There’s a lot to learn from society’s youngest citizens – and those studying to work with them, says 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award recipient Dr. Lee Makovichuk. Creating opportunities for students in the Bachelor of Early Learning and Curriculum Studies program to explore possibilities, try new ideas and develop their voices are hallmarks of her teaching career.

You worked as an educator in MacEwan’s early learning centre, earned an education degree, taught kindergarten in a university laboratory school, earned master’s and PhD degrees, co-authored Alberta’s early learning framework, and have been an assistant professor at MacEwan since 2015. But early learning wasn’t your first career choice?

It wasn’t until I had children that I wanted to know more about the early years. That brought me to MacEwan in 1985 as a part-time student in the then Early Childhood Development diploma program (now known as the Bachelor of Early Childhood Curriculum Studies). 

What stands out most from your first time at MacEwan as a student? That we never do this work alone. What we do is very relational, it’s very hands-on and our understanding of education, teaching and learning continues to evolve. 

You say that learning is about more than a single correct answer. What is it about? Learning is about making connections. It’s complex, and it’s energizing. I've had extraordinary opportunities to work with and learn from incredible people – colleagues, students and children. It has always been about trying something, following the children and seeing what works. And as much as what we do is relational, it’s also about reflection – looking at what happened, why it happened, what may have influenced it and what might happen next.

Reflecting on your own experiences, what do you think makes a great educator? You need to have a certain level of uncertainty to engage with others and their ideas authentically and openly. Being an educator can feel a bit risky – like you’re laying down the path while you’re walking. So we go bravely together and see where it takes us. We do that with young children, but I think we also do that with post-secondary students at times.

How so? Early childhood learning solidified in me an appreciation for the diversity of ways people connect with things. Children are the best at this because nobody has told them they can’t use a pencil as a fairy wand or a sword. When they are thinking, you can see them using their whole bodies.

It’s more difficult for post-secondary students – we have to peel away many layers that tell them there is only one right way of learning something. But that same investment in learning happens in our Bachelor of Early Childhood Curriculum Studies classrooms too. When people are conversing about ideas that matter to them, when they are thinking deeply and making new connections, and the class ends, they want more. Those are the moments of such joy and energy.

Is there something that connects your proudest moments as an educator? The idea of authentically being a co-learner. I don't think you can be an educator without being a learner – I know I can't. 

For me, being in a classroom with young or more experienced students is about learning how they make connections between what they are learning and how they are in the world. As an educator, sometimes you are gifted with glimpses, such as when a student tells you something that you said or did that made them feel seen and heard. I want every learner I work with to know that, as an educator, I'm just as invested as they are in what they are trying to achieve.

What does this award mean to you? I’m honoured that my colleagues and students think of me this way. It’s also humbling. I work with many outstanding educators, learners and students. In some ways, it might make sense to look at an award like this and think, “I’ve arrived, or I’m done,” but that’s not what education has ever been for me. I never feel finished. There's always something that you can change. There’s always more you can do. There's always something more to learn.