Kristin Wiens (left), Rachel Reynolds, conference organizer Dr. Rachel Moll, Breanne Quist, and Louise Panziera were happy to contribute to the 2016 Master’s of Education Research Conference on March 5.
March 16, 2016 - 3:00pm
Master’s of Education Research Conference highlights graduate student projects
Vancouver Island University (VIU) Master’s of Education graduate students are designing groundbreaking mentorship programs in schools, proposing curricula that develop ‘grit’ in children while reducing bullying, and inventing award winning Internet-use security protocols that protect children by ensuring online access in schools is safe.
The range of issues that were presented at the Master’s of Education Research Conference on March 5 were as varied as they were impactful.
While students presented their research to over 80 delegates in break-out sessions throughout the day, four keynote speakers, all VIU Master’s of Education alumni, opened the conference by talking about how the work they did on their thesis carried over into their professional life.
Keynote speaker and VIU alumna Kristin Wiens is the curriculum coordinator for the Sooke School District. She returned to VIU to talk about the picture book she created that formed the centerpiece of her master’s work on mindfulness. The book, called My Gratitude Jar, was published in 2014.
“My thesis advisor, professor Gail Krivel-Zacks, gave an enthusiastic ‘yes’ when I asked if I could create a picture book and the materials to support it for my thesis. The whole concept formed around introducing mindfulness to elementary school children. She supported the idea and encouraged me to build a movement behind it, and so that’s what I did,” said Wiens.
“It was delightful how VIU embraced my creativity. That made my engagement in my thesis work so much more meaningful for me. I loved my project when I was in school and I love that afterwards it is still a huge part of my life - and I have VIU to thank for that.”
Along with My Gratitude Jar Wiens submitted a stop-motion animation, a graphic recording, a strategic plan, a comic strip, a picture book, an art journal and much more throughout her Master’s of Education in Special Education. She is now travelling to schools throughout the province to present at assemblies and libraries and to talk to teachers about mindfulness.
“Research shows that practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress, improve concentration and help people to live healthier lives. We introduce elementary school students to concepts that will bring mindfulness into their everyday lives. We teach breathing techniques to calm the busy mind, and we ask teachers to introduce students to the gratitude concept. What we’ve found is they are taking the idea and running with it,” said Wiens.
“For example in one school they made a gratitude tree. The whole school would then write on a butterfly what they were grateful for and they put those on the tree throughout the year. Each class would then read from the tree once a week. In another, students are keeping gratitude journals. We are seeing schools building their community around a core of being grateful and it is inspiring.”
Breanne Quist has a Bachelor of Education degree and an Online Learning and Teaching graduate diploma from VIU. She graduated from the VIU Master’s of Educational Leadership program in January, 2015. Her keynote address at the conference was called Building the Privacy Compass to Help Teachers Navigate Challenging Digital Terrain. Quist’s talk was based on her final Master’s project which resulted in a comprehensive website designed to help teachers and parents navigate privacy issues related to the Internet and social media. In 2015 she gained national recognition when she was nominated for the prestigious Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award for her work.
“I was at a conference in Ontario and voiced some of my concerns and was told to go live in a cave because I was too worried about student privacy,” said Quist.
“I strongly disagreed. What I was saying is you have to have informed consent - you can’t just say ‘our students can use the Internet’ which is the policy in Ontario and many other places. Parents need to be asking what are kids doing on the Internet and teachers need to be informed. The Internet is a vast place, how can you be sure they are being safe?”
Throughout the day student research was presented on topics ranging from how teachers can inspire passion and perseverance in students to achieve their long term goals to the impacts of reduced government funding on teaching outcomes and the use of English in French Immersion classrooms.
VIU professor and Chair of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education, Dr. Rachel Moll, organizes the Master’s of Education Research Conference. After five years of holding the conference she says the depth and breadth of discussion that takes place among educators at the event continues to inspire.
“We hold this conference to not only celebrate the research being done by our students but to show the incredible impact they are having across a vast range of educational fields,” said Moll.
“For me personally, it makes me proud to see our students present to a large audience and be challenged to debate their conclusions with educators who are truly interested in what they are working on. Through their research students propose and explore new ways to approach some of the most challenging issues that educators currently face and the solutions they come up with often lead to long term, positive changes in our local school districts and beyond.”
For more information about Breanne Quist’s Privacy Compass go to: breannequist.weebly.com/
To learn more about Kristin Wiens’s My Gratitude Jar go to: northstarpaths.com/
To find out more about VIU’s Master of Education programs go to: ow.ly/ZvQ8d
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Tags: Research
