About CELT

Brett McCollum holds a PhD in Chemistry (Simon Fraser University) and is a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2019). He is internationally recognized in the fields of scholarship on teaching and learning and discipline-based education research, serving as Editor-in-Chief of The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CJSoTL).

Prior to joining TRU, McCollum was a Full Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Mount Royal University. He also held an inaugural Board of Governor’s Teaching Chair, focusing on Educational Leadership, and has served as Chair of SoTL Canada, a constituency group of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

McCollum’s passion for improving the student learning experience was recognized through the MRU Undergraduate Research Supervision Award (2019), the Student Association Open Education Champion Award (2020), and the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations Distinguished Teaching Award (2021). With research experience in both quantitative and qualitative methods, McCollum is enthusiastic about evidence-based scholarly teaching and creating the conditions for faculty, staff, and students to collaborate as partners for exceptional learning experiences.

Carolyn Ives holds an MA in English (University of Saskatchewan) and is a former faculty member in English at MacEwan University and in English and Modern Languages at Thompson Rivers University. Her work shifted to educational development in recent years through her roles as Academic Integrity Officer and then Curriculum Planning and Development Coordinator at MacEwan. Her professional interests include curricular integration of sustainability, diversity, and academic integrity; outcomes creation and assessment; the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL); and Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR).

Diane holds a PhD in Higher Education with a focus on research methodologies, learning theory, and e-learning (University of British Columbia), an M.Ed. in educational technologies and communications (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador), and an MBA with a specialty in Community Economic Development (Cape Breton University). Her career has spanned 5 provinces and has incorporated teaching, administration and leadership. Her research and professional interests include Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), transformative communities of practice, e-strategic planning, faculty development, collaborative online pedagogy, e-research, program evaluation, mentoring, and instructional design. Her most recent published works include a focus on mentoring women leaders, reconciliation as design, and faculty techno-resiliency via communities of practice. Diane is looking forward to working with you to explore how she can support your classroom teaching and learning – F2F, blended and/or online, as well as your SoTL research.

Grizzlypaws was born and raised in Lillooet, British Columbia in the Interior Plateau region, she is of St’át’imc descent. Her ancestral name is "Stálhalamcen – Grizzly Paws," She belongs to the people of Xwisten the Bear Clan. She is an independent mother of four children. At the age of sixteen, Grizzlypaws began to relearn the St’át’imc traditions. Her passion grew stronger in education and the heritage of her people; it became a way of life. She is a dancer, drummer and singer/songwriter, an academic, educator and a language/cultural advocate.

The experiences in her education provided her with knowledge and skills with a focus on providing her recipients with the highest quality of cultural education based on the values and needs of the community while meeting the deliverables of the organization or project goals. Grizzlypaws worked at the St’át’imc Government Services office as the Education and Training Manager to strengthen the collective organization and capacity of the St’át’imc; collaborate with the St’at’imc and partners to exercise greater control over education skills and training and to establish a knowledge-based foundation to inform St’át’imc decision-making. She taught extensively through the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and the St’at’imc Education Institute. She has many years of work in curriculum development with the Gold Trail School District, the St’át’imc Education Institute and St’át’imc Government Services.

Her education background consists of a Masters of Education in Education Foundation Land Based Education(2011); Bachelor of General Studies Degree Double Minor Linguistics & First Nation Studies(2007); Bachelor of Education Degree in Curriculum Development & Instruction (2007); Professional Development Teaching Certificate (2006); Language Proficiency Certificate (2003); Counselling & Wellness Certificate (2003). Grizzlypaws was also granted a Language Heroes award for the British Columbia Salishan language family. Her educational accomplishments were made possible through the balance of traditional and spiritual practices of her St’át’imc cultural heritage. Followed by her academic credentials Grizzlypaws was recognized through the Indigenous Music Awards (2019) and awarded for the category “Best Hand Drum Music” for her album debut “Come Home” a week after her receiving an award she competed in the British Columbia Pro Cup and took home two metals for her first Natural Body Building competition as a bikini athlete. She released her new Album “Muzmit.stumc” (2019); dedicated to language revitalization through prayer songs and now preparing for the 2021 bodybuilding competition year where she will strive to earn her place at centre stage and move onto the nationals to obtain her Pro Card and beyond. Grizzlypaws was inducted into the Wall of Fame at the University of Saskatchewan Alumini (2020) for her athletic achievements and the recognition of the Indigenous Education work she offers globally. Thorough knowledge of education and cultural affirmations had proven valuable in Grizzlypaws educational work and cultural way of life.

Rhonda McCreight holds a Masters in Nursing with a focus in teaching through Athabasca University. She originally completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of British Columbia and proceeded to take two specialties in Perinatal and Emergency Nursing through BCIT. Rhonda worked in many northern communities in BC, the Yukon and Northwest Territories in perinatal nursing and acute care management. Early on, Rhonda worked as a Perinatal educator, teaching both in the community (prenatal) and as a clinical educator in perinatal and neonatal services, which likely assisted her career path towards academia. Rhonda has been teaching at the Williams Lake campus since January of 2008, launching TRU’s first Practical Nursing Program that year. Over the years, teaching in all nursing and healthcare programs on campus, Rhonda became a senior nursing faculty mentor to newer faculty within the department. Having appreciated the faculty development opportunities that are readily available on the Kamloops campus, Rhonda has been pushing for increased faculty opportunities on the WL campus. She is extremely excited to be the newest member of the CELT team, focusing on her hometown WL campus needs!

Wei holds a PhD in Education, an M.Ed., both focusing on Assessment and Evaluation (Queen’s University), an M.A. in Linguistics (Yonsei University, South Korea), and a B.A in English (Yanbian University, China). His research focuses on assessment for teaching and learning, large-scale testing, program evaluation, and students’ success. His work has earned prestigious awards such as SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and has been presented at international conferences and published in high quality journals in the field.

Wei has been an educator for more than 18 years. Most of his work experiences involve teaching, research, curriculum design and implementation, and educational administration at postsecondary institutions. He has taught English, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean as a foreign language to various age groups, and trained teacher candidates on practical teaching in China and how to work with English Language Learners in Canada. He values experiential learning and makes every effort to create meaningful experiences for students to learn and grow.

More recently, Wei used design-thinking to manage the development and approval of two professional degree programs as well as two research degree programs at Queen’s university. He also implemented evidence-based decision-making for quality assurance in the ongoing refinement of competency-based models of residency education for Queen’s Family Medicine, especially with the Competence Committee development and accreditation preparation.

Alexis holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on critical pedagogies, decolonizing education, and culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies (University of Victoria); an MEd in Language and Literacy (University of Victoria); a Professional Post-Degree in Secondary education specializing in Social Studies and English Language Arts (University of Victoria); and a B.A. in Ancient and Medieval History (University of Calgary). She is the recipient of a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, a Vancouver Foundation Systems Change Grant, and a National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Grant.

Alexis has taught in both post-secondary and K-12 settings within British Columbia for 14 years. At the post-secondary level, Alexis has worked with both undergraduate and graduate level learners in Education programs. Her K-12 background has included working with youth in urban, rural, and alternative school settings.

Alexis is passionate about curriculum development and the relationship between the teaching and learning experiences. Her professional interests include developing curriculum, teaching, and learning practices centered on equity, diversity and inclusion; cultural responsiveness; and decolonization. She is looking forward to working with you to support your classroom teaching and learning, and scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research.