George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
Thousands of scholars have converged at George Brown College's St. James and Waterfront campuses for the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (May 30 – June 6). Among the critical conversations, knowledge-sharing, and networking are daily Career Corner sessions focused on professional development.
The 90-minute Career Corners, facilitated by industry professionals, explore a wide range of topics related to career growth and development within the post-secondary education sector and beyond. They are held daily at varying times at 51 Dockside Dr., room 527 (inside the Library Learning Commons).
Career Corner workshops are open to all registered conference attendees and members of the public with a valid community pass.
Career Corner — Creating an inviting and supportive learning environment in post-secondary contexts by using an accessibility framework
The Wed., June 4 installment of Career Corner was facilitated by George Brown College faculty facilitator professor/instructional designer Anna Bartosik (she/ona/elle). Bartosik prompted participants to explore ways to recruit and maintain engagement in teaching through an intersectional lens — all while using an accessible framework.
The morning session began with a clear overview of the seminar’s objectives, followed by group introductions and a variety of participatory opportunities. Bartosik ensured that her methodology matched the content of her lesson: she asked questions, she encouraged — but didn’t enforce — engagement, she left space for reflection, and she provided several candid accounts from her own experiences in the classroom.
One standout theme from the talk was embracing emotions in accessible, instructional settings.
“I used to think I needed to leave myself and my life at the door when I entered the classroom,” said Bartosik. “Now I embrace my emotions.”
Bartosik’s commitment to emotional transparency supercharged her presentation. Levity and wit were artfully applied throughout the morning’s discussions — and she reflected on the hardships of some of her international students with candor and unmasked empathy.
As Bartosik guided participants through a model lesson plan, she encouraged the room to reflect on the following as she demonstrated anticipating the audience’s accessibility needs in her delivery:
“Universal Design for Learning is a framework to help guide the design of learning environments to proactively meet the needs of a larger group of learners; these environments are accessible, inclusive, and equitable, but do not remove the need for accommodations.”
If you missed this engaging session, you catch Anna Bartosik presenting alongside Kathleen Kinsella at evolvED on Friday, June 6.