OISE conference promotes graduate student engagement and inquiry
March 26, 2012
2012 Conference Committee, from left to right: Qin Liu, Erin Sperling, Hewton Tavares, Christina Guerrero, Victorina Baxan, Hinna Yusuf, Saba Mir, Lesley Dookie.
Missing from photo: Nathalie Carrier, Vafa Neghabian
Photo by Mary MacDonell
During the course of two days on March 22 and 23, more than 230 OISE faculty, students, staff and community members attended Engaged Inquiries, the 12th Annual Dean’s Graduate Student Research Conference at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. In her opening remarks, OISE Dean Julia O’Sullivan stressed the importance of engaging in peer work and receiving support from the OISE community.
Several alumni attending the event recalled their own experiences, and credited the conference with helping them to develop critical skills as student researchers. Kamaljeet Singh, a recent Higher Education graduate, explained, “the feedback process and sharing involved in this conference is invaluable.” Participants attended more than 40 sessions and workshops on diverse topics, including: research methods, science education, youth culture, teaching practices, international development, LGBTQ issues in education, visual arts, nutrition, violence and gender, holistic education, Aboriginal community and more.
Deborah Britzman, Distinguished Research Professor at York University’s Faculty of Education, delivered the conference keynote address, The adolescent teacher: a psychoanalytic discussion on the emotional situation of education. In her talk, Britzman described the emotional essence of the adolescent learner and how teachers develop empathy through shared experience that is reflected in the way they teach, act and interact with students.
A popular highlight of the conference every year has been the presentation of the Muriel Fung Student Achievement Awards, named after a former SESE doctoral candidate for her commitment to the OISE students and social justice, which is given to graduate students for outstanding leadership and contributions to OISE’s student community. This year, SESE PhD student Paul Adjei, Brad Evoy, a first-year MA student in TPS, and Yidan Zhu, a first-year PhD student in Adult Education received this distinguished accolade for service to the OISE student community.
The 2012 Dean’s Graduate Research Conference was organized and supported by Victorina Baxan, Nathalie Carrier, Lesley Dookie, Cristina Alexandra Guerrero, Liisa Hyyrylainen, Qin Liu, Mary MacDonell, Saba Mir, Vafa Neghabian, Erin Sperling, Hewton Tavares, Hinna Yusuf together with logistical support from OISE Student Services. More than 75 faculty and students contributed individually as peer reviewers.. Videos, pictures and slides from presentations can be found here.
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