Joanne Hochu

July 31, 2013 Dr. Emma Plank and Dr. Joy Goldberger, Child Life Institute, c/o BC Childrens Hospital, 3M47, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3V4. Dear Dr. Plank and Dr. Goldberger,

jhochu@cw.bc.ca

I am writing to apply for the position of Sessional Instructor for the course entitled Child Life in Hospitals jointly sponsored by your universities at this summers Child Life Institute. I am currently completing my Master of Education in Human Development, Learning and Culture in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia. I expect to graduate in November of 2013. In this letter, I address my unique qualifications, including my professional practice, my teaching experience and my graduate studies. My professional practice as a certified child life specialist for more than 25 years at BC Childrens Hospital has provided me with the knowledgeable experiential education that I can draw upon to connect students with the work of child life specialists in hospital. I have supervised many child life internships, revised our internship manual and provided resources and training sessions for students, fellow child life specialists, staff and the community at-large on issues of relevance in our profession. I am committed to bringing to students the latest developments in practice and research so students are current on disciplinary developments. I enjoy working collaboratively with my fellow child life specialists, allied health care team, patients and their families all while delivering service to strengthen psychosocial care in the hospital. In addition, I have several years of teaching experience at Langley College in the Early Childhood Education program. From 1993 to 2001, working in partnership with the ECE community, I developed a 15-week course, drawing on the experience of students to help them explore more advanced ECE concepts in their post-diploma training. I assessed student learning based on the course goals and objectives. I developed learning

activities to meet the diverse needs of the students and used experiential learning, hands-on activities, large and small group discussion, presentations, guest speakers and a broad range of learning activities for classes. Most recently, my graduate studies during my Masters program enhanced my skills as a teacher. I completed a course on teaching for university and college. This particular course deepened my understanding of the importance of engagement with students in learning and building a connection in the classroom to really explore our subject together. I also had an opportunity to develop a course outline for a Child Life in Hospital course and include a copy. Graduate studies has also deepened my understanding of evidence-based research especially as it relates to the child life profession and allowed me to explore some of this latest work in the field. I am keen and inspired to continue sharing knowledge and experience about child life, a subject I am passionate about with students. Teaching this course will combine my professional practice, teaching experience and graduate studies, along with my deep commitment to the discipline of child life, enabling me to bring theory and practice alive in the classroom with child and youth care students interested in this field of study. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this position, my experience and teaching approach with you in further detail. I can be contacted with the information provided and look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely,

Joanne Hochu, CCLS. encl