I am the Director of the Teaching & Learning Centre at Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  My pronouns are she/her.   I have a background in the sciences, engineering, and the arts which explains why I love both logical and creative aspects of learning.  I have been involved in many areas of education including roles as a teacher, curriculum consultant and researcher, Ministry of Education leader, administrator, author, and speaker.  Currently, I lead an amazing team of faculty, instructional designers, multimedia specialists, and project managers that supports Seneca’s excellence in teaching and learning.  We are working hard on many initiatives, including rethinking assessment and feedback, meaningful and authentic integration of Truth and Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and Sustainability into the curriculum in all our courses, development of XR learning activities, multimodal teaching and learning, micro-credentials, and collaborative inquiries. One area that I have always been passionate about is the role of assessment and feedback  and how it can be empowering and meaningful for students.

Music plays an important role in my life, having played instruments since I can remember.   I love playing my violins and guitars – both acoustic and electric versions. I play in a violin/guitar/vocals duo called Blue Moon (www.bluemoonmusic.ca, follow us @blue.moon_music) and our first album is launching this summer!

I enjoy being with my family whenever we can get together – my husband, and our two adult boys and two dogs – preferably at our favourite places – Costa Rica and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Why I’m in MYFest: I believe that a collective efficacy can result in improved student success as well as inspire us.  Nothing is more powerful and exciting than a team of educators working together and believing they can make a difference.   I am looking forward to the sharing of stories, and the opportunity to discuss and reflect on our work.

MYFest involvement: I will be facilitating a workshop series on assessment:  “Grade Expectations:  Why Assessing for Equity Matters”.  This three-part workshop series will take us on a learning journey exploring how we can shift the grading mindset and the design of assessment through an equity lens.  We will develop strategies to support non-traditional assessments and discuss how we can provide feedback about student performance that can lead to a clearer understanding of progress and skills gained over time for both the student and the teacher.  We will contemplate and discuss good questions, surprises, cultivating curiosity and creativity, and what we value in learning.