Faculty Learning Hub

Cinthia completed her Mater of Arts, Geography at McMaster University, Bachelor of Education at the University of Western Ontario and Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Geography at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has been teaching at Conestoga College since 2013 and teaches a wide range of course including, but not limited to, Restless Planet, Group Dynamics, Introduction to the Social Sciences and Student Success. Cinthia has done research on acculturative stress for international students as part of her master’s and was the primary investigator for the research project focusing on modular course delivery for the General Arts and Science program.

Erin Gilbart is a Professor in the School of Health and Life Sciences. She has industry experience in a wide variety of healthcare settings with particular emphasis on the use of quality and knowledge management tools to support evidence-informed decision-making. She teaches and develops curriculum in health policy, entrepreneurship, quality improvement and current issues impacting the design and delivery of health care services. Erin completed her doctorate in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include the role communities of practice play in supporting student learning and career development.

Jennifer Davies has worked in field of Social Services for almost 30 years. Currently, she manages clinical staff in the fight against Gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking. Her career has included work with the AIDS epidemic, Restorative Justice, mediation, sexual therapy and conflict resolution. Her true passion is bringing her field experience to the classroom and educating the future workers in the field.

Karl Weiss is a Respiratory Therapist and Professor for the Respiratory Therapy Program. With 28 years of experience as both an educator and clinician, Karl has championed the integration of clinical simulation into program curriculum and has mentored faculty and support staff in the approach to teaching with simulation. Karl has a keen interest in designing curriculum for psychologically safe learning, particularly for performance-based education modalities.

Kate Dunn (she/her) is a professor in the Liberal Studies department and co-developer of Conestoga College’s first Disability Studies minor. Kate and Dr. Laura Quirk co-developed four courses that prioritize lived experiences, utilizing a living library where individuals share their personal narratives in our classes to enrich our student’s academic learning experience. As a subject matter expert in the field of positive psychology, Kate has integrated this discipline into the Disability Studies minor as its own course, offering students a deeper understanding of resilience, well-being, and strength-based approaches. Through teaching, advocacy, and storytelling, Kate and Dr. Quirk’s goal was to develop a minor that cultivates an informed, inclusive and empathetic classroom setting that recognizes the power of storytelling and human connection in driving systemic change.

Kerry is a professor with the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Program Coordinator of the General Arts and Science program. Her work has always centered on the power of story to reveal interests, values, and potential in the clients and students she has worked with, making narrative inquiry a natural fit. Participating in Conestoga’s Teaching and AI Story repository has been a great opportunity to reflect on how emerging AI technologies are reshaping learner-centered pedagogy.

Kim Moore is currently teaching in the Career Development Professional program. Drawing on her twenty years in a variety of related roles, she encourages CDP students to draw on many resources for career conversations with clients. Helping them find GenAI’s place in their toolkit is an intriguing experiment.

I am a professor and coordinator in Liberal Studies. I have developed many courses at Conestoga. Most recently I jointly developed the Disability Minor in our department with Kate Dunn. Together we wrote four course outlines and then each developed our own course, within our subject expertise. We are currently working on a SoTL project that details our journey in envisioning and implementing this minor, as well as our own course experiences. What makes this project somewhat unique is that we are relying on the lived experiences of those with disabilities as our textbooks for the course. In other words, we are using OER’s and guest speakers to showcase how disabilities impact individuals and how those individuals impact others.

Leanne is a professor at the School of Business, passionate about integrating Generative AI into her lessons. She encourages her students to maintain authenticity while leveraging these innovative tools. Leanne has shared her insights in the AI Story repository, reflecting on an experience where the use of AI didn’t go as planned, offering valuable lessons for both her and her students.

Margaret Strawbridge is a full-time professor in the Marketing Diploma programs and Doctoral candidate in Organizational Leadership/Education, specializing in sales, negotiation, and emotional intelligence. Her first COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) initiative was in Fall 2024 and connected students from Canada, Japan, and Poland to build cross-cultural and negotiation skills.

As Associate Director of the Office of Global Initiatives, Mariam oversees student and faculty mobility, global academic partnerships, and, among other things, the college’s COIL programming. Having written her dissertation on COIL implementation, she believes that virtual exchange is an essential part of bringing equitable opportunities for students to acquire global skills and competencies. If you see her, ask her about COIL!

Sara Connelly is faculty and program coordinator in the Enhanced Practice for Internationally Educated Nurses program at Conestoga. In 2023, Sara launched the first COIL project in the school of nursing and since then has overseen COIL projects involving hundreds of students across 5 countries. Sara is also the primary investigator of research studies examining the impact of COIL on student leadership skills.

Suzanne Rintoul is a Communications professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, and she is the coordinator of the Technical Communication graduate certificate program. Suzanne is co-founder of the Conestoga Community-Engaged Writing initiative, which seeks to enhance narrative-based research and co-curricular projects at the college through community partnerships that promote equity, access, and empathy. She holds a PhD in English and Cultural Studies from McMaster university, and she is the author of Intimate Violence and Victorian Print Culture: Representational Tensions.

Tejram Basdeo is a Business and Finance Professor in the School of Business. He has 20+ years of industry experience in investment and corporate finance. He is a serial investor with extensive entrepreneurial experience. Tejram has several years of experience in course facilitation, design, and program development. As an enhancement to his courses, Tejram began introducing COIL projects in his courses to facilitate collaboration among students.