On October 5th the McDowell Foundation celebrates 30 years of teacher-led research in the province and beyond. Thank you for the well-wishes we have received. https://youtu.be/c-G38L6F97Mhttps://youtu.be/-02iiYQXqmUhttps://youtu.be/qrgS43DIDpghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-d_U9t73nk
Jennifer Dorval is both a past researcher and McDowell Foundation Project Review Committee member. See her #MF30for30 story here. https://mcdowellfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Mcdowell-video_Jennifer-Dorval.mp4
Notice of Intent for Special Directed Call Indigenous Education -Officially on June 30, 2021, our former Administrative Assistant, Nora Worby, retired from the McDowell Foundation. As a part of her retirement gift, we wanted to honour her and her work over the years as our Administrative Assistant. At her request, Nora’s special Directed Call will focus on both Indigenous and non-indigenous students. As we all participate through the journey of Truth and Reconciliation, a part of our mandate is to raise awareness of the history and creation of the residential school system, its ongoing legacy, and how it has shaped the country we live in today. This was of particular importance to Nora, and her special Directed Call will further the work in this area. This Notice of Intent will focus on how to further incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, language, and history into our classrooms. Projects exploring Indigenous language Read more
Notice of Intent for Special Directed Call Indigenous Education -Officially on June 30, 2021, our former Administrative Assistant, Nora Worby, retired from the McDowell Foundation. As a part of her retirement gift, we wanted to honour her and her work over the years as our Administrative Assistant. At her request, Nora’s special Directed Call will focus on both Indigenous and non-indigenous students. As we all participate through the journey of Truth and Reconciliation, a part of our mandate is to raise awareness of the history and creation of the residential school system, its ongoing legacy, and how it has shaped the country we live in today. This was of particular importance to Nora, and her special Directed Call will further the work in this area. This Notice of Intent will focus on how to further incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, language, and history into our classrooms. Projects exploring Indigenous language Read more
Thank you for helping to imagine and create a sustainable, inspiring future through your donation to the McDowell Foundation. Your gift, no matter the size, helps to lift us all up. Over the past year we made positive changes by addressing issues that impact a pandemic world through support for a special directed call for research in the classroom during COVID-19. As the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic continually changed, so did the McDowell Foundation as it continues to take steps to help limit community spread by holding virtual events, meetings, and gatherings. Since 1991, the McDowell Foundation has supported an amazing legacy of teacher-led research with real, immediate, and lasting educational effects funding more than 300 projects. The McDowell Foundation would gratefully like to thank everyone that contributed to the Foundation through recognized donations and gifts in support for its research programs. You are contributing to the professional growth Read more
Check out this summary of research emerging from the Directed Call for research on education during the pandemic. Thank you to all of the research teams for your work and expertise.
Join the McDowell Foundation’s virtual Salon Series COVID Lessons from School II: Teacher Voice on Distance Learning in the Pandemic on June 7, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. to hear what lessons have been learned upon returning to school online during COVID-19. Hear from McDowell’s directed call teacher researcher Kelsey Shields as she shares her findings from her research focusing on the experience of teachers offering distance learning during the pandemic. Kelsey will be joined by Dr. Jay Wilson, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan; Jay Salikin, Senior Manager Visual Programs and Services, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation; and Lisa Hodson, Senior Administrative Staff, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. The panel will share their experience over the past 18 months as they have addressed COVID from their own spaces. The event will be hosted and facilitated by the McDowell Foundation. To register for this upcoming Salon Series, please email mcdowell@stf.sk.ca. Poster
Thursday, April 22, 2021 – 7:00-8:30 p.m. Please join the McDowell Foundation for this special Salon Series focusing on research from three of our teams funded through the directed call. Presentations will include: Lessons Learned Upon Returning to School During COVID-19 (Suzanne Zwarych presenting) The purpose of this study is to garner information from teachers returning to school and use that information to create a valid questionnaire to determine whether practices and interventions put in place by school divisions and government can reduce the anxiety and stress of teachers upon their return to school during a pandemic. The main objective is first to identify processes and policies that helped teachers to overcome the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary purpose of this study is to attempt to understand the experiences of teachers throughout Saskatchewan, and through that understanding, create a valid Read more
The McDowell Foundation’s virtual Salon Series Breaking Out of the Textbox – Increasing Outdoor Learning took place on March 4, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. to understand the value of outdoor learning and how it can help improve the lives of students, foster reconciliation, and connect to one’s grass roots. Hear from Saskatoon teacher and McDowell Researcher, Nicole Turner, as she shares her findings on solutions and supports in addressing the barriers and challenges of incorporating outdoor learning into the classroom. Also, join the conversation and listen to a panel of teachers who will share their experiences of integrating outdoor learning into their lesson planning. The event was facilitated by Nicole Turcotte from Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Professional Learning.
Improving Indigenous Students’ Success Through an Analysis and Implementation of Promising Teaching Practices Researchers: Terry Craig and Cheryl TreptowOctober 2020 The purpose of our study was to bring together a diverse group of culturally responsive lead leaders to see what knowledge and understanding could be gained to better support Indigenous students within the Northwest School Division (NWSD). The lead learner group was comprised of personnel from a provincial school division, tribal council, and a federally run band school. The group included Elders, classroom teachers, and educational leaders. Our objective was to identify perceived barriers and to research promising practices to incorporate into NWSD schools to better support educators as they work to improve the success of our Indigenous students by researching the question: How can a diverse group of culturally responsive lead learners support educators in their efforts to improve the success of Indigenous students in a school setting? Final Read more