The InterActive for Life Research Team is led by Rebecca J. Lloyd, Full Professor of Interdisciplinary Education at the University of Ottawa, in collaboration with Stephen Smith, Full Professor and Director of Teacher Education at Simon Fraser University. Together, Lloyd and Smith bring complementary expertise in phenomenological research, pedagogy, and movement‑based inquiry to advance scholarship in physical education, physical activity, teacher education, and active aging across the lifespan.
The work of the InterActive for Life Research Team is conceptually framed by the Function2Flow model and methodologically guided by Motion‑Sensing Phenomenology (MSP)—a phenomenological approach co‑developed by Lloyd and Smith to investigate living/lived experience through an enhanced kinaesthetic awareness. While Smith contributes foundational expertise in phenomenological philosophy and pedagogy, Lloyd leads the research program and directs the ongoing application, methodological development, digital resource creation, and international knowledge mobilization of MSP across funded projects and diverse scholarly and professional contexts.
Motion‑Sensing Phenomenology, Function2Flow, and Collaborative Knowledge Production
The InterActive for Life Research Team is grounded in a collaborative and relational approach to knowledge production, wherein phenomenological inquiry is advanced through dialogue, shared practice, and collective reflection. Graduate students are integral members of the InterActive for Life Research Team and participate actively in the co‑production of knowledge, contributing to research design, data generation, phenomenological writing, methodological refinement, and knowledge‑mobilization activities. The team is structured to support peer mentoring, with more experienced Research Assistants supporting newer members through shared practice, dialogue, and collaborative inquiry.
Catalina Belalcazar, PhD Candidate in Health Sciences, served as Lead Research Assistant with the InterActive for Life Research Team for two years, contributing to project coordination, methodological development, and mentorship of other graduate researchers. Current graduate student Research Assistants on the team include Catalina Belalcazar; Aurora Bowie, MA Candidate in Education; and Samreen Ahmed, PhD Student in Education.
Research Culture and Mentorship
The InterActive for Life Research Team is committed to a collaborative, relational, and pedagogically grounded research cultureinformed by phenomenological principles. Mentorship within the team is understood not as a top‑down transmission of knowledge, but as an ongoing, shared practice that unfolds through dialogue, movement‑based inquiry, and collective reflection.
Peer mentoring is intentionally cultivated within the team, with more experienced Research Assistants supporting newer members as they engage in phenomenological research design, moving–writing practices, and knowledge‑mobilization activities. This approach supports continuity in the team’s methodological work while creating space for individual scholarly voices to emerge and develop over time.
Through this mentoring model, graduate researchers are supported to take on increasing responsibility in research projects, contribute meaningfully to methodological refinement, and participate actively in the co‑production of knowledge. The InterActive for Life Research Team thus functions as both a research collective and a learning community, where phenomenological inquiry is sustained through shared practice and mutual responsibility.
Research, Teaching, and Knowledge Mobilization
The InterActive for Life Research Team supports:
- phenomenological research projects in physical education, physical activity, teacher education, and active aging
- graduate‑level training in phenomenological research and writing
- collaborative moving–writing practices grounded in Motion‑Sensing Phenomenology
- the development of digital research tools and methodological resources
- international knowledge‑mobilization initiatives, including invited lectures, workshops, and keynote addresses
Through these activities, the team advances phenomenological research that foregrounds movement, sensing, and consciousness‑in‑action, supporting research, pedagogy, and practice that remain faithful to the complexity of lived—and living—experience.
Program Lead: Rebecca J. Lloyd (University of Ottawa)
Senior Collaborator: Stephen Smith (Simon Fraser University)
Graduate Research Team Members: Catalina Belalcazar (PhD Candidate, Health Sciences); Aurora Bowie (MA Candidate, Education); Samreen Ahmed (PhD Student, Education)