PhD Candidate (ABD) | MEd, BEd, BSc (Physics & Mathematics)
Teaching & Instructional Competencies
In the course EDU 9003, Doctoral Seminar: Contemporary Educational Theory, my professor emphasized certain skills Doctoral students need to develop. That way, emerging Doctoral learners may feel confident in undertaking undergraduate and graduate teaching. Therefore, as part of the course requirements, I had to develop a comprehensive Master of Education course outline that could be used for a future graduate studies course. Consequently, because I defended my Master-thesis on grit and student success in the previous year, I wanted to position a future course on this very topic. As a result, I put tremendous effort into the development of this outline so that I could hopefully use it for a future graduate level course.
In May of 2024, a new course was being offered for the Master of Education program at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) on Social Media Technology in Education. Because of my very positive experience working at StFX on their Strategic Plan (see Theme 4 Artifact 1), I applied for this position where I also had showcased my recent course outline assignment as a way to separate myself from other potential candidates. In a relatively short time span, I received confirmation that I would be teaching this course. Immediately, I reached out to Dr. Dan Robinson, who is the Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Leadership at St. Francis Xavier University. I wanted to know whether there was a curriculum outline that I should follow. To my surprise, he gave me a great deal of latitude in how I could design the course (albeit connected to the core goals of the Master of Education program).
Using my experiences and feedback from the EDU 9003 course, I began to develop the course outline with the viewpoint of, “What would I, as an educational practitioner, like to learn.” I wanted to develop a course that not only focuses on practicality, but also reinforces deep reflection (i.e., reflexivity), self-guided learning and, building research capacity. This was important because I wholeheartedly believe that deep personal reflection is a crucial aspect of self-discovery and growth. To that end, I spent much of my time thinking about the positive experiences I had in previous graduate-level classes. Additionally, because this course would be concentrated over eight classes at five hours a day, I also considered students’ motivation and sustained longevity by considering activities and assignments which sustained a varying use of active and passive engagement. This was especially important because as the day progressed, my learners appeared to persist, and few became disinterested. I believe it was because of this deliberate and thoughtful planning which helped propelled the course forward.
I also wanted to avoid a one-way, banking style approach (Freire, 2018) and ensured that there was time for collaboration, multidirectional conversations and time for critical reflections. To me, I avoided the instructor title and sought the identities of a facilitator and mutual collaborator. Working alongside graduate students while co-constructing knowledge was one of the most powerful and enduring things I took away from the course. My learners conveyed how, in a short period of time, their learning had changed. In many ways, I learned so much from their perspectives that it made me into a better learner and facilitator.
Throughout the course, all activities had intentionality in mind. As part of the final synthesis, reflective and reflexive practices were uplifted because I wished to position how the learner, in their role as a student and educator, may have had thought provoking moments of revelations within the course offerings and how such experience may impact their future practice. In all facets of my life, success has always been connected to some form of collective effort. Therefore, I wanted my learners to draw upon other colleagues’ feedback. Whether it be their forum postings, comments made during the class session or, a presentation someone provided. Not one person said they learned little. In fact, while I identified a 1,200-to-1,400-word limit, some learners requested to go beyond that. For me, there was nothing more gratifying than to see my colleagues gain something through what I have offered. In addition to this collective effort, my students and I cooperated in mutually arriving at a final grade. While I made the final call, I respected their valued input as it influenced my decision.
Over the fifteen successful years of public-school teaching, much of my skills translated over to the Master’s course. I also received recognition from then, Regional Executive Director for the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, Elwin Leroux during the COVID-19 pandemic for successfully teaching students when all students were taught online. The knowledge I received helped cultivate the online teaching environment because online learning was not unfamiliar. Throughout the class time, I emphasized a culture where my adult learners would have equal rights and responsibilities. Because I valued students’ input, my online classroom appeared to be a thriving one; especially over a concentrated forty-hour timespan. I believe this shared responsibility was one of the hallmarks to the overwhelming success of the course. Therefore, I was able to step back and maintain the facilitator role.
At the end of the day, I am grateful and humbled by the experience. Upon releasing my students’ final grades, many students shared their profound appreciation for the course and how I chose to run it. This was further evidenced by the very positive course evaluation and feedback I received from the university in September of 2024. Ultimately, this successful outcome was directly influenced by the tremendous experiences I gained within the PhD programming. I believe that if it was not for the course assignment from EDU 9003, I would not have developed the confidence to assemble a graduate-level course outline, much less successfully teach a Master of Education course. This experience will be particularly helpful as I plan to continue teaching future graduate-level courses.
Range of teaching competencies demonstrative of readiness to assume the role of teacher and mentor in academia and other educational / training contexts.
Artifact 1: Master of Education Part-Time Facilitator
Part-Time Facilitator for EDU: 569.68 Social Media Technology in Education Course