I like to say that I come at education as a profession sideways. 

I gained experience in workplace education, training, and coaching during management positions in small domestic manufacturing industries; in a supervisory role working with adults with barriers to employment (mentally handicapped and mentally ill) for 10 years; and as a small business consultant in the Creative Industries.

Coupling these experiences with further competencies in product development and independent retail, I found myself taking on the role of a department head and instructor at the Centre for Arts & Technology in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The next 7 years was a whirlwind of on-the-job training in the post-secondary environment. The world of andragogy that I stepped into ignited a desire for formal education in Adult Education. I obtained a Certificate in Adult Education from Dalhousie University, and am currently enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Instructional Design at Athabasca University.

I recently moved back to North Battleford SK, where I worked within the Regional College system for a year. My coordinator responsibilities included active community engagement, as well as exploring and offering non-credit educational contracts to First Nations Communities. I worked with nation’s administrations during this time to determine what programming needs the regional college could fill. Currently I work as a part time assistant Instructional Designer with First Nations University.

As a professional educator I believe that my responsibility is to facilitate a learner-centred delivery of content materials that actively encourages and engages adult learners in an authentic, but supported journey – whatever that looks like for them.

I love the opportunities of adult education, of empowering learners, and encourage the admission “I do not know.” It is a benchmark for starting, and opens the door to finding answers. A learner who believes they know everything rarely goes exploring, and a safe learning environment where ‘mistakes’ are embraced provides the backdrop for the discovery and the confidence building of experiential learning.

Currently, I find motivation in strategic planner and societal theorist Roger Kaufman’s query, “if you are not adding value to our shared society what assurance do you have that you are not subtracting?”

Critique of Learning Tools ⇒