Teaching

My teaching embraces critical adult education principles, foregrounding reflexivity, ethical responsibility, and community engagement across undergraduate and graduate settings.

I was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award for the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences at the University of Guelph for 2019-2020. In both 2022 and 2023, the university’s undergraduate students voted me a top 10 finalist to deliver the “last lecture’ to the graduating class.

I have taught a wide range of subjects and students of all ages. I began my career developing literacy initiatives in a youth detention centre, taught in public schools in Montreal and the Czech Republic, and later developed and managed school- and community-based educational programs for youth with histories of violence. Since 2011 I have been a professor at the University of Guelph where I help educate the next generation of academics, teachers, social workers, mental health therapists, and other education, health and human service professionals. My approach to teaching is grounded in deep respect for my students and striving to create learning environments that foster inclusion and belonging.

I have taught the following university courses: Youth Risk and Resilience; Research Methods; Family Theory, Parenting and Intergenerational Relationships; Adolescent Development; Human Development; Introduction to Human Services; Practicum in Child, Youth and Family; Practicum in Adult Development; Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Family Relations and Human Development; Theorizing in Family Relations and Human Development; Social Development in Childhood and Adolescence; and Evidence-Based Practice and Knowledge Translation.

New Course: Dog’s Best Friend? Restorying Human-Dog Relationships. I developed this course as a First Year Seminar for University of Guelph students. With the cancellation of the First Year Seminar program, this course is currently on hold.