About Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning Conestoga is a group of committed educators, consultants, technologists, and support staff dedicated to developing teaching among the Conestoga community.

Leadership Team

Vice President, Academic

Dr. Paula F. Gouveia joined Conestoga College in October 2023 as the Vice President, Academic Administration, and moved into the role of Vice President, Academic in May of 2024.  Prior to joining Conestoga, she served as Vice-President, Academic at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario where she focused on teaching and learning excellence, strategic enrolment management, program quality, and institutional research.  

Director, Faculty Development

Laura Stoutenburg, M.A., OCELT, has over 20 years of teaching experience in languages and TESL training. She has served as Chair of the Conestoga Language Institute and coordinated several Conestoga programs. Laura specializes in intercultural teaching, language acquisition and serves as lead for the full-time faculty mentoring program.

Director, SOTL, Teaching Innovation and Assessment

Sherri Steele, Ph.D. (Medical Science), has has been an educator and leader in the Ontario College system for her entire career. She completed a PhD in Medical Science from the University of Toronto. Sherri specializes in coordinating our micro credentials and assessment topics among different schools.

Consultants and Support Staff

Teaching and Learning Consultant

Nasreen Sultana, Ph.D. (Education), has worked and taught in post-secondary education for a decade, previously at Queen’s University. She leads part time faculty mentoring, and supports diversity and inclusion among faculty and students. Nasreen specializes in intercultural communication and active learning strategies and techniques to support internationalized classrooms.

Teaching Innovation Consultant

Elan Paulson, Ph.D., has served as an educator in Ontario’s higher education system since 2004. Before joining Conestoga in 2020, Elan led community engagement at eCampusOntario and hybrid and online professional education program delivery at Western University’s Faculty of Education. Elan specializes in research, collaboration, and practice with technology innovations in teaching, including asynchronous online course delivery.

Teaching and Learning Consultant

Sara Kafashan, Ph.D. (Applied Social Psychology), has worked in post-secondary education since 2009, teaching in various provinces across Canada. She has developed curriculum and completed research on topics such as homelessness, mental health, and disabilities. Sara specializes in bringing a lens of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, as well as a focus on student well-being to teaching and learning. 

Educational Technology Consultant

Jesslyn Wilkinson, M.Ed, OCT, connects her 10 years of teaching experience to her role in researching and promoting appropriate technologies to enhance pedagogical practices. She is a Google and Microsoft certified trainer with specialty in assistive learning technologies. Jesslyn specializes in collaborations and research related to emergent technologies and tech-enabled learning experiences.

Teaching and Learning Consultant

Lauren Spring, Ph.D. (Adult Education and Community Development), has over 15 years of teaching experience with several different Ontario universities and as an Art Educator with the AGO. She has researched and published on such subjects as: critical disability and mad studies, trauma work, research-based theatre, role-play simulations, and arts-based approaches to adult education and community engagement.

Assessment of Learning Consultant

Ada Sharpe, Ph.D. (English and Film Studies), has worked in faculty and support staff roles in the post-secondary sector for over a decade. She has taught and researched in literary studies and writing studies and co-led a university writing centre. Ada specializes in understanding how assessment shapes the teaching and learning experience for faculty and students.

Teaching and Learning Consultant

Adrienne Vanthuyne, Ph.D. (Education, Applied Linguistics), OCT, has been an educator for over 20 years. Her research areas focus on language and literacy development, and intercultural communication and teaching. She has previously taught at Western University, Fanshawe College, and The USQ (Australia). Adrienne specializes in teaching and learning for international students and faculty development.

Assessment of Learning Consultant

Monsurat Omobola Raji, Ph.D. (Educational Assessment and Teaching Pedagogies) has facilitated teaching, learning, and assessment workshops for both new and experienced faculty. She brings her international education background and career experiences from studying, teaching, and consulting in different education systems and levels to work at Conestoga.

Teaching and Learning Consultant

Marcia Chaudet, Ph.D. (Biological Sciences), has worked in post-secondary education since 2010. She has experience teaching and supporting teaching development with her work at the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. Before joining Teaching & Learning, Marcia led a team of instructional designers in Conestoga’s Online Learning Centre in the development of fully asynchronous courses. She brings this experience to her consultations, observations and support in Teaching and Learning.

Consultant, Universal Design for Learning

Glenn Wagner Ph.D. (Education & Knowledge Building) brings several decades of experience from the secondary school system as a science educator, Program Leader in STEM, and workshop developer for teaching faculty. Glenn works within the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework bringing his wealth of instructional experience to promote inclusive and collaborative learning.

Assessment of Learning Consultant

David Baidoo-Anu, Ph.D. (Education),brings vast professional experience as a researcher, educator, and assessment specialist, particularly within the contexts of North America (especially Canada and the USA) and Africa. He has previously taught courses such as Educational Statistics, Educational Assessment, Educational Research Methods, Evaluation of Teaching and Learning, Psychological Foundations of Education, and several other educational courses. Dr. Baidoo-Anu has also worked as an educational and assessment specialist and consultant with international organizations such as the World Bank, Educational Testing Services (ETS), and others.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Consultant

Launa Gauthier, Ph.D. (Education) has been an educator for over 20 years. Over this time, she has worked in K-12 international schools and in post-secondary contexts in several different countries. She completed her PhD at Queen’s University. Her research areas focus teaching and learning and student-faculty partnerships in higher education/post-secondary. Launa specializes in developing and supporting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research initiatives.  

Teaching and Learning Coordinator

Wesley Butler, B.PR, B.A. Comm and Cert. Post-Sec Teaching, brings a breadth of experience as a communications specialist to Teaching and Learning. In his time with T&L, he has launched multimedia outreach initiatives to promote educator development opportunities, including a weekly e-newsletter and a feature-length success story series on accomplishments from Conestoga faculty.

Educational Technology Officer

Taylor Wilson, Hons B.A.A., diploma in Media, is a web specialist and educator. Having administrated high-impact websites and digital properties for large organizations, their objective within technology is to connect audiences and improve user experience. As Educational Technology Officer at Conestoga, their focus is to assist faculty with technology solutions and facilitate innovative course delivery methods in a digital era. 

Educational Technology Officer

Evelyn Schmidt, B.Ed, has worked in education at both elementary and post-secondary levels, and uses her experience to support the implementation of teaching technologies in the classroom. Evelyn brings a passion for student engagement and accessibility to her faculty support and workshops, specializing in interactive teaching technologies.. 

Photo of Abimbola Adebola.

Abimbola Adebola

Administrative Assistant

Abimbola Adebola PMP, B.Sc. Geology, PGD in Global Business Management and Project Management. She brings a wealth of experience spanning over a decade as an administrative specialist, project manager, and relationship manager in several industries, including the educational sector. Abimbola is a member of the Project Management Institute and is also a certified project management professional (PMP). In her time with the teaching and learning department, she has successfully managed several workshops for faculty development, including delivering email communication to faculty and initiating registration of workshops on the student information system portal.

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