I was never one of those people who always knew what they wanted to do when they grew up! I didn't have any Engineers in my life so the profession never occurred to me. In University, I took a year of General Studies before I went into engineering. Looking back, I think that a poor learning experience in “English Literature from Chaucer to the Present” may have driven me into engineering! Well, that and the fact that I had a friend taking Engineering so I finally learned what it was. Also, I liked my math and science courses, and my Dad was a scientist in the oil industry so it was a natural fit.
After several years in the oil industry myself, I went back to school to do a PhD in biomechanics. I loved it. Then I landed a teaching-focused position at an undergraduate institution and I loved that even more! I remember my mind being blown by all the innovative teaching and assessment strategies my colleagues there were using - well, innovative to me at least since they were like nothing I’d ever encountered as an undergraduate student in engineering. At that time, quite a bit of research on active learning strategies in STEM education was starting to emerge (e.g. Peer Instruction by Eric Mazur), which also inspired and intrigued me. And thus my true passion was discovered - striving to make teaching and learning in higher education the best it can be. I now think of teaching and learning as a design problem - how can we cultivate an environment that helps both students and faculty learn, teach, and flourish?
I started doing education-related research and scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in the various contexts I have since worked in, and have learned so much from each project and each collaborator. I worked in (formal) educational development roles from 2011-2020. I served as the Director of Mount Royal University’s Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (now Mokakiiks Centre for SoTL), and as the Academic Director of the University of Alberta’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. I am now back in a faculty role and am enjoying working more closely with students again.
As a female in engineering, I’m particularly interested in equity, diversity, and inclusivity. I also have three wonderful teenagers, one who is neurodiverse, and two who identify as non-binary; I have learned so much from them, and I know I have much more to learn. My current SSHRC-funded project is to explore the experiences of students from underrepresented groups on engineering design teams.