R-PEACE Welcomes Chris Ryan, Research Associate in Community Engaged Learning

The Research Partnerships for Education and Community Engagement (R-PEACE) Group has been awarded a 3-year New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) funding grant for a full-time Research Associate to facilitate the introduction and analysis of a new integrated community model for education in the New Brunswick public school system. 

Starting September 1, 2021, Chris Ryan will join the research group on a full-time basis, taking leave from his position as a long-time teacher, subject coordinator and education support teacher at the Anglophone School District – East.  Chris will be completing in-depth research on several community integration models, so that education might be re-imagined as a shared responsibility across social and economic foundations of the province, with specific community case studies being developed in cooperation with R-PEACE partners. With support from his doctoral research work at UNB, this model will focus on the pedagogical, economic and social development aspects of the community, incorporating the needs and interests of K-20 learners and blurring the lines between traditional grades and the transition to post-secondary education. Chris brings an enormous depth of knowledge and experience in the actual “how” of making systemic change to our education systems, especially ways in which we engage with students and learning assessment in this new education model.

Key to the Research Associate role for Chris will be the integration of the Innovative Learning Lab project with a number of key research initiatives, including the Sackville Schools 20/20 project, the Institute for Transformational Education partnership with Three Nations Education Group and a 3-year international research project that aims at generating practical recommendations on the changing role and design of classroom learning environments at the post-secondary level.