Beatrice Akinyi Odhiambo

• Title: Influence of principals ‘capacity building programs on management of students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kenya.
• Abstract: The aim of the study is to explore how principals’ capacity building programs influence management of student discipline in public secondary schools in Kenya. The objectives will be; to determine how equipping principals with behavior management, time management, care guidance and group dynamics skills influence management of students’ discipline. The study will employ mixed-method research design where qualitative data will be analyzed thematically while quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive design. Questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules will be used for data collection. The findings will inform policy on leadership development and enhance principals’ appreciation of the programs.

Brett William Balon

• Title: Hacking the Computer Science Gradebook: AI, Automation, and the Future of CSC Assessment
• Abstract: This presentation summarizes the development, implementation, and outcomes of a recently completed project-route M.Ed. ETAD research project at the University of Saskatchewan. The project leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) to create custom grading software designed to improve efficiency, accuracy, and pedagogical integrity in secondary CSC education. Developed by a CSC educator with no formal programming background, the software automates assignment evaluation while maintaining data privacy and human oversight. Through iterative refinement using AI-generated code, this work demonstrates how non-specialists can leverage AI to create customized software solutions for instructional challenges. The project is framed within broader education discussions that position AI as opportunity rather than threat. Practical implementation insights and ethical considerations are also explored. 

Dee Cameron

• Title: Conducting a Narrative Inquiry through Education: Reclaiming our Métis Stories through Education within a Familial History 
• Abstract: Stories hold immense power. Personal narratives can shape experiences, offering opportunities for learning, growth, and healing by revealing why and how stories are told or silenced. As a member of a Métis family, our stories were suppressed, and we did not engage in identity work with our Métis heritage. To uncover these hidden stories, I have initiated a narrative inquiry with three generations of Métis women in my family, focusing on our experiences with both formal and familial education and how education has informed this process. Today, formal education is one of the ways we as a family are reclaiming our identity. I am in the process of gathering and inquiring into our stories with education our identity as Métis women through narratives. 

Katryne Dubeau

• Title: Disrupting Norms: Queer Theory and Social Justice in Mathematics Education 
• Abstract: My Ph.D. research examines how Queer Theory can be integrated into high school mathematics education in Saskatchewan to challenge normative assumptions and foster inclusive environments for 2SLGBTQ+ students. Building on this research, I explored how elementary pre-service teachers in ECUR 319 engaged with social justice mathematics to shift their perceptions of mathematics and reduce math anxiety. This connects to my SoTL Flicker Grant research, which examines social justice integration in pre-service teacher methods courses. Together, these studies highlight social justice as a tool for equity, identity affirmation, and social change, emphasizing the need for cross-curricular social justice instruction in pre-service teacher education. 

Sandra Elliott

• Title: Creativity and its Operationalization in the Classroom 
• Abstract: Creativity is a core component in provincial curricula across Canada, yet its operationalization in classrooms remains unclear. Traditionally explored through psychological frameworks, my research approaches creativity from a curricular perspective through a sociomaterial lens, examining how actors, artifacts, and practices shape creative learning. Using Amabile’s Componential Model (1996, 2018) alongside Kaufman and Beghetto’s 4C Model (2009) as my framework, I aim to bridge theory and practice, analyzing how creativity is enacted in educational spaces. My presentation will outline my theoretical framework and its potential for enhancing the research of creativity in teaching and learning. 

Ariana Faul & Dr. Laureen McIntyre

• Title: Mental Health, Well-Being, and Resilience: Emerging Adults’ Perceptions and Experiences Using Table-Top Roleplaying Games 
• Abstract: Table-top roleplaying games (TTRPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) have been found to improve the social and emotional skills of players. These skills are associated with the development of resilience. This study explored ten emerging adults’ experiences playing TTRPGs and how they use TTRPGs to support their mental health and well-being. This research is important for players, parents, educators, and helping professionals to better understand how TTRPGs can improve the social and emotional health and well-being of emerging adults outside of a clinical setting.  

Shannon Floer

• Title: Engaging Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Immigrant Parents in School Community Councils in Saskatoon 
• Abstract: Over the past decade, Saskatoon has seen a rise in immigrant families, increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in schools. To ensure all children's needs are met, it's crucial for all families to be represented in school decision-making. Saskatchewan schools engage families through School Community Councils (SCCs) comprising school leaders and parents/guardians. Attending SCC meetings offers insights into school climate, priorities, and culture. Parents can influence decisions on government funding allocation and share ideas and concerns. This qualitative research examines the institutional and personal factors that promote or hinder participation in SCCs. 

Delia Harper

• Title: Cree to English Language Transition Program 
• Abstract: Sakâskohc's Kanêhîyawêwin okiskinwahamâtowikamik educates students from pre-kindergarten to grade four immersions as well as a grade five bilingual class in Cree and English. The grade five immersion students then transfer to English-speaking school in the community. The provincial curriculum outcomes and indicators are the primary instruction for the English-speaking schools. The English-speaking school called Kayâs Okimaw Okiskinawahamâtowikamik has seasonal culture camps scheduled with the other schools in the community, and Cree is an instructional class only. An ethnographic community-based participation approach, informed by Indigenous research paradigm qualities such as Protocol research and relational approach, are employed in seeking data from research participants. The data will assist in designing a more effective transition program for the grade five immersion students. The study will follow the research question: What components of a successful transitional educational program can an English-speaking school develop for Cree immersion students to achieve academic success, cultural and language teachings continuance? 
• Data collection methods expect an answer to the research question and sub-research questions, including semi-structured interviews, self-reflective journal writing, and analytical memos. The goal of this research is to contribute to the design of a transition program which will sustain the community’s nēhīyaw identity (nēhīyawēwin), nēhīyaw worldview, and socio-emotional attributes of self-esteem, and confidence. As a researcher, I believe the students live in two worlds, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and a long-term outcome will be students' competence in both worlds, which is a requirement for success and balance in life. 

Saba Kamran 

• Title: Pre-Service Teachers’ Wellbeing- Inclusive Classrooms 
• Abstract: Teachers are crucial in promoting equity and equal learning opportunities, but they face challenges impacting their well-being, student engagement, and social-emotional development. The current exploratory qualitative study examines the challenges influencing pre-service teachers’ social and mental well-being in inclusive classrooms. The six pre-service teachers interviewed revealed stress due to insufficient educational support, time constraints, and large class sizes. Challenged student behavior negatively impacts their social, mental, and emotional well-being, causing exhaustion. Recommendations include allocating funds for teaching support, managing class sizes, and offering mental therapy to combat stress. 

Maryam Khorrami

• Title: The Impact of an AI-Powered App, Pi, on CLB 5 Students' Speaking Skills 
• Abstract: This qualitative study examines the impact of Pi, an AI-powered speaking app, on CLB 5 adult learners at Global Gathering Place. Participants—newcomers to Canada—documented their experiences in daily journals and participated in post-study interviews. Findings indicate that Pi enhanced motivation and provided valuable opportunities for conversation with AI-generated feedback. The teacher also noted improvements in speaking skills and suggested modifications for future tech-oriented studies. Overall, this research highlights the potential of AI tools in supporting language development among adult ESL learners. 

Daniel Krause 

• Title: Test Item Framing and Perceived Problem Difficulty in Financial Numeracy 
• Abstract: In the realm of behavioral finance, it is common to observe substantially different judgment and decision-making results when working with logically equivalent representations of problems (e.g. gain/loss frames) due to a well-documented phenomenon known as loss aversion. Financial situations (e.g. selecting monthly payments or lump sums) seem to exacerbate these framing effects as judgments and decisions around money can change based on the numerical values used and the presentation of information as gains in wealth or increases in debt. Determining exactly how these framing effects may affect perceptions of financial numeracy problem difficulty in mathematics assessments remains an open question. 

Edward Mirasty 

• Title: A Case Study on the Lived Reality of Senior Indigenous Faculty Following the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action 
• Abstract: This case study examined how some Western universities in Canada committed to the Truth and Reconciliation’s (TRC) Calls to Action shared through the lived reality of its senior Indigenous faculty. This research study focused on bringing the current context to Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation and raising awareness among university faculty, administrators, and policyholders about its effective response to the TRC’s Calls to Action. It is anticipated within the research findings that contradictions exist in policy and strategic concessions for Indigenization as long-standing traditions and beliefs of the academy and its faculty have historically superseded decolonial activities. 
• Adopting Tribal Critical Race Theory provides a theoretical framework for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data. An exploratory case study will be used for this qualitative research study, bounding the study from pre-2015 to the present and beyond. Data will be collected from various sources such as multiple documents, including the university’s Indigenous strategic plans, one-on-one interviews with Indigenous faculty and the analysis of extensive notes to transcribe, provide  participants to read and verify the transcripts, and through careful analysis, create themes. Each activity follows a triangulation approach to research and will bring context to the multiple units of study. 
• The findings suggest that Brayboy’s (2006) nine tenets, precisely four tenets from TribCrit, will explain the challenges of colonization and Indigenization strategies, as well as examine decolonization activities with universities through the narrative of Indigenous faculties’ lived realities explained before, during and after the TRC’s Calls to Action. Since 2015, institutions, governments and corporations have been called upon by the TRC to make fundamental changes to their policies to meet the needs of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. The narrative of Indigenous faculty provides the  foundation for critical race theory as Indigenous professors, supervisors and others speak to colonization and the resurgence towards Indigenization within the academy. To clarify, researchers studying Indigenization, decolonization and reconciliation activities, such as Lorenz and Gaudry (2018), give three tangible approaches universities have historically responded to Indigenization: inclusion, decolonization, and reconciliation Indigenization projects. 

Anthony Nickel 

• Title: Shining a Critical Light on the “Middle of Nowhere” 
• Abstract: This digital poster will describe a qualitative masters research project that will investigate the anti-racist experiences of rurally educated teacher candidates. Rural Canadian educational research has minimally explored teacher candidates and anti-racism as well as racism in rural prairie school contexts. Critical race theory (CRT) will frame the research, including semi-structured interviews of a small group rurally taught teacher candidates. This poster will explore the rationale for this research. Critical research, specifically CRT in rural education research is lacking. Therefore, shining a critical light on the rural sector in Saskatchewan is needed. 

Mina Wardrop 

• Title: Counting on Justice: Adding Social Impact to Elementary Pre-Service Teacher Mathematics Education 
• Abstract: This is a theoretical research paper that I co-authored with Ph.D. student Katryne Dubeau. It explores the integration of social justice content into mathematics education for elementary pre-service teachers. Using a theoretical framework, the paper argues that incorporating social justice themes can help address issues like mathematics anxiety and negative attitudes towards mathematics, which can impact pre-service teachers' confidence and effectiveness in teaching mathematics. Furthermore, it highlights that integrating social justice topics into the math curriculum could also foster critical thinking and humanization of a subject that can be seen as quite rigid. In turn, we suggest that this intersectional approach could transform pre-service teachers' attitudes and boost their confidence in teaching mathematics. 

• Past Celebrations of Research Events