Early Career Teaching Award

Early Career Teaching Award / en U of T shines a spotlight on exceptional educators at Excellence in Teaching reception /news/u-t-shines-spotlight-exceptional-educators-excellence-teaching-reception <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T shines a spotlight on exceptional educators at Excellence in Teaching reception</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-9-CROP.jpg?h=81d682ee&itok=cI-2VkXz 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-9-CROP.jpg?h=81d682ee&itok=1Oa10HYI 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-9-CROP.jpg?h=81d682ee&itok=bQoimwph 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-9-CROP.jpg?h=81d682ee&itok=cI-2VkXz" alt=""""> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-11-27T13:02:53-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 27, 2024 - 13:02" class="datetime">Wed, 11/27/2024 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><i>U of T Vice-President and Provost Trevor Young (centre) poses with Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award recipients, from left to right: Jasty Singh, Spyridon Kotsovilis, S. Trimble and Roberta K. Timothy (photo by Polina Teif)</i></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/trevor-young" hreflang="en">Trevor Young</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/early-career-teaching-award" hreflang="en">Early Career Teaching Award</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts & Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/women-and-gender-studies" hreflang="en">Women and Gender Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>At the ��߲ݴ�ý, teaching is about much more than just imparting knowledge – it’s an engaging, dynamic and creative process that expands and enriches the way students think, preparing them for future success in academics and their careers.</p> <p>The recent Excellence in Teaching reception hosted by U of T’s Office of the Provost recognized the fundamental importance of teaching to the university’s mission. In particular, it honoured five faculty members who received <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-of-toronto-early-career-teaching-award/#section_0">Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Awards</a>, which were recently renamed in honour of <strong>Cheryl Regehr</strong> – Young’s <a href="/news/incredible-leadership-u-t-provost-cheryl-regehr-leaves-enduring-legacy">predecessor as vice-president and provost</a>, a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and a longtime champion of teaching excellence and innovation at U of T.</p> <p>“These awards recognize burgeoning talent among our most junior faculty. We expect – and we know from experience – that these recipients will continue to lead and excel in teaching,” <strong>Trevor Young</strong>, U of T’s vice-president and provost said at the Nov. 4 event held at the Faculty Club.</p> <p>The event also featured the presentation of the <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-of-toronto-global-educator-award/">Global Educator Award</a>, which recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies U of T’s global mission by incorporating intercultural and international perspectives.</p> <p>“I’m extremely proud of U of T for many reasons,” Young said, “and one of them is what’s evident here today, which is the immense talent and experience of our faculty as well as their deep commitment to our university, to our students, to knowledge [and] to research. All that you’re doing is really incredible.”</p> <p><em>U of T News</em> spoke with all six award winners about their approach to educating students:</p> <hr> <h3>Spyridon Kotsovilis</h3> <p><em>Assistant professor, teaching stream – department of political science, U of T Mississauga</em></p> <p><em>Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-4-CROP.jpg?itok=5qPk70Bo" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“I design and conduct my classes so that they engage, motivate and empower our students to connect and interact with the material and their peers in inclusive and respectful ways towards learning and achieving their academic goals.</p> <p>“I feel honoured and humbled by the recognition; as teaching is a collective effort, it also belongs to all those who make it possible – from the administration, to the division, to my department and colleagues, to staff across different units, centres and libraries, to the campus maintenance personnel. Ultimately, this is about our students, and I would like to accept this award on behalf of them.”</p> <h3>Alison Olechowski</h3> <p><em>Associate professor – department of mechanical and industrial engineering and Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering and Practice (ISTEP), Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering</em></p> <p><em>Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/0S1A1430-crop.jpg?itok=hq7GULrT" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Liz Do)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“I’m very proud to receive this recognition for my teaching – I believe that teaching is a major channel through which I can have impact in my career, and so I strive to do it well. In my teaching I aim to bring the course content to life, so that my students can understand why they’re learning what they’re learning, and how it connects to the real world and their futures.”</p> <h3>Jasty Singh</h3> <p><em>Associate professor, teaching stream – department of immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine</em></p> <p><em>Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-5-CROP.jpg?itok=p11tDS0S" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“My approach to teaching is heavily influenced by my own experiences as an undergraduate student, and subsequently a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow at the ��߲ݴ�ý. I’ve always believed that learning happens everywhere – not just in the classroom. My goal is to create inclusive and engaging learning atmospheres that foster personal connections, encourage interdisciplinary exploration and promote ongoing intellectual curiosity.</p> <p>“Receiving this recognition was both an exciting and a deeply validating experience for me – I see it as a reflection of the collaborative efforts of our administrative and teaching support staff, teaching assistants, colleagues and students in the department of immunology.”</p> <h3>Roberta K. Timothy</h3> <p><em>Assistant professor, teaching stream – Dalla Lana School of Public Health</em></p> <p><em>Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-3-CROP.jpg?itok=iiC8L9ub" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“I am extremely moved and honoured to be recognized for my teaching, particularly for the work I have dedicated my life to – intersectional, decolonizing, anti-racist, anti-oppression praxis, focusing on Black health and intentionally marginalized populations. </p> <p>“I believe that teaching is one of the most powerful mechanisms to create critical social justice learning and unlearning through creative and actionable change. My teaching is influenced by my over 30 years in community health and activism. It is ancestrally anointed and community led. My hope is that the next generations can continue to create systems and practices that provide healing and wellness for African/Black populations, and that public health can work in solidarity with empathy and deep respect for our health issues and outcomes.”</p> <h3>S. Trimble</h3> <p><em>Assistant professor, teaching stream – Women & Gender Studies Institute, Faculty of Arts & Science</em></p> <p><em>Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-6-CROP.jpg?itok=Q3lxwGbS" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“As a teacher I always try to meet students where they are and unlock new ways of connecting with them. To do this, I’ve had to learn to be more vulnerable and playful in and beyond the classroom. This award is a welcome affirmation of my belief that play, creativity and community building are crucial components of teaching excellence.”</p> <h3>Phani Radhakrishnan</h3> <p><em>Associate professor, teaching stream – department of management, U of T Scarborough</em></p> <p><em>Global Educator Award</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-11/2024-11-04-Excellence-in-teaching_Polina-Teif-2-crop-.jpg?itok=v4d5Y-iB" width="750" height="500" alt="""" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>“I did not expect in my humblest dreams to receive the Global Educator Award from U of T. I grew up in Hyderabad, India, a big city that instills openness to different cultures. I encourage my domestic and international students at the ��߲ݴ�ý to be open-minded when doing business in a multi-cultural environment. My goal is to instill a global and sustainable mindset in my students.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:02:53 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 310652 at Meet five innovative U of T professors who are rethinking their classrooms /news/meet-five-innovative-u-t-professors-who-are-rethinking-their-classrooms <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Meet five innovative U of T professors who are rethinking their classrooms</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/early-career-teaching-awards-2022-group-v3.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=4YDyYAwC 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/early-career-teaching-awards-2022-group-v3.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=KEs4CgAY 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/early-career-teaching-awards-2022-group-v3.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=7CkHSyVB 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/early-career-teaching-awards-2022-group-v3.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=4YDyYAwC" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-04-18T14:08:47-04:00" title="Monday, April 18, 2022 - 14:08" class="datetime">Mon, 04/18/2022 - 14:08</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">From left to right: Funké Aladejebi, Sherry Fukuzawa, Obidimma Ezezika, Angela Mashford-Pringle and Keith Adamson are recipients of the ��߲ݴ�ý Early Career Teaching Award.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tina-adamopoulos" hreflang="en">Tina Adamopoulos</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/early-career-teaching-award" hreflang="en">Early Career Teaching Award</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hart-house-farm" hreflang="en">Hart House Farm</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/black" hreflang="en">Black</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cheryl-regehr" hreflang="en">Cheryl Regehr</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/factor-inwentash-faculty-social-work" hreflang="en">Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts & Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/indigenous" hreflang="en">Indigenous</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span style="background:white">From drawing on Indigenous ways of knowing to making space for diverse voices and perspectives, five ��߲ݴ�ý professors are being recognized for their efforts to inspire students and make learning more engaging and inclusive.</span></p> <p>The recipients of this year’s ��߲ݴ�ý Early Career Teaching Award – <strong>Funké Aladejebi</strong>, <strong>Keith Adamson</strong>, <strong>Angela Mashford-Pringle</strong>, <strong>Obidimma Ezezika</strong> and <strong>Sherry Fukuzawa</strong> – have worked to enhance the student experience through community-engaged, land-based and experiential learning opportunities.</p> <p><span style="background:white">The award is given to faculty in the early stages of their careers who exemplify teaching innovation, pedagogical engagement and an exceptional commitment to student learning.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Embracing a diversity of perspectives and the innovations that flow from them is key to realizing U of T’s goal of achieving inclusive excellence – and that often begins in the classroom,” says <b>Cheryl Regehr</b>, U of T’s vice-president and provost.</span></p> <p>“By demonstrating their unwavering commitment to enriching students’ academic experiences, each of this year’s Early Career Teaching Award winners is helping to ensure U of T is not only delivering an unmatched educational experience but is ultimately preparing graduates to make the sort of changes our world so desperately needs.”</p> <p><span style="background:white">Here’s how this year’s winners are innovating in the classroom and beyond:</span></p> <hr> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="background:white">Funké Aladejebi</span></h3> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><img alt="Funké Aladejebi" src="/sites/default/files/Funke-Aladejebi-headshot.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Funké Aladejebi (photo by Cameron Fitch)</span></em></div> </div> <p><span style="background:white">For Aladejebi, history is not just about the past – it’s about building a better future, too.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">The assistant professor in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science supported efforts to create a new certificate in<a href="https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/black-canadian-studies#:~:text=The%252520Certificate%252520in%252520Black%252520Canadian,Our%252520classes%252520are%252520small."> </a><a href="https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/black-canadian-studies#:~:text=The%252520Certificate%252520in%252520Black%252520Canadian,Our%252520classes%252520are%252520small.">Black Canadian Studies</a> in the Canadian Studies program at University College shortly after she joined the university. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">The first-of-its-kind certificate at U of T was launched last fall and fosters an interdisciplinary approach to understanding Black life in Canada. It focuses on systemic barriers through the lens of politics, judicial systems and the arts, as well as the historical and contemporary implications of anti-Black racism in Canada.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“The goal has been, and continues to be, to make interventions in the ways that we talk about Blackness in Canada and ask critical questions about how we represent the Black Canadian experience,” says Aladejebi, a historian of the 20<sup>th</sup> century whose research focuses on oral histories, Canada’s education system and Black Canadian history.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“There is an incredible diversity and plethora of research, scholarship and expertise of people who are doing this work in Canada. I hope this leaves students motivated to pursue it. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">In an effort to promote interdisciplinary research, students must also take courses in women and gender studies, the department of English, and Caribbean studies, to name a few.</span></p> <p>Foundational to the program is “<a href="https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/his265y1">Black Canadian History,</a>” a second-year course that Aladejebi created and teaches. It encapsulates 300 years of Black life, including early settlement, Black liberation, immigration and racism in Canada.</p> <p><span style="background:white">Aladejebi hopes both the certificate and course encourages representation in higher education as well as interdisciplinary collaborations – values that form the core of her teaching philosophy. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“At times, within the academy, we represent Black Canadian history as optional, but the program legitimizes how we can do this as a primary focus of research and that it’s worthy of critical scholarship and analysis,” Aladejebi says. “This is one kind of intervention where students, researchers and scholars are creating spaces where racialized students can see themselves as part of U of T.”</span></p> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="background:white">Keith Adamson</span></h3> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><img alt="Keith Adamson" src="/sites/default/files/KAdamson-e1593186953735-headshot.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Keith Adamson (photo courtesy of </span></em></div> <div><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work)</span></em></div> </div> <p><span style="background:white">Adamson was asked in 2018 to create a course that emphasized how social workers can better support people with disabilities.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">So, the assistant professor, teaching stream, in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, turned to his clients at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, where he was senior director of collaborative practice.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“I wanted to create a course that honoured the voices of clients and families within the system and prepare future social workers to be sensitive to client and family needs and disability issues, and advocate for clients,” he explains.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">The course, “Social Work and Disability Practice: A Client and Family Centered Approach” was co-created alongside community partners, PhD students, clients and their families to ensure that their lived experiences are reflected in the course content.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Recognized as the first of its kind in Canada by the Ontario Hospital Association, the course brings in six clients or families to actively participate in the teaching process for the entire semester. Adamson says that moving away from traditional lectures highlights the contradiction or relevance of theories when applied in real life and creates an avenue for students and client and family co-teachers to co-create new knowledge and questions about care.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">In the course’s final class, students present a topic in disability studies that they are passionate about in a creative medium – such as poetry, music or comics. The project allows them to demonstrate their disability advocacy, which is a course objective. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“We established a community on the very first day,” Adamson says.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“The classroom has really become an arena for disability advocacy for the clients and families who come in to teach future social workers who will help people like them in the future.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“We didn’t wait until students reached the clinical realm to have these conversations with clients.”</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Such conversations underscore Adamson's overarching philosophy: deconstruct hierarchies within health care and academic institutions through collaborations that value social justice, equality and empowerment. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Relationships are essential to my teaching philosophy,” he says. “For me, the educational alliance is caring about your students and helping them be the best clinician possible.” </span></p> <h3><span style="background:white">Angela Mashford-Pringle</span></h3> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><img alt="Angela Mashford-Pringle" src="/sites/default/files/IMG_E0767-headshot.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Angela Mashford-Pringle (photo by Victoria </span></em></div> <div><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Pringle and styling by Frankie Pringle)</span></em></div> </div> <p><span style="background:white">As the<a href="/news/dalla-lana-s-indigenous-health-lead-angela-mashford-pringle-wants-create-safe-and-welcoming"> </a><a href="/news/dalla-lana-s-indigenous-health-lead-angela-mashford-pringle-wants-create-safe-and-welcoming">first Indigenous health lead</a> at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Mashford-Pringle wasted no time making changes.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Her largest project has been at the Hart House Farm in Caledon, Ont., where a facelift of the Ignatieff House included an accessibility ramp and door, a main floor wheelchair-accessible bathroom, kitchen renovation and new floors. This year, new student cabins and outdoor furniture are being added. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">The farm is the site for “Indigenous Health,”<a href="/news/healing-begins-land-how-u-t-s-dalla-lana-school-public-health-indigenizing-teaching-public"> </a><a href="/news/healing-begins-land-how-u-t-s-dalla-lana-school-public-health-indigenizing-teaching-public">U of T’s first land-based learning course</a>, a requirement for the<a href="https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/program/mph-indigenous-health/"> </a><a href="https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/program/mph-indigenous-health/">masters in public health - Indigenous health</a> (MPH-IH) program and the<a href="https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/institutes/wiih/collaborative-specialization-in-indigenous-health/#:~:text=The%252520main%252520objective%252520of%252520the,Indigenous%252520peoples%25252C%252520communities%252520and%252520organizations."> </a><a href="https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/institutes/wiih/collaborative-specialization-in-indigenous-health/#:~:text=The%252520main%252520objective%252520of%252520the,Indigenous%252520peoples%25252C%252520communities%252520and%252520organizations.">collaborative specialization in Indigenous health</a> (CSIH) program.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">The week-long intensive course is one of the first in Canada to focus on health and the land.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“I hope Indigenous and non-Indigenous faculty and students will want to visit to learn from the land – about Indigenous issues and health – by seeing what the territories were used for traditionally,” says Mashford-Pringle, the course’s instructor.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">In addition to lectures, students spend time with Elders and knowledge keepers on nature walks and participate in fire ceremonies. They also learn about the role of the land in Indigenous culture and well-being, and how displacement affects the health of Indigenous communities.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“The Indigenous definition of health is that you have balance in your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual self in your family, community and nation,” says Mashford-Pringle, adding that the course’s powerful sense of community was preserved when it<a href="/news/land-based-learning-online-how-one-u-t-professor-reimagined-ground-breaking-course-amid-covid"> </a><a href="/news/land-based-learning-online-how-one-u-t-professor-reimagined-ground-breaking-course-amid-covid">moved online</a> two years ago due to the pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Land-based learning is about getting out of the capitalism, consumerism and individualism that we’re used to. It’s the idea of reconnecting to the environment that we live in.”</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">In May, the MPH-IH program will return to the farm for two courses – “Indigenous Health” and “Indigenous Food Systems Environment and Health”<i> – </i>for two weeks. A new course developed by Mashford-Pringle called<i> </i>“Indigenous Social Determinants of Health”<i> </i>will also launch at U of T Mississauga, where she plans to host land-based courses.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Reflecting on the award, Mashford-Pringle says she hopes others will feel encouraged to introduce different ways of knowing and teaching at U of T.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“It’s important to teach from our heart, which is how I’ve been taught by my elders,” Mashford-Pringle says. “I hope people who have ideas outside of the colonial teaching and learning process will think about trying their possibilities.” </span></p> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="background:white">Obidimma Ezezika</span></h3> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><span style="background:white"><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Color-Portrait-Ezezika-002-headshot.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Obidimma Ezezika (photo courtesy of U of T<br> Scarborough)</span></em></span></div> </div> <p><span style="background:white">An expert on implementation science and global health, Ezezika strives to ensure that the knowledge created in his classroom can be applied to the real world in a meaningful way.</span></p> <p>Using his work as a previous Grand Challenges Fellow and working experience in several African countries, Ezezika developed “<a href="https://utsc.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/hltd28h3">Innovations for Global Health</a>” in 2018. The experiential learning course focuses on developing technological and social innovations in low and middle-income countries. Notably, it links students to Toronto-based global health organizations, including <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.ca/">Grand Challenges Canada</a>.</p> <p><span style="background:white">“The goal of the course is to bring students into that kind of global health practice,” says Ezezika, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of health and society at U of T Scarborough.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“I asked, ‘How can I simulate my experiences? How can I leverage some of my stakeholders over the last 10 years and bring them to the classroom?’”’</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Throughout the course, guest speakers talk about business models, stakeholder engagement and ethics, and offer advice on how to tap into a target audience to frame a global health problem – ranging from maternal health to sanitation and hygiene.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Key to the course is a<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2373379920930723"> </a><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2373379920930723"><i>Dragons’ Den-</i></a><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2373379920930723">style assignment</a> that has students work in groups to develop and pitch a global health innovation to a panel of experts.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Students engaged with course content with such passion in just the first few weeks,” Ezezika says. “It was very fulfilling for me.”</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Ezezika’s teaching philosophy boils down to creating experiential learning opportunities that allow his students to thrive. That includes creating work-integrated learning courses where students have gone on to receive prizes, prestigious conference presentation invitations and awards. For example, <b>Selina Quibrantar</b>, through her work in two of these courses, received <a href="/celebrates/selina-quibrantar-wins-national-award-work-integrated-learning">Ontario and Canada-wide awards</a> in work-integrated and experiential learning.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">He has also created<a href="/news/u-t-prof-students-develop-award-winning-board-game-studying-public-health"> </a><a href="/news/u-t-prof-students-develop-award-winning-board-game-studying-public-health">an award-winning board game</a> that helps students digest health determinant concepts, and launched the<a href="https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/labs/globalhealthinnovationlab/"> Global Health and Innovation Lab</a>, which has trained dozens of undergraduate and graduate students and led to multiple co-authored journal articles by students. </span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Teaching is not just about the techniques and expertise you bring to the classroom,” Ezezika says. “It’s about the compassion and value you have for students. You can’t have an impact unless you truly care about your students' goals.”</span></p> <h3><span style="background:white">Sherry Fukuzawa</span></h3> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Fukuzawa-pic-%285%29-square_0.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 250px;"><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Sherry Fukuzawa (photo by Alison Dias)</span></em></div> </div> <p><span style="background:white">Fukuzawa believes in a holistic approach to education.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“To me, that means that there is an inclusive pedagogy, where there is an acceptance of different knowledge systems within the university,” says Fukuzawa, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of anthropology at U of T Mississauga.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Fukuzawa is a founding member of the Indigenous Action Group (IAG), an alliance of faculty and staff from U of T Mississauga and Indigenous scholars, knowledge keepers and elders from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The IAG’s mission is to honour the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation’s educational goals of truth through public knowledge, recognition of their history and reconciliation by adapting Indigenous knowledge systems to the university space.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“We want to fulfill the goals of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and change the post-secondary curriculum to include a respectful and equal acknowledgment of different knowledge systems and pluralistic ontologies,” Fukuzawa says.</span></p> <p>IAG has co-created a community-engaged learning course “<a href="https://experientiallearning.utoronto.ca/profiles/the-anthropology-and-indigenous-peoples-of-turtle-island-north-america-ant241/#:~:text=North%252520America)%25252C%252520ANT241-,The%252520Anthropology%252520and%252520Indigenous%252520Peoples%252520of%252520Turtle%252520Island%252520(North%252520America,Indigenous%252520scholars%25252C%252520administrators%252520and%252520faculty.">The Anthropology and Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island</a>,” (ANT241H) a second-year, land-based experiential learning opportunity that invites Anishinaabe scholars and Elders to teach students about the history of the land through a series of workshops and field trips.</p> <p><span style="background:white">Throughout the term, students learn about cosmology and epistemology, medicine and local plants along the Credit River and participate in an art-installation initiative called<a href="https://moccasinidentifier.com/"> </a><a href="https://moccasinidentifier.com/">The Moccasin Identifier</a> project. Led by Elder Carolyn King, the project acknowledges the historic sites, ancestral presence and language of First Nations, Metis and other Indigenous communities by placing stenciled moccasins on significant cultural heritage sites across the country.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Following Indigenous pedagogy, the IAG-created course is based on a critical reflexive methodology. Fukuzawa says this leaves room for students to determine their learning journey.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“It’s important to remember that Western educational systems are colonial institutions based on a hierarchy,” Fukuzawa says. “We want to introduce different knowledge systems and legitimize Indigenous knowledge systems and epistemologies.”</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Funded by a Connaught Community Partnerships Grant, established to create collaborative early-stage research partnerships between U of T and community partners, the last iteration of the course is set to run in September unless they can find additional funding to sustain it.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">Staying true to her teaching philosophy, Fukuzawa says such courses are the beginning of a larger – and necessary – shift in education.</span></p> <p><span style="background:white">“Students can have greater power to determine how they want to learn and where their learning journey is important in their own life experience, not just in academic learning, but in personal growth and social activism,” she says.</span></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 18 Apr 2022 18:08:47 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 174140 at U of T faculty recognized for enhancing student experience at annual Excellence in Teaching Reception /news/u-t-faculty-recognized-enhancing-student-experience-annual-excellence-teaching-reception <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"> U of T faculty recognized for enhancing student experience at annual Excellence in Teaching Reception</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/1018TeachingAwards003_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=qHuD46Gu 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/1018TeachingAwards003_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=Wjlvc608 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/1018TeachingAwards003_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=Mcmo6oF0 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/1018TeachingAwards003_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=qHuD46Gu" alt="From left to right: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President and Provost, Matthew Sergi, (with daughter Clio Glenn-Sergi) Anne McGuire,, and Toula Kourgiantakis, in the Gallery Grill "> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>perry.king</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-10-21T16:56:29-04:00" title="Monday, October 21, 2019 - 16:56" class="datetime">Mon, 10/21/2019 - 16:56</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">From left to right: Cheryl Regehr, vice-president and provost, Matthew Sergi with daughter Clio Glenn-Sergi, Anne McGuire and Toula Kourgiantakis (all photos by Nick Iwanyshyn)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/perry-king" hreflang="en">Perry King</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/early-career-teaching-award" hreflang="en">Early Career Teaching Award</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/human-biology" hreflang="en">Human Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cheryl-regehr" hreflang="en">Cheryl Regehr</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/english" hreflang="en">English</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/factor-inwentash-faculty-social-work" hreflang="en">Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts & Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hart-house" hreflang="en">Hart House</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/immunology" hreflang="en">Immunology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/new-college" hreflang="en">New College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Inside a crowded Hart House Gallery Grill, the ��߲ݴ�ý recognized some of its best and brightest teachers – and asked them to help further improve the U of T student experience.</p> <p>The reception, held every year, recognizes faculty members who have won teaching-related awards from U of T and external institutions.</p> <p><strong>Cheryl Regehr</strong>, U of T’s vice-president and provost, praised the dozens of teachers in attendence and congratulated them on their honours, noting that their work in the classroom plays a key role in helping U of T achieve a top global ranking and high marks <a href="/news/u-t-top-public-university-north-america-employability-times-higher-education-ranking">in graduate employability</a>.</p> <p>“The work that you do is incredible,” said Regehr, “and you have a profound impact on our students and the way in which they experience learning and are prepared for the world.” </p> <p>Regehr asked those in attendance to go further in their work. In addition to taking on more leadership and mentorship opportunities, she encouraged faculty to help U of T better connect with its students and suggested the award-winners lend their insights to departments and faculties to help enhance student and classroom spaces.</p> <p>“By changing policies, changing space and creating opportunities for connection, we can improve the lives of our students,” Regehr said.</p> <p>The reception formally presented plaques to <a href="/news/creativity-passion-and-genuine-sense-leadership-four-u-t-faculty-honoured-early-career-teaching">winners of this year’s Early Career Teaching Award</a>, which are given to faculty in the early stages of their career who go above and beyond to help students learn. Three of the four winners – <strong>Anne McGuire</strong>, <strong>Matthew Sergi</strong> and <strong>Toula Kourgiantakis – </strong>were in attendance to accepted their plaques.</p> <p><em>U of T News </em>asked the early-career award winners and three other faculty members at the event what they can do to continue enhancing the student experience at U of T. Here’s what they said:</p> <hr> <h4>Toula Kourgiantakis</h4> <p><em>Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work<br> Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards001_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Toula Kourgiantakis"></p> <p> </p> <p>“I want to continue being curious, I don’t want to stop. I continue reminding myself that even when you have been doing this for 10, 20, 30 years, I am still a learner myself. Yes, I am bringing in some of my knowledge, but I am also really interested and curious about [students’] knowledge and experiences.</p> <p>“I think that makes for a nice partnership and, hopefully, a springboard for students. It pulls out their strengths and helps them to actualize some of heir own strengths as they move forward in their own educational and professional careers.”</p> <h4>Matthew Sergi</h4> <p><em>Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Science<br> Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards005_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Matthew Sergi with daughter Clio Glenn-Sergi on his shoulders"></p> <p> </p> <p>“I believe that, for the humanities, there’s a number of crises where the humanities are asking itself what it’s for in new ways. I think that the primary growth edge of that conversation happens around accommodations of accessibility and disability in the classroom.</p> <p>“Given all the new media that we’re facing off with, it makes us start to pay attention to how to read and what it means to read. I am a professor of dramatic literature, so there’s questions about how the body reads, how the voice works, how the senses are involved in an active performance. Those correspond to questions that students with accommodation needs, their advocates and I have been working on – trying to figure out how to accommodate diverse students, with diverse modes of learning, in ways that are fundamentally part of the course.</p> <p>“In doing it, it makes it stronger for everyone. I’ve learned that in a new way this year.”</p> <h4>Anne McGuire</h4> <p><em>Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, New College<br> Early Career Teaching Award</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards006_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Anne McGuire"></p> <p> </p> <p>“I have been trying to build my courses around the principle of collective access, which is a practice in disability studies that really complicates the idea of individual accommodations by saying ‘Hey, we’re in this together, so how can instructors, TAs and students make and share a classroom that works for us, where we all can learn and be comfortable?</p> <p>“Collective access could be as simple as making a conscious effort to learn and use each other's names – even in the bigger courses – so that as a group we can feel more connected to each other and more invested in each other’s learning and perspectives."</p> <h4>Tania Watts</h4> <p><em>Professor, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine<br> JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award (co-winner)</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards002_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Tania Watts "></p> <p>“In the classroom, it’s really important to not just give [students] the facts, but to really give context. Also, trying to teach them the way to think about science and how to look at things. In the lab, I think it’s really important to teach them critical thinking, how you can be critical yet supportive at the same time. It’s not about a right or wrong answer, but doing the work well and trying to get the truth as opposed to what we think it should be.”</p> <h4>Shay Fuchs</h4> <p><em>Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, U of T Mississauga<br> ��߲ݴ�ý Mississauga Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellowship</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards004_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Shay Fuchs"></p> <p> </p> <p>“Enhancing the student experience – that really never ends. There’s always new things: The students are changing, the environment is changing, so the way I learned and the way people in my cohort were learning, in terms of pedagogy, doesn’t necessarily work for many of our students.</p> <p>“Keeping up to date and making changes and updates to our courses, the way we teach, how we use technology and being up to date about learning habits are key. This is something that really never ends and part of it is keeping up with changes in your clients and updating your methods and tools to make them more suitable for your students.”</p> <h4>Franco Taverna</h4> <p><em>Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science<br> Faculty of Arts & Science Outstanding Teaching Award</em></p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/1018TeachingAwards007_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Franco Taverna"></p> <p> </p> <p>“My focus, currently, has been on experiential learning in the community-engaged space and providing students more opportunities to learn in the community – to apply what they learn, apply their discipline knowledge in the community, to apply their passion and motivation to make a difference in other people’s lives.</p> <p>“Helping [students] build professional, community engagement, communication skills – these are all very important career development skills so they’re better prepared to move into careers and progress in their careers and be successful after graduation.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 21 Oct 2019 20:56:29 +0000 perry.king 159773 at