Faculty Bio

Dr. Cory Wright-Maley

Professor, Education. Chair, Department of Education

Cory Wright-Maley is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Education at St. Mary’s University. He was born and raised in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) and completed honours degrees in History and Political Science at the University of Calgary before moving south of the border to complete his master’s degree at Stanford University. He taught high school social studies in Woodside, California, for six years before backpacking around the world for a year, visiting more than 40 countries. After his return, he began his Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut. His research is anchored broadly in social studies education, focusing on simulations and how to empower teachers to support marginalized populations in social studies contexts. His past and current works have explored democracy in the face of economic inequality, teaching about family diversity and supporting Trans youth in Catholic elementary contexts, understanding the needs and challenges of English language learners (ELLs) in the content classroom, addressing the history of slavery in Canada, and troubling western temporality with Indigenous perspectives of time. Still learning and growing, he has been dedicated to learning from Indigenous Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers to work toward his obligations to Truth & Reconciliation.


Specialization/Research Interest:

Social studies education, Social and Historical Simulations, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Effective ELL instruction, Interactive Pedagogy, Powerful Teaching, History Education, Democratic Education, Populism

Current Research Interests

His passion for simulation research continues to be stoked by new questions that continue to emerge. Cory is particularly interested in several dimensions of simulation-based teaching. He is exploring how teachers learn to facilitate simulations in K-12 classrooms effectively. This has implications for how we train teachers, how we understand their perspectives on using them, and what challenges emerge in learning how to teach this way. The second set of questions concerns chaos theory: How, if at all, does chaos theory apply to human simulations? Do we act in predictable, non-linear ways that aren’t readily obvious? If so, how might chaos theory help us understand human interactions across social domains better? Finally, he is interested in how we address toxic populism and what Indigenous ways of knowing and being might contribute to that task.

Education

Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction, University of Connecticut
M.Ed., Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP), Stanford University
BA (Honours) History, University of Calgary
BA (Honours) Political Science, University of Calgary

  • Dr. Wright-Maley’s passion for simulations research continues to be stoked by new questions that continue to emerge. He is particularly interested in several dimensions of simulation-based teaching that I am starting to explore: The first question he is asking is how do teachers learn to be effective facilitators of simulations in K-12 classrooms? This has implications for how we train teachers, how we come to understand their perspectives on using them, and what challenges emerge in the process of learning how to teach this way. The second set of questions have to do with chaos theory: How, if at all, does chaos theory apply to human simulations? Do we act in predictable, non-linear ways that aren’t readily obvious? If so, how might chaos theory help us to better understand human interactions across social domains? Finally, he is asking how simulations might contribute to the process of learning how to create a more just society. In particular, how might simulations help us to think about and develop an economic landscape that is more equitable?