Teaching
I am no longer teaching, so this section offers an archive of past courses and approaches. I often had students from outside the faculty who find my courses when searching for topics in their discipline. I welcomed students who brought a diversity of prior learning to the classroom as it inevitably raises questions about disciplinary practices and methodologies. It is very important for me to share my excitement about the importance of looking and thinking historically and across disciplines with students and scholars.
I was awarded the Dean of Fine Arts Teaching Award in 1999, and nominated for the University-wide Teaching Award; I want to encourage stimulating and provocative debates about visual culture in and between academic disciplines. Thus many of my undergraduate courses and all my graduate courses included substantial work on historical consciousness.
Both of the courses featured on this website were blended courses offered at York University. Blended learning combines "in-class, face-to-face instruction with learning via electronic media in a purposeful and complementary way to enhance student engagement" (Garrison and Vaughn 2008; yorku.ca). In my blended courses, I have found our time in-class is maximized; the in-class component is dedicated to active learning where we discussed and interrogated theories and concepts. In this manner, re-capping information and other passive teaching and learning methods are drastically reduced. Meanwhile, the online component allowed the students to engage with the material and their peers (whether at home or otherwise) and apply the learning.
