Cari Din

Cari Din

PhD
Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Associate Professor (Teaching)

Faculty of Kinesiology

Leadership Fellowship, 2020-2023

Haskayne School of Business, Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business [CCAL]

Teaching Scholar, 2020-2023

University of Calgary

Invited Member

Teaching Academy/Taylor Institute of Teaching & Learning

Contact information

Location

Office: KNB270

Background

Educational Background

PhD Kinesiology Sport and Exercise Psychology - Leadership, University of Calgary,

MSc Kinesiology Teaching Games for Understanding and Positive Pedagogy, University of Calgary,

BA with distinction Communication and Culture, University of Calgary,

Biography

Dr. Din has been an Associate Professor (Teaching) in the Faculty of Kinesiology since 2018. As a former Olympian and Silver Medalist at the 1996 Olympics, Dr. Din has extensive personal experience regarding coaching and leadership behaviours in high-performance sport. She simultaneously coached in her home sport while completing her master’s degree in kinesiology, with a specialization in Teaching Games for Understanding and Positive Pedagogy. In 2013, Dr. Din completed her PhD in Kinesiology, specializing in Sport and Exercise Psychology – Leadership.

In her classrooms, Dr. Din prides herself on cultivating a safe community for her students. Her teaching philosophy is rooted in sociality, belonging, agency, and curiosity. Her every interaction with students is embedded with enthusiasm, care, and respect. Her commitment to teaching has been consistently acknowledged and praised by both students and the university itself; Dr. Din has received multiple Student’s Union Teaching Excellence Awards, the University of Calgary’s Teaching Scholars Program Grant, and the McCaig-Killam Teaching Award.

In 2019-2020, Dr. Din co-led an award-winning Curriculum Review and pushed for improved diversity and quality of teaching and learning in the Faculty of Kinesiology. She now co-chairs the Kinesiology Teaching and Learning Committee with Dr. William Bridel.

From 2021-2023, Dr. Din was a Leadership Fellow at the Haskayne School of Business in the Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership (CCAL). She helped develop the upper-year courses for the University of Calgary Leadership Studies Embedded Certificate program and made original contributions to teaching, research, and programming led by CCAL. She also developed and launched the program content for the BMO Mentorship Program and has taught Master of Management capstone course titled: Translating Passion to Purposeful Business and Life.

As a Teaching Scholar and in partnership with Dr. Martin MacInnis, Dr. Din has co-lead an educational leadership project focused on enriching laboratory learning in Exercise Physiology in the Faculty of Kinesiology. This reform work has positively influenced student experience and learning in both undergraduate and graduate labs.

Research

Areas of Research

Leadership and Learning

Dr. Din focuses on teaching and contributing to research in the fields of:

(1) The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in Kinesiology

(2) leadership learning and best practice in sport and physical activity contexts; and

(3) the influence of instructor behaviours on participants’ physical literacy.

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
KNES 311 Leadership Foundations
KNES 411 Advanced Leadership Practice
KNES 331 Foundations of Coaching
KNES 431 The Art of Coaching
LEAD 401 Foundations in Ethical Leadership
LEAD 501 Leadership Studies Capstone
KNES 201 Activity: Essence and Experience

Awards

  • McCaig-Killam Teaching Award, University of Calgary. 2022
  • Teaching Scholars Program Grant, 2019-2022, University of Calgary.
  • Teaching Excellence Award Hall of Fame Inductee, University of Calgary Students' Union . 2021
  • Teaching Award, Curriculum Development (Co-lead), University of Calgary. 2021
  • Teaching Excellence Award Honourable Mention, University of Calgary Students' Union. 2020
  • Teaching Award, University of Calgary. 2019
  • Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary Students' Union . 2019
  • Teaching Excellence Award Honourable Mention, University of Calgary Students' Union . 2017
  • Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary Students' Union . 2016
  • Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary Students' Union . 2015

Publications