Melissa’s Bio

Melissa Jakubec is currently a Principal Learning Designer at Thompson Rivers University – Open Learning. She is interested in evaluating the effectiveness of learning activities and exploring design and pedagogical models that break down the barriers and linear confines of the traditional learning management system. She has also served as departmental chair and Provost’s Fellow, Blended and Innovative Learning.

Melissa is currently a doctoral student in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her research interests lie in the exploring ways of enacting care and increasing student engagement in open entry, independent study courses. She is also curious about the strategies instructional designers employ to make pedagogical decisions when their environmental constraints conflict with their personal values as educators. You can read more about her journey on her research pathfinder The Tortured Instructional Design Department.

Melissa served as President of the Canadian Network for Innovation in Eduction (CNIE). She was conference chair for the 2014 CNIE Conference Confluences: Spaces, Places and Cultures for Innovative Learning held at TRU in Kamloops, BC.

Prior to becoming a learning designer, Melissa taught English as a Second Language at Thompson Rivers University for more than 15 years. She believes in providing student-centered, contextualized, and meaningful instruction, as well as in using technology to enhance the learning process. These values continue to inform her practice in curriculum development. In the summer of 2015, Melissa returned to her ESL roots, instructing in a teacher training program in Beijing.

Melissa holds a Bachelor’s degree in English (Honours) and Applied Linguistics from the University of Victoria and a Master’s degree in English from Dalhousie University. She holds a Royal Social of Arts Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and has achieved TESL Canada’s Level 5 Professional Certification. She also completed a Certificate in Designing and Facilitating E-Learning through the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and continues to seek opportunities for professional development and further learning.