Professor Teresa Hernandez Gonzalez represented Concordia and Quebec at the Jalisco Academy 2025 conference

Professor Teresa Hernández González represented Concordia University and Quebec at Jalisco Academy 2025, an international forum that brings together educators, researchers, and institutional leaders to exchange practical approaches to innovation in teaching and learning. The event has become a relevant platform in Mexico and Latin America for showcasing applied solutions in education, particularly those that can be adapted across different institutional and cultural contexts.

Her participation focused on how emerging technologies can strengthen teacher training and classroom preparedness. Developed in collaboration with the Lab for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and the TESL Resource Centre, the work presented addressed two complementary areas: emotional awareness and conflict management in educational settings.

Tales from the Classroom uses virtual reality (VR) to help future teachers better understand and manage their emotional responses in real classroom situations. Immersive scenarios—such as a “frozen” classroom designed to evoke isolation—are paired with video reflections from peers and experienced educators, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and reflective practice.

Complementing this approach, De-escalation Game focuses on conflict prevention. It offers a decision-based training environment where teachers can practice responding to challenging situations, supported by generative AI used to develop and validate a wide range of scenarios, response options, and targeted feedback.

The presentation contributed concrete, practice-oriented tools to the discussion, positioning Concordia University as an active contributor to applied innovation in teacher education and reinforcing its engagement in international collaboration, particularly with partners in Mexico.