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Faculty of Education News Bulletin

Tuesday, January 27th, 2026

Featured Event
Top Stories
Teaching & Learning
Call for Proposals
Program Office Updates
Resources for Faculty
New Publications
In The Media
FESA
Alumni News
News From the York Community
Upcoming Events

Featured Event

The Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community, and Diaspora presents WORD, SOUND, POWER: An Annual Black History Month Celebration! This year's theme, “Centering Our Stories & Communities".

Featured Performances: Talented students and professional artists will perform diverse works. From soulful spoken words and captivating dance routines to musical acts, our performers will showcase the creativity and resilience that define the Black community.

RSVP FOR FREE TICKET

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Top Stories

York University Education Alumni Network (YUEAN) named 2025 Network of the Year - The York University Education Alumni Network (YUEAN) has been named the 2025 Network of the Year by the York University Alumni Board (YUAB). This annual award is given to a network that has demonstrated its dedication and commitment to York through engagement, impact, and mentorship. Read more

Revitalized alumni network leads to new mentorship program – The Faculty of Education’s Alumni Network has launched a pilot mentorship program that pairs alumni with York University BEd students to provide career insights and build professional relationships. Read more

Following 50 years of Canadian life - A landmark study led by York University follows Class of '73 high school graduates over the span of five decades in The Story of a Generation, a book that offers powerful insights on the baby boomer generation.  The research marks the longest-running Canadian generational study of its kind, following nearly 50 years in the lives of a cohort of high school students who graduated in 1973. Read more

B.Ed students receive the 2024–2025 Don Galbraith Pre-Service Teacher Award of Excellence – Congratulations to B.Ed students Lauren Cunningham, Anthony Pereira and Elvina Patapau on being named recipients of the 2024–2025 Don Galbraith Pre-Service Teacher Award of Excellence from the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario (STAO). Read more

Congratulations to Professor Celia Popovic and her colleague and co-author Mary Wilson whose article “Academic development, trust, and the state of the profession”, was selected as article of the year 2025 by the International Journal for Academic Development

York U educator wins national award for advancing equity in teaching – Congratulations to course director Emily Burgis on being honoured with the Rita L. Irwin Art Teaching Dissemination of Knowledge award from the Canadian Society of Education through Art. Read more

Spotlight: James Stinson, Reflections on a Postdoctoral Exploration of Planetary Health Education - Between 2019 and 2023, I had the privilege of serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow cross-appointed to the Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research and the Faculty of Education at York University, co-supervised by Dr. James Orbinski and Dr. Kate Tilleczek. Read more

Charles Hopkins Honoured with the Order of Canada - Charles A. Hopkins, an internationally recognized pioneer in education for sustainable development and the inaugural holder of the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education Towards Sustainability at York University, has been named a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honours. Read more

Years of Service Recognition – Congratulations to our staff and faculty who were recognized for their years of dedicated work and service at the Faculty’s Holiday event this past December. Thank you for your continued commitment, impact, and contributions to the York community

  • 5 Years:  Natalia Balyasnikova, Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing, Darren Hoeg , Michelle Johnson, Dafna Knittel-Keren, Molade Osibodu, Gail Prasad, Adam Riley, Rachel Silver
  • 10 Years: Daniel Becker, Tina Rapke, Janine Rudisch, Kurt Thumlert
  • 15 Years: Laura Crane, Nombuso Dlamini, Grace Li, Lyndon Martin, Aparna Mishra Tarc
  • 20 Years: Carla Iacampo-Lombardo, Maria Thomas, Andrea Torre
  • 25 Years: Steve Alsop, Billy Chan, Anderson Coward, Loretta Fiorini,  Steve Gaetz
  • 30 Years: Vanessa Grafi, Joy Mannette
  • 35 Years: Teresa Boyle, Jane Larsson

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Teaching & Learning

Not all classrooms have 4 walls – Assistant professor Zuhra Abawi and course director Emily Burgis took B.Ed students from the Markham Campus off-site to learn from the land (and weather!) in their Science and Technology class. Facilitated by Emily Burgis, the students practiced looking closely, storying from maps, and "Fox Walking". They also "walked the curriculum" going on Lovely/Unlovely, Structured, or Follow the Line inquiry walks around Toogood Pond Park

B.Ed students learn by designing at Markham MakerSpace - Students in PJ Science & technology classes engaged in hands-on learning at Markham MakerSpace earlier this month. Professors Zuhra Abawi and course director Emily Burgis supported these year one students as they created their own curriculum connected teacher tools through the application of the Engineering Design Process. Students designed, tinkered, protyped, and created with the support of Ted Belk and Jacob Turola, documenting their process in digital portfolios

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Call for Proposals

Sonia Lewis (PhD candidate) and Myrtle Sodhi (PhD candidate) are editors of the upcoming special issue of Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s & Gender Studies.  The special issue, Band Your Belly-Bind Your Waist: Diasporic Afro-Caribbean Women, Migration, Labour, and Liberation is focused on diasporic Caribbean Black women’s liberation and knowledge building

We invite submissions that explore the following themes (though not limited to these) in a variety of genres that may challenge traditional approaches to research:

  1. Afro-Caribbean Women & (Trans)national Feminist Responses
  2. Afro-Caribbean Knowledge Creation and Mobilization
  3. Community Creative Practice as a Just Response
  4. Transtemporal Digital Engagement with Knowledge
  5. Praxis and Practice in the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora
  6. Transnational Feminism Research, Spirituality, and the Sacred

Forward proposals to myrtlehs@yorku.ca by March 31, 2026

Professional Learning Teacher

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Program Office Updates

Research Icon

Research Office

Calls for Nominations

  • Faculty of Education Dean’s Research Impact Awards: March 20, 2026 - Learn more
  • Faculty of Education Undergraduate Teaching Award: Preliminary nominations by February 13, 2026. Final nomination packages are due March 23, 2026 - Learn more
    • To express interest and complete the preliminary nomination, please email the Recording Secretary of CFRAG with the name of the nominee. Please email your preliminary and full nominations to: research@edu.yorku.ca

Resources to help you update your ORCID ID AND Research Profile

If you encounter any issues with your ORCID iD or with claiming or correcting your Scopus or Web of Science profiles, please contact York University Libraries at metrics@yorku.ca. Library staff can provide support via email and one-on-one Zoom consultations

Selected Funding Opportunities

Please reach out to the OADR (research@edu.yorku.ca) if you have questions or would like support in preparing a submission for any of the following grants:

External

Upcoming Events

Join us for a session that shines a light on our faculty members' research in language and literacy in education. More details to follow. Learn more and register

Organized Research Units Information Sessions
Join us for an engaging and informative series of 4 online sessions that highlight the role of 18 Organized Research Units (ORUs) in advancing research at York University. Each session will feature brief presentations by ORU directors, offering insights into the research activities and areas of focus within each ORU; opportunities for faculty and student involvement; and ways ORUs can support your research and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The presentations will be followed by an open Q&A session. All faculty and students are warmly invited to attend

A Critical Conversation about GenAI in Education

Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Hybrid; Kaneff Tower 519
Register here: A Critical Conversation about GenAI in Education

Given the proliferation of GenAI products like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Sora and their impact on society at large and education in particular, this conversation will give us an opportunity to learn more about the past, present, and potential future impacts of these products on learning, pedagogy, research, and educational labour. From philosophical questions about the nature of learning to the more practical considerations in the classroom and in research, this session will allow for an honest and critical evaluation of current issues surrounding GenAI use and create the space to come together as a community to consider the existential impacts of these products and strategize an ethical and compassionate way forward

Panelists: 

  • Aimi Hamraie, Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society, and Disability, and Associate Professor of Social Science at York University
  • Jessica Campbell, Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Arts, School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD)
  • Gabi Schaffzin, Associate Professor in the Department of Design at York University's School of Arts, Media, Performance, and Design and director of the Pain Commensuration Technology (PaCT) Lab.
  • sava saheli singh, Assistant Professor of Digital Futures in Education, Faculty of Education
Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program Office

2025-2026 Practicum Placements - Fall practicum placements have been completed, and teacher candidates have begun preparing for their spring placements. These final placements allow teacher candidates to synthesize what they’ve learned in their coursework with the experiences and feedback from their fall placements before graduating

DHH Program Applications for 2026-2027 - Program applications for the 2026-2027 academic year opened on December 15, 2025, and several completed applications have already been submitted. Applications will be open until March 20, 2026, and can be submitted through our program website

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Resources for Faculty

Below are several resources that explore the role of AI in education, along with classroom‑focused ideas you may find useful.

APRU Whitepaper: Generative AI in Higher Education — Current Practices and Ways Forward (Jan 2025) - This paper presents a practical action framework built around four core areas—Rules, Access, Familiarity, and Trust. One idea it highlights is running a 10‑minute ‘prompt lab,’ where students work in pairs to test a model, then spot‑check accuracy, bias, and missing sources. This activity helps students build critical reading skills and calibrate their trust in AI tools

WCET: AI Education Policy & Practice Ecosystem Framework (Oct 2025) - This resource provides a prioritized roadmap to support class policies related to transparency, academic integrity, and data privacy. One suggestion is to include a simple ‘transparency tag’ on assignments—two short sentences describing which AI tool was used, for what step, and what the student revised afterward. This practice strengthens metacognition and integrity. Another helpful suggestion is to keep student data safe by using institution‑approved tools, avoiding the use of personal data in AI systems, and showing students how to enable safe settings (e.g., disabling training on public models)

EDUCAUSE Review: Generative AI Policy Creation in Higher Education (May 2025) - This review emphasizes co‑creating practical AI guidelines with students and colleagues, focusing on inclusivity and discipline‑specific needs. One idea is to include a one‑line ‘AI use’ statement on each assignment that explains what kinds of AI use are acceptable and why (e.g., brainstorming allowed; final citations must be human‑verified). You can then co‑develop examples in class. Another idea is to use a ‘tool‑agnostic’ rubric that evaluates transparency, evidence quality, and reflection rather than the specific tool used. This reinforces that student thinking remains central to the assignment

Frontiers in Education: Faculty Acceptance and Use of Generative AI (Feb 2025) - This article explores faculty ambivalence and training needs, offering insights that can inform short skill‑building activities in class. One useful takeaway is to allow students to use AI for early idea generation, followed by a required ‘human pass,’ where they annotate how they improved clarity, evidence, and voice. This approach leads to stronger drafts and deeper learning

Transform Your Faculty Profile with Discover York Academics: Create Your Profile Today!
York University has introduced Discover York Academics, an innovative electronic curriculum vitae (CV) tool aimed at highlighting the exceptional work of our faculty. This searchable database allows faculty to showcase and store their research, publications, scholarly and creative works, as well as related teaching and professional activities, all in one centralized profile. Learn more

Email Signatures - For consistency and to support York University’s success in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) rankings, please click here for instructions on how to update/brand your email signature

Readers to Leaders

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New Publications

Associate Professor Qiang Zha and his doctoral student Ya Xuan Wang have published the following:

Associate professor Rachel Silver and co-authors have a new article titled “A Planet Shaker”: The Educational Impacts of USAID’s Dismantling. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Open

Course director Andrea Valente has published an article, "Can Chatbots Teach Students Empathy?" , which is included in the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Language, Literature, and Empathy (held by Alpha BK University, Belgrade)

Publications

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In The Media

Please note: Some media stories mentioning York University are behind paywalls. To ensure accuracy and accessibility for our community, we only include articles we can fully access and verify. 

Black youth lead research revolution at transformative TDSB Conference
Professor and Jean Augustine Chair Carl James was mentioned in Toronto Caribbean News Dec. 15

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Faculty of Education Student Association (FESA)

The January 2026 edition of the Faculty of Education Students' Association newsletter, The Edible is available for viewing on their website. View newsletter

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Alumni News

Fighting food insecurity from afar - From York U to making a national impact, alumna Pamela Farrell (BEd '07) is now an assistant professor at the University of Calgary and the founder of GROW, Canada's first community food literacy centre in Niagara Falls. Read more

UPCOMING EVENTS

What’s Next? Careers, Credentials, and Growth in Education
February 4, 2026
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. | online via Zoom

What’s Next? Careers, Credentials, and Growth in Education is an interactive online event designed for education students, recent graduates, and alumni who are navigating their next steps in the field. Hosted in partnership by YUEAN AND FESA, the event brings together system leaders, faculty representatives, and career professionals to provide timely insights and practical guidance on career entry, advancement, and professional growth. Learn more and register

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News from the York Community

Make an impact at York by celebrating colleagues with a gift in their name - Small acts of appreciation can spark meaningful impact. From now until Feb 13, Share Your Love invites faculty and staff to celebrate colleagues by making gifts in their honour, helping advance York’s highest-impact initiatives. Learn more

Nominations open to faculty, students to sit on Presidential Search Committee - Eligible faculty members and students are encouraged to submit expressions of interest or suggestions for Senate’s presidential search committee nominees. Read the details

Nominate faculty for 2026 honorific professorships - York University’s Senate Committee on Awards is inviting nominations for two of its highest faculty honours: the University Professorship and the Distinguished Research Professorship. Learn more

New tools to strengthen graduate supervision, student success at York U - A new suite of tools introduced by the Graduate Supervision Support Hub will promote inclusive practices for supervisors and students. Learn more

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Upcoming Events

No event found!

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We welcome written submissions from faculty and staff that highlight our people, programs, and impact. Please send your submissions via our blog submission form. Once the completed form has been received, a member of the Faculty of Education’s marketing and communication’s team will be in touch. 

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Thank you to everyone who contributed to this edition of the Faculty of Education News Bulletin.

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