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Author: Lauren Spring

Lauren Spring, PhD, has been a post-secondary educator since 2012. Before joining Conestoga as a Teaching and Learning Consultant, Lauren taught at Wilfrid Laurier, Brock, Ryerson, York, and the University of Toronto where she also completed her PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. She has also led workshops for students and faculty at colleges and universities across the country. Lauren holds an MA in International Development and has expertise in critical disability and mad studies, trauma work, research-based theatre, role-play simulations, and feminist and arts-based approaches to adult education and community engagement. Lauren has also worked as an educator at the Art Gallery of Ontario since 2008 where she designs and delivers art tours and workshops for elementary and high school students and diverse groups of adult learners.
December 11, 2025

Reflective Practice for Continuous Growth as an Educator

Reading Time: 6 minutes“We don’t learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience” (John Dewey). Reflective practice is the intentional process of examining your teaching experiences to learn and improve. It’s not about self-criticism or dwelling on mistakes—it’s about asking meaningful questions: What happened? Why did it happen? How did I and others feel in the moment? How do I feel about...
Categories Effective Teaching/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
November 6, 2025

Lifecycle of an accommodation

Reading Time: 7 minutesThis Hub post was written with assistance and advice from Shermeen Khan, Manager of Accessible Learning and Andreas Ponvia, Manager of Testing and Assessment Services Supporting Student Success Through Accessibility Accessibility is a cornerstone of inclusive education. At Conestoga, we are committed to ensuring that all students have equitable access to learning opportunities, in alignment with the Accessibility for Ontarians...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching Comments: 0
August 20, 2025

Why Social-Emotional Learning Matters in Post-Secondary Education 

Reading Time: 7 minutesSocial-Emotional Learning has always been an important part of both formal and “hidden” curriculums from pre-school through post secondary studies. Lately, however, as we grapple with questions about what distinguishes humans from generative AI tools, social-emotional learning (sometimes referred to as “soft skills”) has been front and centre in these conversations.   What is becoming increasingly clear for post-secondary graduates is...
Categories Effective Teaching/Learning & AI/Lesson & Course Planning/Reflective Practice Comment: 1
July 10, 2025

Teaching Critical Thinking   

Reading Time: 8 minutesCritical thinking has long been a foundational skill in post-secondary education, but in the 21st century—particularly in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)—it has been getting even more press than usual. Some have mused that our human ability to think critically is a key feature that distinguishes us from Large Language Models, and that GenAI use can undermine our reflexive capabilities and...
Categories Effective Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning/Student Engagement & Communication/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
June 18, 2025

Lights, Camera, Learn! Best Practices For Sharing Videos During Class  

Reading Time: 6 minutesLet’s be honest—lecturing for 60 or 90 minutes straight is tough on students and faculty alike. Research shows that student attention begins to drop after about 20 minutes of passive listening (Bradbury, 2016). That’s why integrating active learning strategies is so important—and one of the most effective tools in your teaching toolkit is video.  Whether it’s a short documentary clip,...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning/Student Engagement & Communication Comments: 0
March 26, 2025

Taking/ Handing Over a Course Mid-Semester 

Reading Time: 5 minutesThere are numerous reasons why a faculty member might take over a course from a colleague mid-semester.  In some cases, there might be medical issues, personal emergencies, or professional changes that arise. Most commonly, however, these transitions are planned ahead of time– where one faculty member is contracted to teach the first 7 weeks of a semester before going on...
Categories Effective Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning Comments: 0
January 13, 2025

Validating Student Responses During Class

Reading Time: 6 minutesWe’ve all been there… It’s the start of class, let’s say week 5, and you’re engaging students in a pre-assessment activity–asking them to recall what was shared in class last week before moving on to new content. Let’s imagine you’re teaching a class about the digestive system in the Practical Nursing program, and you pose a question to the class...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching/Student Engagement & Communication/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
January 9, 2025

Navigating Religious Accommodation Requests

Reading Time: 7 minutesBy: Dr. Sara Kafashan and Dr. Lauren Spring, with Sandrine Uwimana  Some faculty may feel caught off guard if/when student requests for religious accommodations come their way. When navigating such religious accommodation requestions, it is imperative for Conestoga faculty to not only adhere to Conestoga’s Religious Holy Day and Spiritual Observance Policy and Procedure, but also the Ontario Human Rights...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Assessment/Inclusive Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning/Quality Assessment Comments: 0
November 18, 2024

My Favourite Lesson Season 2! (A Teaching and Learning Podcast Series)

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe know many of you tuned in last year when Season One of My Favourite Lesson was first released. Season One featured experienced faculty from all schools at the college engaging in conversation with Teaching and Learning Consultant Dr. Lauren Spring about their favourite lessons to teach. Lauren discussed with guests how these lessons have evolved over the years, how...
Categories Effective Teaching/Faculty Stories/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
October 8, 2024

Mental Health: The Bigger Picture

Reading Time: 6 minutesThe United Nations has declared Oct 10th World Mental Health Day. Throughout the month of October each year, the UN encourages industries and organizations across the globe to: “spotlight mental health around the world, raise awareness of mental health issues and encourage efforts to support those experiencing mental health issues” (“World, N.D.) Mental Health has become somewhat of a buzz-term...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Student Engagement & Communication/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
July 3, 2024

Alternatives to Graded Weekly Pre-Reading Quizzes

Reading Time: 8 minutesMany faculty wish that students would engage more meaningfully with assigned class pre-readings and other materials. When students show up to class not having spent significant time reviewing pre-work (or even opening the materials at all!), it can feel disheartening and you may be unsure how to proceed. Should you adapt your lesson plan in the moment and go over...
Categories Assessment Design & Development/Effective Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning/Quality Assessment
May 28, 2024

Content-Based Bridge-Ins

Reading Time: 9 minutesMany of you are likely already familiar with the BOPPPS framework for lesson planning. While BOPPPS is not the only way to plan a lesson in a post-secondary classroom, it has been around for more than 50 years and has proved itself to be a “fruitful, efficient, and effective instructional model that promotes students’ active participation in the classroom” (Zheng,...
Categories Effective Teaching/Lesson & Course Planning/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0