In this newsletter:

• Save the Date! Upcoming Events!
• Bowling with Bob!
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Conference
• Quick Guide for Accessing Journals
• Guest Speaker – Jay Naidoo
• Hurrahs!!!

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SAVE THE DATE! UPCOMING EVENTS!

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BOWLING WITH BOB!

Our Social Committee has organized a glow bowling event to celebrate the retirement of sessional instructor, Bob Gray.  Mark the date, and find something white to wear for some glow in the dark fun at Murphy’s Community Centre, 18-May-2017, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm.  Please respond to the Sign Up Genius as soon as possible so teams can be organized. You can find the link here.

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UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) CONFERENCE

This year’s Faculty retreat will in part address the inherent challenges and solutions in addressing the needs and aspirations of International and Indigenous Students within our faculty and our classrooms.  One promising approach which will be discussed amongst others is Universal Design for Learning.

Universal Design for Learning has gained in popularity in the last decades because it offers instructors a lens for Inclusion that does rely on a diagnostic approach or a deficit model.  Instead it encourages educators to adopt a ‘design approach’ and to design delivery and assessment with flexibility, accessibility, and Inclusion in mind.

We are extremely fortunate, as a Faculty, in hosting the Second Pan-Canadian Conference on Universal Design for Learning from May 31 to June 2, 2017.  The Conference will have 5 streams: K-12, Higher Ed, Student Services, Instructional Designers and Students.  Forty presentations are offered in the program, from practitioners and researchers from across Canada and even overseas.

Details on the conference can be found here.  The keynote will be offered by Christina Bosch, who has done a lot of work with CAST and you can find a first glimpse of the themes she will tackle around the learner perspective on this conference blog: http://www.udlconference.ca/2017/05/07/udl-and-uxd-inclusion-as-access-and-equity-learning-as-meaningful-experience/

The following day will be opened by a plenary given by David Lepofsky, renowned Ontario lawyer and Disability activist.

There have been indication that registration fee for the conference might be eligible to be covered by the SCENT grants that are currently available. (The deadline for SCENT grant applications is noon on 31-May-2017)

Once again, this conference tackles crucial concerns which are raised regularly within our classrooms and in our meetings, and it should be fulfilling for many.

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QUICK GUIDE FOR ACCESSING JOURNALS

Robertson Library has shared a guide to assist with assessing a journal and identify those that may be undesirable.  You can access the quick guide here.

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GUEST SPEAKER – JAY NAIDOO

Jay Naidoo, political and soial activist, has been a leader in the anti-apartheid movement and served as the founding General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. Mr. Naidoo is author of the book Change: organizing tomorrow, today, which warns: “Unless there is significant change, the world is heading to an explosion. The growing gap between rich and poor is dangerous and unsustainable.”

On Thursday, 01-Jun-2017, Mr. Naidoo will present at UPEI in Irving Chemistry Centre, Room 104, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Naidoo‘s discussion explores why people are poor when we walk on gold, diamonds, and resources that fuel the global economy; the extent to which the technological revolution has changed the way we live, organize ourselves, and work; and what the future may hold for education, training and jobs.

For more information, contact Dr. Ron MacDonald at rjmacdonald@upei.ca or Dr. Neb Kujundzic at nkujundzic@upei.ca.

All are welcome to attend!

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HURRAHS!!!

Sean Wiebe has been awarded this year’s winner of the CACS Outstanding Publication award for his submission: Wiebe, S. (2016). The teacher as silenced superhero. Learning Landscapes, 9(2): 535-550. Congratulations, Sean!

Congratulations are also going out to Sean Wiebe on the pubication of his book Poetic Inquirires of Reflection and Renewal (Editors Dr. Lynn Butler-Kisber, Dr. John J. Guiney Yallop, Dr. Mary Stewart, and Dr. Sean Wiebe). Congratulations, Sean!

Congratulations to Jane Preston and Kristopher Barnes for their latest co-authored, peer-reviewed publication published in The Rural Educator.  The article is entitled “Successful Leadership in Rural Schools: Cultivating Collaboration.” Click here for access to the article.

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