BC Bio is in less than a week! Here’s the plan for the 2-hour session (May 13th, 2-4pm):

We will open the zoom environment up between 15 and 30 minutes early, to allow everyone time to check their connections, and test audio/ video. Please feel free to join us and say hello!

• 2:00-2:10: Arrivals, welcome, land acknowledgement, ground rules
• 2:10-2:25: “Building Community in Online Classes” Short talk by Peter Newbury, Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, UBCO
• 2:25-3:05: “Learning from our Students: My 40 years in Biology Education” Plenary talk by Joan Sharp, Teaching Professor SFU
• 3:05-3:10: Transition to Breakout Sessions, Round A
• 3:10-3:25: Breakout Sessions, Round A (15 min)
• 3:25-3:30: Return from breakout sessions, and transition to Round B
• 3:30-3:45: Breakout Sessions Round B (15 min)
• 3:45-4:00 (and beyond, if folks wish to stay): Report on breakout rooms, chat, socialize, discuss.

If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time! Click here to register (link removed)!

About the Breakout Rooms:

We will have two round of breakout rooms (we have named them Rounds A & B). During the first 30 minutes of the event, you will be asked to navigate to a Google Doc and sign up for one session in Round A, and one session in Round B. At 2:30pm, we will take this information and build the breakout groups. We will only have space for a specific number of members in each breakout room, so we please ask you to choose another room if all of the spots are full.

Here is a draft list of the breakout rooms we are considering (subject to change).

Round A:

• Online Course Design
• Continuing the conversation with Peter Newbury: Developing course community
• Continuing the conversation Joan Sharp: Connecting with students and pedagogy
• Hands-on lab activities at home
• Active learning in an online environment
• Course planning: asynchronous vs synchronous components
• Instructor workload and burnout
• Best practices in asynchronous environments
• Supporting TAs
• No specific topic, I just want to chat!

Round B:

• Effective videos and lecture-capture
• Inclusivity & Accessibility
• Academic integrity and assessment
• Structuring labs
• Large classes
• Semester-long group projects
• Student approaches to learning
• Increasing engagement in asynchronous environments
• Exams and assessments
• No specific topic, I just want to chat!