The Faculty of Education is pleased to present two public lectures in 2025-26 celebrating research and innovation in the Faculty of Education.
All research talks are free to attend, please register in advance on ExperienceBU. If you are unable to attend in person, a virtual link will be sent out to registrants prior to the event. If you do not have a Brock email address and wish to attend, please email [email protected] to confirm your spot.
Methodologically connecting criticality and creativity to support transformative learning using narratives: Expressive writing, fiction, autoethnography, and memoirs
Presented by Ash Grover and Dr. Nancy Taber
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
PL 600F, 12 -1:30 p.m.,
In this session, the presenters will describe how critical and creative adult education research can support transformative learning. They will detail three distinct yet interconnected research projects that use different forms of narrative: expressive writing research with Canadian military veteran women, fiction-based research about the gendered intersections between Prince Edward Island folklore and history, and autoethnographic memoir research as relates to Ontario post-secondary education. Using analytical examples, they will discuss how their research is informed by their social locations (including as relates to their academic positioning as a PhD student and tenured faculty member), theoretical foundations, methodological choices, and transformative aims. They will conclude with recommendations for conducting critical and creative research that blends theoretical and methodological boundaries to support individual and collective learning for transformative change.
Dr. Nancy Taber is a professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Brock University. Her qualitative and creative research explores the ways in which learning, gender, and militarism intersect in daily life, museums, militaries, and educational institutions. She has a particular focus on women’s experiences in the Canadian Armed Forces as relates to organizational culture, polices, education, everyday practices. She served as a military officer Sea King helicopter air navigator, Co-Director of the Transforming Military Cultures (TMC) Network, President of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. Dr. Taber holds the Brock University Distinguished Research and Creative Activity award, was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame, and served as an expert witness for the Heyder-Beattie class action lawsuit on gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in the Canadian military. Dr. Taber’s debut novel, A Sea of Spectres, was published in June 2024 with Acorn Press. Her sequel is forthcoming. She is currently conducting a SSHRC-funded research project focused on expressive writing groups with military veteran women.
Ash Grover is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Studies at Brock University. Her research is focused on trauma informed pedagogies and adult learning through narrative forms such as memoir. Specifically, she is interested in the pedagogical bridge between one’s experiences with trauma, and their relational engagement with narratives of trauma. Ash has a background in social justice and equity, and through her work with Learning Services at Brock she develops tailored supports for students facing barriers to their education, as well as integrating curriculum that reflects diverse educational experiences. She loves reading books with maps, going on adventures with her little family, pop culture criticism, and punk rock shows.
PAST EVENTS
Reimagining Environmental Sustainability Education: Emotions, Pathways, and Partnerships
Presented by Dr. Travis Fuchs and Dr. Xavier Fazio
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
PL 600 F, 12 -1:30 p.m.
Although environmental and sustainability education has been prioritized in schools for decades, we are failing to translate individual learning into the collective action needed to address climate change and other environmental issues. While current approaches demonstrate positive student outcomes, they neglect two critical dimensions: teachers’ emotional capacity to sustain challenging content and authentic pathways for civic engagement. Recent research reveals that educators experience complex climate emotions central to their professional practice, yet professional development often leaves emotional work to chance. Meanwhile, environmental education often falls short of authentic civic participation, missing opportunities for genuine policy engagement.
In this session, we will explore how addressing teacher emotions and understanding policy realities can enhance the effectiveness of environmental education. Drawing on research from professional development programs, community connections, and direct experiences with Members of Provincial Parliament, we examine both internal emotional capacity-building and how external actors, such as policymakers, can bring value to education. Through exploration of conceptual perspectives, current gaps, emerging opportunities, and professional development examples, we will highlight strategies for equipping educators and students with both the emotional infrastructure and political literacy needed for meaningful environmental action in an era of climate urgency.
Dr. Travis T. Fuchs is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Brock University and an Honorary Norham Fellow at the University of Oxford. Dr. Fuchs is the Co-Founder and former Director of The Climate Collaborative for Educators and Founder and Co-Director of the Oxford Education Deanery Sustainability Team. His research focuses on socially responsible science education, climate change education, teacher professional development, and socio-ecological approaches to curriculum and pedagogy in K-12 schools.
Dr. Xavier Fazio is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University whose research focuses on science education, environmental sustainability, and curriculum innovation. He is the author and editor of the two-volume series, Science Curriculum for the Anthropocene, which offers transformative perspectives on science teaching through complexity and systems thinking. A recent publication, Global Perspectives in STEM Education, collaboratively explores culturally responsive and globally engaged approaches to STEM learning. Supported by a recent SSHRC Insight Grant, Dr. Fazio’s scholarship connects science education to local communities and ecological contexts. He is an interdisciplinary collaborator with Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre and former editor of the Journal of Science Teacher Education.