B2
Concurrent Session B2
Roundtable
Session Details
飦� Date: Day 1 - Monday, May 11, 2026
飥� Time: 11鈥�11:50 a.m.
飦� Location: TBD
What does it mean to be ready? Exploring the multi-dimensional nature of student readiness for experiential learning
Readiness, encompassing affective, technological, sociocultural, and other spheres of student experience within postsecondary education, is fundamentally about cultivating knowledge and skills that can help lead students to success in unfamiliar contexts and in the face of uncertain expectations, both on campuses and beyond.
Within the context of experiential learning, the concept and practice of readiness gets complicated. Take employability, for example: institutional, student, and employer perceptions differ about what counts as preparedness for employment, or 鈥渨ork readiness鈥� (Caballero et al. 2026; Orr et al. 2023). In some contexts, employability implies a minimum degree of technical knowledge and proficiency. In others, it implies competency across a more inclusive array of knowledge and skill domains. In most, however, employability consists of an inclusive combination of technical and transversal skills students require to effectively meet evolving labour expectations across private, public, and nonprofit contexts locally and globally. The possible interpretations of employability illustrates the complexity of the concept of readiness overall, and highlights the challenges and opportunities inherent in helping students develop this dimension of their academic and professionally-related skills.
How should we define readiness for experiential learning in order to support our students to thrive within experiential learning contexts?
Panelists from across campus will: speak about their approaches to student readiness efforts and initiatives; discuss key opportunities and barriers they have identified to ensuring accessibility and inclusion amongst marginalized and equity-deserving/equity-denied groups; and describe the core strategies they have used to ensure their readiness programming contributes to positively strengthening on- and off-campus partnerships.
The session will include an open Q&A with panelists, offering audience members an opportunity to ask questions and contribute their perspectives on the curricular, collaborative, and associated challenges accompanying efforts to facilitate student readiness through experiential learning. Participants will leave with an enhanced understanding of student readiness and greater familiarity with the campus-wide and faculty-level resources and supports available to innovate their own student readiness programming and initiatives.
Presenters
Kris Erickson, PhD, is a higher education professional and strategic consultant with over 15 years of experience in applied social research and cross-sector partnership building in higher ed, workforce development, and local economic development contexts. Kris has worked with partners and clients in Toronto and across the country to effectively engage stakeholders on a range of initiatives in support of greater inclusion and improved access to opportunities for students, particularly those from equity-deserving, equity-denied, and historically marginalized communities and populations. In his current role as Partnerships Manager for the Courage to Act Foundation鈥檚 At the Root Project, Kris is contributing to educational and policy-based efforts to create safer and more inclusive STEM work-integrated learning (WIL) and experiential learning (EL) across Canada.
Danielle Moed (she/her) is an Educational Developer within the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, where she supports the Creative School and the Ted Rogers School of Management, as well as the EL Design Grants, and related programming. Her teaching development work focuses primarily on experiential and work-integrated learning, and her current research interests focus on the intersections between relational pedagogies, generative AI and experiential learning pedagogies and practices. Danielle holds a Master of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Toronto, and completed post graduate course work in Career Development at Conestoga College.
Anamika, Director of Experiential Learning, Quality Assurance, and Strategic Initiatives in the Dean鈥檚 Office, Faculty of Community Services, is a seasoned practitioner, advocate, and leader committed to equity and justice. With a background as a legislative officer, she monitored and evaluated various local and ministry programs ensuring their adherence to children鈥檚 rights while advocating for systems and policy changes to improve outcomes for children and families across the province. Her work is rooted in social work ethics, principles of administrative justice, anti-oppressive and human rights frameworks. She has more than 15 years of experience as a Faculty Advisor at York University, mentoring students in critical, reflexive, rights based and equity-informed practices. She served as Co-Chair of CEWIL鈥檚 Equity and Government Relations Committees and is a long-time member of the U of T Research Ethics Board.
Terri Peters (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Science where she teaches in the architecture and building science programs. She is a 91福利 Teaching Fellow and has won several teaching awards including the Dean鈥檚 Teaching Award in 2025 and the AVP International鈥檚 Global Learning Award in 2023. By integrating field trips and industry visits into her teaching, she prioritizes hands-on, experiential learning. This interest extends to her Teaching Fellow project, which examines how purposefully designed learning environments can cultivate professional identity and collaboration.