Dr. Jessica Riddell Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence
Extraordinary Student Experiences
FOSTERING AN ENRICHED SENSE OF CURIOSITY AND CREATIVITY THROUGH LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
"Humanities students are uniquely equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing 21st-century economy, but sometimes they do not realize how their course of study builds competencies in writing, analysis, comprehension, and critical thinking skills that are highly valued in the workplace. Therefore, I developed new courses that are problem-based and explore experiential learning through the lens of the humanities, including ENG454 Experiential Learning Course on Podcasts, ENG456 Communications, ENG457: Magazine Editing and Publishing, and ENG459: Public Scholarship in Editing and Publishing.
These new interventions combine research on teaching and learning – with a focus on active and authentic learning – with the disciplinary concepts of English in order to create rich and innovative experiential learning environments."
Shakesperience
(ENG225)
Shakesperience is an immersive learning experience that turns the Stratford Festival (Stratford, Ontario) into a classroom. This is, at its heart, a transformative experiential learning course, so the students will participate in workshops, like learning a song and dance from a musical in the morning and then watching the performance in the afternoon.
The participants have unprecedented backstage access to the theatres — peeking behind the scenes with close-up views of the sets, and so much more! They enjoy an insider peek into the costume warehouse where we can see first-hand how the magic is created and dress up in some of the fabulous Stratford costumes! This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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Shakespeare on Trial
Dr. Riddell developed a mock trial project that forged collaborative ties between her ENG223 Elizabethan Shakespeare class, members of faculty, Bishop’s alumni, and the student body across disciplines. On February 24, 2012, Shakespeare was prosecuted for fraud in the Canadian Criminal Court system. Groups were asked to compile research related to their topic, synthesize information, and present it.
Satan on Trial
In the Fall of 2016, Dr. Riddell developed a trial project that prosecuted Satan (from John Milton’s 17th-century Protestant Epic Paradise Lost) for Crimes Against Humanity in her senior seminar on Seventeenth-Century Poetry and Prose (ENG321).
HEART & SOULS
Conference
A CONFERENCE BY/FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Previously known as QUEUC (Quebec University English Undergraduate Conference), the HEART & SOULS Conference was an annual international humanities research conference separated into two streams. The SOULS (Scholarship of Undergraduate Literary Studies) stream was for undergraduate students in the humanities to present their research essays on critical and literary theory in thematic panels. The HEART (Humanities Education and Research in Teaching) stream advocated for a pedagogical-scholarly practice grounded in and motivated by teachers’ experiences in forging intentionally designed, ethical, and curiosity-driven classrooms. It was last hosted at Bishop's University up until 2019 (the 2020 edition was sadly cancelled due to the pandemic).
The mission of HEART & SOULS was to enable students and professors from across Canada to connect and share their research in a comfortable, collaborative environment that fosters the pursuit of knowledge and the love of learning. This was a chance to network, build connections, and encounter different world views and perspectives all while highlighting undergraduate academia and scholarship.
Teaching & Learning Centre at Bishop's
In the fall of 2011, the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) was founded at Bishop’s University, and Dr. Riddell has been the Chair since January 2015. Together they have organized pedagogical development workshops, hosted round table events, and we conduct monthly talks around relevant topics as diverse as technology in the classroom and formative assessment.
Our three pillars:
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Pedagogical excellence
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Educational leadership and
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Research on scholarly teaching