New University Teaching Chair to Explore Innovative Media in Teaching

You may have heard the expression busy people get things done. CBU’s Dr. Katherine Jones is one of those people. As an Associate Professor of Biology, academic researcher, environmental advocate, community volunteer and solo parent of three children under ten, Dr. Jones still welcomes new challenges. Earlier this year, she responded to a call for applications to serve a two-year term as a University Teaching Chair and was recently notified of her success. She’s now embracing the opportunity to work with the Centre for Teaching and Learning to champion best practices in teaching and learning while continuing to teach part-time. Dr. Jones will hold the title of CBU Teaching Chair in Digital Pedagogies. She says the recent growth of digital platforms in education makes this an ideal focus for a teaching chair.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning,” says Dr. Jones. “As educators, we continue to examine changes in teaching technologies and the implications for student engagement and assessment. I am excited to dedicate time to further our understanding of digital pedagogies and provide peer support to CBU’s teaching community in this subject area.”

Dr. Jones will assist with the design and delivery of workshops for CBU’s teaching faculty. She will build a knowledge base on the ways media intersect with effective teaching. Broadly, she will explore how students can leverage digital platforms to build communication skills and how teaching faculty can infuse digital media projects within their assessment strategies.

In this role, Dr. Jones is building on her previous experience in faculty development. In 2021, she created a training program for CBU educators and researchers focused on how to effectively communicate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts. Dr. Rod Nicholls, Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, says Dr. Jones’s passion as a STEM educator will fuel her success as a Teaching Chair.

“Dr. Jones has done a great deal of research around science communication which not only furthers her own teaching success but offers expanded learning opportunities to CBU colleagues,” says Dr. Nicholls. “She will be a tremendous asset to the University and her work will enrich the CTL’s programming.”

CBU Teaching Chairs are tenured, tenure-track or continuing faculty who have demonstrated teaching excellence and a desire to advocate and support evidence-based, university-wide teaching excellence. CBU currently maintains two Teaching Chairs, with plans to have staggered terms with one new appointment each year. Dr. Jones will join Dr. Peter MacIntyre, Teaching Chair of Innovation in Teaching Spaces and Resources, for 2022-23. Outgoing Teaching Chair, Dr. Jason Loxton, will act as a mentor to Dr. Jones in the weeks ahead, before concluding an extended-term on June 30.

Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Jones, new CBU Teaching Chair in Digital Pedagogies!