Current Research
Research I am involved with now:

MEDIA EDUCATION RESEARCH

For the past four years I have been working on various projects focusing on media education for elementary students and teachers.

• Community-Based media education; connecting the classroom to the community. Armstrong Elementary school (2008)
• Media Education teacher-training; School District #52, Prince Rupert and School District 50, Haida Gwaii (2008)
• Culturally Inclusive Media Education in a First Nations Community; Elementary-based media education in Haida Gwaii (Spring-Fall 2007)
• Media Detective-in-Training program; Grade 3 students at Armstrong Elementary School project (2006-2007)
• Media Education in BC schools; A Survey of BC pre-service and in-service teachers challenges of teaching media education (2007)
• Media Detectives-in-Training pilot program; Grade 3 students at Armstrong Elementary School (2006)
• Media Tune Out; Armstrong Elementary school (2005)
• Simon Fraser Elementary School ‘Unplugged’ project (2004)
• Community Based Media Risk Reduction; North Vancouver Pilot Project (2003)

LUCID: (Learning for Understanding through Culturally Inclusive Imaginative Development)

The LUCID project relies on imaginative education to bridge the gap between academic curriculum and the culture of children’s lives by creating a learning environment in which all children can achieve their fullest potential. The premise of the project is to provide teachers with opportunities to learn and use imaginative education theories and frameworks to create a culturally inclusive environment in their classrooms. The project is a collaboration among teachers from three British Columbia School Districts (SD 50 in Haida Gwaii, SD 52 in Prince Rupert and SD 33 in Chilliwack), community district leaders and educators and a research team directed by Dr. Mark Fettes at Simon Fraser University.

My involvement:

• Research coordinator for the LUCID project (2004-present)

• Site assistant for the LUCID Masters cohort (2004-2006)
  

IERG: (Imaginative Education Research Group)

The Imaginative Education Research Group was founded in 2001 in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada. Since that time we have grown to include active associates in many countries around the world. We conduct research, publish, prepare print and video materials that demonstrate IE in action, organize an annual conference, put on workshops, design modules for use in teacher education and literacy programs, and much else.

My involvement:

• Member of IERG since 2004
• Currently incorporating imaginative education theories and frameworks into my media education pilot projects and research
• developing Brief Guide to Imaginative Media Education (Spring 2007)

BCAME: (British Columbia Association for Media Educators)

The BC Association for Media Educators was first formed in 1991 by a group of BC teachers and media professionals. BCAME has worked with the BC Ministry of Education to develop “A Conceptual Framework for Media Education and Cross Curricular Learning Outcome and Opportunities for Teaching and Assessment” and a number of teaching resources for educators across BC.

My involvement

• Developed and distributed BC teacher survey as a means of assessing what resources are most needed and how best reach teachers and educators interested in media education (fall 2006- spring 2007)
• Developing pre-service teacher survey to assess the needs of pre-service teachers and to further assess their understanding of media education in the curriculum (spring 2007)

Media Analysis Laboratory

The MAL at Simon Fraser University provides a critical and creative environment for making, analyzing and researching the changing role of mediated social communication in our society.

My current involvement

• Research project examining child-rearing practices and media use patterns in the homes of children aged 9-12 (Spring 2007)

Past Research

Media Analysis Laboratory

My involvement with past projects

• Media Risk Reduction; North Vancouver Pilot Project (2003)