Teaching and Research Awards

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Arctic Studies, University of Washington (2019-2020)
SSHRC Exchange University Research Chair in Social Sciences and Humanities (2019-2022; returned 2019)
CBU Teaching Chair in Open, Online and Blended Learning (2017-2019)
Cape Breton University Instructional Leadership award. (2016)
Graduate Student Research Award, CAUCE (2016)

Current Courses 2020-21

ED 5110
Proactive Instructional Leadership in Nunavut Communities

The responsibilities, roles and tasks of principals and other educational leaders are explored as they relate to the creation of a positive, inclusive, collaborative and culturally responsive school community. the role of leadership in teaching and learning and building positive relationships, both in and outside of school is examined as a key factor in facilitating the academic achievement and well-being of learners, A variety of culturally appropriate facilitation strategies are introduced as participants analyze the legal, moral, ethical, and policy rights of learners and educators in maintaining and strengthening culture and language and promoting success in schools, the local community and the world beyond,

ED 7040
Graduate Seminar in Educational Studies

In this seminar, students are exposed to and engaged in selecting and critiquing a wide variety of public scholarly presentations by visiting scholars and the UPEI faculty researchers and facilitating scholarly dialogue among those who attend.

Previous Teaching at UPEI (2019 -

CELN  ED 5140

Previous Teaching at CBU (2014-2019)

EDUC 6101
Indigenous and Global Perspectives on Sustainability, Creativity and Innovation
Masters of Education SCI

Formal and non-formal education initiatives have embraced Education for Sustainability (EfS) throughout the world with practical accomplishments – modeling processes and practices that are transforming communities, schools and education. Students will explore global perspectives on EfS, entrepreneurship, indigenous worldviews, and Living Schools with potential applications to their educational setting.
This course is designed for bi-directional sharing of experience with an open invitations to global educators to share stories of sustainability and transformation so that we may learn from one another.

Listen to some of our guest speakers: https://vimeopro.com/user45239391/educ6106

EDUC 5800 Applied Research Project

EDUC 5800 offers students the opportunity for practioner research- that is to be a teacher researcher. Within this course participants are guided through  the process of conducting a practioner research project. They select an issue or problem observed in their teaching context, design a technological solution, implement it and evaluate its effectiveness using accepted academic strategies.

EDUC 5131
Digital Citizenship for a Global Community

Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of appropriate and responsible behaviour online. Within this course we will examine digital citizenship from two major perspectives:  responsible use in the K-12 environment and the world beyond schools. Within each perspective we will review policy and practice, rights and responsibilities, safety and security, as well as health and wellness. Some specific themes include cyber bullying, digital etiquette, access, copyright, flat classrooms, the digital divide and civic engagement.

EDUC 4141 & 4142
Teaching Science at the Secondary Level 

EDUC 4141  & 4142 are  practical and theoretically based courses taken consecutively in which you will examine curriculum and effective teaching strategies for teaching science at the secondary level. These are survey courses allowing you to experience and reflect on lesson design in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology and Oceans, in preparation for middle and secondary school teaching. You will only be expected to design upper level lessons (grades 11-12) from the major/minor discipline of your first degree.

EDUC 4113
Teaching an Integrated Science Curriculum 

This course will introduce you to approaches and strategies for the teaching of science in the elementary grades P-6. It will emphasize pedagogies that are true to the nature of science and consistent with Nova Scotia science curriculum goals.

EDUC 5105
Web Based Learning

EDU 5105 will facilitate your competency in the development and delivery of online learning activities. Participants will explore the essential components of interactive eLearning: context, challenge, activity and feedback through a combination of theoretical analysis and practical design activities. Note: this course does not focus on specific software or tools; however basic competency in e-Learning technologies is expected.

EDUC 5123
Life and Physical Sciences I 

Based on the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PACP) Science Framework this course will focus on teaching three areas of Life and Physical Science in elementary and middle schools:
  • Knowledge of concepts in Life Sciences (Biology)
  • Knowledge of concepts in Physical Sciences (Chemistry)
  • The development of attitudes and skills that promote scientific literacy and stewardship. 

EDUC 5117
The Nature of Western Science 

EDUC 5117 should help you deepen your understanding of science as a mode of thinking about the world around us. Through this course you will explore ideas of what it means to be science literate, think deeply about the nature of science and what it means to do science: What makes teaching science different from other disciplines? This course serves to introduce themes that will be explored in greater depth in subsequent courses: science as a social-cultural construct, the connections between science technology and the environment, science as inquiry, and general practices for addressing student misconceptions. You will be challenged to re-think your teaching philosophy, re-frame yourself and your students as scientists and make connections between subject matter and the world outside the classroom.

EDUC 5124 Implementing Scientific Inquiry in the Classroom
This course is intended to give educators a first-hand experience of the student's perspective within a scientific inquiry-based learning environment. It will also provide students with an opportunity to practice constructing teaching modules. This course will focus on some interdisciplinary subjects within science such as climate change, human impact on the environment, planetary astronomy, etc. Students will explore the subject area through a sequence of inquiry-based units. At the conclusion of the course students will create a teaching module based on their findings from one of the units explored earlier in the course. Required for Certificate in Science Education.