On February 28, SyMETRI hosted an in-person gathering at Scarfe 1211 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., bringing together faculty members and graduate students for an evening of meaningful connection, research exploration, and community-building in a welcoming and informal setting.

The event began with a lively icebreaker designed to spark conversations and foster connections. Each participant wrote three key words on a sticky note—one representing a personal interest or hobby, another reflecting their research focus, and a third sharing a fun fact about themselves. The notes were then randomly drawn, and attendees engaged in discussions, introductions, and friendly guessing to figure out who wrote each note. The activity created an energetic and interactive atmosphere, encouraging members to learn more about one another in a fun and engaging way.

Following the icebreaker, we shared a meal over pizza, providing a relaxed opportunity for deeper conversations and new friendships to form. In the second half of the meeting, participants contributed thought-provoking questions related to research, academic studies, and future career paths in STEM education. These questions were placed in a box, drawn at random, and read aloud, prompting insightful discussions where members shared their perspectives, experiences, and ideas. The exchange was both stimulating and collaborative, reinforcing SyMETRI’s commitment to fostering a supportive and intellectually enriching environment.

It was a joy to meet in person, exchange ideas, and build connections within our academic community. We look forward to future gatherings that continue to inspire meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and shared learning!

Presenter/Guest Speaker: Dr. Dawn Wiseman from the School of Education at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada and Dr. Lisa Lunney Borden from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Date: October 17th, 2022
Host: Dr Cynthia Nicol

In the SyMETRI meeting on Oct 17, 2022,

During the meeting, Dr. Dawn Wiseman shared how Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, being, and doing circulate together in STEAM teaching and learning. She also introduced how she involved in the creating of locally relevant STEAM education, unlearning colonialism, and building her role and responsibility of educator in terms of connecting between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities. She walked SyMETRI members through her lived experience by looking at how interactions and interrelationships between policy, practitioners, and practices.

SyMETRI members asked some critical questions of Lisa such as how might we understand the nature of Indigenous knowledge? What are the sources? And what are some ways we as teachers could bring that knowledge into our teaching?Lisa discussed how many Indigenous languages are verb-based rather than English which is more noun-based. She presented her research on decolonizing mathematics education through culturally based practices and experiences that are rooted in Indigenous languages and knowledge systems.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Dawn Wiseman 

Dawn Wiseman is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Bishop’s University in Ktinékétolékouac (Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada). She has engaged in thinking about STEAM with young people and educators for over three decades, most often alongside Indigenous people, peoples, and communities in what is currently Canada. Her research exams how Western and Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, might circulate together in STEAM education, student-directed STEAM inquiry, the distinctiveness of Canadian science education research, and the possibilities of teaching and learning within the context of human-driven climate change. She teaches courses in science and research methods, interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and teaching and learning in uncertain times.

Dr. Lisa Lunney Borden

Lisa Lunney Borden is a Professor of mathematics education at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada and holds the John Jerome Paul Chair for Equity in Mathematics Education. Having taught 7-12 mathematics in a Mi’kmaw community, she credits her students and the community for helping her to think differently about mathematics teaching and learning. She is committed to research and outreach that focuses on decolonizing mathematics education through culturally based practices and experiences that are rooted in Indigenous languages and knowledge systems. Lisa teaches courses in mathematics education and Indigenous education. Lisa has helped to create the Show Me Your Math program that inspired thousands of Mi’kmaw youth to share the mathematical reasoning inherent in their own community contexts, and an outreach program called Connecting Math to Our Lives and Communities that brings similar ideas to Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian youth as an afterschool program.