Kim Webb (Faculty, Product Design) has completed a Master of Education in College Teaching (M.Ed.) through the Performa program at the University of Sherbrooke. She shared her project, how she developed as a teacher and more in a Q & A with the Communications Office.

The master’s is obtained by conducting an innovative pedagogical or research project or an in-depth analysis of a topic or your practice. Please tell me about your project/work and share the results and impact. 

Kim Webb: I was concerned with the high levels of anxiety I was seeing in the classroom. Anxiety exists on a spectrum and my research into student anxiety revealed that teacher clarity can either worsen anxiety or alleviate it. I’ve seen students in paralysis analysis unable to move forward in their homework, despite their abilities being more than capable.

Unrealistically, I set out to cure student anxiety. In the end, I discovered that simple changes can make students with anxiety handle workloads more effectively. The universal design of these changes helped all students, not just the ones with anxiety, perform better, faster and with better success.

To achieve universal design in assignments, I used Dr. Natasha N. Jones’ method of human-centered syllabus design and applied it to assignment design. By recruiting our students, grads and alumni, their expert-end-user feedback created an assignment layout that would be effective in improving teacher clarity. This new layout was applied to two assignments from two volunteer Dawson & Vanier teachers. Fifty Dawson students in the study showed improved completion rates and times, when compared with the original assignment layouts.

Tell me about your teaching career. When did you start teaching and why? What do you like best about teaching?

Kim Webb: I started teaching part-time in 2009. I never set out to be a teacher, I am an industrial designer, and I saw students as future industrial designers “to be trained” and be ready to enter the workforce. I wanted them to be as prepared as possible. When I was nominated for the Excellence Teaching Award in 2015, I was up against a colleague from a different department. He won, and that inspired me to do better so I began my Performa path.

Why did you decide to do the master’s and what did you get out of it? How long did it take you?

Kim Webb: It took me 10 years to complete it. I am not an academic. I do not like writing at all. The first 30 credits were fun, meeting other teachers, collaborating and creating projects together. The last 15 credits felt more individualistic, and when left alone, I wasn’t motivated to write. Then I would think of Alison Gélinas from Physio tech waving her hand at me saying: “finished is better than perfect!”

How have you developed as a teacher through this experience? 

Kim Webb: I find myself updating, improving my material every year. It’s an ongoing process.

Are there colleagues at Dawson who have mentored you or influenced your teaching?

Kim Webb: I would have never finished without these inspiring colleagues!

1. • Alison Gélinas, Physiotherapy Technology
   • Vanessa Gangai, Physiotherapy Technology
   • Catherine Roy, Physiotherapy Technology
   • Heather Martin, Community, Recreation and Leadership Training
   • Azra Khan, Office of Academic Development

What do you like best about teaching at Dawson? 

Kim Webb: The community, the students and staff. I love how projects are realized together. Together, we can achieve great things. Our students built the rooftop butterfly nursery and hopefully there will be more projects involving design students in the community.