Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Tales of a Teacher: Naila Keleta-Mae

By Lisa Kabesh. This excerpt is the second of three Centre for Teaching Excellence Teaching Stories that will be featured in the Daily Bulletin this week.

Naila Keleta-Mae, Assistant Professor of Drama and Speech Communication, tells me a story about how teaching can’t always be planned: in a rehearsal hall in the midst of working on a scene with her students, a gap in knowledge comes to light, and the focus shifts from blocking—where the performers will stand and how they will move on the stage—to an engagement with the myth that early Canada was an uncomplicated refuge for enslaved black people, that there was no slavery in Canada. This pedagogical adaptability serves an important goal. Keleta-Mae sees no divide between the so-called “real world” and the lives students, staff, and faculty lead on and off campus. When the politics and histories that shape students’ lives emerge in class, she sees not an interruption but an opportunity for deep learning.

Keleta-Mae sums up her teaching philosophy in two words: critical self-reflexivity. For Keleta-Mae, this means teaching students how to think about the spaces they occupy and the positions they adopt in their day-to-day lives in relation to the world in which they live and the politics that shape it. In “A Pedagogy of Justice,” which she published while completing her PhD in Theatre Studies in 2011, she calls this “risky business,” and for good reason. As she points out, “it asks students and teachers to look closely at their moorings and, at times, to untie systems of meaning-making that have held together their world-views for a long time.”

So how does this instructor of theory and performance teach this type of self-reflexivity? The foundation of her course design is the desire to work with students as they explore ways to rethink and redistribute power. Her syllabi feature readings and videos that are chosen not just for the theories or content that they introduce but for the historically underrepresented voices that they bring into the classroom. This attention to who gets heard is also reflected in how she assesses in-class participation. Keleta-Mae takes a unique approach: a few weeks into a course, she asks students to informally assess their participation to date. She asks them to identify their comfort levels with speaking up in class and assesses their participation with this self-evaluation as context. For example, if a student gives himself a 10—that is, if he rates himself as someone who is likely to participate often and talk at length—Keleta-Mae ensures that if he talks less in class, he will not be penalized. The act of ceding time and attention to others becomes a way to encourage other voices to be heard and is a valued form of participation.

In another assignment, Keleta-Mae asked her class to adapt and expand a short play that she then directed and dramaturged. Called “on love,” the play was centred on Nigger Rock in St. Armand, Quebec, an historical site where enslaved black people, tradespeople, and travellers who had lived in the area are believed to be buried. With eight cast members playing black roles, the students had to cast outside of their race. “This is not about colour-blind casting,” Keleta-Mae emphasizes. “Either we’re going to wait to magically have this diverse student body that will allow us to do work that … represents the diversity that is Canada, or we’re going to present the work and figure out the messiness of having students that are cast across race.”

Read the rest of the Teaching Story on the CTE website.

Executive actions

It’s Wednesday, February 21. Do you know where your president is?

The past week has been an active one and the next week holds even more. Here is a non-exhaustive list of President Hamdullahpur's recent activities both on and off campus and a look ahead at what's on his calendar.

It was recently reported in the Daily Bulletin that President Hamdullahpur and Associate Vice-President, International, Ian Rowlands, travelled to Dubai to represent Waterloo on the international stage in a series of meetings with leaders from local institutions and universities and to attend the World Government Summit. The centrepoint of the trip was a keynote address from President Hamdullahpur at a workshop on co-op and work-integrated learning hosted by The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education. The President shared his insights on experiential education and how the University of Waterloo continues to develop an ideal educational environment for students to develop as leaders in their fields.

The President also traveled to Istanbul, Turkey on February 14 to deliver a keynote address on why innovation is essential in higher education at the EURIE Eurasia Higher Education Summit. Attendees from around the world travelled to the EURIE Summit to learn and discuss topics that ranged from women’s leadership in higher education to student mobility and international cooperation.

What’s next on the President’s schedule?

The President will be paying close attention to the federal budget that will be tabled Tuesday, February 27, to monitoring the potential impacts the new budget could have on the University and its students, faculty, staff and alumni as we move further into 2018.

On Thursday, March 1, the President is traveling to Quebec City with Associate Vice-President of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, for the “All in: Advancing diversity in the academy” workshop, hosted by Universities Canada. President Hamdullahpur will kick off the session by sharing insights from the University of Waterloo’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, as well as moderate a panel discussion with other university president’s from across Canada on the subject.

On Friday, March 2, the annual International Women’s Day Dinner will be hosted at Fed Hall where President Hamdullahpur will be taking part in honouring women, and those who identify as women, in Canada and around the world, and will welcome our keynote speaker Charmaine Dean, Vice-President, University Research.

Football gala will be held on March 2

This article was originally featured on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Join Waterloo Warriors Football family and friends, including Head Coach Chris Bertoia, the coaching staff and student-athletes, for a great night of stories, tributes and celebrations in support of Waterloo Warriors Football.

Hear a season recap from Coach Bertoia, get inspired by our special guest speaker, support the program through our one-of-a-kind silent auction, and help us usher in our newest additions to the Ring of Honour: Tim Pickett (1974-1977), Mike Malott (1992-1996), Paul Sguigna (1995-2001) and Chris Best (2005-2007).

The MC of the evening will be Mike Hogan while the keynote speaker will be Henry Burris. A 25-year veteran of Toronto sports radio, Hogan has been the play-by-play voice of the CFL's Argonauts for a dozen years and has also called 13 Vanier Cup games. A columnist for OUA.ca, Hogan serves as the President of the Football Reporters of Canada.

Burris is a three-time Grey Cup Champion having won two titles with the Calgary Stampeders (1998, 2008) and one with the Ottawa Redblacks (2016). Burris won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2010 and 2015. At the time of his retirement Burris was third in all-time CFL passing yards and passing touchdowns.

While playing in the CFL, he was also a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats and spent time in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Prior to his professional career, he played college football with the Temple Owls. Currently Henry is the co-host of CTV Morning Live in Ottawa.

For more information on the gala and how to buy tickets check out the Athletics and Recreation website. 

Remembering retirees and Wednesday's notes

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Wolfgang Rautenberg died on February 13 at the age of 65.  Rautenberg joined the University of Waterloo as a Stationery Engineer IV in Plant Operations on July 29, 1991.  After working with the University for 25 years,  Rautenberg retired August 1, 2017. Predeceased by his brother and parents, Rautenberg also leaves behind his wife Dianne of 42-years, two children and four grand-children.

The Bombshelter Pub now has an express lunch menu that will fill you up and get back to work in about 30 minutes. Featuring new items such as the Jerk Chicken Po’Boy, Torpedo Wrap and many more.

Plant Operations is reporting that the Student Life Centre will be without heating services today from 8:00 a.m. to 12:01 p.m. as valve maintenance is carried out. Stay warm!