Hayley Morrison, PhD, MA, BEd, BPhEd

Email

hjmorris@ualberta.ca

Hayley is an Assistant Professor in Elementary Education. After teaching and consulting in Ontario, Hayley decided to pursue her passion of research and professional development by supporting practitioners - pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and educational assistants - to provide meaningful movement experiences for students with disabilities in physical education. 

Hayley is an advocate for movement experiences for all. She loves spending her time dancing, exploring the outdoors, and playing sports like slo-pitch, volleyball, and soccer. 

My current research focuses on collaborative professional development for inclusion. 

My personal stance on research is grounded in the constructivist paradigm as I engage in qualitative research to understand how people construct meaning and experience the world. My research is focused on inclusion and I seek varied perspectives to challenge taken-for-granted ableist practices in education. In my work I aim to challenge assumptions about disability, expand understanding about holistic physical education programs for all individuals, promote joyful movement experiences, and support ethical research and teaching practices for physical education. Specifically, I research in the areas of inclusion, professional development (PD), and physical education, which have shaped me as an interdisciplinary researcher. Ultimately, I aim to understand the multiple viewpoints, assumptions, and experiences across these disciplines, while working collaboratively with these disciplines to create meaningful physical education experiences for students with disabilities.

My broad research areas include the following: 

• Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Education 
• Physical Education Teacher Education 
• Professional Learning & Development 
• Physical Literacy, Health & Wellness 

My teaching philosophy focuses on helping educators to foster joyful health and physical education experiences for their students. I aim to guide practitioners on their journey of becoming inclusive, health and wellness leaders in schools and support their physical literacy journeys by leading healthy active lifestyles. To achieve this objective, my philosophy of teaching consists of three essential elements: inclusive environments, experiential learning, and diverse pedagogies, with a student-centered approach to learning woven throughout.

Inclusive Environments: In my classrooms I prioritize the creation of a welcoming, respectful environment, such that all students may feel that they belong (Goodwin & Watkinson, 2000). As an inclusive educator, my classes and pedagogy shift away from the “one size fits all” notion. Instead, I choose to focus on the unique strengths my students bring to the learning space. 

Experiential Learning: Boyer (1991) describes, “Teaching, at its best, means not only transmitting knowledge, but transforming and extending it” (p. 24). I actively plan and organize hands-on experiential learning opportunities to spark participation and real-life application of course material that are meaningful for student learning. 

Diverse Pedagogy: My pedagogy is based on providing educative experiences, that is, experiences that are enjoyable and foster a desire for growth and future experiences (Dewey, 1938). I implement a holistic approach to teaching and learning and provide a breadth and depth of learning opportunities to my students. Beyond the student, environment, and curriculum considerations, in my planning I also focus on my pedagogical approach to ensure that both my instruction and the learning spaces are student-centered, diversified, and equitable. 

I believe teaching is about collectively thriving and continually growing with the benefits of experiencing joy along the way. Develop critical thinkers, evidence-based practitioners-researchers, and inclusive educators, is essential. To do so, I actively engage in my own reflective practice and try to model this through the learning process alongside my students. All learners should have opportunities to analyze, interact, experience, and learn in a student-centered, inclusive, and exploratory environment. I am committed to helping teachers gain the confidence, knowledge, and motivation to teach quality health and physical education and to foster joyful health and physical education experiences for their students.