As a Professor of photography at Algonquin College, I am interested in vocational arts-based education, visual literacy, information communication technology for education, hidden curriculum, and the list goes on! Please join me as I begin my doctoral studies at the University of Calgary.
Imagine you are a photography professor. It's 7 pm on a Sunday night, and you receive an Instagram alert that one of your students is "going live." In an attempt to turn the alert off, you accidentally enter the live stream to find your student stressing about your class's test the following morning and hoping one of their classmates is available to help. The student then very excitedly realizes you, their now favourite professor, are on the call and shakily turns the camera on their laptop screen to review the material. After a few quick, direct messages, you redirect the learner to share screenshots and move the conversation to email. A few emails later, the issue is resolved, you sign off with a few words of encouragement, and everyone has a great laugh the next morning. When I consider why informal moments of learning matter, I think back to that student, who had a rougher start than many, overcame failures, struggles, and educators who gave up on them, but graduated from the program where I teach. In a classroom they may appear disengaged or distracted, but what isn't immediately apparent is the hours outside class that they dedicate to learning. While this exchange occurred outside regular business hours, the student never assumed I would be constantly available; however, in costing me minutes of my free time, the investment in building trust was well worth the effort.
My research interest focus on methods to build relationships with the goal of strengthening communication and improve learning.
Click play to watch a time lapse of me working with students in the studio during the COVID-19 pandemic capacity restrictions.
Passionate is such an overused word, if I'm researching a topic I'm either angry, frustrated, or interested!
I come from a family of artists and teachers who naturally supported inquiry based learning and utilized what I now recognize as studio-based learning strategies. I was always encouraged to explore and find out how things worked first hand. I was also encouraged to seek out information and to never be afraid of starting my search in the children's section of the library. My father was a photographer and his father an art teacher, I credit my love of language, art, and learning from my father's belief that children should be spoken to with the same respect and consideration as adults.
Professionally I straddle two disciplines, one as a digital media content creator and former commercial photographer; the other as an educator. I view both these perspectives as influencing my research areas.