Donica Belisle

Open State Career Award – Canadian History

Dr. Donica Belisle’s innovative approach to teaching Canadian history at the University of Regina features a range of assignments across different year levels. She thoughtfully designed scaffolding of assignments in the research process, which not only supports student success at every step, but also encourages them to produce original historical work without the use of AI. In her assignments, Dr. Belisle uses a variety of primary sources such as the Eaton’s catalogues, student newspapers, women’s magazines, government documents, cookbooks, and diaries, among others. She encourages archival research at the third-year level. The committee also highlighted one university-specific assignment where Dr. Belisle encouraged students to study gender of the faculty at the University of Regina, asking questions about the gendered nature of the university in different time periods. Dr. Belisle’s use of primary sources encourages her students to consider the ethical implications of their work, to think critically about the past and its sources, and understand themselves as part of the historical community.