Craig Stephenson, a recovering lawyer, brings a unique blend of academic training in the social sciences and law, combined with extensive teaching and curriculum development experience at the college and university levels to his role as a professor in and Coordinator for the Police Foundations program at Conestoga College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science with a major in Anthropology form McMaster University, complemented by a Juris Doctor degree in Law, from the University of Toronto.

At Conestoga College, he played a key role in designing the Post-Graduate Paralegal Program and developing and teaching law courses for the Community and Criminal Justice Degree program. He is currently Subject Matter Lead on the development of a proposed three-year Bachelor of Police Studies degree. 

As Coordinator of the Protection, Security, and Investigation (1st year) and Police Foundations (2nd year) programs, he led the initiative to separate the shared first year into two distinct programs. This involved identifying and aligning Vocational Learning Outcomes and redeveloping and creating courses to meet those outcomes. He also contributed to the development of Virtual Reality Simulations for scenario-based learning in the Police Foundations Program.

In his role as Chair of the Ontario Justice and Public Safety Coordinators Committee, he provided focussed insight to with the Public Safety Chairs Committee developing new Vocational Learning Outcomes for Police Foundations Programs across Ontario colleges. Additionally, he organized and led the first-ever Community Safety Career Symposium in collaboration with the Talent Development and Career Services office. This event successfully connected students with industry stakeholders to explore career opportunities in community safety and is now set to become an annual event.

At the end of every year, Conestoga’s Police Foundations students are recognized at a ceremony hosted by faculty and industry partners. Students win a Waterloo Region Police Service Scholarship and awards in Chief Harold Basse Education, fitness achievement, strong academic performance and mentorship.

Craig Stephenson, professor and co-ordinator of Conestoga’s two-year Police Foundations diploma, views the gathering as an opportunity to inspire positive change with students. He initiates this in class by structuring student-led activities and discussions on real-world situations with varying viewpoints.

“Students do their best work when they’re really engaged in lessons, which they end up being recognized for at the year-end ceremony,” said Craig. “I’ve gotten away from traditional PowerPoint lecture teaching. Rather than just talk about a topic, I’ll ask students to complete an anonymous survey before class on what we’re about to learn. Their responses build the class discussions. This setup has helped students a lot – I see it from their ideas, questions and positions I hadn’t considered.”

Designing Learning Paths with Surveys, Small Groups, and Open Dialogue

“The surveys have 15 to 20 true or false questions. Students then attend a class that best suits what they already know,” Craig continued. “It exposes me to their current thinking and allows me to guide them to the proper channels. It’s been successful and students enjoy it.”

In two sections of Craig’s courses, he asked students their perspectives on revising a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The majority of one section argued in favour of the revision, while the other section opposed. Craig’s goal is not to convince students their perspectives are incorrect, but for them to consider other students’ views.

“There are often challenges with getting students to talk comfortably in class. There’s usually a go-to group always willing to share ideas, but we want to get everyone involved,” said Craig. “One way is to place them in small groups. They’d settle on a point and assign a group member to write it on the whiteboard or a Mentimeter quiz. Everyone starts to participate because they have an invested interest in clarifying a position.”

Creating a Meaningful Student Recognition System

“We have a number of awards and categories given by the Police Foundations program and sponsors from the outside,” said Craig. “The process for winning each one is different: there’s a fitness award for students most committed to training or demonstrating leadership. We also have an award for successful investigation for next year, and, eventually, a human rights award for students who volunteer.”

Police Foundations students nominate peers for leadership and valedictorian awards, the latter of which are voted for by the graduating second-year class. There are several sponsored awards from the Waterloo Region Police Service (WRPS) to recognize student leadership and honour women in policing. Students apply by submitting their cover letter and resume to the WRPS deputy chief.

“I talk about these awards with students throughout the two years we’re together. The women in policing awards acknowledge challenges, and the former police chief’s award recognizes commitment and innovation in policing,” Craig explained. “Students interested in the former chief’s award write essays that I send anonymously to faculty volunteers who vote for the nominees.”

Advice to Faculty – Use Supports Available at Conestoga

Police Foundations faculty regularly review course content and exchange ideas on teaching practices. Craig suggests that faculty attend Learning and Development workshops and utilize the Career Services department for students’ benefit.

“We met with Career Services a few years ago. They now fully organize a career fair for first responders (who Police Foundations students become) every October. It only takes an e-mail to someone to get this started. I set up an Instagram account for our program and Corporate Communications gave me tips on best practices. I use this as an additional way to communicate with students. It was daunting at first, but when I talked to people available at the college, it became easier.”