Teaching and Learning

A family legacy of teaching and coaching

Brett Bjorgan in front of a rack of weightsTeacher candidate Brett Bjorgan was inspired to follow his father's footsteps into teaching and coaching (KYLE SULLIVAN/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

While having your dad teach at your high school may sound like a nightmare to some, for Brett Bjorgan, it was an inspiration. 

“My dad is a secondary physical education teacher, and my high school experience was great having him there as a mentor and making sure I was doing the right thing and staying in line,” he says. 

Why great art teachers still get their hands dirty

Sanja Srdanov in front of a wall of student artSanja Srdanov is a secondary art teacher and associate teacher mentoring teacher candidates from the Faculty of Education (S. SRDANOV/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

No matter where secondary visual arts teacher Sanja Srdanov (BFA ’01, BEd ’02) is teaching, her focus is both student-centred and grounded in craft. 

A Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from the University of Windsor, Srdanov emphasizes the importance of being a practicing artist as a visual arts educator. 

UWindsor forum tackles anti-racism and power in newcomer settlement work

Anti-racism forum School of Social Work professor Dr. Riham Al-Saadi hosted the forum, Approaches to Integrating Immigrants & Refugees 2.0, bringing together community organizations, service providers and practitioners for a day of learning about inclusive approaches to newcomer integration in Windsor-Essex. (Photo courtesy of Riham Al-Saadi/ University of Windsor)

By Lindsay Charlton

What began as an icebreaker — picking up a marble for each statement that applied and weighing how light or heavy a bag felt — opened a frank discussion about power and privilege.

“The best assumption is usually that if you are coming from a dominant background, your bag is lighter,” School of Social Work professor Dr. Riham Al-Saadi shared. “This led to emotional reflections from those with lighter bags and conversations about what they can do to support.”

UWindsor research powers the next wave of motion‑sensing technology

Dr. Jalal Ahamed and BhawyaDr. Jalal Ahamed, mechanical, automotive and materials engineering professor, and lab manager Bhawya in the MicroNano Mechatronics Lab at the University of Windsor. (ANGELA KHARBOUTLI/ University of Windsor)

By Lindsay Charlton

Every time a car deploys an airbag, a smartphone tilts its screen or a satellite adjusts its position in space, tiny motion sensors are at work — quietly measuring movement with remarkable precision.

At the University of Windsor, researchers are working to push that technology further, developing next-generation sensors that are smaller, more accurate and better suited for large-scale manufacturing.

Your teachers are on their own when it comes to AI — one UWindsor researcher wants to change that

Samita Sarkar in front of a grey background wearing heart shaped glassesPhD student and secondary English teacher Samita Sarkar is researching high school teachers' navigation of a changing AI landscape (PROVIDED BY S. SARKAR/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

When Samita Sarkar was a new teacher, a lot was happening in the world. ChatGPT was going viral online — and so was a global pandemic. 

As a secondary school English teacher, she found herself confronted with issues around artificial intelligence (AI) and student writing assessment with little to no policy guidance. 

“We had to make high-stakes decisions around academic integrity, assessment and what counts as ‘student writing’ with no institutional guidance or administrative support,” she says. 

Outstanding Scholar driven by advocacy and connection

Victorieuse SambaoOutstanding Scholar Victorieuse Sambao, a Law and Politics major and recently elected the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance (UWSA) president. (Photo courtesy of Victorieuse Sambao/ University of Windsor)

By Lindsay Charlton

Victorieuse Sambao wants to see the world become a better place.

A natural people person, the Law and Politics major was recently elected and started her term as the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance (UWSA) President, and that connection with others drives much of what she does.

The "Great Olympic Journey" of one Human Kinetics class

A group of people in front of a WADA signGraduate students visited the World Anti-Doping Agency as part of Dr. Scott Martyn's Olympics-focused graduate course (S. MARTYN/University of Windsor)

Guest submission by Dr. Scott Martyn

Having studied the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (Milano Cortina 2026) held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy this past semester, five University of Windsor graduate students from the Faculty of Human Kinetics received an Olympic-calibre experience of their own last month.

The group, led by UWindsor professor Dr. Scott Martyn, travelled to Toronto, Montreal and Lake Placid, New York, to experience the modern Olympic movement first-hand.

For teacher candidates, by teacher candidates: New e-book provides resources for inclusive teaching about gender and sexuality

Laptop with home page for Gender and Sexuality in Education ebook homepageGender and Sexuality in Education Resources is now available as a free online pressbook (CANVA/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

How can teachers ensure inclusion in gendered languages like French? What can they do to address technology‑facilitated gender‑based violence? What would an intersectional feminist approach to teaching the history of prohibition look like? 

These are among the questions that a new pressbook out of the Faculty of Education begins to answer with resources entirely created by teacher candidates. 

From Windsor Law classrooms to the bench — three alumni appointed to Ontario and B.C. superior courts

Justice Scott Pratt pictured in his judicial robesWindsor Law alumnus, The Honourable Scott G. Pratt pictured in his judicial robes following his appointment to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Windsor. (SUBMITTED BY SCOTT PRATT/University of Windsor)

By Sara Meikle

Three alumni of Windsor Law have been appointed to senior courts in Ontario and British Columbia, underscoring the school’s continued impact on the Canadian judiciary.

The Honourable Scott G. Pratt, currently a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor, has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Windsor.

A daughter's grief, a nurse's reckoning: UWindsor researcher calls for system-level reform in cancer care

Natalie Giannotti pictured with her fatherDr. Natalie Giannotti, pictured with her father, says her work has taken on new meaning through her personal experience supporting him through his cancer journey. Her research examines gaps in the Canadian healthcare system and the need for reliable, patient-centred care. (SUBMITTED BY NATALIE GIANNOTTI/University of Windsor)

By Sara Meikle

Dr. Natalie Giannotti’s research has always focused on improving patient safety and healthcare systems.

But it wasn’t until she found herself navigating the system as a daughter, supporting her father through his cancer diagnosis and treatment, that the gaps she had long studied became personal.