Category: Inclusive Teaching

Enhance your teaching to support, inspire, and empower every student to pursue on their own learning goals.

International Day of Pink

Reading Time: 2 minutesInternational Day of Pink is observed annually on the second Wednesday of April. The International Day of Pink is set up as an International Day against bullying, discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and transmisogyny in cities and towns all across the world. According to mental health research, the majority of young people (66%) who are part of 2SLGBTQI+ communities have reported experiencing...

Implementation of Universal Design of Learning

Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework offers a comprehensive approach to designing and facilitating learning in an accessible and inclusive way. At first glance, implementing UDL may seem like a large undertaking, but it can be introduced gradually and effectively in any learning environment. This Hub post explores simple, manageable strategies to help you start small and build upon...

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.

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...

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...

New Workshop Series: Teaching to Promote Belonging, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, Justice, and Inclusion

Reading Time: 3 minutesThis new five-part Recognition of Learning series builds on the workshops offered through the Teaching for Student Diversity Series.  In this series, we go beyond understanding student diversity, offering growth in your knowledge and teaching skills to foster belonging and equity, enhance accessibility, and strive towards justice and inclusion-orientated learning spaces within our diverse student body.

Heterogeneity – The Reality of Diversity in Our Classrooms

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Teaching and Learning Consultant Classroom heterogeneity refers to how students differ in age, gender, cultural and social backgrounds, and learning environments and have unique cognitive, motivational, and emotional needs (Hirschauer & Kullmann, 2009). In today’s world, Canadian post-secondary classrooms are diverse and multi-dimensional. The phrase around international students is widely used as a catch-all phrase without...

How to Be Compassionate Without Being a “Yes” Person

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Teaching and Learning Consultant Erica teaches a course where students come from diverse backgrounds. She has both domestic and international students in her classroom. She wants to be compassionate in her teaching. As a novice teacher, she is confused about whether she needs to keep giving extensions to the students to come across as a compassionate...

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL): Public Relations

Reading Time: 3 minutesConestoga College has embarked on its pilot launch Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as an international virtual exchange program for students. In this kind of virtual exchange, students and faculty participate in joint coursework and knowledge sharing with students at institutions in other countries. In the first year of its pilot program the college had nine professors and over 300 students across...

What Does it Mean to be an Intercultural Educator?

Reading Time: 3 minutesDiversity is a fact of life in any Canadian postsecondary setting.  In addition to diversity in such areas as age, gender, and educational background, Conestoga students embody rich cultural and linguistic diversity, whether they are domestic or international. Supporting a diverse student population at Conestoga across various disciplines is a continuous learning opportunity for both new and seasoned faculty. Being...

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL): Intercultural Prototypical Attributes for Effective Leadership

Reading Time: 3 minutesConestoga College has embarked on its pilot launch Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as an international virtual exchange program for students. In this kind of virtual exchange, students and faculty participate in joint coursework and knowledge sharing with students at institutions in other countries. In the first year of its pilot program the college had nine professors and over 300...

Unpacking the Rainbow: Celebrating Pride Month

Reading Time: 2 minutesMany people associate Pride month with celebrating openly and with family as society in Canada has generally become more inclusive. For many newer immigrants Pride is something new, and coming out and celebrating can be very challenging. This year, Teaching & Learning invites you to consider how Pride intersects with other identities. For example, for many South Asian parents in...

What Did I Do Wrong? What Academic Integrity Means to the International Students

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Teaching & Learning Consultant While no study indicates that international students plagiarize more frequently, there are worries that these students might be at a greater risk of committing plagiarism (Valentine, 2006). International students may often need to realize what makes a work plagiarized. For example, Sanni-Anibire et al.’s (2021) research in the Canadian post-secondary context noted...

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...