We remember a long-time sessional and colleague Vaughan Marshall who passed away recently. Vaughan taught research methods in both the BSW and MSW programs for many years. She loved teaching and was passionate about students learning to appreciate and generate good research.
Vaughan was an extraordinary teacher who creatively constructed ways to learn. For example, she sought to draw students into deep interpretations of information by using as many senses as possible. To that end, Vaughan loved to use flavours of food to enhance data analysis and interpretation. One could only guess what was in her backpack when she arrived to teach MSW students on Friday mornings.
Some former students and colleagues might remember Vaughan’s contagious energy towards theatre and music. In addition to using theatre of the oppressed to stimulate critical observation and representation of reality, she also used theatre for fun and community building. For several years she somehow convinced MSW students to do theatrical presentations during the end-of-term research night. Vaughan’s gentle but enthusiastic approach to building learning communities contributed to many social workers valuing research. She will be missed.
