Meet This Year’s New Faculty Teaching Award Winners in the Faculty of Nursing
Innovative. Compassionate. Transformative.
This year, the University of Regina’s New Faculty Teaching Award celebrates Lexie Heit and Sarah Ilori, two remarkable educators in the University’s Faculty of Nursing who are not only reshaping the classroom experience but also redefining what it means to prepare students for real-world nursing.
Presented by the University of Regina’s Centre of Teaching & Learning, the award recognises individuals who have displayed excellence in teaching early in their academic careers.
“These outstanding educators exemplify the highest standards of excellence in teaching and learning, showcasing the incredible talent and dedication within our university,” said Dr. Alec Curos, the Centre’s Director. “Their achievements not only enhance our students' success and educational experience, but also profoundly impact the broader community, reflecting the far-reaching influence of their innovative teaching practices."
At the core of Ilori and Heit’s teaching philosophies is a shared commitment to helping students succeed beyond graduation. Both educators are using fresh, student-focused approaches to engage, challenge, and inspire, but it’s how they implement their innovations that truly sets them apart.
For Heit, creating an accessible and engaging learning environment is about more than just delivering content; it's about designing it in a way to engage her students. She’s embraced the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to meet students where they are, recognizing that learners absorb information in different ways.
To enhance asynchronous learning, Heit uses H5P, a platform that integrates interactive activities directly into online modules. “In the past, students would talk about the struggle of staying engaged during a three-hour lecture recording. Now, I use tools to improve visualization of complex topics—like using a balloon inside a water-filled jar to demonstrate increased intracranial pressure in the brain,” she said.
UDL emphasizes multiple modes of representation, such as diagrams and simulations, not just text, and actual audio examples, such as the sound of crackles in the lungs, to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.
For Ilori innovation is about connection. Aware of the isolation many students are experiencing post-COVID, she designed group video-based assignments as an alternative to written papers.
“Students are placed into groups based on their clinical placements, interests, and availability,” she explained. “They create reflective video discussions where they connect course material with their hands-on experiences.”
Ilori and Heit’s journeys into nursing were very different, but their values and teaching philosophies align when it comes to their students.
Ilori, born in Nigeria and raised in Central and Southwestern Ontario, holds a graduate degree in public health and is a nurse practitioner with a commitment to global health. Heit grew up in Southey before moving to Saskatoon to complete her BScN, and where she later completed her Masters degree in Nursing from Athabasca University. Initially setting her sights on physiotherapy. Heit thought nursing would be a practical undergraduate degree that she could practice before returning to complete her physiotherapy studies, but she fell in love with nursing instead.
Both Ilori and Heit are philosophically focused on patient-centred practice, and work hard at instilling this value among their students.
Heit said nurses play a key role in patient advocacy because they spend far more time with patients. She explained that this allows them to notice important details, like mobility issues that require extra support before discharge. She added that small gestures, such as listening and offering comfort, can have a big impact.
Ilori sees nursing as both a science and an art. “You know the condition, but the patient is the expert on their own life,” she said. “Being present with them, even when they’re making choices you wouldn’t, that takes a lot of relational practice. It is difficult at times to get students to appreciate what we call ‘soft skills’, the ability to adapt, the ability to be relational, compassionate, ethical and self-aware.”
For both educators, the greatest reward is seeing students transform.
“Recently a student of mine came to an ‘a-ha’ moment,” said Ilori. “They were struggling a lot with the course concepts. I identified a gap , which is common with our students, ignoring the basics, such as anatomy and physiology, and delving into the course work with a focus on memorization. Slowly, the student opened up to the idea of starting from the basics, which was a lot of work, but I could see the student blooming by the final week of class and doing better at linking course concepts.”
Heit recently received feedback from a student at the end of term, where the student recognized how she challenged the group to think critically about situations rather than just saying an answer was right or wrong. The student stated how Heit’s approach in the classroom helped her feel differently about school in general.
At the end of the day, what brings Heit and Ilori their greatest joy? They both say it’s seeing their students fully grasp and understand the concepts they’re teaching, especially students who may have been struggling.
“My greatest joy is when the students are getting those concepts and they’re starting to put it together,” said Heit. “They go from memorizing to actual knowledge retention, they’re able to connect the dots, and it’s always wonderful when I see them grow that way,” added Ilori.