Lana's Story

Lana is a lifelong learner who was born and raised in the NWT and has embraced distance learning throughout her postsecondary education. Lana admits, “I was a student who … really struggled in school growing up in elementary, middle, and high school. I was there ... often for social reasons. I had a teacher as a mother and … she was a special educator … I have the smarts, I just … found that I didn't enjoy a lot of school. I struggled with math and sciences and I really didn't believe in myself for a long time.” Lana says, “It actually it took me quite a few years after high school to decide to do a postsecondary education.” After graduating from high school Lana went to southern Canada and says, “I studied professional makeup artistry, which was really fun … but I realized I didn't want to work in that industry for my entire career. It was more of a hobby but didn't want to turn that hobby into a career.” Lana decided to change her career direction and says, “I moved back [to Yellowknife] when I was I think 20 years old and I started substitute teaching in Catholic schools as a job. And I fell in love with teaching and you know, I could tell I had my mother’s [passion for teaching in me] … I knew that I would have to go to school.”
“So before doing that I decided I wanted to do something fun and I volunteered to teach English in Thailand for nine months. I was working first with adults and then I worked at a high school and was doing adult tutoring … I was like okay, if I want to continue doing something like this, I have to go away to school. So, while living in Thailand, I applied to postsecondary institutions. I was accepted and … chose Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.” Lana says, “The reason… I picked to go there was actually based on their educational philosophy … Since they've started [Trent] has been one of the top undergraduate universities in Canada because they follow a college more delivery method for every lecture. You have a small group seminar and that was so necessary to my first year of courses. There were a couple of classes, a course, like Intro. Psychology, which was my major and I almost didn't continue with it because I hated the first intro course because it was a thousand people in the lecture hall. And that's just not how I learn and that's why I think I didn't enjoy a lot of aspects of education when I was going through elementary school … I didn't enjoy pure lecture style, [it] does not work for me as a learner. I need a hands-on, tactile component to an extent.” Lana says, “I found just [sitting] in the lecture hall being spoken to for three hours with no small group discussion afterwards [didn’t work]. All you're expected to do is read the textbook, do some online quizzes, do a multiple-choice exam; rote memorization, that's not how my brain works and that's not how most of us function and in modern society. Like we don't need to memorize things, … rote memorization does not work for a lot of people and I just find that a lot of universities teaching [in] very archaic, western, male-focused, male-research driven [ways]. I could go on for hours about that but I didn't enjoy the way universities taught to an extent but I loved Trent University. I really enjoyed my time there … [and] by second year was getting … B's in my first year to all of a sudden being like a 90 student. Cuz I was taking classes … I enjoyed [and] I learned that I was good at writing and a lot of it had to do with having really engaging teachers. But also getting to have that other teacher assistant or the prof as a small group seminar leader [all helped]. You'd have… [a] two-hour lecture and then you'd have a one-hour seminar for your three hours of classes a week. Having that smaller group discussion time was so valuable.”
“I really enjoyed that aspect [small group seminars].” Lana ended up taking distance courses and she says, “I actually sped through it [the program] and I finished in three and a half years. I did summer school online … Trent didn’t have that many distance courses I could do [so I]… started doing some courses through Athabasca University … I think I did the maximum amount of transfer credits you could do … so I think I did like a third of my courses were transferred from Athabasca University.” Online courses “worked for me and my timelines and what I needed to do. So, although it wasn't my preferred learning method, I did learn as much as I could. … Anyways, long story short, [I] finished my undergrad [and] decided after three and a half years that I was going to do a master's [but] I didn't want to do my Bachelor Ed [Education] because I did not want to be a general classroom teacher. So, I applied to two master’s programs, both in-person and virtual ones and that summer I moved back to Yellowknife.” Lana says, “Within a week, everything fell in place [and] … one of the programs I was offered to take, was virtually distance a master's through University of Northern British Columbia.”
“So, I chose to stay living here [in Yellowknife]. I have a good job. I had a support system, and I did a distance program. So, I did my masters from 2016 to 2018. I did it [in] two and a half semesters … the shortest you could do it is two years. I just took an extra semester to finish my thesis.” Lana says, “I don't like to regret things but sometimes I wonder like, what would have happened if I had done my masters in person.” Lana has no regrets and believes that “everything happened for a reason, like I ended up writing a children's book, I did my masters, which has now changed my life and now I write children's books and I started a publishing business.” Lana adds, “So now I [also] work [in] the government, have a great job where I get to use my master's regularly, which is interesting working in health, having an education background, but it [education] lends itself to any career really and I get to do the Certificate in Adult Ed because I eventually would like to go over work at the college … I think especially with my background in not feeling that I really fit in with a lot of traditional education styles, [I know] how I could help other students find better ways to learn that works better for them.”
Engagement.
When Lana is asked about engagement in her current Certificate in Adult Education program Lana says, “I've gotten to be in small breakout rooms, I've gotten to do part group assignments, group presentations … Then as we saw each other recently, I got to do the introductory seminar … which was amazing to get to actually meet people in person. That was one that full week [and] was the one thing that I was missing in my master's [distance program] … I never got to meet people in person.” Lana also says, “I appreciate that program is designed to meet the needs of people who are doing it [the CAED program] on top of other jobs.”
Lana identified many reasons for being successful and says, “It [CAED program] allowed me to practice skills; it allowed me to connect with people that were going through similar things.” Also, Lana says, “With the CAED program … it's been a variety of different teaching styles and different opportunities to do small breakout group work like… small group break out discussions and group assignments and doing the Instructional Skills Workshop, [these are all] … completely invaluable aspects of the program.” [These teaching styles and opportunities are] a huge thing [and] they make it a huge success.”
Personally, Lana attributes her success to her organizational skills and ability to create work-life balance for herself. Lana says, “I had to prioritize days of the week to do homework.” “I have a calendar on my wall and I have to schedule things and I would still, I still have to plot out when assignments are due and prioritize them.” Lana also identified that forcing her studies did not improve her success. Lana says, “In trying to force myself to do homework, my brain stop functioning in that way … I’d just get frustrated.” Lana learned to balance her personal, professional, and academic responsibilities and says, “sometimes you just need to do your assignment to finish it and there are there times where you are super into it and passionate and will do it and power through and that you have to remember … it's okay to have off days and to not do your schooling, but you still have to get done.”
When asked about Lana’s personal beliefs about herself that help her to be successful in the CAED program Lana says, “[I] know that I can do it now. Like I said about ten years ago, I did not have the same confidence in myself with school as I do now.” Lana also says, “believing in myself, setting boundaries, setting goals, … [and] celebrating the small milestones not just the end goal” all contribute to her personal beliefs about herself. “I don't even think about the concept of completing this program or not. I'm thinking about each course that I take on, and assignments within each course, and the things that I'm gonna get out of each course … I break it down because holding out for celebrating, graduation [isn’t enough] …. Yeah, that was another huge, like mindset shift when I learned that concept and the importance of it.”
Supportive Relationships.
Lana reflects on her instructors and says, “I just had a situation with one of my last classes, not the essential skills but the one I did just before, it was Adult Education I think, I … ended up [attending]… only four classes.” “I had work travel that resulted in me missing the first lecture, which I'd emailed the teachers about and they said [it was] not a big deal. [The instructors said] ‘we can record it and then send it to you.’ I ended up having a severe health issue and a mental health crisis on the second class. I was trying to wrap … my brain [around] trying to complete this course, on top of work and my mental health crisis and a physical health issue all around the same time … I emailed the two professors and said, … ‘I don't think it's fair for me to continue.’” The instructors were aware of Lana’s academic background and “they were able to record the lectures and they were able to send them to me. … I taken one or two other classes with … one of the instructors … He knew also my work ethic as a student and… both [instructors] talked it through and they're like, ‘there's no reason you should drop this course if you think you can complete it. It's totally fine that you've missed the two, we know that you'll go back and watch the lectures and that you will still be able to successfully complete the course.’” Lana says, “Even [them] just believing in me, made me realize like it was also a good mental health. You know, I was able to shift my brain towards something else and do the course over the next two weeks.”
Lana adds, “But if that was my very first course in the program, maybe they [the instructors] … would have just said like, yeah, maybe just take it next time instead, but it was also the teachers had built a rapport with me by that point, or at least one of them had. I never had the other teacher but they knew me. They knew that I could do the course, they also knew that… I knew most of this [course] information.” Lana says, “If I had to redo that course it's probably not offered until next year and could have delayed me finishing.”
Lana also says, “I would say … my director at work is very supportive of me being in this program and the government is paying for me to take this program. I'm using my PDI funding, because it happens to support [my] work … Work is [also] paying for it but also my work time and my the days that I have class in the evening my boss let's leave work three hours earlier that day cuz I have three hours off that night. So it's still as part of my work hours for that week.” Lana adds, “I go back to my home position in in April, and I believe… my home manager will still support me finishing this … But even if not, I still enjoy it enough that I and I have Student Financial Assistance I'd be able to still finish it … So I have support from my instructors and support from my employer.”
Course Content and Resources.
When asked about the CAED course content and resources Lana says, “The [use of] multi modalities of teaching [in the CAED program] has been huge … The instructors often send the lecture slides in advance while… you're attending your virtual classes [and]… you might get notes afterwards. There are supplementary handouts, there are small breakout rooms.” Lana also shares, “I've talked about the Instructional Skills Workshop week of actually getting to do something in person … for me it work[s] because it's keeping me attentive.”
“The thing that's helped meet my need[s] is that we are given … complete freedom and then create a reign over what topic it is that you want to choose.” Lana says, “For example, creating a lesson plan [about] subjects that I'm more passionate about, for fun, like one of my instructional skills ten minute lesson was on we created a children's story within ten minutes. So, it's allowed me to do that yeah, I think that as well as I love personal reflection. So, in quite a few of the courses there have been weekly journals… it's just reflecting on what it is that we learned and how it relates to your life in any way.” Lana was also “kind of excited about [the] program [content], [the high school diploma entry] requirements, and [the opportunity] … to learn from people across the north.”
Assessment and Evaluation.
When Lana was asked about course assessment and evaluation she says, “I think almost everything has been pass and fail pretty much. There was I think my most recent course there was number grades.” Lana says, “I don't like number grades really … I think everything should be pretty well pass/fail for a program like this.” Lana adds, “This is a certificate program and that was something in my master's I tried to remind myself was like grades don't matter. Grades don't matter … And that's the piece of advice I now try to give … to lots of friends working through their masters.” Lana says, “I try to remind them, your grades don't actually matter because you care about what you're studying and as long as you focus your assignments on things … things you enjoy, things you're passionate about, and things that will benefit you [and you will do well].”
Lana says, “I don't think there's ever like a true 100%. People can always … leave room for improvement. Things can always be done differently, but it could still be the best that you put out or the best you were able to put out if it was an 80% day.” Lana believes that “an Instructional Skills Workshop [could still be a] … pass/fail,” and that students can receive “an incredible amount of feedback, constructive criticism over the course of a couple of days.” This is what Lana experienced in the ISW sessions “and it was amazing.”
“It's a catch 22, I struggle with that. I don't care about grades; but I do … so, I think it's been more positive for me not getting … number grades throughout this program. It's allowed me to … enjoy [what I am doing and learning].” Lana adds, “I'm going to need this program if I want to teach at the college eventually, but I'm doing it right now purely because I want to do it … It's not going to get me a raise at work. Down the line it'll eventually … help me when I applied to college [for a job] … So, I will have already had this program done… I don't need to be taking this program right now, I'm choosing to.”
One Word to Describe Why You are Successful.
When asked to chose one word to describe herself she says her word is, “Reflection. I’m a huge fan of reflecting afterwards.” Lana says, “Like I was saying there could still be feedback … Yeah, reflecting on afterwards … what the outcomes are … It also leads to greater appreciation [and] it's not just always [about] negative [feedback], it's [also] what happened well.”
Most Important Thoughts from the Interview.
“I think one of the things is that my aunt had told me she [completed] her master's, when she was in her 40s and I think I was in high school, she said ‘school will always be there, it'll be there when you're ready for it’ and that's how I feel school has really been for me since I left high school and [I] didn't have to be in school. School has been there when I felt ready for it. When I … went away to makeup school I enjoyed it … but it took me a while to feel ready to go to university and then to do a masters.” Lana adds, “Right now… I don't feel ready to do a PhD but I feel ready to be doing certificates, so that's a huge part. Having support… is very important. So, for me it was the concept of choosing to do my master’s by distance and living here and losing the in-person support of peers and teachers but having the day-to-day support of friends and family and an employer.” Lana says that support is important, “like having a supportive director now that allowed me to continue doing this work and supportive teachers that allowed me to stay in a course when I had missed half of it. So, support it's a huge thing and that grades do slash don't matter.”
Final Thoughts.
“I do feel that the CAED program is for me… I feel this program is still supporting me and I still feel engaged.”