Co-President (Returning) – Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is a doctoral candidate in Education (Societies, Cultures and Languages) at the University of Ottawa. He holds an MA degree in Educational Research from the University of Calgary and received his BEd and BA degrees from Brock University. With a background in teaching French as a Second Language (FSL), Cam’s primary interests are in teacher education, FSL, and educational technologies. Cam’s SSHRC Bombardier-funded doctoral research explores the use of educational technology by FSL teachers, and the development of a community of practice to help these teachers improve their practice.

Co-President (Incoming) – Kelly Zian Zhang

Kelly is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Pedagogy program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Kelly’s research interests focus on active learning and smart classrooms. Kelly serves as External Coordinator at Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Student Association (CTLSA), Graduate Student Member at OISE Council & Research Committee, Director of Campus Department at Chinese Students and Scholars Association of University of Toronto (UTCSSA).She believes that her varied background in administration, in combination with her experience as an educator, researcher will be of benefit to performing duties to our CCGSE team.

Amanda Battistuzzi – Program Co-Chair

Amanda is a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa. She holds a Master of Education, Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French as a Second Language, as well as a Bachelor of Education. Her teaching experience includes middle to upper level core French courses. Her research interests include core French teacher education and language learning experiences.

Thu Le – Program Co-Chair

Thu has been working as a university lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam, for ten years before becoming a full-time PhD student in Educational Studies, Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor. Her field of specialization is Social Cultural and Political Contexts in Education. She holds a master’s degree in TESOL. Her research interests lie in technology-enhanced teaching and learning, learner autonomy, online learning, and internationalization education. She is currently doing research regarding international students’ learning experience in an online environment

Mentorship Award Co-Chair – Adam Kaszuba

Adam is a doctoral candidate in the concentration Societies, Languages, and Cultures at the faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa. For his current research projects, Adam is focusing on the professional development of French second language teachers with respect to teacher education programs, to induction programs, and to modules supporting their evaluative practices.  Adam received a Baccalaureate in Arts from the University of Toronto where he majored in French Linguistics. Thereafter, he completed the Master of Teaching program at OISE, which simultaneously provided him with the Ontario Certified Teacher credential. He has a few years of experience working as an FSL teacher at international schools.

Mentorship Program Co-Chair – Anuli Ndubuisi

Anuli Ndubuisi is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Pedagogy specializing in engineering education and digital technologies at the University of Toronto. She is also the Research and Program Manager of the International Virtual Engineering Student Teams (InVEST) project and a researcher with Encore Lab at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Anuli has a civil engineering background and holds an MBA in Engineering Business Management from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Anuli is interested in exploring the use of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) to promote inclusive educational experiences and students’ global competence development.

Secretary – Ariadne Jevnikar

Ariadne is a PhD student at Lakehead University in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies stream. She is a certified member of the Ontario College of Teachers and has taught K3 – Grade 12. Ariadne’s research focuses on the influence of school administrators on the outcomes of Gender and Sexuality Alliances in publicly-funded high schools in Ontario.

Communications – Rakha Zabin

Rakha Zabin is  currently enrolled in the Joint Ph.D. Program as a full-time student. Her field of specialization is Leadership and Policy Studies, and her home university is Brock University. Earlier she pursued her Master of Education in the field of Administration and Educational Leadership and Master of Arts specializing in TESOL. After its completion, she decided to pursue a doctoral degree to explore further the different aspects of education, especially the internationalization of higher education. Her research interest lies in internationalization, experiential education, auto-ethnographic reflection, institutional policy, and educational administration and leadership.

Shamiga (Shamy) Arumuhathas is a doctoral student at Western University (UWO) in the arc of Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies (CPELS). Shamiga completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature and Natural Science History at York University and proceeded to pursue her BEd as both an intermediate and senior level international, and Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT). Shamiga’s M.Ed. research concentrated on racialized international post-secondary students’ experience in East Asia, specifically how they navigate higher education institutions (HEIs) that have increasingly become neo-colonial sites through their policies and practises.

ZHAO Feng Chenzi is a Chinese international PhD candidate in the Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies arc at the Faculty of Education, Western University, Canada. Her research interests  include  critical  institutional  studies,  women,  higher  education,  social  justice, globalisation, and China studies. Before embarking on her graduate studies in Canada, she studied and worked in Beijing for over  a  decade  as  an  English  teacher,  IELTS  trainer,  interpreter/translator,  and  business administrator,  and  participated  in  advocacies  and  charity  work for  marginalized  groups involving women, LGBTQ+ communities, and migrant workers and their children.  

Ryan Collis is a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at York University, working in the intersection of autism, expertise, and Science Fiction to discover future imaginaries where autistic students are truly supported. He holds degrees in English (BA, Queen’s ‘99), Computer Science (BScH, Queen’s ‘00), Education (BEd, OISE ‘05), and Science and Technology Studies (BScH, York ’19; MA, York ‘20). Ryan has been a high school teacher in the York Region District School Board since 2006, serves as the Graduate Student Officer of the Canadian Educational Researchers’ Association (CERA), and is a founding editor of the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity

Sam Van Geel is a first-year doctoral student in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests include French second language teachers’ beliefs and teach practices, specifically those related to the Common European Framework of Reference. Sam completed her undergraduate degrees in French and Education at the University of Western Ontario and her Master of Arts in Education at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Sam is also an FSL teacher and supply teaches regularly in Southwestern Ontario.

Noah Khan is an first year PhD student in the department of Social Justice Education at University of Toronto/Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. His research concerns itself with examining technological functions within education and their pedagogical consequences; he is interested in developing pedagogy that reflects lived technological experiences. Noah is a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow and has been made a United Nations SDSN Youth Local Pathways Fellow for his research on virtual education as a means to advance the SDGs. Outside of school and research assistantships, Noah finds himself writing poetry, reading, and delving into fields outside of Education.

Christine is a PhD Candidate in the Educational Leadership and Policy program at OISE/University of Toronto with a collaborative specialization in Education Policy. Christine is a former elementary and junior high school teacher specializing in Science, and in 2021-2022 taught in the Health Sciences (BHSc) Program at McMaster University, her alma mater. Christine also spent four years working at People for Education, a non-profit policy research and advocacy organization based in Toronto. Christine’s research interests include knowledge mobilization and policy change, equity in opportunities to learn, and the politics of education policy. Her doctoral research is about the experiences of Toronto high school students during COVID.

Thank you to all those who attended! A copy of the PowerPoint from the event can be found: CCGSE – 2021 Fall Event

Many thanks again to all those who were able to join us for the CCGSE workshop “All About The Literature Review” in March. The Zoom report says 75 folks attended, which is fantastic!

The Zoom recording and slides have been uploaded to our Google Drive, and should be accessible via the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1axuP7yHZKWEUIZa38aEcIzDbpu9N_ApX?usp=sharing