My Story
Hi, my name's Jas. I'm a BC-based educator and the founder of Living Root Bridge, a consultancy that supports people to advance equity in their learning environments. I approach this work through my lived experience as a Sikh, a woman and as a child of Punjabi immigrants. Through my professional experience as an educator. And through my research and academic experience in education and (Inter)cultural Differences. It's through these experiences that I recognise another way is possible...one in which we advance equity and reimagine possibilities, together. Learn more about my experience below.
I look forward to working with you.
My Teaching Experience
My teaching experiences are vast and span not only grades and subjects, but also countries and curriculums. A journey which reflects my commitment to take continuous risks to learn and unlearn who I am as a teacher.
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My experience mirrors the lifecycle of the teacher: K-12 teaching of science and math, mentoring pre-service teachers at the school level, teaching and mentoring re-certifying teachers and pre-service teachers in international teacher education. I've also taught and led in-service teachers at the school district and graduate-level, locally and internationally. I've trained and built teacher capacity through programs in the U.K, through a study abroad program in India and a district mentoring program for 300+ teachers, as well as themed graduate diploma programs for practicing teachers.
Spanning 2008–2014, I taught in a program that recertifies immigrant teachers by preparing them for BC classrooms. Three years later, I taught in the International Teacher Education Program, which provides pre-service teachers (PSTs) with the opportunity to live, teach, and learn internationally in their first semester so they are better prepared to teach in diverse (multicultural, multilingual) settings in BC. Both these programs involve cultural bridging and mirror each other. In the former, I mentored and led immigrant teachers to navigate the Canadian cultural context. In the latter, I mentored and led Canadian pre-service teachers into an international cultural context. In both situations, my lived experience of navigating different cultural contexts as a Panjabi Sikh woman informed - and continues to inform - my approach.
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These experiences helped me clearly recognize the influences of a cultural worldview in education.
PhD - Intercultural Relations
Simon Fraser University, BC
In 2022, I completed my PhD - Thesis Title: 'Pre-service teachers in an international teaching practicum: (Im)possibilities, interstitiality, and encounters with difference'.
MA, Education
University of London
Thesis title: School Effectiveness and School Improvement (exploring teacher identity through educational change)