Faculty Teaching Award Winners

2024: Dr. Crystena Parker-Shandal

Crystena Parker-Shandal is this year’s recipient of the Renison Teaching Award. An Associate Professor in Social Development Studies (SDS), she has taught hundreds of students in her 8 years at Renison. Crystena is praised by her colleagues as a teacher who “is incredibly competent, responsive, and supportive” and who challenges others to be the best “learners, educators, and citizens.” Crystena’s exemplary teaching prioritizes relational pedagogy and community-based learning. Her innovative pedagogical approaches include peace circles and in-school ethnography centred on restorative justice and antiracism education. Crystena models what it means to be a caring and empathic educator who is an equity leader. Students credit her with enabling them to reach “their full potential” because she creates a community for learning that is safe, inclusive, and empowering. She is a transformative educator through her classroom teaching, her mentorship of students and colleagues, and her peace education scholarship. Renison is fortunate to have Crystena’s outstanding teaching further its mission to support student excellence and well-being.