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Category: Reflective Practice

Reflect on your own teaching identity, philosophy, and practices to give direction to your future development.

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
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
February 6, 2025

Chris Lamarucciola Teaches Workplace Skills Through Hands-On Industry Experiences

Reading Time: 4 minutesChris Lamarucciola, Conestoga College Esports Manager, has been working in the Esports industry for nine years. In college, studying event marketing, he was introduced to the competitive Esports scene, where he started a grassroots organization which eventually became Parabellum Esports. Parabellum went on to become a leader in the Canadian Esports sector with a North American Pro League team in Rainbow...
Categories Effective Teaching/Faculty Stories/Reflective Practice/Teaching for Learning Comments: 0
January 8, 2025

Bob Carder Engages Students with an Eco-Friendly Curriculum

Reading Time: 3 minutesBob Carder – Professor in Conestoga’s Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician program My career path has been varied and includes food service, trades, management, business ownership and teaching. In all of these there have been several things in common. First, in each case, I spent time educating myself about the industry and processes to become a valuable contributor to...
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December 11, 2024

Food for Thought: An End-of-Year Reading List for Decolonization and Indigenization in Our Courses

Reading Time: 3 minutesEngaging in Truth and Reconciliation in educational spaces begins and continues with listening, which can also take the form of reading! For those of us who would like to take time to listen and/or read and reflect over the next few weeks, some of us in Teaching and Learning have recommended texts which have impacted us in the last year. 
Categories Decolonizing & Indigenizing Education/Effective Teaching/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
November 18, 2024

Kyle Christie Empowers Students with Video Lessons, Interactive Learning and Goal-Setting

Reading Time: 3 minutesKyle Christie is a Digital Media Professor and coordinator of the Broadcasting Performance and Digital Media program at Conestoga College. Recognized for his excellence in teaching, Christie was awarded the 2024 Aubrey Hagar Distinguished Teaching Award. With over 15 years of experience as a TV journalist for CTV News and CP24, he brings real-world insights into his courses on Entrepreneurship,...
Categories Accessible Teaching/Effective Teaching/Faculty Stories/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
October 10, 2024

Is it Time to Refresh My Rubric? A Checklist When Your Rubric Needs a Tune-Up 

Reading Time: 3 minutesDo you have a rubric that you’ve been seeing a lot of lately? Perhaps there’s one rubric you’ve been using to grade multiple submissions this semester and noticed that it isn’t quite as smooth as you’d like.  Grading with a rubric oftentimes gives rise to observations about its limitations: you might notice, for example, that students are struggling in a...
Categories Grading & Grading Tools/Quality Assessment/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
October 9, 2024

Understanding your Students’ Conceptions of Assessment for a Better Learning Experience

Reading Time: 7 minutesHave you ever noticed that some students approach assessments with excitement and curiosity, while others seem overwhelmed with anxiety or disengaged? The way students perceive assessments significantly influences their experiences and learning, shaping how they engage with your course. By understanding the various student conceptions of assessment, you can better tailor your assessment strategies and support structures to meet diverse...
Categories Assessment Design & Development/Assessment Quick Guides/Quality Assessment/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
July 10, 2024

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...
Categories Effective Teaching/Inclusive Teaching/Reflective Practice/Student Engagement & Communication Comments: 0
June 24, 2024

Ready, Set, Teach! Navigating Pre-Class Jitters and Setup

Reading Time: 3 minutesYou’ve got your lesson planned, your water bottle filled, and your slides ready, but still, you’ve got butterflies in your stomach as you approach the classroom 10 minutes before the class start time. It’s pretty normal to feel a range of emotions in those minutes before starting to teach: nervousness, excitement, uncertainty, anxiety, anticipation . . . Getting your class...
Categories Effective Teaching/In-Person/Lesson & Course Planning/Reflective Practice Comments: 0
May 28, 2024

Heart Emoji, Crying Face Emoji: A Reflection on the Emotional Facets of Teaching

Reading Time: 5 minutesIn collaboration with Sara Kafashan  This past winter semester, I experienced a familiar feeling: I found myself getting frustrated with students repeatedly emailing me for assistance, but not following the instructions I had provided in multiple different contexts (in class, in video recordings of assignment instructions, in writing, in individual meetings etc.). Some of the emails bordered on rude. I...
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May 22, 2024

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...
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