For me, teaching is just as much an opportunity to learn from students as it is to educate them. I'm at my best when I am working with students to generate new insights and I try to design authentic learning experiences for my students whenever possible.
My courses emphasize transferable skills that students can use throughout their degree, in the workplace, and in their daily lives. My hope is that students will develop the confidence and critical thinking necessary to make their voices heard. At the same time, I encourage students to listen to others and appreciate the value of diverse perspectives.
Since coming to Waterloo, my teaching has focused more and more on how to collaborate in diverse teams and across disciplinary boundaries. Furthermore, as part of my educational work:
I regularly collaborate with undergraduate students to create new teaching and learning initiatives. For example, I worked with several students from Knowledge Integration to design a new university-wide course, INTEG 210: Making Collaboration Work. This course offers UW students from outside KI the opportunity learn theories and best practices for successful teamwork while working in interdisciplinary teams.
I also conduct Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research both to improve the effectiveness of my own courses and to create research-based materials for instructors interested in improving students' collaborative experiences. My SoTL work has been funded by a number of teaching grants at the University of Waterloo (see below).
Teaching Awards
- OUSA Teaching Excellence Award, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, 2022.
- OCUFA Teaching Award, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, 2021.
- Distinguished Teacher Award, University of Waterloo, 2016.
Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) Grants
- Co-PI (with Carrie Mitchell and Christine Logel), “WiSER@Waterloo: Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Practices for Student Wellbeing, Belonging, and Equity,” $7500, 2024-26.
- PI (with Scott Anderson, Centre for Teaching Excellence, UW), “Building Capacity to Teach Collaborative Skills at the University of Waterloo”, $4000, 2019-21.
- PI (with Christine Logel, Social Development Studies, UW), “Closing the Collaborative Skills Gap: Assessing the Effectiveness of a University-Wide Course Designed to Teach Students How to Collaborate in Diverse Groups,” $4970, 2018-19.
- PI (with Georgia LaMarre, Akanksha Madan, Shane Morgenstein, Knowledge Integration, UW), “Breaking Down Barriers: A Student-Led Workshop on Interdisciplinary Collaboration,” $5000, 2015-16.
