CTL Newsletter - September 2024
Message from the Chair
Welcome and welcome back to all members of the CTL community. I’m writing this from Red Pine Camp (aka family camp) on the shores of Golden Lake in the Ottawa Valley and on the territory of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. My family has been coming to Red Pine Camp during the same week in late August for almost 30 years. For me, it marks the transitional time between the slow heat of summer and the bustle of a new school year. This year, anticipating my first September at OISE as Chair, I am more grateful than ever for the chance to spend time with family before easing into the frenzy of fall. I hope you each found some time to rest and refresh before the term begins.
And this fall term promises to be exciting! We are welcoming new student cohorts into all our programs, new faculty members are joining us from near and far, and we have announced new faculty and staff leadership appointments. Over the last several months, CTL faculty have earned tenure and promotions to the ranks of Associate and Full Professor, received grants and awards for their cutting-edge research, and been recognized for innovative pedagogical approaches in their teaching. Inside this newsletter, and across our social media feeds throughout the term, you can learn more about the amazing accomplishments of faculty, staff, and students, and see how we are working together to create structures within our department and programs that can support research and pedagogical innovation.
As always, our successes are thanks to the support of many people. I’d like to thank the entire CTL staff and leadership team for helping me figure out some of the ins and outs of the department. It’s been a steep learning curve and I might have fallen off the edge if not for their advice and enthusiasm.
If you haven’t had the chance to stop by my office and say hello, I hope you join me for a coffee or tea this fall. I’ll be sending out invitations for informal CTL conversations in a couple of weeks. And, feel free to reach out to make an appointment. My door is always open. Have a wonderful fall term.
Warm regards,
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Important Dates
Sept.2.2024 - Labour Day (UofT Closed)
Sept.3.2024 - ROSE Orientation
Sept.5.2024 - BFEP Cohort Launch
Sept.6.2024 - MT Orientation
Sept.6.2024 - C&P & LLE Orientation
Sept.9.2024 - Start of OISE Classes
Oct.14.2024 - Thanksgiving (UofT Closed)
Hires, Appointments, Tenure & Promotion
Dr. Rishi Krisnamorthy, Assistant Professor in Science Education
As a science educator and learning scientist, Rishi's work draws on critical, Indigenous, feminist new materialist and postcolonial theories to investigate how power dynamics structure learning environments and science phenomena in and outside of classroom settings. They examine this through two strands of research: 1) a focus on the ways in which ideologies from larger social worlds shape how inequities are (re)produced through everyday science teaching interactions and 2) designing school science curricula that explicitly recognizes science teaching and learning as political towards creating solutions for resisting and fighting systems of oppression in learning environments.
Dr. Ashley Moore, Assistant Professor of Language Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Settings
Ashley will be joining CTL as of January 1, 2025. His research program has two main strands: the first pursues the realization of queer-inclusive and -affirming language education, and the second introduces and explores the concept of linguistic dissociation, which he defines as a psychosocial process through which an individual or group distances themselves from certain linguistic resources within their existing repertoires because those resources have come to connote intersubjective disharmony. He is passionate about enacting equitable and socially just change across the institutions, organizations, and fields in which he is embedded.
Dr. Shakina Rajendram, Assistant Professor of Language Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Settings
Shakina is newly appointed as the LLE program coordinator and previously served as the Coordinator of the LLE Language Teaching Field and the Course & Curriculum Development Lead for CTL7019 Supporting English Language Learners from 2020-2022. Shakina's research centers on teacher education, with a focus on preparing teachers to support multilingual learners across K-12 and higher education contexts through translanguaging and multiliteracies pedagogies. Drawing from her background as a teacher and researcher in Malaysia, Shakina’s research includes a focus on decolonial critical perspectives stemming from the Global South. At OISE, Shakina teaches in the areas of multilingual education, second language teaching methodologies, and second language curriculum development.
Dr. Thursica Kovinthan Levi (LLE)
Dr. Kovinthan Levi’s scholarship and teaching include supporting students with refugee experiences in K-12 settings, multilingual language learners, peace & conflict education, and teacher education. Her current research explores the role of trauma-informed pedagogies in teaching about Truth and Reconciliation for newcomer multilingual language learners in Canada. Dr. Kovinthan Levi has worked as a teacher with the Toronto District School and as an education policy analyst with Global Affairs Canada.
Dr. Vijay Ramjattan (LLE)
Dr. Vijay Ramjattan's teaching and research interests focus on the intersections of language, race, and work within the context of education. His most recent work deals with accent as a site of racialization and work under neoliberal capitalism. Prior to joining CTL, Vijay worked as an EAL specialist at the University of Guelph, where he developed anti-racist training for faculty and staff who work with international students who use English as an additional language. When not teaching, Vijay will be working on his first monograph, which explores how international teaching assistants conceptualize and perform an accent as part of their academic labour.
Dr. Neil Ramjewan (C&P)
Dr. Neil Ramjewan (he/him) is an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) and scholar of childhood, a path he found by way of curriculum studies. Understanding children and those positioned as childlike as the subjects of education, his work seeks to bridge childhood studies, curriculum, and pedagogy. Neil's scholarship interrogates dominant social constructions of childhood, often imagined as innocent, ignorant, and yet, a domain of hopeful social agency. Significantly, his work aims to reconceptualize and decolonize the dominant curriculum of childhood by turning to peripheral, marginal, and liminal cultural imaginaries. Pedagogically, Neil aims to invite adult learners to examine child-adult power dynamics within educational settings by confronting affections for childhood that condition their future teaching practices.
Dr. Alex Calvacante, C&P Program Coordinator
Alex Cavalcante has agreed to serve as C&P Program Coordinator for a 3-year term beginning July 1st. Alex brings to this position a keen interest in academic administration and leadership. Not only does he have a robust research program in financial literacy and mathematics pedagogies, he has served on a wide range of C&P and CTL committees and was just appointed incoming director of the Centre for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education.
Dr. Shakina Rajendram, LLE Program Coordinator
Shakina Rajendra, well known to many of us after her years of service as a CLTA, is joining us as an Assistant Professor and will also be the Program Coordinator for the Language and Literacies Education Program beginning July 1st. Shakina joins us with over 12 years of experience teaching linguistically and culturally diverse students in the K-12 and higher education levels and current research focuses on teacher education and supporting multilingual learners through translanguaging and multiliteracies pedagogies.
Dr. Gurpreet Sahmbi, MT Program Coordinator
Dr. Gurpreet Sahmbi into the role of MT Program Coordinator. Gurpreet has been a member of the MT Leadership Team since 2022 as the J/I Academic Coordinator, and as the Chair of MT Â鶹´«Ă˝ since 2023. In her role as MT Program Coordinator Gurpreet will continue as a member of the MT Leadership Team, Chair of MT Â鶹´«Ă˝, and a number of other aspects of MT program coordination and development, including MathPlus and J/I Dance and Drama integration. Gurpreet brings remarkable skills, knowledge and insights to her work and we look forward to her continued leadership and contributions.
Dr. Kim Jensen, MT Program Coordinator
Dr. Kim Jensen has been appointed as the MT Program Coordinator, starting August 1. Kim was a member of the MT instructional team in 2023-24 and the year prior Kim was a Program Officer with OCT’s Accreditation department. Kim’s career of 25 years in the Toronto District School Board included classroom teaching at the middle and high school levels, followed by over 20 years as a VP and then Principal. Kim’s board and system-wide leadership brings a depth and breadth of experience, expertise and perspective to her role as MT Program Coordinator. Kim will be a member of the MT Leadership Team supporting various aspects of the MT program development including curriculum renewal.
Alex Merrick, Coordinator of Practicum, Partnerships, and Experiential Education
Alex Merrick has been appointed as CTL’s Coordinator of Practicum, Partnerships, and Experiential Education. Alex brings a wealth of experience to this role and a deep commitment to relationship building, partnership development, stakeholder engagement and the student experience. Alex first arrived to OISE last fall when she joined the ROSE team responsible for overseeing the OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC), career counselling and development, and the Professional Preparation Conference. As an active member of the 2023-24 MT Teacher Education Liaison Committee (TELC) Alex worked closely with MT Leadership and students, building relationships with MT union and MA-CSE partners. Prior to OISE, Alex’s work in student life and leadership development at the University of Toronto included teaching conflict resolution, designing and evaluating experiential learning, and building networks with university and community partners. We are very excited to have Alex join CTL in this new role, which includes being a member of the MT Leadership Team!
Dr. Jennifer Brant, Associate Professor
Jennifer Brant has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Â鶹´«Ă˝. Jennifer belongs to the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk Nation) with family ties to Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Her research focuses on Indigenous maternal pedagogies as liberatory praxis, and she has been recognized with the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education “George L. Geis Dissertation Award" (2018). Dr. Brant is the current faculty co-chair of the Indigenous Education Network as well as a Faculty Editor of Curriculum Inquiry. Jennifer recently co-edited a new publication titled
Dr. Cassie J. Brownell, Associate Professor
Cassie Brownell has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the Â鶹´«Ă˝. Cassie is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research critically considers the politics of identity, literacies, and civics in contemporary schooling. She teaches courses in critical literacies, digital literacies, and elementary education. Cassie was also named a 2024 / Postdoctoral Fellow and will return to the Lansing area from September to May of this year to continue my longitudinal study related to kids' experiences during presidential election years.
Feature Story
School's Out: A Celebration of 2SLGBTQ+ Educators
On a warm June evening, the "School's Out" Pride Reception for 2SLGBTQ+ Educators came to life in the Nexus Lounge at the Â鶹´«Ă˝. Organized by Jen Gilbert, Qui Alexander, volunteers from the MT program, and co-hosted by the TDSB GSA Network, the reception welcomed over 100 queer, trans, and allied educators, teacher candidates, and members of the OISE community and was a testament to the power of shared purpose and the importance of representation in education. “School’s Out” created a space where educators could not only celebrate their contributions and collective achievements but connect with others who share their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Faculty, students, alumni and friends of OISE offered tributes to 2SLGBTQ+ teachers who had made an impact on their lives. The highlight of the event was a keynote address by the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, former Premier of Ontario and a well-known advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In her inspiring speech, she acknowledged the crucial role educators play in shaping inclusive and supportive environments for students. She spoke candidly about the challenges faced by 2SLGBTQ+ teachers and the work still needed to ensure that all students and educators feel safe and valued.
“School’s Out” highlighted the importance of celebrating diversity and fostering supportive networks within the educational community. We hope to bring this event back as an OISE wide event in 2025 and thank all those who contributed to making this a reality.
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Hon. Kathleen Wynne (Former Premier of Ontario), Dean Erica N. Walker, Jen Gilbert (CTL Chair), Qui Alexander (CTL Faculty), Arthur Burrows & Amy (Co-chairs, TDSB GSA Network), Lisa Juan (CTL Communications & Events Coordinator), Sim Kapoor (Director of Advancement, Communications & External Relations), Alex Simons (MT Student), Kenzie Wass (MT Student), Vic Rawlings (University of Sydney), Andrew B. Campbell (CTL Faculty), Amelia Ainsworth (CTL Research & Project Coordinator) and Alanna McKnight (CTL Academic Programs Officer)
Research Spotlight
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Brant! Dr. Brant is the co-editor of . In June 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its Final Report titled Reclaiming Power and Place. The report documented 231 “Calls for Justice” demanding immediate action against racialized, sexualized and gender-based violence. This book contributes to these Calls for Justice by demanding accountability and policy change. The book centres the voices of Indigenous women, families and communities by offering essays, testimonies, and reflections that honour collective calls to rematriate justice. On August 21, Dr. Brant hosted a book discussion for St. Thomas University in Fredericton, NB. More to come!
Congratulations to Dr. Emmanuelle Le Pichon and team on the 2024 Language Friendly School Conference! The SSHRC-funded international conference hosted at Glendale Secondary School in May 2024, aimed to advance inclusive and equitable language practices by disseminating research-validated pedagogy. Language Friendly Schools are dedicated to integrating evidence-based practices to promote linguistic and cultural inclusion. Currently, the global network of Language Friendly Schools includes 52 schools across four continents, encompassing Indigenous, public, and private schools, as well as those in refugee camps. The conference attracted 150 participants.
CERLL Symposium: Reimagining Languages and Literacies Education
In October, the Center for Educational Research in Languages and Literacies (CERLL) at OISE and Western University will jointly host the fifth Symposium of Southern Ontario Universities on “Reimagining Languages and Literacies Education” at Western University. “This Symposium aims to create a space for critical reflection to re-envision the education of languages and literacies in ways that promote sustainable and equitable futures.” Presentations, roundtable discussion and poster presentations will focus on a wide variety of research questions around bi-/multi-/trans-/plurilingualism in language education, multiliteracies and multimodalities and mobility, migration and inclusion. A great opportunity for researchers to showcase their work, learn and connect!
Recently Awarded Research Grants
Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Lui! Dr. Lui is the recipient of a 2024 . The award will support Dr. Lui’s research around the design and application of multi-user/collaborative Virtual Reality (VR) simulations in tackling challenging STEM concepts in the classroom. An exciting opportunity to learn more about the potential of VR to transform in-person and online learning!
Congratulations to Dr. Qui Alexander! Dr. Alexander is the recipient of a . The award will support Dr. Alexander’s research that centres Black Trans knowledges and histories to “create alternative modes of study that fundamentally reconceptualize education as a process and a discipline.” An important project that will mobilize Black trans ways of knowing to reimagine education!
Professor Kathy Bickmore and co-researchers in the U.K. and Croatia have been awarded a from the 2023 “Democracy, Governance and Trust” call for proposals. The proposal titled "Learning Amidst Disinformation and Social Conflict" is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, U.K. Research and Innovation and the Croatian Science Foundation. The study “aims to address the growing gap between young people’s lived experiences and their schools’ citizenship-relevant curriculum practices, in the contrasting contexts of England, Croatia, and Canada.” Congratulations to Prof. Bickmore and team!
Congratulations to Dr. Cassie J. Brownell! Dr. Brownell is the recipient of a 2024 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship on Growing Democracy: Examining Children's Civic and Rhetorical Practices in Election Years. The award will support Dr. Brownell’s research “to trace how U.S. children’s civic and rhetorical practices evolve across time, age, and political landscapes.” The project will reimagine how classrooms support children’s civic practices and participation.
Dr. Fikile Nxumalo was awarded a SSHRC New Frontiers in Research Fund for her grant titled "Participatory design for climate change adaptation". Fikile is the Principal Investigator of an ambitious new federally funded community-based research project that brings together interdisciplinary research partners from South Africa and the U.S. to co-create a community-based design for climate literacy in South Africa. With a funding envelope of over $2M from SSHRC, the National Science Foundation and South Africa-based National Research Foundation, the project will explore climate change in partnership with communities and address the climate risks that disproportionately impact young vulnerable Black children by developing climate-smart Indigenous food gardens in primary schools in South Africa, among other activities. For the full story, please see OISE’s post on Prof. Nxumalo’s project.
Professor Jim Slotta was awarded a SSHRC Connection Grant for his outreach project "Critical Action Learning Expo (CALEx): A global event for critical educators." Founded in 2019 by Prof. Slotta at OISE, (CALE) is both a research platform and community of teachers and scholars invested in pedagogical approaches that empower students as they navigate major socio-environmental issues. CALEx will draw on partners in India and Egypt to actionize a set of strategic international activities for CALE and host three events in Canada, India and Egypt that support that supports teachers' design and enactment of critical action lessons.
Upcoming Faculty Research Grants
Grant Opportunity | NOI | MRA | UofT Internal Deadline | Sponsor |
Sept.6.2024 12 PM | Sept.12.2024 9 AM | Sept.15.2024 | ||
2025 International Network of Education Institutes (INEI) Seed Funding Competition | Sept.27.2024 | Sept.27.2024 | Sept.27.2024 | |
Oct.24.2024 | Oct.28.2024 9 AM | Nov.1.2024 | ||
Sept.23.2024 12 PM | Sept.27.2024 9 AM | Oct.1.2024 | ||
Sept.13.2024 12PM CT | Oct.17.2024 12 PM | Oct.24.2024 9 AM | Oct.31.2024 | |
Nov.5.2024 12 PM | Nov.11.2024 9 AM | Nov.15.2024 | ||
Dec.3.2024 12 PM | Dec.10.2024 9 AM | Dec.12.2024 |
*If you intend to apply to any research funding opportunity, please contact CTL Research & Project Coordinator, Amelia Ainsworth, at ctlresearch@utoronto.ca early in the process.
Recent Doctoral Defenses
Dr. Mama Adobea Nii Owoo
PhD in Language and Literacies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Jeff Bale
Thesis Title: Language Policy as Personal Experience: A Southern Perspective of Language Policy via Ghana’s Practice of Medium of Instruction Policies.
Bio: Mama Adobea Nii Owoo recently defended her PhD in Language and Literacies Education at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on decolonial knowledge processes and language policy for multilingual English learners. Currently, she is beginning a Post-Doctoral Fellowship with McGill University.
Dr. Reshara Alviarez
PhD in Language and Literacies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman
Thesis Title: Making Sense of Language in Education in Trinidad and Tobago: A Language Friendly Approach
Bio: Reshara's research highlights opportunities for embracing language-inclusive policy and practice in Creole- and migrant-language contexts. Currently, Reshara is also an educator with the Toronto District School Board, having served as both a French teacher and a Middle Years Student Success Counsellor over the past seven years.
Dr. Christopher Gradin
PhD in Language and Literacies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman
Thesis Title: Heritage Language Learning in Light of the Legacy of Japanese Canadian Internment
Bio: In 20 years of teaching experience, Christopher has taught EFL in Japan, ESL, and EAP at the post-secondary level in Vancouver and Toronto. His oral history-based research of Japanese Canadian families who have experienced Internment examines symbolic violence, intergenerational communication, and reversing language shift.
Student Experience & Equity
The CTL Student Experience & Equity Team continues to work behind the scenes to keep the CTL community informed on events and resources and provide supports around mental health, well-being, accessibility and community resources. Contact the team at oise.ctl.equity@utoronto.ca
For more information from the CTL Student Experience & Equity Team, view the
September 3, 2024 - December 31, 2024
Through a 20 minute video, learn how to apply five simple, evidence-based actions in a variety of ways to promote positive mental health and wellbeing while practicing physical distancing and managing stressors.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
12:00-1:30 PM | Online
Learn about program eligibility, important deadlines, how to apply, and more.
Friday, September 13, 2024
1:30-4:30 PM | 455 Spadina Ave.
Students registered with Accessibility Services & those interested in learning more: Join this drop-in event to pick up resources, meet the peer team and staff, tour the new programming space, and enjoy treats!
Resources and Support for 24-hour community crisis:
| Call or text 9-8-8
| 1-844-451-9700
| 1-866-925-5454
Visit the page on the for Events, Community Resource Pages and more.
Upcoming Events
MT BFEP Cohort Launch
Official launch of the 2024 Master of Teaching Program Black Future Educators' Pathway (BFEP) Cohort
2024 MT Orientation
2024 MT Orientation event for students beginning their studies in the Master of Teaching Program
2024 C&P & LLE Orientation
2024 C&P and LLE Orientation event for students beginning their studies in the Curriculum & Pedagogy or Language and Literacies Education programs
In the next Issue
The next issue of the CTL Newsletter will be released in December 2024. Do you have a story, event or newsworthy item you would like to share with the CTL Community? Complete the and a member of the CTL Communications team will be in touch with any follow up questions. Have a communications related questions? Email:
—&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;
CTL Communications
Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
OISE, University of Toronto
252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON, M5S 1V6