Concordia’s Alicia Cundell wins a national award for excellence and innovation in instructional design

Alicia Cundell, teaching consultant at the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), has received an Excellence and Innovation in Instructional Design Award from the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE). The award recognizes individuals’ innovative use of instructional design to create meaningful and engaging learning experiences.

Cundell works with faculty at Concordia to develop their teaching through consultations, teaching observations and workshops. She also teaches part-time in the Department of Education and at the Centre for Engineering in Society. As a representative of the CTL, Cundell sits on several committees and liaises with various units to advance innovative and impactful approaches to teaching and learning for the Concordia community.

Cundell earned the award for the full online version of the Graduate seminar in university teaching that she recently revamped. She also ran this online course. The intensive seminar prepares graduate students for an academic teaching career and enables them to apply the theory and practice of university teaching, develop a course syllabus and design and give classes with greater confidence. The 35-hour certificate-based non-credit course is offered by the CTL with registration through GradProSkills.

Javier Ibarra-Isassi is a coordinator for graduate research and thesis support at the School of Graduate Studies. He took Cundell’s graduate seminar in university teaching in late 2020 and recalls that it was a transformative experience.

“Thanks to Alicia's prowess as an instructor, the seminar not only deepened my understanding of pedagogy but also helped me to develop a teaching philosophy that continues to guide my approach to teaching and course designing today.”

‘A model for what innovative, student-centred teaching can look like’

The graduate seminar had not changed in more than five years, Cundell explains, so there were several major revisions that she made to the course.

“Some noteworthy changes include making the course more accessible using the principles for Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Specifically, I made significant additions to improve the experience for neurodivergent learners or graduate students who struggle with anxiety and other barriers by implementing the principles of UDL. In particular, I wanted to ensure there were multiple ways of participating both synchronously and asynchronously. The goal was to provide options for engaging with the course.

“I integrated more content on Indigenizing and decolonizing teaching and learning to support this strategic direction at Concordia. I also restructured the course based on student feedback, and I incorporated more content related to using artificial intelligence in this critical time.”

In recent years, Ibarra-Isassi has collaborated with Cundell in different projects as part of the Graduate Professional Development administration team.

“Alicia’s thoughtful application of design principles has created a learning experience that is rigorous and engaging. Her work is a model for what innovative, student-centred teaching can look like in an online environment,” he notes.

Open education was an integral component of the course design and Cundell’s revamped graduate seminar incorporated many open resources.

“My goal with this course has been to structure it so that students don’t need to purchase any materials or subscriptions to technology. Most readings and resources are available on the open web, and I only use free tools provided by the university or through open access,” she says.

Cundell was formally recognized at the CNIE’s 2025 Annual Conference held on June 2 at George Brown College in Toronto.  

Learn more about Concordia’s Centre for Teaching and Learning.