SERENDIPITY Department of Adult Education StFX University

Winter, 2014 Message from Elizabeth Lange

In Celebration of Slow Learning Almost 2 years ago I sustained a concussion

from a fall on some hidden ice, ironically

running in to get a book from my office. A week

later, I nearly fainted at a Toronto conference,

after which medical tests began. The next year

and a half was a profound learning journey

dictated by the demands of my injured brain.

One enduring lesson: do not get on the wrong

side of your brain!

As a preschooler, my youngest daughter thought

all body systems were run by little people inside.

In some ways, she was not far off. I was ordered

onto medical leave but I postponed it for a

Foundations Institute…all part of my Protestant

work ethic and illness denial, thinking I could

push through. However, you could almost

picture the little people… “Ok, everyone, she’s

not listening, turn down the engines to

idle”…and my energy would drop precipitously

until I was torpid at my desk. When I resumed

activity, “Ok, everyone she is STILL not

listening, crank up the headache” (or nausea), in

which a vice grip around my head would be

tightened tortuously. A student handed out a

simple problem as part of her presentation, but

the logic function in my executive brain was

waning so I was stumped. I could no longer

remember names, indicating my short term

memory was fading. While my teaching sessions

drew on long term memory, still somewhat

functional, by the last day I was in a detached

fog.

Usually one can do quiet activities while ill, but

the doctor’s orders were: do not read, listen, or

watch anything…tough for one who makes a

living from reading; and do not do any physical

activities or car travel. The brain wants total

lights out for healing! So I slept for 14 hours a

day for months. A concussion is described as a

car crash at a major urban intersection. All

neural messages must be rerouted –some never

reach their destination and others are inefficient

with long delays, until the original site is

repaired…if allowed. However, the cleanup is

very slow and tremendous resources are required

See Inside . . .

Faculty Activities p.2

From & About You p.4

Congratulations to Grads p.5

Award Winners p.6

Student Account Info p.10

New Department Award p.10

Webinars p.11

Student T2202A Forms p.12

Degree & Credential Portal p.12

Annotations Sharing p.13

Important Dates p.14

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to rebuild neural connections, despite brain

plasticity. So, I became a watcher of my brain

function. Interestingly, this is a form of

reflective practice—becoming conscious of

one’s process of thinking/learning with the goal

of assembling richer, more meaningful

interpretations and expanding behavioural

choices, as we ask you to do in several MAdEd

assignments.

Have you ever noticed how many bits of data

your eye then brain must process while driving

or even just sitting in a moving car? No doubt

you are aware of the intense concentration

required for academic reading. But are you

aware of the surprisingly complex functions that

need to occur in any kind of social

interaction…which for me remained an

exhausting undertaking for a year? My brain

even reacted to the type of lighting in my office.

My usual fountain of energy and willpower had

met more than their match…an injured,

demanding brain. Challenging the Cartesian

mind-body split and scientific reductionism, I

directly experienced how the brain and body are

an indistinguishable unit, bringing meaning to

recent research that mind is distributed

throughout the body and that learning changes

how the brain functions physically, closing

synaptic spaces and creating more tightly woven

neural connections.

So, my learning took on a different pace. I sat on

my porch and literally watched my garden grow

and the natural world pass by for

hours…becoming a slow learner! I watched the

dances of the gold finches up high in the trees

eating birch seeds. I watched the newly fledged

hummingbirds teeter on aspen branches

gathering courage to soar awkwardly to our

feeder. I watched a spider slowly dismantle a

wasp then dissolve its web to move its

workplace. A month later the acrobatics of the

young hummingbirds, like elfish beings, were

magical…laughing, chasing, wings clattering as

they body checked each other to get at the

feeder. I went back to a slower time, evoking

Thoreau, when people returned to the wild or sat

on their verandahs, watching life go by. I

reconnected to a living world from which we

have been alienated, given the frenetic, complex

mental demands of (post) modern life (Kegan,

1994).

Just as learning in this program goes beyond

deterministic and right/wrong problems, so the

postmodern age requires complex, adaptive and

flexible thinking where we need to continually

construct meaning, not memorize information.

This takes time! Writing this brief retrospective

is using my integrative brain, where I am

examining my experience from various

theoretical perspectives to understand my

unfolding changes more deeply. This takes

space!

If you feel overwhelmed by the “curriculum” of

daily adult life, says Kegan (1994), you are not

alone in struggling with conscientiously

addressing all the conflict, leadership and

learning demands in our partnering, parenting,

working and social relations. If you feel

overwhelmed in this program at times with

numerous expert literatures, that is natural too,

as it requires shifting to a different order of

consciousness, says Kegan, where we become

self-authoring. In the midst of our busy days, it

is important to slow down, make time and space

for learning as well as for awe, wonder and

respect for what the brain/body does so silently

every day!

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Faculty Activities

Maureen has enjoyed the many learning curves associated with becoming Departmental Chair and she is getting the hang of it. In December, she celebrated convocation with four of her students graduating; after the term was over, she had a lovely Christmas break in Antigonish and Margaree with her family. On the research side, she continues collaborative work with the local district health authority investigating aspects of continuing professional education in the health professions. She is working most closely with a group of diverse health professionals connected in a “community of

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practice” focused on enhancing their capacity to use motivational interviewing techniques in their community-based and family practice-based settings and roles.

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Since the last issue of Serendipity, Leona has been busy with advising her students, as well as continuing to chair the University Research Ethics Board. That task allows her to see how ethics are debated and thought about in various fields of scholarship on campus. It seems that adult education students are among the most diverse at this University in that they have teaching and learning interests that go beyond the usual core subjects in higher education. There is no doubt that we are breaking new ground in this program.

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It was a busy fall for Beth with a large group of students moving toward program completion...almost 30% of her students this year and next. Congratulations to her five fall graduates…the first StFX students she had advised from start to finish! The quality of student research is excellent, making her daily work enjoyable as a learning partner. Just before Christmas, she received tenure…a significant achievement in academe as it affirms quality of teaching and research. Importantly, tenure is granted so that professors have freedom to do research that may lead to results that are controversial or unpopular given the politics or economics of the day, whether in the country or in the institution…critical these days given the war on research! Tenure is meant to give scholars the security for saying what needs to be said, not what helps you keep your job. Beth would like to deeply thank all those students who willingly wrote letters in support of her application…these were vital as the quality of teaching is rigorously assessed! She is also delighted with her first book, a third edition of Purposes of Adult Education to which Bruce Spencer invited her to make substantial contributions. It is meant to be a companion to the new “Contexts” text entitled Building on

Critical Traditions. She also just received two grants for a new research project, Kitchen Table Green Economics, which uses the processes of the Antigonish movement while trying to nurture the green economy in this rural region.

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Paula has enjoyed an exciting fall term, working with current students and fall graduates (Congratulations Lesley and Alison!) walking the path to graduation. In November, she presented her research to members of The Hive for Feminist Research, a new initiative that brings together feminist researchers and research enthusiasts at StFX. She proudly served as a member of the project management team for First Voices Collective, a community-led series of art workshops for adults with psychiatric histories. Paula facilitated zine-making workshops to First Voices participants, as well as to members of Arts for Health Antigonish (AHA!), a grassroots network of artists and educators committed to using art as a tool for wellbeing. She contributed a chapter called “Learning with a curve: Young women’s ‘depression’ as transformative learning” to the edited collection Adult and Community Health Education: Tools, Trends, and Methodologies to be published this year. Oh, and she was married in Cape Breton in October, to cap off a wonderful fall! Paula looks forward to supporting seven students graduating in May, co-leading the April Foundations Institute with Leona, and presenting at CASAE in St. Catherines, Ontario in late May.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a semester of marathon teaching for Coady, Behrang co-facilitated a course on Social Change in Egypt with Debbie Castle, alumnae of our program. He is organizing an action research with the Egyptian Active Citizenship Engagement (ACE) and Transparent and Accountable Governance (TAG) networks where he hopes to document the experiences of community leadership development for assessing entry points to leverage effective citizen voice and participation to influence

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policy outcomes. Meanwhile, he is working on an article for the Canadian Journal of Non Profit and Social Economy Research on “Tenants’ motivations to participate in public expenditure management within the social housing portfolio of Toronto”. In November Behrang and Leona’s chapter on “ICTs and Adult Learning” was published in P. Mayo’s (Ed.) Learning with Adults: A Reader (Sense Publishers: Rotterdam).

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Congratulations to Angela Stewart who just celebrated her 30th anniversary as an employee of St. F.X. University. Angela was presented with a homemade card, gift and beautiful chocolate cake by the faculty of the department. Most of those 30 years has been spent right here in the Department of Adult Education where she has met many, many adult educators from across Canada and around the world and remembers them warmly.

Congratulations to Julia Fursova, Spring ’13 Graduate for having her research paper entitled A Journey of Her Own: A Critical Analysis of Learning Experiences Among Immigrant Women, published as part of RCIS working series. Julia’s paper is available to read at www.ryerson.ca/rcis/publicaions/indes.html. We wish her the best of luck as she pursues her PhD program. Congratulations to Dr. Leona English and Prof. Peter Mayo from the University of Malta, who co-authored a book, entitled Learning with adults: A critical pedagogical introduction. They were awarded with the prestigious 2013 C. Houle Award which is widely regarded as the most important for literature on adult education in the English-speaking world and it is given by the American Association for Adult Continuing Education (AAACE). They received their award during the AAACE Conference in Kentucky in November.

We sadly regret to announce the death of Mr. Haroun Onyango Oyieke, F’91 Grad, former Deputy Director (KIM) and Lecturer (Co-operative University College), whose life was abruptly cut short during a tragic terrorist incident in Nairobi, Kenya on September 21, 2013. Our sincere condolences to his family.

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Andrews, J. (2013). Leaders Who Learn: A Multiple Case Study of Small Businesses on Vancouver Island that Hired and Integrated Skilled Immigrant Employees into their Workforce. (Advisor: Lange, E.) Bishop, E. (2013). Self-Reflective Practice in the Helping Professions: Cultivating the Potential for Transformative Learning. (Advisor: Coady, M.) Brown, L. (2013). Adult Literacy Practitioners’ Reflections on Building Professional Knowledge Capacity in Practice: Case Study Research Report. (Advisor: Cameron, P.) Kam, J. (2013). Exploring Team Learning Within the Canadian Armed Forces Individual Training and Education System: A Utilization-Focused Evaluation. Advisor: Lange, E. Mitchell, A. (2013). Addressing the Long Emergency: The Potential Role for Public Art Galleries In Engendering Social Justice. (Advisor: Cameron, P.) Peel, L. (2013). Transformative Possibilities: Using Narrative to Explore Adult Learners’ Experiences in Small Group Churches. (Advisor: English, L.) Solarz, B. (2013). Restoring and Re-Storying the Moral Self: Adult Learning in Workplace Conflict Coaching. (Advisor: Lange, E.) Stevenson, S. (2013). Reciprocal Learning and Reflection for Change: The Role of International Volunteers in Development Work. (Advisor: Lange, E.) Walsh, D. (2013). The Adult Educator Seeking an Undivided Life: An Autobiographic Self-study of Authenticity in Action. (Advisor: Coady, M.) Watkinson, D. (2013). How We Learn Here: Using Activity Theory to Reveal Expansive Learning in a Knowledge-Based Workplace. (Advisor: Lange, E.)

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to our Award Winners

Audrey Fenwick Memorial Award for Excellence in the Study of Adult Education by Basia Solarz, MAdEd (2013)

Like many of my program colleagues, I came to the StFX Masters of Adult Education program with the goal of improving my professional practice. In my role as the Conflict Transformation Specialist for a large healthcare organization, I provide mediation, individual and small group conflict coaching, and education sessions on transforming workplace conflict. Of these services, the greatest demand has been for individual conflict coaching, an emerging practice that lacks the academic literature and certification processes enjoyed by the executive and life coaching fields. Importantly, there has been little research which examines conflict coaching through the lens of adult learning.

In view of this deficit, I conducted a study to determine if there might be a theory that explains the learning that occurs in workplace conflict coaching. I wanted to examine conflict coaching through an adult learning lens where conflict might be seen as a disorienting dilemma in the Mezirowian sense with all of its transformative potential. As a result of conducting this research, I came to appreciate the benefits of promoting coaching as a type of adult learning rather than a derivative of therapy or counselling.

Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, I drew from transformative learning theory, constructivist psychology, and Bush and Folger’s (2005) transformative conflict theory to understand the contributions of client, coach, and context to the learning process. The study showed that the experience of conflict offered an opportunity for restorative learning (Lange, 2004) whereby participants reconnected with their moral-ethical self. Restoring the moral self-provided the stability necessary to engage in transformative learning about conflict. Lange (2004) refers to this phenomenon as the restorative-transformative learning dialectic, and it resonates with Bush and Folger’s (2005) transformative conflict theory. Their theory states that the conflicting parties usually need to reconnect with their personal sense of strength before they can take the perspective of others and ultimately transform the conflict.

The study also found that conflict coaching differed from Mezirow’s model of transformative learning in other ways; first, it attended to affective and experiential dimensions of learning more closely resembling Rossiter’s (1999) holistic process of narrative re-storying than perspective transformation that privileges rationality, and second, through the re-storying process, clients’ identities and self-concept were restored and transformed in dialogue with the conflict coach who served as a moral audience (Tappan, 2006). Conflict coaching, then, could be understood as a dialogical re-storying of the moral self. In keeping with a grounded theory methodology, the study seemed to name itself; it became Restoring and re-storying the moral self: Adult learning in workplace conflict coaching.

I entered the StFX Masters of Adult Education program with two aspirations: The first, more public, goal was to improve professional practice and even before completing all the data analysis I could see that my own coaching practice had changed for the better. In this way, I was truly fostering workplace learning—for myself, for my coaching clients, and my organization. The learning is quickly extending beyond my own practice; informed by the findings from my research, I will train a group of my colleagues in January and February in the basic skills of conflict coaching. I also plan to disseminate the findings at transformative mediation and adult education conferences In North America and Europe.

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The second, more personal, reason for entering the MAdEd program was that I had long wanted to study at the graduate level, purely out a love for learning and a desire to immerse myself in a more purposeful way into the kind of reading and analysis that I found so stimulating. I wanted to challenge myself to explore academic literature with greater criticality, engage in research, and make a scholarly contribution that might benefit others. Charmaz, whose book Constructing grounded theory (2005) was my constant companion for the past three and a half years said, “Feeling confused and uncertain—but learning to tolerate the ambiguity—shows your growth as a researcher” (p.105). There was certainly confusion and uncertainty throughout the process, but there was also genuine excitement in discovering a novel connection between theories in two different fields (adult education and conflict studies), building theory for the emerging field of conflict coaching, and confirming a recently recognized phenomenon in transformative learning theory.

It is a great honour to be the inaugural recipient of the Audrey Fenwick Memorial Award for Excellence in the Study of Adult Education. I want to thank the Fenwick family for their generosity in establishing this award in memory of their family member. Audrey Fenwick’s graduation (2004) from our MAdEd program at 75 years of age was a quintessential example of lifelong learning that I can only hope to emulate. I also want to thank the Awards Committee of the Department of Adult Education for granting me this remarkable honour. It has been deeply gratifying to have my work recognized in this way. I would like to offer special thanks to my advisor Beth Lange, whose scholarly example has been a lodestar for my own academic aspirations and achievement. The award will support my attendance at the upcoming CASAE conference, where I hope to co-present with Dr. Lange the findings of our respective studies on the restorative-transformative learning dialectic.

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John Dobson Memorial Award By Charles Wright, July, 2010 If I may rewind a bit, I started this program in the summer of 2010 with a general interest in learning and social change but without a full appreciation of the scope of literature and research within the Adult Education field. My research interest incidentally sprung out of ongoing discussions with my dad and brother who manage a small charity called Sauti Moja operating in East Africa among pastoralist peoples. Much of our pondering has been about engaging donors in the global factors that affect the livelihoods of these indigenous communities. In other words, how do you move people from simply a charitable response to an engaged relationship with the issues that implicate them as benefactors of colonialism and economic imperialism? By investigating the literature on social movement learning, critical/radical adult education, and experiential learning of international seminars, I discovered a whole host of research that would inform my exploration of this question. Around this time, I decided to join a delegation led by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) to northwestern Ontario with an interest in becoming an informed participant in indigenous solidarity groups. Through meeting with service providers, bureaucrats, and Aboriginal partners in the region, these delegations seek to engage participants in the issues affecting Aboriginal people, such as colonization, poverty, racism, and resource extraction their traditional territories. It dawned on me that there are a lot of parallels between what these delegations seek to accomplish and what Sauti Moja aspires to do with its donor base, particularly within the regular project tours that are conducted for visitors to East Africa.

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Fast forward a few years and I have now conducted several interviews with participants from two delegations to northwestern Ontario. I am currently in the midst of data analysis, but my preliminary findings and personal experience suggest that these delegations are powerful tools of experiential learning for understanding settler privilege, colonization, and moving people to become advocates and activists. Unlike international seminars, this initiative is crossing the invisible borders between indigenous and settler populations in a manner that builds international solidarity on Turtle Island. I have since graduated as a Reservist from CPT's 2- month long training in anti-oppression, accompaniment, advocacy, and nonviolent direct action, which is testament to CPT's effective engagement with supporters. I look forward to contributing what I've learned directly to its work, particularly facilitating delegations with the Aboriginal Justice Team. I also hope that through this research and experience I will be able to work toward enhancing the global education component of Sauti Moja. I am excited by these possibilities and I am finding the relevance of my research a significant motivator for completing my Master's thesis – even after 3 and a half years in the program! I very much appreciate the Award Committee's recognition of my work and the international nature of my research despite its primary pertinence to Canadians. No doubt, this financial award will contribute toward my goal of completion in the coming year.

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Marie Gillen Award By Tina Kelly, July, 2012

I am honoured to be the recipient of the Marie Gillen Award. I have a personal commitment to the

development of women in Canada and this award supports my current focus on enhancing learning

environments and reducing the systematic barriers that limit women’s participation in higher education

and workforce participation, particularly in less traditional SETT (Science, Engineering, Trades and

Technologies) environments. I have been fortunate to have as my program advisor Dr. Leona English,

who has been an amazing resource for my particular area of study and research.

In my role as Academic Chair for the School of Trades and Technologies at NSCC, I have seen first-hand

how broad community support can benefit the economic status of women who choose to walk these

less traditional paths. I have also seen the positive effects on their families, our communities and in

industry. Women represent the key to developing a diverse skilled workforce integral to meeting the

needs of the many innovative projects Canada and our own province of Nova Scotia is now attracting. As

Malala Yousafzai said in delivering her first speech since she survived a bullet to the head by the Taliban,

"We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." Unfortunately, even in Canada, women are still

struggling to access and succeed in science, engineering, trades and technology training and their

related careers.

In my master's program research I am exploring the conditions, policies and practices that support three

Canadian SETT exploratory, women-only educational programs:

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Women Unlimited in Nova Scotia

Orientation to Trades and Technology in Newfoundland

Women Building Futures in Alberta.

It is the intention of my research to determine if these programs can provide a platform to

identify positive and innovative ways to address the systemic barriers women face when they study and

work within SETT programs in Canada.

Through the identification of connecting successful factors in the three programs studied, I will use this

research to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding the learning culture and educational

delivery style in mixed gender, post-secondary SETT programs. In addition, this research could

contribute to an increased and more critical awareness of the significant impacts gender friendly

conditions, policies and practices can have on women in SETT programs. Effective institutional policies

and practices could increase a post-secondary organizations ability to address systemic barriers that

currently limit a woman’s workforce participation and could to improve the learning environment for all

students in SETT.

The largest potential impact of this research may be the capacity to increase the number of women

choosing to study in SETT programs while increasing their program-based completion rates. There are

tremendous opportunities to positively affect a women’s earning potential in these high-paying careers.

This can have an important economic benefit to women and their families. Many women enter these

fields as a result of needing to support their families. SETT occupations can offer a lifeboat to female-led

single-parent families. Failure to open doors further for woman within these high demand, well-paying

careers, will continue to perpetuate gender discrimination throughout Canada.

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Methods alone—whatever they might do—do not generate good research or astute analysis. How researchers use methods matter…A keen eye, open eye, discerning ear, and steady hand can bring you closer to what you study and are more important than development methodological tools (Charmaz & Mitchell, 1996, p. 15).

Shared by Basia Solarz’, Fall ’13, from her literature review. Adult learning could be compared to air or water, it runs through our lives, often unnoticed, and without we fail. We depend on it for survival and we press it into use to enhance our lives. And, like air and water, it can be exploited for the benefit of a few or made accessible for all. Shared by Joy Andrews, Fall ’13, from her literature review.

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Announcements…

NEW AWARD:

The Audrey Fenwick Memorial Award for Excellence

in the Study of Adult Education

We are delighted to announce a new departmental Award—The Audrey Fenwick Memorial Award for Excellence in the Study of Adult Education, which is awarded in 2013 for the first time. In memory of Audrey Fenwick's proud and close association with St. Francis Xavier University, her family has established an award in recognition of excellence and scholarship for a graduating student in the Masters of Adult Education program. Mrs. Fenwick graduated from StFX with her M.Ad.Ed in 2004. This award will be given annually to a student at the end of their program for excellence in scholarly achievement throughout the program.

Have you checked the status of your student account balance recently?!!!!!!

University policy states that the financial accounts belong to the student. StFX sends you (via your StFX email account) notification of the status of your student account on a monthly basis. The messages include your balance and other important information such as payment deadlines. At any time details of your student account can be viewed by visiting your StFX MesAmis account online and selecting Lookup Student Account Information. The only way to discontinue charges being applied to your student account is to formally withdraw from the program. Please see the university withdrawal policy in the ‘for enrolled students’ section of our website, and do check your student account balance on a regular basis!

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Adult Education Webinar Series!

We are happy to announce the launch of a new initiative to strengthen student support throughout their Master’s journey. The Adult Education Webinar Series is aimed at enriching your exposure to adult education theory and practice and introducing distinguished scholars in the field. Other goals include fostering an academic community in the program, and enhancing reading and critical thinking skills for program success. Presentations will last about 20 minutes, followed by moderated discussion. Speakers may recommend advance readings for webinars. We invite you to participate in our two upcoming webinars for Winter 2014:

February 20th, 2014, 6-8pm (Atlantic time) Dr. Donna Chovanec, Assistant Professor in Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta. Dr. Chovanec’s research explores the learning dimension of social movements, an area that has not previously been well studied. In her doctoral research, entitled Between Hope and Despair: Social and Political Learning in the Women’s Movement in Chile, she documented the learning and educational processes within the women’s movement in the city of Arica in northern Chile. Registration: Opens Wednesday, February 5th Email Angela at aesecret@stfx.ca with the subject line “Webinar Registration” to register

March 19th, 2014, 6-8pm (Atlantic time) [Tentative] Dr. Allan Quigley, Adult Education Consultant Dr. Quigley was Professor in Adult Education at StFX for 14 years. Prior to joining StFX, he was a senior public servant with the government of Saskatchewan, Canada and one of the founders of Saskatchewan’s community college system. For almost 40 years, his primary interest has been adult literacy. His most recent book is Building Professional Pride in Literacy (2006). Registration: To be announced via the listserv

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T2202A Income Tax Forms

Your income tax receipts will be online by the end of February. You need to retrieve them from there by following these steps:

Go to www.stfx.ca On the top right, click on MYSTFX Scroll down to the middle of the page and Click BANNER At this point you will log in with your ID# and your PIN# Go in to REGISRATION Look at the bottom left and you will see Canadian Tax Form (T2202A Tax Receipt) You can print off any year as many times as you like. Revenue Canada accepts

duplicates Sometimes when you try to do this at work, you may not be able to log in as some employers often block unfamiliar incoming sites. If you have any problems please contact our Technology Support Centre – tsg@stfx.ca or 902-867-2356. * * * * * *

ADULT EDUCATON DEGREE & CREDENTIALING PROGRAMS PORTAL

COABE, in partnership with TESOL International Association, the American Institutes for Research, the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education, the National Adult Educational Professional Development Consortium, and the Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations, have created the Adult Education Degree and Credentialing Programs Portal at http://www.coabe.org/portal/ . The portal connects the visitor with higher education degree programs in adult education that best meet professional learning needs. Applicants and graduates can find program information from across the United States, write reviews, and rate what they like best about each program. Degree program coordinators can add and update information about their program offerings, feature their programs, and participate as guest discussants on topics of interest to adult education practitioners.

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Serendipity is designed and produced by Angela Stewart. The next

issue will be in the Spring of 2014. Contributions to the newsletter are

accepted on an ongoing basis. They can be sent to Angela at

aesecret@stfx.ca or fax to (902) 867-3765.

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Intimidated by annotations? They can be a daunting task, but I have to admit, they were what I

enjoyed most! I found the Annotations to be the most motivating phase of the entire program. First of all, since I was reading about topics that interest me, it was great stuff and I was keen to keep going. I maintained a good momentum because reading is already a part of my daily life. It was completely natural for me to read a couple chapters in the evenings after work or spend an entire Saturday studying article after article, developing my criticality.

Annotations simply became reading with more purpose, with the added challenge of writing the Annotation afterwards and developing my criticality. This was a challenge at first because I like to get things done and keep my momentum going; pausing to reflect seemed to be a pain. Yet, it is essential to developing one’s knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand. I have grown to appreciate this skill more now, incorporating it into other aspects of both my personal and professional life. I try to make sure I’m not just skimming over things, rather reflecting on their meaning and significance, coming up with a more innovative and creative opinion or solution.

I thought about Annotations in batches of 10. These were smaller, achievable goals to steadily move towards the larger goal. I could see the steady progression with step by step accomplishments, and was not intimidated by the idea of 100 Annotations, rather 10 sounded much more reasonable. It may sound silly, but another thing that added to my rhythm and feeling of contentment was making check marks on my “to do list”. This happened often during this time, because it was after every 10 Annotations! I have to admit that making those check marks was very satisfying. It felt like I was learning, seeing progress, achieving something important, and simply getting things done… bringing me that much closer to completing the program.

How did I keep it going? Well, balance was essential. Self-discipline was also needed. I had to adjust by planning my time around reading, studying, writing, reflecting… resisting temptations and distractions, but rewarding myself on occasion. I set tight timelines to motivate myself and I had a vision for where I was going. With thoughtful planning and some flexibility of course, this added time pressure helped to keep me on track.

Also, I loved what I was reading... okay, not all… there were a few that were a little dry or theoretical, that’s to be expected, but typically the topics were what I wanted to study. If I was bored or demotivated, I think I would have had a more serious problem. Therefore, another essential for success: interesting topic of study. Annotations certainly would have been a foe if otherwise.

All the reading and writing of Annotations challenged me to think critically. Instead of just reading an article and moving on to the next, I was forced to pause, reflect, question, and voice an opinion on what I had read. This allowed for a deeper understanding of the information and relating it to the context. This criticality has helped me to deepen my knowledge and be more effective in my practice. I have improved my ability to process information, formulate a critical perspective, and voice my views and questions confidently.

Now that I’ve completed the Masters of Adult Education program, I suppose it’s a good sign that I’ve still got a long reading list ahead of me! So, if you’re feeling a little intimidated or lost amongst Annotations, take a step back and make sure you’re reading the right literature, that you’ve set realistic goals and deadlines, reward yourself with whatever works best for you, and enjoy… you won’t regret it. Good luck!

Annotations – friend or foe? By Sherry Stevenson, F’13 Grad

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Next Foundation Institutes

March 30-April 17, 2014 July 6-24, 2014

April 12-30, 2015

34th Annual CASAE/ACEEA Conference

Brock University St. Catherines, Ontario

May 25-27, 2014

For More Information, contact: casae.aceea@csse.ca

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Do you currently receive a hard copy of Serendipity?

Due to the rising costs of printing and postage we are no longer able to send out hard copies of Serendipity. We regret this unavoidable

development. Serendipity will continue to be made available through our

website for you to download.

* * * * * * * * *

*****There is a list of other important dates for the Department of Adult Education posted on our website that you can check at any time: http://sites.stfx.ca/adult_education_graduate_studies/

As mentioned in the last issue, Angela is now our sole Department Assistant. For your information Angela is in her office from 8:00a.m. until 3:30p.m Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. If you need to speak to someone on Mondays or Fridays, please contact your Advisor.