“Dr. Nancy Grigg embodies the heart and soul of the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education,” says former dean and professor emeritus Jane O’Dea. “As assistant dean of student program services, on the Alberta Teachers Association Council for Inclusive Education, and as various coordinators within the faculty she has an extraordinary capacity to work in both highly theoretical areas and practical, down-to-earth areas — and she is a fearless advocate for students.”
“It’s a unique and important program,” he says. “Teachers who understand neuropsychology improve pedagogy. ”Neuroscientist Dr. Bryan Kolb credits Dr. Nancy Grigg for her key role in developing Canada’s first Master of Education in Teaching, Learning and Neuroscience.
Grigg (BEd’78) became inspired to learn all she could about special education when her first job entailed teaching students with complex needs. “I entered the MEd at the University of Alberta and did all the special education courses,” she says. “My advisor encouraged me to do a PhD, but there was nothing more I could take. Then I got a call from the University of Virginia offering me a grant to come down.”
In Virginia, Grigg’s research focussed on improving practices for special education teachers. “Teaching is a rigorous profession,” she says, “and when you add the complexities of special needs it can be overwhelming.” She is pleased that today’s teachers accept learning- and behaviour-challenged students in their classrooms, but notes they can’t be prepared for everything. Whether physically challenged, autistic, language-challenged or traumatized, each student’s needs are unique and might never be encountered again. “We need more support for teachers so they feel more competent and confident managing these things.”
After completing her PhD in 1986, Grigg returned to the University of Lethbridge to teach. She served as a visiting professor and research fellow in Japan and Australia before entering faculty administration in 1995 and discovering a passion for program development. “She is one of the best program designers I have ever come across,” says O’Dea, who turned to Grigg when the faculty collaborated with the Department of Neuroscience to teach education students how the brain impacts behaviour and learning. “We needed somebody who had a grasp of the highest levels of intellectual, scientific knowledge and an absolute understanding of the school system.”
Neuroscientist Dr. Bryan Kolb credits Grigg for her key role in developing Canada’s first Master of Education in Teaching, Learning and Neuroscience. “It’s a unique and important program,” he says. “Teachers who understand neuropsychology improve pedagogy.”
Now Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs in the Faculty of Education, Grigg is provincially well-known and respected. “Through the neuroscience program and through her work in special education, Nancy Grigg has made a real impact,” says O’Dea.
Writer: Elizabeth McLachlan | Photographer: Rob Olson | Video: Jim McNally
Related story links to Teaching, Learning and Neuroscience:
Riley Kostek: the student journey through the Teaching, Learning and Neuroscience MEd program as articulated in video and through story
Bridging Neuroscience and Education
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For more information please contact:
Darcy Tamayose
Communications Officer
Dean's Office • Faculty of Education
University of Lethbridge
darcy.tamayose@uleth.ca
Learn more about the Faculty of Education: Legacy Magazine (2008-2019)
Twitter: @ULethbridgeEdu Website: uleth.ca/education
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