Kyle Christie Empowers Students with Video Lessons, Interactive Learning and Goal-Setting

Kyle Christie is a Digital Media Professor and coordinator of the Broadcasting Performance and Digital Media program at Conestoga College. Recognized for his excellence in teaching, Christie was awarded the 2024 Aubrey Hagar Distinguished Teaching Award. With over 15 years of experience as a TV journalist for CTV News and CP24, he brings real-world insights into his courses on Entrepreneurship, On-Camera Performance, and Creating Media Content. Christie is also the founder of See Your House Now, a real estate marketing agency based in Waterloo Region.

Kyle Christie took online and remote learning as an opportunity to re-frame his lessons so students remain engaged and fully understand the course material.

Even after many courses returned to in-person delivery when pandemic restrictions were lifted, Kyle has maintained the same structure across all his courses and sees ongoing student success.

Implementing a “Lesson, Task, Q&A” Framework in Lessons

“Whether I teach in person or online, all my classes consist of a 45-minute to one-hour lesson on the day’s topic, and then students are sent out of the classroom to practice what was taught. Much of the content is video production, so students can use cameras, frame and execute interviews on video,” said Kyle. “When students come back, I work with them on the edits and then they hand it in.”

Kyle’s lessons allow students to receive real-time feedback on their work before submitting it for a grade. He has seen an incredibly positive impact on students, who have reported feeling supported and comfortable asking questions to receive a higher grade. When there’s an assignment worth a significant portion of a student’s grade (usually more than 20 per cent), Kyle has a mandatory one-on-one consultation prior to the due date so students can achieve as close to 100 per cent as possible.

“I’ve found many students take advantage of these consultations,” said Kyle. “When they submit their assignments a week after they meet with me, they always get good grades and succeed in the course. If students don’t attend the consultation, I note this in their assignment feedback, emphasizing how these consultations are meant to give new ideas.”

Creating Video Lessons for Online Learning

During and after the pandemic (since many of Kyle’s classes are delivered in person), Kyle created and implemented short videos with a week’s topic content to keep students engaged and help them apply the material as they would in a workplace environment.

Six days before a class, Kyle develops a video relating to the next lesson and posts it in eConestoga. “This allows students to get a head start on a concept and practice before the formal class,” said Kyle. “My goal is to accommodate diverse learning preferences so all students can feel like they’ll succeed in my class.

Students’ Personal Development and Goal Setting

As part of Kyle’s teaching philosophy, he wants to create an opportunity for students to set goals. Along with watching video lessons and taking time to reflect and ask questions before submitting an assignment, Kyle wants to recognize that each student’s upcoming career path is unique, and their reasons for completing the Broadcast Performance and Digital Media program may differ from those of another student.

“In all my first classes, I teach a lesson on setting professional goals, so I have an idea of where students see themselves after college,” said Kyle. “Every student has their vision of success. Do they want to join a newscast? Do they want to own a business? We’ll work together to design a map, so to speak so that students can achieve their goals with my support as their professor.”

By following clear directions and steps to reaching goals, Kyle has seen students pass the course with high grades and realize what they truly want to do. One student’s goal was to be an anchor for a television station, so Kyle encouraged them to send news story samples to Omni Television based in Toronto. After graduating from Conestoga, the student became a full-time reporter for Omni and has worked there since.