Lifelong learner made honourary member of journal club

Bradley White’s a wanted man at the EdCog journal club.

The Education & Cognition (EdCog) journal club meets bi-weekly for deep dive discussions into education and cognition research. The journal club’s linked with the made-at-McMaster McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program that’s funded by the McCall MacBain Foundation and run by associate professor Joe Kim and program manager and research coordinator Katie George.

Teaching assistants who work with Joe run the club during the fall term, with postdocs joining by Zoom. In the winter term, the postdocs work with the TAs to lead in-person discussions about the education projects they’re working on as part of the McCall MacBain program.

The club is open to everyone – undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and community members like Bradley. The 66-year-old’s been a journal club regular since 2019, attending both the online and in-person meetings. That’s earned him honorary membership in the McCall MacBain program from Joe and Katie.

“It’s been a godsend and my touchstone to McMaster,” says Bradley about the journal club. “Being in the company of so many smart and ambitious students? It’s a wonderful thing.”

The feeling’s mutual, says Katie. “Bradley’s such a welcomed participant to our journal club. Teaching assistants tell me they hope Bradley’s in their breakout room because he always adds so much to the discussions. Bradley’s mind is wired to learn and he brings decades of work experience to the table. It’s an invaluable perspective.”

After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Bradley began his career out west with Parks Canada as an interpretive planner. He moved back to Ontario to earn a masters in adult education from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. From there, he worked at Algonquin and Sheridan Colleges and then launched a consulting practice focused on employee training, development and process mapping. He’s worked with big-name companies including Ford, Chrysler, Canadian Tire, Amazon, SCI Logistix, Grand and Toy and The Home Depot.

Bradley was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. “I was late to the party,” says Bradley. He joined McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence and enrolled in the exercise program designed for people living with MS.  Bradley was heading home after a workout when he saw a poster on campus advertising the McMaster Conference on Education & Cognition. The conference is run by Joe and Katie, together with Michelle Cadieux, Irina Ghilic and Paulina Rzeczkowska. The annual event brings together educators, researchers, and policymakers to discover insights into education and training.  When the conference ends, the discussions continue with the EdCog Journal Club for the rest of the year.

A conference focused on evidence-based practices in education was everything a corporate trainer and lifelong learner could ask for. “I reached out to the organizers and asked if I could crash the conference,” says Bradley. “They said I was more than welcome.”

It was during the conference that Bradley first learned about the EdCog journal club. The first rule of journal club? Talk about journal club with all the conference attendees. Bradley jumped at the opportunity to be part of the club.

Learning alongside postdocs has Bradley wondering if it’s not too late to become a PhD student at McMaster. He already has a few ideas for dissertations based on journal club discussions. A favourite topic for Bradley? “Are universities graduating learners or test-takers? Employers are desperate for graduates who can think critically and solve problems.”

Katie says Bradley would make an outstanding PhD student. “He’s exactly what academia needs. Bradley doesn’t shy away from challenging the status quo and academic perspectives. Here’s hoping we can drop the honourific title and welcome Bradley as a member of the McCall MacBain program.”