Christy Thomas, EdD

I am an educator and lifelong learner. I started teaching in K-12 education in 1998 after completing my bachelor’s degree. I completed my master’s degree in 2011 at the University of Alberta.  In Summer 2012, I enrolled in doctoral studies at the University of Calgary and completed my Doctorate in Education in March 2016.  My dissertation work focused on leading professional learning in schools and describes leadership practices to foster teacher learning. I joined Ambrose University in Fall 2019 as a sessional instructor and became Assistant Professor in August 2020 and then Associate Professor in March 2024. Since 2016, I’ve been a sessional instructor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary and am also currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor there. I teach graduate courses in leadership and a variety of undergraduate courses in curriculum and learning. My research centers on collaborative approaches to leadership, professional learning, and teaching. As I move forward, I aim to advance collaborative approaches and build communities of practice that support flourishing for all.  

Current Research

My research interests and current projects focused on collaborative approaches to leadership, professional learning and teaching while utilizing mixed methods, design-based research, case study, and action research.  I have been involved in a variety of projects related to my research interests and this has given me experience in roles as principal investigator and co-investigator: Exploring Online Pedagogies for Social Connectedness and Advancing Professional Collaboration (2021-2023, co-PI; SSHRC IDG), Building Faculty Capacity for Online Teaching and Learning (2021-2022; PI, Ambrose Research Fund), Connecting School Leaders in an Ethic of Care Community (2022-2023; co-PI; not funded), Evaluating the Effectiveness of a High Quality Collaborative Professional Learning Model in Addressing Alberta’s Leadership Quality Standard, (2018-2022; PI; AB Ed Grant), Exploring the Impact of YouthLink Crime Prevention and Education Program (2019-2023; PI; Subgrant), Fostering Student Collaboration and Assessing Group Assignments (2017-2019; co-PI; SOTL grant).

Scholarly & Professional Activity

Speaking and Consulting

My research interests and teaching background have given me the opportunity to speak and consult on topics related to collaborative approaches to leadership, professional learning and teaching. I have presented on these topics at conferences, led workshops, and consulted with community partners. In 2020, I had a role as instructional design consultant at Ambrose University where I had the opportunity to support and collaborate with faculty in building capacity for online teaching and learning.  Since that time, I’ve also facilitated teaching and learning workshops for faculty development at Ambrose University and Taylor Institute at the University of Calgary. Topics for these workshops were related to instructional design and online pedagogies.

Please contact me if you are interested in me partnering with you to support the work you are doing. I am passionate about bridging theory and practice and bringing together academics and practitioners.