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Author: Sara Kafashan

Sara Kafashan, PhD, has worked in post-secondary education since 2009. With a Master’s in Neuroscience and Cognitive Applied Sciences and a PhD in Applied Social Psychology, she has prior teaching experience within the field of Social Sciences. Sara brings a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and a focus on wellness strategies, to teaching and learning. She has expertise in inclusive and accessible educational practices, including curriculum development, resource creation, and engagement with various campus stakeholders.
February 3, 2025

Celebrating Black History Month

Reading Time: 2 minutesAs we move into Black History Month, it is a time for Canadians to celebrate the immense achievements and valuable contributions of Black Canadians throughout history. Regardless of where you are in your learning journey, Black History Month provides additional opportunities to confront anti-black racism and to work toward black inclusion in higher education. We encourage all Conestoga faculty to commit to learning about anti-black racism to foster black inclusion.
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
April 17, 2024

Teaching with Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) or Interpreters in the Classroom

Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction As of 2021, there are approximately 382,700 deaf and 3,827,000 hard of hearing people in Canada (Canadian Association of the Deaf, n.d.; Malkowski, 2021). Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafened individuals (D/HH) are a valued part of our Conestoga community (for more information, see this resource for terms and this resource for deaf community and culture). As faculty continue...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching Comments: 0
October 6, 2023

The Neurodiverse Classroom and Collaborative Work

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat? The main purpose of this teaching tip is to assist educators in supporting neurodiverse groups in collaborating. So What? This is important because 1 in 10 students at Conestoga has a documented disability, which will impact how educators provide learning opportunities. Now What? This teaching tip will provide educators with concrete ways to support groups that involve neurotypical learners...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Student Engagement & Communication Comments: 0
September 29, 2023

Why We Wear Orange and Learn on the Land: National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Reading Time: 4 minutesAuthor’s Acknowledgement This post has been written from the perspective of a first-generation settler, living on the traditional lands of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabek, and Haudenosaunee Peoples, and the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit in Guelph, Ontario. As an immigrant, I first arrived on the lands of the Blackfoot People of the Canadian Plains, also known as Lethbridge,...
Categories Decolonizing & Indigenizing Education/Effective Teaching Comment: 1
September 20, 2023

Responding to Discrimination and Harassment in Teaching

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy: Dr. Sara Kafashan and Dr. Nasreen Sultana In our day-to-day work and teaching at Conestoga, we may come across a rare occurrence of harassment or discrimination, such as Islamophobic, transphobic, anti-black, anti-Indigenous, anti-Semitic, and/or homophobic comments or actions. What should faculty do if discrimination or harassment shows up in their teaching contexts? The College has policies and steps to...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching Comments: 0
September 6, 2023

Supports for Diversity Across the Conestoga Community

Reading Time: 4 minutesBetween 2017 and 2021, Conestoga College saw a 350% increase in international students enrolled (ApplyBoard, 2022). Today, Conestoga is the most popular College in Canada for international students, with students from over 85 different countries (ApplyBoard, 2022). With such a growing diverse community, Conestoga is committed to equity and inclusion for all our members (Conestoga’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024, p.13). In...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching Comments: 0
September 6, 2023

The Success of International Students at Conestoga College

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy Dr. Sara Kafashan and Dr. Nasreen Sultana Note: This post contains initial thoughts from Sara and Nasreen, Teaching & Learning Consultants who originally came to Canada as international students. Both Sara and Nasreen have had personal experiences as international students and post-secondary educators in Canada. Similar factors contribute to the retention of international and domestic students in post-secondary education...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching
January 4, 2023

Preparing For Your First Lesson

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis learning path aims to inform and support you as you prepare to teach your first lesson. What’s Next? Before the first lesson For resources on what to do before the first lesson, regardless of whether you are teaching in-person, online synchronously, or asynchronously, check out these hub posts: Lesson planning To learn more about lesson planning for in-person, synchronous,...
Categories Effective Teaching/New Faculty
April 14, 2022

Writing Assignment Descriptions

Reading Time: < 1 minuteEvaluation is a key part of teaching. But, when it comes to assignments, what information should you include? How much information is too much? And how can you ensure instructions are clear and concise for students to understand? This teaching tip provides faculty with a checklist for your assignment descriptions at Conestoga College. Checklist for Assignment Descriptions Use this checklist...
Categories Assessment Design & Development/Assessment Quick Guides/Quality Assessment
April 6, 2022

Delivering Indigenous Land Acknowledgements

Reading Time: 6 minutesAuthor’s Acknowledgement This post has been written from the perspective of a first-generation settler, living on the traditional lands of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabek, and Haudenosaunee Peoples, and the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit in Guelph, Ontario. This resource is a work in progress and is by no means exhaustive. I acknowledge the limitations that my social positionality...
Categories Decolonizing & Indigenizing Education/Effective Teaching
January 20, 2022

Learning Cells

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat is it? With Learning Cells, students develop questions about a learning activity and then take turns asking and answering questions in pairs. Uses Learning cells are a great way to encourage students to: Process Variations Adapting to Different Modes Delivery Mode Adaptation In-Person Partner students with someone sitting nearby. Online Synchronous Assign learners automatically to breakout rooms, effectively a...
Categories Effective Teaching/Teaching for Learning
December 3, 2021

Managing Unexpected and/or Emotional Incidents in Post-Secondary Teaching

Reading Time: 7 minutesDuring our careers as faculty, we may come across a few unexpected and/or emotional incidents in post-secondary teaching. How do we, for example, navigate a class discussion when students are visibly distraught after just hearing upsetting local or global news, such as the murder of a Muslim family in London, Ontario? Or, what do we say when a student discloses...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching/Student Engagement & Communication
August 31, 2021

Ways to Make Your Teaching More Accessible

Reading Time: 2 minutesBy Sara Kafashan [E]ducation providers have a legal duty to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities. Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2018 How can faculty ensure accessible learning environments for our diverse students? Below, we provide a list of checkpoints and strategies that faculty can attend to in promoting an accessible learning environment. These strategies are rooted in accessible education,...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching
August 26, 2021

A Foundational Understanding of Accessible Teaching and Learning at Conestoga College

Reading Time: 4 minutesAcross Ontario colleges and universities, there are growing numbers of students with disabilities (Learning Disabilities of Ontario, 2019). At Conestoga, we have seen our numbers of students with disabilities steadily increase. For example, across two academic years (i.e., 2017-2018 and 2018-2019), Conestoga had a 3.5% increase in students with a disability registered at Accessible Learning.  Despite these growing numbers, a...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching
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