About the Centre for Teaching and Learning
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is a team of faculty developers, instructional designers, instructional design technologists, a multimedia specialist, immersive technology specialists and our digital learning and learning management system (LMS) support team.
Who we are
Our dedicated CTL team represent a broad range of experience and expertise in the areas of assessment, course design and development, multimedia and educational technology, and teaching in traditional, hybrid, online, dual sync and hyflex environments.
The CTL team strives to meet our faculty where they are, while also inviting our colleagues to collaborate and engage in learning and development that promotes growth, expansion and fluidity in our teaching practice. We offer a variety of professional development opportunities, including asynchronous learning, and synchronous workshops, intensive courses, and one-to-one consultations. We also support the development of inclusive and anti-racist practices, Indigenization and equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging strategies and support connection to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through changemaking and social innovation.
Our vision
To inspire excellence by igniting curiosity, connecting communities and supporting bravery at the leading edge of teaching and learning.
CTL Annual Reports
Explore the CTL initiatives, activities, events, consultations, awards and data collection from the past academic years.
Our priorities
At the CTL, our priorities are to:
- encourage and facilitate discussion about professional teaching practice at the postsecondary level through workshops, mentoring, online learning, and open dialogue materials for faculty on topics related to assessment, teaching strategies and teaching with technology;
- create instructional resources for teaching and learning;
- implement a model for new faculty orientation and development;
- develop skills in academic areas for making and implementing informed curriculum delivery choices;
- provide support and facilitate continuous improvement in college curriculum;
- facilitate skill development for the effective use of technology for teaching and learning; and
- provide and support technological resources to enhance teaching and learning (e.g., student response systems, development software, digital camera, web links) and print resources (e.g., books, journals) to enhance teaching and learning.
Meet the team
Jump to: Dr. Anne-Liisa Longmore | Aneesh Abdulkader | Melanie Doyle | Kelly Fox | Amy Goruk | Emma Greenfield | Karina Mejia | Tracy Mitchell-Ashley | Ashley Priest | Kim Reid | Iain Robertson | Samantha Sullivan Sauer | Victor Skierski | Liam Squires | Colleen terHaar | Rob Theriault | Anthony Tilotta | Faith Visentin | Tiffany Yao
Dr. Anne-Liisa Longmore
Dean, Centre for Academic Quality, Excellence and Innovation
As a passionate lifelong learner, educator, researcher, and academic administrator, Dr. Longmore is honoured to serve Georgian College community and the new Centre for Academic Quality, Excellence and Innovation as dean. Anne-Liisa joined Georgian College in 2023, after serving more than 15 years in the college sector in a variety of academic roles including faculty member, program coordinator, student advisor, faculty/education developer, associate dean, and dean. Prior to joining academia, Anne-Liisa held a variety of progressive leadership roles in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors leading strategic business, communications, market, and product development and organizational learning initiatives. Anne-Liisa’s passion for learning and development led her to shift careers and pursue a Master of Continuing Education (2007) and a Doctor of Education (2014) with a specialization in adult and workplace learning from the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education.
In addition to her role as dean and academic leader, Anne-Liisa maintains a robust scholarly research agenda continuing to pursue her research interests in transformative learning, transformative listening, liminality, learner transitions, leadership learning and organizational development and change. Anne-Liisa is committed to continued growth, development and community service and is an active member in several Georgian committees and work groups and externally in the International Transformative Listening Collective, the International Transformative Learning Network, Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Committee – Teaching and Learning, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and Professional and Organizational Development Network.
Kelly Fox
Faculty Developer
Kelly Fox is a proud alumna and faculty member at Georgian College. As a faculty developer, she is deeply committed to supporting her colleagues by providing the resources and skills needed to enhance teaching and learning practices, engage in self-reflection, and explore areas of personal and professional significance.
Recently, Kelly completed a secondment with the International Education and Development department, where she co-developed a micro-credential on international virtual exchange and supported faculty in creating virtual exchange projects. Over her 25-year career at Georgian, she has held various roles, including Dental Hygiene Clinical and Faculty Lead, Pharmacy Technician Coordinator, Georgian College Interprofessional Lead, Curriculum Developer, and Academic Quality Lead.
Her extensive experience includes successfully achieving full accreditation for the Pharmacy Technician program, serving as an auditor for the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario and the Canadian Dental Accreditation Commission, where she gained valuable knowledge and skills in accreditation processes. Kelly has also been an OCQAS accreditation auditor since 2015.
Kelly has a keen interest in instructional coaching, with the primary goal of enhancing teaching practices to improve student learning outcomes and foster a culture of continuous professional development among educators.
Other interests include podcasting, global learning, intercultural knowledge and communication, and artificial intelligence.
Amy Goruk
Instructional Designer
Amy Goruk joined the CTL in August of 2010. Prior to that, she worked at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden as an eLearning developer and then as an instructional designer.
Amy works with faculty who are moving their courses from traditional face-to-face learning to online, hybrid or GC Flex learning. Currently, Amy is working with the Pathways teams co-facilitating OCDP, FlexCDP, HybridLink and OnlineLink.
Amy is also a proud Georgian graduate with a diploma in web design and production.
Karina Mejia
Instructional Design Technologist
Karina joined the CTL team in November 2023 and is a proud Georgian College alumna. She brings over a decade of experience in designing impactful training materials and multimedia content, drawing from her background in aviation.
In her role as an Instructional Design Technologist, Karina is passionate about helping faculty explore and master the educational technology tools available at Georgian College, empowering them to integrate these resources confidently into their teaching
Tracy Mitchell-Ashley
Faculty Developer: Competency Framework; Changemaking Pedagogy
Tracy Mitchell-Ashley is a changemaking faculty member whose passion for teaching has led to her role as a faculty developer in the CTL. A postsecondary faculty member since 1997, and since 2009 at Georgian, Tracy has excitedly connected with peers to create meaningful learning experiences for students. An avid collaborator, she is thrilled to work with faculty peers on their teaching journey and represents CTL on many teams across the college.
She has been a change leader at Georgian since 2016. Her areas of interest include changemaking pedagogy, humanizing the classroom, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), engagement and active learning, experiential learning, digital storytelling, authenticity in design of all things teaching and learning, and mental health and well-being.
She is a member of the Teaching @ Georgian (T@G) Orientation team; a leader of Communities of Practice and Faculty Learning Communities related to important teaching topics; a co-facilitator of the Keys to Teaching and Learning series; a member of the Conversations in Mental Health team; and a member of the Innovative Georgian Faculty Competency Framework development team. She is also co-researcher on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)-funded Community College Social Innovation Fund research project, Growing a Region of Changemakers.
She is committed to the notion that we can graduate amazing community members who have flourished on their educational journey and that faculty can thrive while achieving this amazing goal.
Ashley Priest
Instructional Design Technologist
Ashley joined the CTL team in 2021, after starting at the college in 2010. She enjoys discovering how educational technology can support faculty (and ultimately their students!) with their teaching and learning goals. Ashley is especially interested in course design, accessibility, and universal design for learning. Ashley received her master’s degree in Learning and Technology from Royal Roads University.
Kim Reid
Instructional Designer
Kim Reid began her Georgian career as a faculty member of the Liberal Arts department in 2011, teaching communication and general education courses to students from across the Georgian portfolio. Her connection to Georgian began many years before, when she attended plays in the Georgian theatre as a child, and basketball and volleyball camps, clinics, and tournaments in the Georgian Grizzlies‘ gym as a young adult.
After falling in love with teaching adults as a part of the Georgian faculty team, Kim became interested in the work that the CTL was doing to enhance the teaching and learning experience for faculty and students, and wanted to a be a part of supporting, and working collaboratively with faculty and staff in creating courses and learning experiences that students would truly benefit from (and maybe even enjoy!).
As an instructional designer here at Georgian, Kim works to connect faculty to the information, resources, and skills that they need to feel confident in and excited about their teaching practice. She also creates space for faculty to self-reflect and consider the role of metacognition in the work they do, and the fulfilment and joy they find within it. Whether it’s designing professional development opportunities, facilitating sessions, or meeting with faculty one on one, she strives to create a culture and climate for learning and collegiality that creates space for everyone involved to feel seen, heard, appreciated, included, valued, and welcome.
Currently, Kim’s work is primarily in the co-development and facilitation of the Pathways programs and professional development.
Victor Skierski
XR Support and Developmental Specialist
Victor Skierski is our go-to, boots-on-the-ground extended reality (XR) support technician. A key member of the XR team, Victor oversees the setup and management of our XR equipment, helps configure our VR and AR headsets, co-ordinates service repairs, and provides exceptional XR/VR/AR student and faculty orientations, training and demonstrations.
Colleen terHaar
Digital Learning and LMS Administrator
Colleen terHaar joined the CTL team in August of 2022 after working in customer relationship management (CRM) solutions and data management for seven years in the non-profit sector.
Colleen is the primary point of contact for the system administration, functionality and services of the LMS. She provides support to the CTL team and faculty with respect to course creation and enrolment, resolution of LMS bugs, course fixes and permission issues as well as LMS system improvements related to the faculty and course experience.
Tiffany Yao
Instructional Design Technologist
Tiffany began her career at Georgian in July 2017, supporting faculty and students in various educational capacities. With extensive experience in this area, she understands the importance of creating user-friendly and effective learning environments.
A tech-savvy professional, Tiffany is always eager to explore innovative educational tools and solutions. She is committed to integrating new educational technologies to enhance learning experiences.
Her expertise extends beyond educational technology support. With a background in project management, Tiffany has significant experience in designing training materials and content, as well as creating and streamlining complex processes.
Good Reads by CTL
We are excited to introduce our new initiative where CTL team members will share their recommended readings each semester.
This curated selection aims to align with our Faculty Competency Framework, offering valuable resources for all faculty roles, including designer, researcher, inclusive practitioner, changemaker, digital navigator, collaborator, reflector, and mentor.
Through these thoughtful selections, we hope to inspire professional development and strengthen collaboration across our academic community. We invite you to dive into new perspectives and enhance our teaching practices together!
