Category Archives: Spotlight

Spotlight — Shahriar Mirshahidi

Download PDF

Congratulations! You received the OCAD University Employee Equity Award. Talk to us a bit about that award and what it means to you.

I am deeply honored to receive the 2023 Employee Equity Award for my work as an English Language Learning Specialist at OCAD University’s English for Art & Design Program and the Writing & Learning Centre. This award highlights the importance of fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning and work environment, a mission I am passionately dedicated to. My commitment lies in empowering racialized and multilingual students by providing them with an equitable pedagogical space through amplifying their unique resources and knowledges. I advocate for translingual approaches to teaching English as an Additional Language and creating more accessible curricula that cater to multilingual students’ needs to ensure their success.  Continue Reading →

POST COMMENT 0

Spotlight — Lorenzo Sclocco

Download PDF

You are an advocate for professional development–how do you maintain professional development with a busy schedule and how would you encourage others to get involved and develop their skills?

Teachers are life-long learners, so I always try to develop and hone my skills. Most of the opportunities I hear about come from LinkedIn: It’s thanks to LinkedIn that during the pandemic I had come in closer contact with the instructional design world and the content development field. In the last three years, I came to the realization that teachers have so many transferrable skills: research, project and time management, critical thinking, creativity, leadership (yes, leadership too!). This is the advice I would give my other colleagues—it might be an unconventional one: Create or polish your profile on LinkedIn where you can start your networking.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Interview, Spotlight
POST COMMENT 0

Spotlight — Raj Bhandari

Download PDF

You presented at the 2022 TESL Ontario Conference (Integrating web-based formative assessment in test preparation courses). What is web-based formative assessment and why and how did it grab your attention originally? 

I believe that assessing learners’ language abilities is an essential part of language learning and teaching. In order to ensure success in language education, language educators must recognize the gap between what students are capable of and what they need to know to complete a task successfully. Observing and comparing a student’s performance helps teachers identify this gap and tailor future lessons accordingly. How can we do that? The answer is formative assessment. Formative assessment is used to identify learning gaps and assess learners’  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Interview, Spotlight
POST COMMENT 0

Spotlight — Danielle Freitas

Download PDF

Tell us a little about yourself. Who is Danielle?

I would say that I am a proud non-native speaker, Latina, immigrant woman who truly believes in the power of equity, diversity, and inclusion and works to support and enable whoever I can through the power of education to reach their full potential, regardless of who they are, where they come from, and how they look and sound like. I was born and raised in Brazil and had the opportunity to learn the value of education at a very young age—my parents, as mature students, worked really hard to obtain their higher education degrees while raising their two little kids, my brother and me, so that we could have a better life.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Interview, Spotlight
POST COMMENT 0

Spotlight — Anna Bartosik

Download PDF

Who is Anna Bartosik?
Hahahaha!

Let’s start with how I introduce myself now. I’ve been saying my name in Polish since December and my identity is tied to my name. It has taken me a long time to stop making it easier for English speakers to say my name.

If you look at my email signature, you’ll know how to pronounce my name, my pronouns in the order of languages I am comfortable speaking (she/ona/elle), and my degrees.

I don’t know which identity I should highlight; I suppose language teacher because of the content of this interview. We can add professional details as well, such as: instructional designer, facilitator, researcher. These details don’t often help,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Interview, Spotlight
POST COMMENT 0

Spotlight — Najwa Rahmani

Download PDF

Who is Najwa Rahmani?
My name is Najwa Rahmani (she/her), and I am a meticulous, systematic, and personable being. My greatest fulfilment comes from my commitment to lifelong learning and passion for education. My commitment and passion have incentivized me to pursue a career at the intersection of adult education, digital technology, and social justice. Currently, I am completing my Master of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies online and part-time at the University of Calgary. The topic for my first year is Leading and Learning in a Digital Age. Thus far, I have examined the implications for designing and leading interdisciplinary and technology-enhanced learning experiences in addition to strengthening competencies in technological and digital literacies. I have completed a diploma (Assaulted Women’s/Children’s Counsellor/Advocate),  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Interview, Spotlight
POST COMMENT 0