp, BEd 1998, MEd to International Impact: the 1999, PhD 2007, analyzes the University of Alberta’s Faculty of lessons taught by standardized Education. exams in contrast to the lessons envisioned by the curriculum. 12 Centenary and 20 Making of a Mural Homecoming Lance Burns speaks about what it Celebrations takes to create a mural that rec- ognizes the Faculty of Education’s The Faculty of Education honors its rich history and inspires future alumni and proud history as part generations. of the University of Alberta. DEPARTMENTS 19 Education Generations Project 22 Campus Happenings 18 ATA News 23 Alumni Recognition 21 Roger S. Smith Undergraduate 24 Class Notes Research Award The Orange is the Faculty of Education’s alumni magazine. Published twice a year by the Faculty’s Office of External External Relations Director Relations, the Orange is distributed to alumni, friends, faculty, students and staff. Dean of Education Welcome Fern Snart Executive-Editor/ Note Director of External Relations Neil Hayes This past summer and fall, I have Editor/ had the opportunity to meet Director of Communications with many staff, students Dawn Ford and alumni. The com- mon bonds and sense of External Relations Team community help increase Production Assistant - Carl Busch the profile of the Faculty. Coordinator External Relations - Desiree Kendrick Development Officer - Sean Mowat It is a privilege to serve the Alumni Relations / Special Projects Officer - Faculty of Education. Ramona McVicker Our staff helps to Graphic Design reconnect alumni Creative Services through our events. We offer ways to give back through donations for special projects such as our Contributing writers and photographers Alberta Teachers’ Association, Lance Burns, CBC Education Clinic that offers much needed counseling and support to hundreds Sports, Dawn Ford, Michael Holly, Gayle Semeniuk, of families each year. To attract our brightest students to come to the U of A Richard Siemens, David H. Slomp, Ryan Smith to become future leaders, we help donors establish scholarships. Often donors Send your comments to: opt to set up bursaries to help students with financial needs. Office of External Relations Faculty of Education To date, we have helped many people celebrate lives well lived through University of Alberta establishing endowments to remember loved ones or celebrate weddings and 4-107 Education North anniversaries. We also celebrate lives reborn through students who receive Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5 funding and we are inspired when we see the students receiving your gifts Tel: 780-492-7755 with such enthusiasm and gratitude. Fax: 780-492-0155 Email: [email protected] We honour the past while building for the future. We feel connected to you www.education.ualberta.ca and welcome you as our extended family. The photos in this issue of The Orange show many hugs, hand clasps and smiles, testimony to the deep kin- ship shared by educators around the world. Because of your support and encouragement we can continue to build for the future. Yours truly, Neil Hayes, BSc. CFRE Director of Development THE ORANGE I FALL 2008 5 PAGE Past, Present and Future From humble beginnings to international impact: THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBerta’S FacultY OF Education BY DEAN FERN Snart The job description included janitorial tasks The school became a college in 1939; Milton and sometimes even the care of the horses Ezra Lazerte was named as the first director, used as transportation by some of the stu- and pre-service teachers were allowed to As Alberta took its place within dents. They were ill-prepared for the range register directly in an education program. Confederation in 1905, public education of students’ educational needs; students The notion was that the college would edu- reflected society and the economics of the represented a wide range of ability levels, cate those who would become high-school time; the province was predominantly a rural ages, and even spoken languages in the case teachers while preparation for elementary population and agriculture was key. of immigrant children. school teachers would still occur primarily in the Normal Schools. Immigrants to Canada were arriving steadily By 1906, things had begun to change as federal efforts were underway to “settle as the provincial legislature of the new The Faculty opened its doors in 1942 as the the west.” province began to sit in McKay Avenue first Faculty of Education in Canada, and School—Edmonton’s oldest brick school named Lazerte as dean. By the mid-‘40s, Schooling often took place in the famed one- house—and teacher preparation was an early the Normal Schools closed and the U of A room schoolhouses across the prairies; at one agenda item. was given the responsibility of providing time there were over 3,000 in Alberta. teacher education for the entire province. From 1906 through 1945, teacher education The foundation was thus provided for the School attendance was a challenge, as young in Alberta was provided by the Provincial requirement that was initiated in the 1970s, people provided necessary labour on family Department of Education at three Normal that those entering the teaching profession farms. Similarly, since attainment of the “three Schools, located in Calgary from 1906–1945, must have a university degree. Rs” was felt to be an adequate education, Camrose from 1912–1938, and Edmonton, high-school completion was relatively rare. first housed in Corbett Hall, from 1920–1945 The Faculty of Education today is one of (with some interruptions). By 1928, a School the largest and most vital in Canada. With The life of teachers in this era was not to of Education existed at the U of A within the 3,400 undergraduate students, 800 graduate be envied. Those teachers, typically young Faculties of Arts and Science, which allowed students and world class-researchers and women, often found themselves in run-down students to obtain a degree in education teachers as professors, graduates are making schoolhouses and were required to live in if they had previously completed another a difference in educational and profes- similarly neglected teacherages or granaries, degree. sional spheres across the globe. The Faculty’s or even in the school itself. collegial relationship with the profession The Faculty of Education today is one of the largest and most vital in Canada. With 3,400 undergraduate students, 800 graduate students and world class- researchers and teachers as professors, graduates are making a difference in educational and professional spheres across the globe. through the Alberta Teachers’ Association is strong, placing roughly 2,300 student teachers annually with excellent mentor teachers in Alberta classrooms. The innovative work of education professors and exchange opportunities. In fact, 10 of Educational Policy Studies, and her team, has taken the Faculty to new and exciting international memoranda of understanding provide an historic opportunity for Aboriginal arenas, such that its contribution to the have been signed with institutions across the scholars in Western Canada by creating the public good—locally and globally—can be globe over the past two years to promote opportunity to examine the writings of the increasingly noted. research collaboration and faculty and stu- early Oblate missionaries. The Oblates are dent mobility. partners in this research, and the process is For instance, off-campus collaborative framed as one that will contribute to healing programs provide opportunities for students Further, the Faculty of Education is the only within the context of understanding lan- to obtain U of A Bachelor of Education North American member of a consortium guage and history.