Teaching

“Teaching that enables transgression – a movement against and beyond boundaries. It is that movement that makes education the practice of freedom.”

bell hooks, 1994

A Critical Feminist Pedagogy[1] underpins my teaching philosophy. I draw from my lived experiences as a Black ciswoman, Black and Chicana feminists’ values and the knowledge and skills gained from the various teaching and learning courses I have completed. Teaching in systems built within the scaffolding of Eurocentric ways of knowing, I constantly critique my own feminist teaching praxis and the construction of knowledge in nursing to disrupt and dismantle normative ways of thinking and being in the discipline that can have repercussions for the health of people, groups and communities. By doing so, I intend to foster critical consciousness among nurses and promote an environment for students to learn how to critique and analyze with a historical and intersectional lens health inequities and advocate for individuals, groups and communities by recognizing their power, capabilities and agency. As a result, nurses learn to promote equity and fairness of people and communities, a value and ethical responsibility for Registered Nurses.

In order to achieve the potential of a Critical Feminist Pedagogy, dialogue and participation (drawing on students’ and instructors’ experiences) are essential to promote deeper relationships and create a learning community within the classroom. As experiences are socially constructed, each learner can help shape the learning experience of those around them. Creating an environment that accepts a plurality of perspectives, opinions, values and beliefs, and employs active learning strategies conducive to discussion can strengthen shared learning in the classroom. Teaching techniques can also lead students to question and reflect on how power structures place individuals and groups in situations of disadvantage and how they can use their agency to reduce and eliminate unjust and unfair healthcare practices. This learning environment also challenges instructors to continue to re-examine the construction of knowledge in nursing. 

Underpinned by Critical Feminist Pedagogy, my teaching philosophy has three principles:

  1. Engaged pedagogy: students learn by doing
  2. Transformative pedagogy: diversity enhances teaching and learning
  3. Reflexive pedagogy: embracing reflexivity

[1]My conceptualization of Critical Feminist Pedagogy is influenced by Black and Chicana feminists such as bell hooks, Evelyn Barbee, The Combahee River Collective, Audre Lorde, Toni Cade Bambara, Patricia Hill Collins, Sirma Bilge, Jennifer Nash, Kimberle Crenshaw, Janette Taylor, Alice Walker and Gloria Anzaldua.

Summary of Teaching Experience

I have been a Teaching Assistant in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia in various undergraduate and graduate courses. My teaching experience also includes Guest Lecturer, Teaching Assistant Development Workshop Co-Facilitator and clinical nurse educator.

Professional Development in Teaching and Learning

  • CIRTL Scholar, University of British Columbia, 2023
  • CIRTL Practitioner, University of British Columbia, 2022
  • Teaching As Research Internship, University of British Columbia, 2021 – 2022
  • Certificate Program in Advanced Teaching and Learning, 2021- 2022
  • CIRTL Teaching Citational Practice: A Critical Feminist Approach, October 2021
  • CIRTL Associate, University of British Columbia, 2020
  • Foundations of Pedagogy, University of British Columbia, 2020
  • Instructional Skills Workshop, University of British Columbia, 2019

Selected Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Awards

  • Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, University of British Columbia, 2022
  • Teaching As Research (TAR) Award, University of British Columbia, 2021