Teaching Statement

I have international interdisciplinary experience in research, capacity strengthening and programming and this is proven through teaching and students’ learning processes. I follow the UoG Graduate Learning Outcomes and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) core competencies. for designing, planning, and implementing the courses I teach. The UoG EDI principles (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) guide my teaching, research, and service commitments. I apply learner-centred and transformative educational methodologies to address students learning needs and support learning. By using real-life examples, students relate complex theories and turn concepts into practice through first- hand experience with guest speakers from different disciplines and parts of the world. I put into practice the triple loop learning approach I developed in 2013. It has been validated in teaching and research. The first component is Learning for Action focuses on obtaining new information, new knowledge, concepts, and theories and matching this new information to current belief systems, practices, and norms of behaviour. The methods used for this purpose included lectures, workshops, and assignments. 

Learning in Action focuses on the application of the acquired knowledge in practice. It involves reflection to understand the problem or situation from a new perspective. This type of learning involves thinking outside the box. It requires creativity and critical thinking for new possibilities, choices, and actions. The methods used for this purpose include engagement with scholarly communities of practice, simulated games, guest speakers and case studies. Learning from Action supports students to work on challenging areas and gaps they may have identified in learning in action. This represents the highest form of structural self-examination and self-actualization about the being and the world. In this stage transformative learning becomes evident. The learning from the action phase involves a move to a new inclusive way of thinking and acting. It is not only challenging our thinking or mental models, learning from action helps to realize how we see and position ourselves in the world. 

The methods used for this purpose include mentoring and course projects. Learning processes are critical to me as I work with students. They support my development. I assess what worked well, what needs to be improved, and how these need to be improved to serve better my students. Therefore, I am a role model and inspiration to students, who despite the challenges they have, make a difference in the world. I am dedicated to opening spaces for students from the Global South with the support of different funding opportunities. In my role as an educator in different educational systems (formal, non-formal and informal education), I have been able to instruct courses in Southeast Asia, Latin American, and African countries. 

My students include PhDs (scientists and researchers), practitioners, policymakers, students (undergraduate and graduate), and members of rural communities and indigenous groups. In the formal context of higher education, I currently instruct RST6010 Sustainable Rural Systems II; RPD6291 Rural Development Administration, RPD6070 Project Development: Principles, Procedures, and Selected Methods and RPD6030 International Rural Development Planning and RPD6290 Gender Planning and Development. In my master’s and Ph.D. studies, I taught the course EDRD 3400 Sustainable Communities for 5 years. I also designed and delivered the course EDRD 4020 Rural Extension in Change and Development an undergraduate fourth-year course in OAC. In the non-formal educational setting, I designed and implemented the course on ‘Early Generation Seed Production and Rapid in-vitro Propagation’ for undergraduate professors at Faculté d’Agronomie et de Bio-Inginerie (FABI), University of Bujumbura, Burundi. I was involved in course development and capacity strengthening on Gender Transformative Change for agronomists in coffee value with Nespresso, course development and capacity strengthening on ‘Gender Responsiveness in Agricultural Research for Development for African scientists and national researchers in the African Region. I developed and delivered Training of Trainers on Capacity for Agricultural Innovation in PLWHA – Southern Africa: The MIRACLE Project. As a result, I developed a toolkit on ‘Agricultural Innovation in small agriculture to HIV/AIDS, sustainable livelihoods, and food security. I also designed, planned, and implemented the educational and capacity strengthening program in social and gender themes for social and bio-physical scientists, practitioners and post-doctoral fellows in countries and hubs across the CGIAR Research Program in AAS. In the informal context, I trained indigenous farmers in the Andes of Peru on participatory action research tools and participatory videos to share their life experiences and context.