Image of Holly Ogden

Holly Ogden

Assistant Professor

she/her

Professor Ogden has a welcoming classroom and makes it clear to us that we matter and we belong in her class. She is always helpful and happy to chat. She also promotes self-care and prioritizing mental health.

She takes some time in class for us to think about and share how our mental health is and what action we can take that day to make it a little better. This is so that we can prioritize our health and learn from one another. She's a sweet and kind professor who genuinely cares about you and how you're doing. She's a great leader and example to the Con-Edstudents as an educator.

Anonymous Students

For me, mental health is a combination of our emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Mental health relates to how each of us uses strategies to cope with stress, meet our basic needs, and engage in healthy relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us. We can all support our mental health by practicing self-care physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and mentally. 

I hope that each of my students know and feel that they are central to everything that happens in our classes. I believe in making connections and working hard to develop a strong sense of community in our classes. By starting each session with students sharing their stories, news, and recommendations, we learn about each other and find ways to connect. By seeking and using student feedback regularly, I can make sure that the course content connects to student needs, curiosities, and interests. By planning learning tasks and assignments that are flexible, student-centred, and designed with formative assessment embedded throughout, I hope that I am modelling how educators can support student-centred learning and healthy management strategies for their future students. I strive to offer opportunities for students to share strategies and resources, to have choice and autonomy, and to connect with others regularly.

I think it's important to recognize how much the students themselves support one another and understand what they need and what they can do to be healthy. I learn so much from my students and believe that my mental health is strengthened when I engage with them.

I hope my students always feel that they are central to the choices I make throughout our year. I strive to build community and model student-centred instructional and assessment practices that explicitly support student wellness.

--- Dr. Holly Ogden