You are welcome here.
My name is Jen Watt, and I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Education. Before finding my way to academics, I was a junior and senior high school English Language Arts teacher in Alberta, Ontario, and England.
The simple story is this: I love teaching and learning. However, like most love stories, I often find my love of/for teaching and learning complicated, complex, and messy. I came to graduate studies because I had a lot of questions about what I was noticing in my classroom and I brought with me a lot of wonderings about how I could strengthen my relationships with my students so they would feel empowered, engaged, and agentic. It is the relational that has continued to guide my entangled teaching, research, and service at the university. My curiosity and questions, outrage and concern, joy and wonder grow daily as I get the great honour to think with teachers in all stages of their careers and with researchers who care deeply about contributing to more just, equitable, kind, and compassionate futurities.
Choose your own adventure, folks. Maybe you want to know more about me because I’m the prof of the next course you are taking or you are hoping to figure out whether I would be a good fit as your supervisor. Maybe you want to hear a little more about ongoing (or past) research projects and the directions of my public scholarship. Perhaps you are interested in the service that allows me to connect with and support community in the Faculty, UM, or wider community.
My Teaching Approach
In both simple and complex ways, I love teaching and learning. Just imagine the joy and honour it is for me to teach and learn alongside teachers at all stages of their careers. From undergraduate students beginning to explore whether teaching might be a career for them, to pre-service teachers in UM’s after-degree program, to in-service teachers deepening their professional learning in our PBDE program, to graduate students who are immersing themselves in educational research at the M.Ed. or Ph.D level, I delight in learning more about each learner and connecting to their experiences, questions, and wonderings.
Current Research
Dive into some of the ongoing, collaborative research projects that I am currently working on or have recently completed. I am committed to research that includes elements of public scholarship, advocacy, and/or artivism; professional learning opportunities for educators; connections with teachers and students in K-12 or pre-service teacher education settings; mentorship of graduate students; and collective, feminist approaches to research.
Service Contributions
Through my service, I have contributed to the structures, supports, policies, and plans that enable meaningful learning experiences for our students in the Faculty of Education and the University of Manitoba. I have also connected to the wider educational community in Manitoba (and beyond), so I can develop relationships, support, empower, renew, and uplift the work of educators and educational leaders in the K-12 school system. I have a few highlights of my ongoing service efforts.