TEACHING

My teaching philosophy is crafted out of my life long experiences as both a learner and teacher. My philosophy draws upon elements of constructivism, phenomenology and a concern with social justice. Through my teaching practice, and my research partnerships, I resist notions of education that utilize an industrial model of schooling built upon outcomes and measurement. I believe that such practices reduce students to letter grades or scores on a piece of paper while subjugating a love of learning for learning's sake. Instead, I try to enact a vision of education in which the essence of learning is grounded in experience, in caring social relations, and in open and sincere relationships between teachers and students as members of a community.

My teaching involves both undergraduate and graduate courses in the Faculty of Education, along with graduate student supervision. I taught directed studies in 2008 and 2009 and, more recently, “New Media & New Literacies for a Changing World,” as part of the Faculty’s 2010 Summer Institute. I supervised five graduate students to completion during the 2009-2010 academic year and served on committees for two more.