Faculty Bio

Dr. Paolina Seitz

Associate Professor, Education

I obtained my Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Calgary. I had the pleasure of teaching French Second Language at most levels of K to 12 education. After teaching for a few years, I was appointed a guidance counsellor at a Junior High school. A few years later, I was appointed a principal, of a dual track school. Four years after that, I made a move to the board and was the Associate Superintendent (Learning Services) for several years before being appointed, a Senior Assessment Manager with Alberta Education.

I pursued a Master of Education (M.Ed.) program specializing in Educational Leadership. My M.Ed. thesis was on effective leadership in school administration. The thesis research allowed me to examine models and theories of leadership needed to be an effective leader in a school setting. While working at Alberta Education, I obtained my PhD (Educational Psychology) at the University of Alberta in Applied Measurement, Evaluation and Cognition. My doctoral dissertation was an mixed method study exploring the alignment among the three pillars of education: curriculum, instruction and assessment. This was achieved by observing grade 9 math teachers teaching a complete math unit and collecting data to answer research questions such as: to what extent are teachers teaching the math curriculum, and to what extent are teachers assessing what they taught. Further data was collected by conducting interviews with all observed math teachers.

In recognition of my research program, I was awarded the St Mary’s University David Lawless Award for Scholarly Achievement.

I have been a member of the Faculty of Education at St. Mary’s University since 2015 as a full-time faculty member. Courses I have developed and taught include: EDCM 709 Meeting the Needs of All Learners: Planning, Assessment, Evaluation, Instructional, EDCM 703 Intermediate Level, Alberta Curriculum Basics, EDCM 707 Religion Education in the Elementary School, EDPD 511 Faith Development and Religious Education, EDFN 613 Foundations for Teaching and Building a Personal Vocational Vision for Teaching, EDPR 737 Classroom Practicum III: Advanced Practicum, EDCM 409 Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning, and EDCM 303 Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary Mathematics Education.

It is a pleasure to work with faculty and students at St. Mary’s University, and I look forward to the continued success of our program.

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Specialization/Research Interest

Curriculum Alignment, Student Assessment (Formative and Summative), Cognition, and Effective Leadership in School Administration, Mixed Methods Research Methods

Education

PhD Educational Research (Educational Psychology; Applied Measurement, Evaluation, and Cognition), University of Alberta, Alberta
M.Ed. Educational Research (Effective Leadership in Educational Administration), University of Lethbridge, Alberta
B.Ed. Secondary Education (French Second language, Educational Psychology, Counselling), University of Calgary, Alberta