Podagogies: A Learning and Teaching Podcast

The Trickiness of Care in the Classroom with Dr. May Friedman and Fiona Cheuk

This episode of Podagogies is an exploration of care, from showing care for students in our classes to how instructors can ensure their own care needs are met. Dr. May Friedman and Fiona Cheuk from Toronto Metropolitan University share their approaches to navigating this complicated balance. May Friedman is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Much of May’s work explores issues of fat activism and weight stigma in many different settings. Drawing from her own experiences as a fat racialized mother, May looks at unstable identities, including bodies that do not conform to traditional racial and national or aesthetic lines. Fiona Ning Cheuk (they/them) is a gender neutral lecturer at the School of Disability Studies. Their pedagogical practices are informed by their continuous nurturing by queer, disabled, BIPOC community wisdom on how to survive and build resilient futures within academia. Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2v2nvcz4

Unlocking Learning: Escape Rooms in the Classroom (and Beyond) with Arica Oliver and Dr. Mark Julien

What happens when you turn a lecture hall into an escape room? In this episode of Podagogies, Brock University’s Arica Oliver and Mark Julien discuss how they've gamified human resources education. From puzzle-based test prep to navigating campus offices, their escape room activity blends competition, collaboration, and critical engagement with equity and human rights. The conversation explores how playful design can deepen learning, foster community, and make “dry” content memorable—while still addressing serious issues in HR and management. Arica Oliver is an experiential education coordinator in the Faculty of Education. Mark Julien is a Professor of Human Resource Management in the Goodman School of Business at Brock. Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y67yh52n

Live from the LTC: Conversations from TMU's 2025 Learning and Teaching Conference

In this special edition of Podagogies, Chelsea and Curtis sit down with faculty, contract lecturers, and staff attending Toronto Metropolitan University’s 2025 Learning and Teaching Conference. The conference has been a tradition every May at TMU for over thirty years. From considering the impacts of GenAI, to imagining more collaborative, caring, and inclusive learning spaces, members of TMU’s teaching community share their thoughts and insights from this year’s event. Many thanks to James Loney and Rachel Tekabo from TMU Libraries’ Digital Media Experience (DME) Lab for providing equipment and support for this recording. Photo credits: Nick Duarte and Robyn Joffe Featuring: Dr. Kateryna Metersky, Assistant Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing Louis Marrone, Contract Lecturer, Creative Industries Sherry Yuan Hunter, Program Director, Community Services, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Lori Beckstead, Associate Professor, Media Production Allyson Miller, Director, Academic Integrity Office Dr. Wendy Freeman, Associate Professor, Professional Communication Dr. Glaucia Melo dos Santos, Assistant Professor, Computer Science Dr. Catherine Jenkins, Contract Lecturer, Professional Communication Brian Norton, Program Manager, Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services Dr. Allison Petrozziello, Assistant Professor, Politics and Public Administration Kamilah Clayton, Contract Lecturer, School of Social Work Karen Arthurton, Contract Lecturer, School of Social Work Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/579ez77m

Teaching Sustainable Fashion through Land-based Learning with Rachel MacHenry

In this episode of Podagogies, we speak with Dr. Rachel MacHenry, Assistant Professor of Fashion at TMU, about her innovative course that brings first-year students to the rooftop urban farm to grow, harvest, and dye with natural plants. Blending sustainability, decolonization, and hands-on learning, the course invites students to reimagine fashion as a practice rooted in land-based knowledge and ecological reciprocity. From indigo to madder root, and now flax for linen, McHenry shares how the rooftop garden is transforming design education—and what it means to grow textiles and student engagement side by side. Rachel MacHenry is an Assistant Professor of fashion sustainability, decolonization and design. She has over twenty years of international experience developing textiles and fashion projects in collaboration with artisan communities in Haiti, Nepal, India, and Pakistan, and has worked on projects for both the Government of Canada and UNESCO. Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3fafkpaf

Podagogies Presents DocTalks, Episode 1: Introduction with Dr. Teresa Chan

In this inaugural episode of DocTalks, we introduce a brand-new branch of Podagogies dedicated to exploring the world of medical education. Co-hosts Curtis Maloley and Chelsea Jones welcome the new DocTalks co-host, Dr. Heather McNeil, Interim Assistant Dean of Faculty Development at the TMU School of Medicine. To kick things off, we’re joined by Dr. Teresa Chan, an educational leader, researcher, and the founding Dean of the School of Medicine. Together, we dive into the evolving role of medical educators, the importance of mentorship, and how technology—from podcasts to AI tutors—is transforming how future healthcare professionals are trained. Dr. Teresa M. Chan is the Founding Dean of the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine as well as TMU’s Vice-President, Medical Affairs. Previously, she served as Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development and an Associate Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She was also a Clinician Scientist with McMaster Education, Research, Innovation and Theory (MERIT), and has been a practicing emergency physician with Hamilton Health Sciences since 2013. Follow DocTalks on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/doctalks-presented-by-podagogies/doctalks-episode-1 Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/8tr26wey