Influential Thinkers

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The following are people that have influenced me personally, first hand, by caring, by having conversations with me, by being part of my life:

Dr. Krystyna Laycraft
My Mother, my first teacher, and my first supervisor. She has been there for me every step of my education. I owe her my life and a lot of my interests and passions come from discussions I have with her.

Mr. Ian Wereley
My favourite high school teacher that instilled a passion for physics and teaching physics – Physics Teacher at Sir Winston Churchill High School in Calgary.

Dr. David Hobill
A very influential undergraduate professor during my B.Sc. Physics degree – Professor of Physics at University of Calgary.

Dr. Olive Chapman
A very influential professor during my Education degree – Professor of Education at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Krista Muis
My Master’s Supervisor – thanks to her support, I was able to finish my Master’s of Arts in Educational Psychology degree within two years, even with several publications. She taught me to do research. – Professor of Educational Psychology at McGill University.

Dr. Beatriz Garcia-Diaz
A very special colleague during my teaching career; I worked incredibly closely with her, developing new courses, new projects, new initiatives at our school – Lab coordinator at Webber Academy.

Dr. Brent Davis
My PhD Supervisor – he has allowed me to pursue a PhD under his extremely knowledgeable supervision. I am excited to work with him, and learn from him.

The following are scholars I have either read and have been incredibly influenced by or ones that I am excited to read in the near future:

Shaaron Ainsworth
The expert in learning with visual and multiple representation research.

John Sweller
Cognitive Load Theory. This theory resonates deeply with my understanding how best to teach complex concepts.

Richard Mayer
I have only heard recently of this influential Theory of Multimedia Learning. I believe this theory will inspire me in my pursuit of research into learning and teaching with visual representations.

Wolfgang Schnotz
I am very interested in reading his theory of an Integrated Model of Text and Picture Comprehension, which is another important theory to the research on learning and teaching with visual representation.

Michelle Cook
An expert in visual representations in science education. I have used her theory as the basis of my Master’s Thesis.

Paul Ayres
I have read a lot of his work, and I would like to read more. His interests lie in Cognitive Load Theory and Multimedia Learning.

Gerald A. Goldin
His research interests in mathematics education include systems of internal and external representation, affect, engagement, and motivation in mathematics classrooms.  These are all extremely relevant ideas in my research.

Ference Marton
Marton’s Variation Theory of Learning was recently introduced to me. It is indirectly related to my field of study, but I feel like it will benefit my understanding of how learning takes place, and therefore, how visual representations could be useful in learning and teaching.

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