AlgonquinCollegeLogo Information Technology Services
z

 Mary Daniels
< Back  
 
Professor | Faculty of Transportation & Trades

 Mary Daniels was born and educated in England where she attended teachers’ college at Kingston upon Hull College of Education in Yorkshire. She completed a three-year program with specialties in English Literature and Fine Arts. During her college studies, she climbed spiral staircases to cathedral rooftops to study mediaeval building techniques; she dug in archeological trenches to unearth pieces of ancient Roman history; she made clay pots, created puppets, and performed in amateur theatre. Hands-on learning has always been her preferred style.

Mary taught in an elementary school in Manchester for one year before moving to Canada in 1969. She earned a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton University, and a post-graduate Certificate in Labour-Management Relations from the University of Ottawa while working as a business communications consultant. Mary was hired at Algonquin College in 1992 to teach English and Writing skills. 		 

In her role as a professor and coordinator, Mary coordinates all English and General Education activity in the School of Transportation and Building Trades. In addition, she teaches in the TALL program (Teachers of Adult Lifelong Learners) and is currently Chair of the General Education Curriculum Committee.

“Teaching has given me the opportunity to work with learners in many settings, but I have to say at this stage of my career, I particularly enjoy teaching teachers,” Mary explains. “I find it very stimulating, very challenging, and very interesting working with them.”

As chair of the College’s General Education Committee, Mary is instrumental in developing the College standards used by faculty to design courses that meet the Ontario Ministry of Education’s new general education requirements.

Over the 15 years Mary has been teaching at Algonquin, she has taught in several areas including the School of Advanced Technology, the School of Business, Continuing Education, Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Services, and the School of Transportation and Building Trades.

“I delivered courses in each of these areas and updated curricula to meet the demands of a rapidly-changing workplace,” explains Mary. “My goal has always been to keep courses and delivery methods current and to encourage other teachers to share ideas that improve the learning environment for our students.”

To keep up with evolving technology Mary was an early adopter of Blackboard as a teaching tool. “I am strongly committed to integrating new technologies into learning and believe they have significant advantages for all types of learners,” says Mary. It’s important to know how to use the tools of the day.”

Mary’s teaching philosophy embraces hands-on practice and problem-based learning. “I prefer to challenge students with authentic problems,” Mary explains. “I try to get students to solve a realistic workplace problem and then discuss the ways we handled it. After that, we look at ways we can apply the learning to new issues.”

As a lifelong learner herself and working with diverse groups of learners, Mary feels “the boundaries between learning and teaching are unclear. Although I have often assumed the role of teacher, I am immensely grateful to all the learners in my classes, they have enriched my life and taught me so much.”