Staff Listing

Waterloo Campus

Our two writing consultants, Jordana Garbati, PhD and James Southworth, PhD, supervise the tutoring program in Writing Services, conduct in-class writing workshops, and meet with graduate students to develop their writing and ideas.

Our skilled team of undergraduate and graduate student tutors provide writing feedback to students from all disciplines on a one-on-one basis.

Jordana Garbati

Jordana Garbati began as the writing consultant at the Laurier Writing Centre in July 2013. She graduated with a BA (Hons.) with a specialization in French at York University and concurrently completed a BEd degree. She completed her MEd degree at Queen's and her PhD in Education with a focus on applied linguistics at The University of Western Ontario. In 2018, she completed her MBA at Laurier. She has taught students at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels in Ontario and abroad. Her teaching and research interests include English language learners, French as a second language, and writing.

Contact Information

E: jgarbati@wlu.ca
T: 519.884.0710 x3339
LinkedIn: Jordana Garbati

Selected Publications

Garbati, J., & Brockett, E. (2018). Students speak out: The impact of participation in an undergraduate research journal. Canadian Journal for Studies in Discourse and Writing, 28, 227-245.
Garbati, J., & Samuels, B. (2016). Analyzing stories from Canadian academic writing instructors: A collaborative autoethnography. Educational Studies.
Garbati, J., & Rothschild, N. (2016). Lasting impact of study abroad experiences: A collaborative autoethnography. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 17(2).
Garbati, J. (2015). Book review: Language & learning: An introduction for teaching, Canadian edition. Canadian Journal of Education, 38(4), 1-3.
Garbati, J. F., & Mady, C. (2015). Oral skill development in second languages: A review in search of best practices. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(9), 1763-1770.
Garbati, J., McDonald, K., Meaning, L., Samuels, B., & Scurr, C. (2015). Writing assignments and instruction at Ontario's publicly funded universities: A view from three disciplines. Toronto, ON: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
Garbati, J. F., & Samuels, B.* (2013). Publishing in educational research journals: Are graduate students participating? Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 44(4), 355-372.

Authors listed in alphabetical order.

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James Southworth

james-southworth

James Southworth began as a writing consultant at the Laurier Writing Centre in June of 2015. He completed his PhD at the University of Western Ontario in 2014 with an expertise in moral psychology and ethics. While at Western, James taught courses in the Philosophy department, and he was an instructor for the Teaching Assistant Training Program at the Teaching Support Centre. In 2019, James completed the TESOL certification (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Renison College, University of Waterloo.

Contact Information

E: jsouthworth@wlu.ca
T: 519.884.0710 x4878

Selected Articles and Publications

Southworth, J. (2020). How argumentative writing stifles open-mindedness. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 1-21.
Chaktsiris, M. & Southworth, J. (2019). Thinking beyond writing development in peer review. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1), 1-22.
Southworth, J. (2018). The value of the op-ed as a writing assignment. University Affairs.
Southworth, J. (2016). The passional nature and the will to believe. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society: A Quarterly Journal in American Philosophy, 52(1), 62-78.
Southworth, J. (2014). William James' theory of emotion. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. Paper 2315.
Southworth, J. (2013). Can morally disvalued traits constitute the symptoms of a mental disorder. Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology, 20(3), 221-223.
Southworth, J. (2012). Capabilities and the environment frontier. Hawa, B., & Weidtmann, N. (eds.), The Capability Approach on Social Order, LIT Verlag, Münster, 380-385.

Recent Presentations

"Navigating the 'Discomfort Zone' in Pedagogic Innovation," Ryerson Teaching & Learning Conference, Toronto, May 16th, 2019 (poster with Dr. Laurie Jacklin).
"Writing is a Process: Exploring a Scaffolded Approach to Transformational Learning," Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Halifax, June 22nd, 2017 (with Dr. Mary Chaktsiris).
"Questioning the Link Between Argumentative Papers and the Development of Critical Thinking," Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Halifax, June 22nd, 2017.
"Does Walking Have a Role in Education," Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, London, Ontario, June 23rd, 2016.
"How Moral Psychology Can Inform Writing Assignment Design," Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, London, Ontario, June, 22nd, 2016 (poster presentation).

Brantford Campus

Learning Skills and Development at Laurier’s Brantford campus has two professional staff members who both provide in-class and general campus workshops and specialized writing and learning support. They also oversee the facilitated study groups, writing and study skills peer mentors, and peer language support for the campus.

Throughout the fall and winter terms, our team of peer mentors will be available to meet with you to help with writing and study skills.

Jenna Olender

Jenna Olender Manager, Learning Skills and Development

I have a varied educational background, which has helped me work with students across all our programs at Laurier Brantford. In Learning Skills and Development, we support student learning and writing in and across the disciplines. My undergraduate studies were interdisciplinary, and my graduate studies focus on qualitative research.

I have recently completed the Leadership in Higher Education certificate program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where I am now completing my doctorate in Higher Education. My areas of research interest include student learning and development, academic and student affairs collaboration, and organizational assessment.

Through my own studies and in my day-to-day work in Learning Skills and Development, I'm dedicated to exploring and developing new ways to engage and support student learning at Laurier's Brantford campus.

Contact Information

E: jolender@wlu.ca
T: 519.756.8228 x5788

Recent Publications

Olender, J. & Lisetto-Smith, M. (2019). Increasing diversity in peer-to-peer education: A case study of manager experiences with student paraprofessionals in learning development in the Canadian context. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/456

Selected Conference Presentations

Jenna Olender and Michael Lisetto-Smith. 2016. “Diversity Inside and Out? The Practice of Peer Learning for Social Justice in the Canadian Context.” Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) Conference, Heriott-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Michael Lisetto-Smith and Jenna Olender. 2015. “Being an Effective Online Learner: Developing Interactive Online Learning Support Modules from Idea to Impact.” Learning Specialists Association of Canada (LSAC), Eastern Regional Conference, Ryerson University.
Jenna Olender with Debra Langan. 2014. “Partners in Professionalization: Supporting Graduate Students’ Skills Development.” Integrated and Engaged Learning Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University.
Jenna Olender, Gary Warrick, Judy Eaton, and Irene Tencinger. 2014. “Using First-Year Writing-Intensive Courses to Build Better Skills in Context.” Integrated and Engaged Learning Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University.
December 2012. "Designed for Success: A Research Update on Scaffolding Support for First-Year Research Papers" with Gary Warrick and Irene Tencinger, Learning Specialist Association of Canada (LSAC) Eastern Regional Conference, University of Toronto.
May 2011. "Helping Aboriginal Students Succeed in a New Context for Writing" with Christina Michener, Alana Rudrum, and Elizabeth Baisley, Canadian Association for Studies in Discourse and Writing (CASDW) Conference at Congress 2011, University of New Brunswick.

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Karley Doucette

Writing & Learning Support Coordinator

Karley Doucette (she/her) has worked as an educator at Laurier’s Brantford campus since 2010 when she joined the LEAF (Laurier English and Academic Foundation) Program as one of its first English as as second language (ESL) instructors.

Prior to joining Laurier, Karley completed a Bachelor of Journalism degree at the University of King’s College in Halifax, where she co-founded a chapter of Journalists for Human Rights, produced a documentary film about band names, and spent a semester studying abroad in Umeå, Sweden.

She also completed a 4-year Bachelor of Education degree at Concordia University in Montreal, where she specialized in teaching English as a second language, building on her international TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification from 2006. Karley is a certified teacher in Quebec and Ontario and has expertise in second language acquisition and linguistics. During her studies at Concordia, she worked on two research projects about using technology in the classroom to engage students as partners in teaching and learning.

Karley has recently completed a Master of Arts degree in Social Justice and Community Engagement here at Laurier. Her focus during graduate studies was on the history of women’s unpaid caregiving labour, exploring the social reproduction feminist tradition within Marxist feminist theory and politics.

As the writing and learning support coordinator in Learning Skills & Development at Laurier’s Brantford campus, Karley supports students in developing both academic and resilience skills. Using the frameworks of social justice, academic literacies, trauma-informed practice, and growth mindset, she develops and implements programming that supports students as whole learners and helps them to meet their academic goals.

E: kadoucette@wlu.ca
T: 519.756.8228 x5550

Selected Conference Presentations

Karley Doucette, Margaret Neveau and Delores Maas. 2019. "Decolonizing Learning Support for Indigenous Students." Learning Specialists Association of Canada Eastern Regional Conference, University of Toronto.
Karley Doucette, Mikayla Peach and Pilar Vegara-King. 2019. "Goals, Plans, Achievement!: Encouraging Resilience in Academically At-Risk Students." Learning Specialists Association of Canada Eastern Regional Conference, University of Toronto.
Karley Doucette. 2019. “Keep Calm & Study On! An Innovative, Collaborative, and Holistic Approach to Supporting Students During Final Exams.” Learning Specialists Association of Canada National Conference, Olds, Alberta.
Karley Doucette and Lynn Farquhar. 2012. "Grammar Guerillas." Staff Development Day, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario.
Dr. Walcir Cardoso and Karley Tabak. 2009. "Make Your Material CLICK: Tweak Your Class with iClickers." Société pour le perfectionnement de l'enseignement de l'anglais, langue seconde, au Québec (SPEAQ) Annual Convention, Montreal, Quebec.
Dr. Walcir Cardoso and Karley Tabak. 2009. "Short and Tweet: Tweaking Your English Class with Twitter." 2009. Société pour le perfectionnement de l'enseignement de l'anglais, langue seconde, au Québec (SPEAQ) Annual Convention, Montreal, Quebec.