Jennifer Bates
Lecturer
jbates@trentu.ca
Jennifer is a full-time lecturer in the School of Education, with a focus on Language and Literacy. She is also a PhD student in Trent's IDSR program. Her work is interdisciplinary in nature and highlights the interconnected nature of learning disabilities, multimodal pedagogies, and critical thinking.
Working from a critical disability lens, her research explores the extent to which dyslexic children have the right not only to the standard pedagogies embedded in our current system, but to other pedagogies that might better support their education. One primary goal of education is to cultivate critical thinking skills. To take one example, her research wonders if dyslexic students have a right to visual modes of learning for critical thinking opportunities.
Prior to joining the School of Education, Jennifer worked as a teacher and Equity lead, a role in which she helped to amplify the beautifully unique voices of the diverse students she served. She is passionate about stories and storytelling and what they teach us about our shared humanity. She brings 20 years of teaching experience to the School of Education.