Paula Waatainen
@sosopolitical.bsky.social
Socials Studies teacher ed & researcher at Vancouver Island University. EdD Learning Sciences. Designing authentic assessments of competency, civic education, historical thinking, deliberation, and place-based learning. Music fan! BC history nerd!
Soon the rainy, shorter days and higher daytime tides will make it hard to get to the dog beach. Until then, I will be lucky to take time off from screens to be here. #Nanaimo
September 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Soon the rainy, shorter days and higher daytime tides will make it hard to get to the dog beach. Until then, I will be lucky to take time off from screens to be here. #Nanaimo
Taking advantage of free access to National Historic Sites this summer. This is the Fisgard Lighthouse at Fort Rodd Hill.
August 18, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Taking advantage of free access to National Historic Sites this summer. This is the Fisgard Lighthouse at Fort Rodd Hill.
Found this 2017 photo from the Malahat. This was a good idea.
August 11, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Found this 2017 photo from the Malahat. This was a good idea.
The game, which we originally called Tipping Point, was a simulation of a deliberation between members of four community groups who were trying to balance their stakeholder interests with the common good in selecting features for a new waterfront development, based on one we have in #Nanaimo 2/
June 4, 2025 at 11:51 PM
The game, which we originally called Tipping Point, was a simulation of a deliberation between members of four community groups who were trying to balance their stakeholder interests with the common good in selecting features for a new waterfront development, based on one we have in #Nanaimo 2/
I'm happy to introduce a civic education game that is close to my heart, as I'm one of the original designers. Dr. Kirstin Funke-Robinson and I had an assignment to design an educational game in our 2019 doctoral design seminar with Dr. Douglas Clark at the Werklund School @ucalgary.bsky.social 1/
June 4, 2025 at 11:51 PM
I'm happy to introduce a civic education game that is close to my heart, as I'm one of the original designers. Dr. Kirstin Funke-Robinson and I had an assignment to design an educational game in our 2019 doctoral design seminar with Dr. Douglas Clark at the Werklund School @ucalgary.bsky.social 1/
When you are cleaning interview transcripts and discover how Canadian you are. And how potentially confusing…
May 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
When you are cleaning interview transcripts and discover how Canadian you are. And how potentially confusing…
April 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
My heartfelt congratulations to the BC Legislative Internship program on 50 years of providing exceptional democratic education to recent university grads. Here’s my husband Jeff (1992 intern) and my son Henry (current 2025 intern) at the reunion this weekend. @bclegislature.bsky.social #bcpoli
March 9, 2025 at 3:49 AM
My heartfelt congratulations to the BC Legislative Internship program on 50 years of providing exceptional democratic education to recent university grads. Here’s my husband Jeff (1992 intern) and my son Henry (current 2025 intern) at the reunion this weekend. @bclegislature.bsky.social #bcpoli
My office today was Bright Angel Park in the Cowichan Valley. Dr. Teresa Farrell and I are meeting in 3 locations there this week with #SD79 teachers who are alumni of @viuniversity.bsky.social and attended #place-based education field schools with us in the Fraser Canyon in 2018 and 2019. 1/2 #bced
February 20, 2025 at 1:14 AM
My office today was Bright Angel Park in the Cowichan Valley. Dr. Teresa Farrell and I are meeting in 3 locations there this week with #SD79 teachers who are alumni of @viuniversity.bsky.social and attended #place-based education field schools with us in the Fraser Canyon in 2018 and 2019. 1/2 #bced
What an amazing memory! My memory is very different. I was on my way to a conference in Philadelphia and stopped overnight in NYC just to see them play Brooklyn Steel. Even alone, a top 5 in lifetime show. When they closed with this song, “where are your friends tonight?” - mine were at home in BC.
February 15, 2025 at 4:53 PM
What an amazing memory! My memory is very different. I was on my way to a conference in Philadelphia and stopped overnight in NYC just to see them play Brooklyn Steel. Even alone, a top 5 in lifetime show. When they closed with this song, “where are your friends tonight?” - mine were at home in BC.
Careful everyone! This post was being shared tonight. It's falsely attributed as a transcript of Hegseth's NATO presser. When others asked for attribution, the poster apologized and said he'd been taken in by a parody. See thread below on how we can't share what we can't immediately verify.
February 14, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Careful everyone! This post was being shared tonight. It's falsely attributed as a transcript of Hegseth's NATO presser. When others asked for attribution, the poster apologized and said he'd been taken in by a parody. See thread below on how we can't share what we can't immediately verify.
A few friends on FB have shared a post today that has a screen shot of a list of stats about migrants, fentanyl, and guns crossing borders in North America. The stats FEEL true, and very well may be. But we need to all stop and use caution with posts like this 1/... #bced #sschat #edusky
February 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Tomorrow a wind and rain storm will hit Vancouver Island, potentially disrupting some Christmas plans. But for now the dog and I are enjoying the lights and fire, while family dinner is in the oven. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, Bluesky friends. I am grateful to be getting to know you.
December 25, 2024 at 3:27 AM
Tomorrow a wind and rain storm will hit Vancouver Island, potentially disrupting some Christmas plans. But for now the dog and I are enjoying the lights and fire, while family dinner is in the oven. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, Bluesky friends. I am grateful to be getting to know you.
Fun class today as we try out and discuss discussion protocols. We began our look at “deliberation” with a warm-up idea from @yvrteacher.bsky.social to deliberate on “what pizza should we order”. (Wish I had the budget to order them their pizzas…)
November 26, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Fun class today as we try out and discuss discussion protocols. We began our look at “deliberation” with a warm-up idea from @yvrteacher.bsky.social to deliberate on “what pizza should we order”. (Wish I had the budget to order them their pizzas…)
I love #place-based learning, so my students design field trips to places conducive to thinking about hist, geog, and urban planning. One student did Edmonton’s historic High Level Bridge. Today I finally got to add it to my list of “cool historic bridges to cross”. Where to go next? #bchist
November 16, 2024 at 8:48 PM
I love #place-based learning, so my students design field trips to places conducive to thinking about hist, geog, and urban planning. One student did Edmonton’s historic High Level Bridge. Today I finally got to add it to my list of “cool historic bridges to cross”. Where to go next? #bchist
Stella enjoying Cable Bay Trail, just south of Nanaimo.
November 13, 2024 at 7:57 PM
Stella enjoying Cable Bay Trail, just south of Nanaimo.
This sign was maybe 5 metres away...
November 12, 2024 at 2:56 AM
This sign was maybe 5 metres away...
My friends and I visited in May 2023 on a road trip to Calgary! It was kind of a spooky drive up the mountain to get there. 100 years after mining, you can still see the scars in the landscape. We saw other people in some sort of a Mad Max like car rally.
November 12, 2024 at 2:54 AM
My friends and I visited in May 2023 on a road trip to Calgary! It was kind of a spooky drive up the mountain to get there. 100 years after mining, you can still see the scars in the landscape. We saw other people in some sort of a Mad Max like car rally.
What kind of citizenship competencies would a student need to respond to a real-world problem or civic process? Please check out my paper, with Man-Wai Chu, in the current issue of Democracy & Education. democracyeducationjournal.org/cgi/viewcont... #learningsciences #teachereducation #edusky
November 12, 2024 at 2:38 AM
What kind of citizenship competencies would a student need to respond to a real-world problem or civic process? Please check out my paper, with Man-Wai Chu, in the current issue of Democracy & Education. democracyeducationjournal.org/cgi/viewcont... #learningsciences #teachereducation #edusky
I was out for a walk today and found myself changing my route to try to find where a stream was headed
April 17, 2024 at 12:31 AM
I was out for a walk today and found myself changing my route to try to find where a stream was headed
Last year my Socials Methods courses felt so packed, that I reluctantly I dropped my field trip to model place-based learning. My colleague David Sufrin and I rectified that yesterday with a Math and Socials trip to downtown Nanaimo. What do you always make time for? #teachereducation #edusky
March 13, 2024 at 9:21 PM
Last year my Socials Methods courses felt so packed, that I reluctantly I dropped my field trip to model place-based learning. My colleague David Sufrin and I rectified that yesterday with a Math and Socials trip to downtown Nanaimo. What do you always make time for? #teachereducation #edusky
