Opening Plenary Panel: What is a Classroom? Five Faculty Perspectives
May 22, 2024 (online)
9:30am-11:30am
Panelists Bios
Ahmed Allahwala, Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Human Geography, UTSC
Dr. Allahwala is a critical policy analyst and urban geographer. His teaching and research focus on urban social policy, social infrastructure, and planning in North America and Western Europe. He has taught a wide variety of courses in Germany and Canada on topics including welfare state analysis, immigration and settlement, participatory research, and urban planning. As an educator, Dr. Allahwala is committed to fostering equitable teaching practices, academic and research skills development in undergraduate students, and community-engaged learning. During his current research leave, Dr. Allahwala is a visiting researcher at the Center for Metropolitan Studies (Technical University Berlin), working on a project on queer environmental activism and the contested nature of urban shorelines.
Ariel Chan, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, FASE
Professor Ariel Chan joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto in 2017. She is also a practicing professional engineer registered in Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on experiential learning and laboratory curriculum design. She has also devoted her research to cultivating more equitable and inclusive learning using a data analytic approach to identify factors associated with engineering students’ academic performance. Her teaching and research have been awarded Engineering Dean’s Emerging Innovation in Teaching Professorship, the national Wighton Fellowship in 2022 and the institutional Northrop Frye Award in 2023.
Leanne De Souza-Kenney, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Health Studies Program & Human Biology Program
Dr. Leanne De Souza-Kenney is an Assistant Professor in the Human Biology Program and Health Studies Program, University College at U of T and is Cross-appointed to the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at U of T. She is the Alexander Lawson Fellow in Child Nutrition and Health Promotion, and the Inaugural Fulbright Research Chair in Race and Health Policy. Leanne’s research focuses on community partnerships toward chronic disease prevention and examines the antecedents to health outcome disparities in marginalized populations. Her Pedagogical research and teaching philosophy centers on Students as Partners (SaP) in community engaged learning toward social justice.
Spyridon Kotsovilis, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Political Science, UTM
Dr. Spyridon Kotsovilis is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the UTM Department of Political Science, and has also taught at St. George and UTSC. His classes are offered in person and online, and apply a variety of novel and engaging teaching and learning approaches. He has designed numerous courses, and recently participated in the development and launching of the tri-campus Global Leadership program. He has received multiple teaching recognitions, including the 2018 Faculty of Arts Superior Teaching Award and the 2024 Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award. His work has been supported by various university and provincial educational grants.
Jon Johnson, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Woodsworth College
Dr. Jon Johnson’s work focuses on urban land-based Indigenous Knowledge in Toronto, as it is expressed through oral and digital forms of storytelling. He works within Toronto’s Indigenous community as a lead organizer for First Story Toronto, an Indigenous-led community-based organization that researches and shares Toronto’s Indigenous presence through public education initiatives such as storytelling tours of the city and digital storytelling projects. His work is centred on mutually beneficial projects and engagements between the University of Toronto and Indigenous communities. Dr. Johnson emphasizes experiential learning and community opportunities, in the hopes of creating meaningful educational experiences for his students.
Interactive Closing Plenary: Finding the Balance: Learning spaces that promote rigour and kindness
May 23, 2024 (in-person)
1:15pm-3:30pm
Garfield Gini-Newman, Associate Professor, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, OISE
Garfield Gini-Newman is an associate professor at OISE/University of Toronto and the senior national consultant with The Critical Thinking Consortium. He has worked with thousands of teachers across grades and subjects, helping them to frame learning around engaging and provocative activities and authentic assessments. Additionally, he has led workshops for U of T faculty focused on fostering critical thinking in students and designing authentic assessments.
Garfield is currently working with schools and school divisions, in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Argentina, Korea, Poland, China, Peru and Uganda. Garfield explores critical thinking, brain compatible classrooms, curriculum design and effective assessment practices, and nurturing global competencies through a sustained inquiry approach. In addition to his work at the University of Toronto and his work in schools, Garfield has also authored over 100 articles, chapters in books and books and has taught in the faculties of education at York University and the University of British Columbia. His most recent book co-authored with Roland Case, Creating Thinking Classrooms has received widespread praise from leading educators across Canada and internationally.