Pre-Service Teacher Education

By Kate Hargreaves 

The University of Windsor’s Alumni Stadium was bursting with spirit, cheers and...ducks as the Faculty of Education’s LEAD service-learning classes hosted hundreds of local children for the annual LEAD Legacy Project Challenge Cup. 

LEAD — which stands for Leadership Experience for Academic Direction — is a service-learning course first introduced by Dr. Geri Salinitri in which second-year teacher candidates volunteer in schools to work with educators to support student success programming.

By Kate Hargreaves 

Sherri-Lynn Soumis’s mentor used to tell her to “pay it forward” whenever she could. 

As a high school English teacher, Soumis is doing just that as an associate teacher, mentoring University of Windsor teacher candidates through their practice teaching placements. 

Soumis explains that she takes inspiration from her own associate teachers who left a lasting impression on her. 

By Kate Hargreaves 

Randy Beardy never imagined himself becoming a teacher.  

“I’m kind of a rebel at heart,” he laughs. “If you tell me to do something, I have a hard time doing it.”   

Rather than following in his mother's footsteps — also a University of Windsor BEd alum, Beardy (BA Psychology ’17, BEd ’24) says he wanted to become a football coach. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

By Kate Hargreaves 

Teaching has been part of Gina Marcon’s (BA ’87, BEd ’88) life since she was six years old. 

“I knew then that I was going to be a teacher,” she says. “Every time my cousins would come over, we’d play school, and I was always the teacher.” 

By Kate Hargreaves 

Crossing the convocation stage is far from the end of teacher education. 

At the University of Windsor, continuing teacher education courses support new and established teachers in developing their skills and professional qualifications with a diverse range of program and course offerings. 

By Kate Hargreaves

While experiential learning has always been central to teacher education — in the form of teaching placements in elementary and secondary schools — University of Windsor teacher candidates have the unique opportunity to participate in service-learning programs to broaden their horizons, expand their skills and give back to the community.

By Kate Hargreaves

Elementary and secondary teachers play a critical role in building student skills in responsible environmental citizenship. 

That’s why, when the Faculty of Education recently revised its B.Ed. course offerings, it was only logical that one of the new electives focus on environmental sustainability.