Humanizing the Classroom: A Creative Reflection at Teaching Café 2025
On April 30, 2025, educators and facilitators gathered for an immersive and heartfelt experience at this year’s Teaching Café, themed Humanizing Education: Bringing Your Whole Self to the Classroom. With 56 participants and two inspiring guest speakers, the event offered a meaningful opportunity to reflect on teaching as a deeply human process grounded in identity, authenticity, and trust.
Held over a shared lunch and engaging dialogue, the Café featured an interactive, art-based session led by Dr. Bruno de Oliveira Jayme, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and a celebrated arts educator. Rather than simply discussing pedagogical theory, participants experienced it—through creative exercises that brought vulnerability and connection to the forefront.
The session began with a quiet challenge: staring into a partner’s eyes before drawing their face—without looking at the paper. What followed was a powerful metaphor in motion: overlapping drawings, cutting out shared shapes, and building a balanced sculpture in community with others. As Dr. Jayme guided participants through this artful process, the activity embodied the core of humanizing education—embracing imperfection, fostering trust, and working together to create something meaningful.
Dr. Juliana Marini Marson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment and Geography, shared practical approaches she uses to build building community with her students, like learning their names and integrating personal stories into her lessons. Though not previously familiar with the formal concept of “humanizing education,” Dr. Marson illustrated how small, authentic practices can significantly impact student engagement and belonging.
Organizers Cintia Costa and Renato Bezerra reflected on the intentional design of the Café, which emphasized meaningful classroom experiences over traditional lecture. “We wanted participants to have time and space to reflect on their own teaching practice,” Costa shared. “And we knew that art could offer a unique way to explore identity and trust in the classroom.”
Participants left the event not only with fresh insights, but also with a curated list of practical strategies and reflective prompts to take back to their own classrooms. The energy in the room was palpable, with one attendee noting, “This was the best Teaching Café yet—everyone was truly engaged.”
For Dr. Mirella Veras, the experience was especially meaningful. She reflected, “The Teaching Café created a space of openness and care. Cintia Costa set a welcoming tone, and Dr. Bruno Jayme’s art-based activity became a powerful moment of connection—with ourselves, and each other. It reminded me just how vital it is to build community and humanize our roles as educators, especially in the health sciences, where that approach is often most needed.” She added that this kind of pedagogical dialogue is something she hopes to see more of in her field.
Special thanks to Dr. Bruno Jayme and Dr. Juliana Marson for generously sharing their time, perspectives, and creative energy. Their contributions helped shape an experience that went beyond teaching techniques—one that invited us to reflect on the relationships, values, and shared humanity at the heart of education.
Teaching Café 2025 reminded us that meaningful learning begins with trust, curiosity, and the willingness to connect. We look forward to continuing this conversation—and to welcoming you to next year’s Teaching Café.