From the Jubilee Auditorium it is a quick, short swooping
flight to the University
of Alberta north campus. Evolving on the edge of the North Saskatchewan
River since its founding in 1908, it covers 230 acres or 930,777 square metres
(almost but not quite bringing meaning to a million). With over 37,000
undergraduates it would have ranked 9th as a population centre in
Alberta. The program is under the aegis (I owe my personal love of Greek
mythology to my most memorable U of A undergrad professor, Dr. Robert Buck, who
demonstrated every class to me the essential place of sharing passion in learning)
of the Chancellor
and Senate of the University of Alberta, and makes the most of its
volunteer experts to open the window of endless possibility in inquiry to U
School students.
I caught up to Michaela Mann, U School program lead, working
at her apartment near campus. COVID-19 means U of A classes are being delivered
remotely and only essential work is being done on campus. Most U of A research is continuing remotely, but
essential research is being conducted on campus related to COVID-19 and clinical care
activities.
Michaela’s path to Inquiring Minds started when she was working
for U of A Students Union in professional development and program design for
students on campus. The previous U School program lead, Melania Woloszyn, reached
out looking to fulfil a U School teacher’s big idea. Mel asked Michaela to make
a presentation to a U School class on leadership. There was also an “off the
wall” connection, which literally came while she was climbing a wall. Michaela
got to know a facilitator of class experiences at U School while on the
climbing wall at the Wilson Climbing Centre and as a result in the fall of 2019
applied for the position of Program Lead.
Her first thought when asked about an overlooked aspect of U
School concerns the walking. “It is a big site, basically a small city,” she
told me, “and we walk everywhere.” Walking
across campus provides a visual representation of the breadth of the university.
We agreed that walking is an essential and wonderful learning activity built
into every Inquiring Minds site.
Michaela relishes the constant opportunities U School provides
for her own learning. One of the first presentations she saw connected the spectrum and the
thermo-dynamic (hot and cold) science of lasers. After predicting the effects
of shining a green laser at green balloon and then a red balloon (absorbed and
reflective energy) and watching one explode, she now has an incredible love of
all things laser. She routinely sees that happen to U School students; exposure
to something mind blowing plants seeds of interest deep in a brain.
The Inquiring Minds website
describes U School this way:
U School is
designed to give students the opportunity to interact with University of
Alberta staff, students, professors and community members while learning about
a wide variety of teacher-directed topics.
Students are introduced to the U of A and our sessions take place
primarily on North Campus. Please note U
School only accepts applicants from socially vulnerable metro areas and
provides rural opportunities to those outside of metro areas.
Take a look at the U School webpage. https://www.ualberta.ca/chancellor-and-senate/u-school/index.html
Do you want to know more? Contact Michaela at uschool@ualberta.ca
You can start your application process at the Inquiring
Minds website. https://ourinquiringminds.wordpress.com/application/
No comments:
Post a Comment