Connecting you to what's happening in the UBC Biology Program
Students with disabilities often have an extra barrier of having to self-advocate to access the accommodations they are entitled to, leading to feelings of exclusion and reduced success and retention. This month’s Interesting Read provides practical actions that STEM instructors can take to support the self-advocacy of students with disabilities, encouraging their use of accommodations …
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I did my undergrad degree at UBC, and in my third year, I applied to be a volunteer in Dr. Nelly Pante’s lab, who later became my graduate supervisor. In 2018, I successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis proposal and transferred to the Ph.D. in Zoology program. Our lab is located at the Life Science center …
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Kizhakkedathu lab at the Centre for Blood Research. My research is on developing new therapeutics for thrombosis without the risk of bleeding. I have completed my integrated 5-year bachelor’s and master’s in biology from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata. At UBC, I have TAed …
By Christine Goedhart “As with all aspects of science and education, new evidence will and should prompt us to revisit our assumptions, question our practices, and make new instructional choices that continuously improve teaching and learning.” (Cooper et al., 2021) We’re now a full year into remote teaching during a global pandemic. During this time …
Continue reading “Using the 4 Lenses of Critical Reflection to Uncover Your Teaching Assumptions”
This term in BIOL 155, instructors Agnes Lacombe and Irene Ballagh collaborated with TAs Lindsay Pallo and Lorenzo Lindo to develop engaging case studies for the weekly tutorial sessions. In addition to creating the case studies, Lindsay and Lorenzo also created pre-tutorial videos to help students develop some content knowledge of the case studies before …
The utility of the “share” component in the popular Think-Pair-Share active learning strategy is explored in this month’s Interesting Read. In their consideration, the authors first identify and challenge common assumptions underlying its use, using evidence and recent research. They then offer modifications and alternatives to the share that help to promote equity and inclusion, …
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Hello! My name is Mary Fossey and I am currently a TA for BIOL 204. I completed both my BSc (major in Biology and minor in Spanish) and my MSc in Kinesiology at UBC. This September, I started my PhD in Experimental Medicine under the supervision of Dr. Christopher West. Our lab is located at ICORD/VGH and investigates the effects of spinal cord injury on the heart and the lungs. My PhD is …
By Christine Goedhart I wasn’t very interested in science in high school, so as an undergraduate I put off taking a science course for as long as I could. Two years into my degree, I was finally told that I couldn’t move on until I completed a science course, so I enrolled in an introductory …
Continue reading “The Transformative Power of Science Identity”
What is something you do to motivate students? “I try to connect what we’re learning in class with what students are reading in the news and in other courses. With COVID-19 news, for example, I bring in charts or models that help connect what we’re learning in biomathematics or evolution to current affairs. I also …
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Chin Sun is a lecturer at the Department of Zoology. Chin received his M.Sc. in Ecology and Behavioral Biology from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. in Botany and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also worked as a teaching post-doc for a couple of years before coming to Canada. Aside from …
Wayne Zhao is currently a PhD candidate in the Devine lab at the UBC Centre for Blood Research. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, specializing in immunology, then moved to Vancouver and earned a Master of Science degree at UBC in the Department of Experimental Medicine. Wayne’s research area is in …
Are you looking for ways to promote metacognition into your course? This month’s Interesting Read provides a repository of questions focused on the three main components of metacognition (planning, monitoring, and evaluating), and offers implementation strategies and recommendations for building a class culture grounded in metacognition. Citation: Tanner, K.D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE – …
By Christine Goedhart “I thought that I did great, but my grade doesn’t show it.” “I spent weeks preparing, but still received a bad grade.” “It made sense in class, but not on the test.” “I’ve tried studying in lots of different ways and nothing works for me – I don’t know what I’m doing …
Brett Couch recently developed a series of art-based observation activities in collaboration with the UBC Belkin Gallery. These activities were designed to provide students with tools to become more active observers of demonstration material in organismal biology labs in BIOL323 (Structure and Reproduction in Fungi) and BIOL203 (Eukaryotic Microbiology). You can learn more about these …
Pam Kalas has been incorporating various student metacognitive activities in her courses for the past several years. Below, Pam describes the types of metacognitive activities she uses, what motivated her to start using them, how students have responded, and what she has learned along the way. She also offers some example metacognition questions from the …
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I completed my BSc (major in biology, minor in ocean sciences) at the University of Victoria in 2014. One of the final semesters of my undergraduate studies was spent at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in Bamfield, British Columbia, where I took field-based marine biology and research courses. It was during this term that I …
This month’s Interesting Read examines active learning through an accessibility lens and offers recommendations for making active-learning science classes more inclusive for students with disabilities. While the article is framed in the context of in-person courses, most of the recommendations are applicable to the remote teaching environment. Citation: Gin, L.E., Guerrero, F.A., Cooper, K.M., & …
By Christine Goedhart Despite all the uncertainty this term, one thing has become very clear: teaching and learning take longer and require more effort in the remote environment than they did in-person. Faculty are spending more time and energy troubleshooting technology, preparing course materials, and responding to students. Meanwhile, students are spending more time and …
Continue reading “How to Prevent Work Overload for You and Your Students Next Term”
Blaire Steinwand and Jaclyn Dee recently teamed up to bring in Dr. Cole Burton as a guest speaker in their BIOL 140 course. Students had previously read popular press article pieces about Dr. Burton’s research on caribou conservation, and this session gave them an opportunity to meet and learn more about him and his work. …
I am an assistant professor of insect and aquatic ecology at UBC. I have a BSc and MSc from University of Toronto and a PhD from Indiana University. I mostly teach general ecology and insect ecology. In 2019, I also co-taught Arctic ecology with Dr. Sean Michaletz and that was super fun. In general, my …
I completed my BSc (Biology major) at UBC in 2018. I first got involved with research after taking BIOL 205, as I fell in love with invertebrates. I worked in Dr. Leander’s lab under the supervision of postdoc Dr. Herranz who introduced me to the world of mud dragons and taught me microscopy and molecular …
I always wanted to be a scientist, to understand the mechanism of diseases and find a new treatment since I was a kid. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Biology at ODTU in Ankara, Turkey where I am from. I also did a minor degree in Department of Chemistry during my bachelors. During this time, …
Are you looking for ways to make your teaching of genetics more inclusive, comprehensive, and precise? This month’s Interesting Read offers biology instructors approaches and language choices to foster inclusion of gender identity, disability, and race/ethnicity when discussing genetics-related topics. Recommendations include ways to represent gender and reproductive diversity in pedigree charts, terminology to separate …
Several UBC Biology faculty are using creative ways to engage students as they join synchronous class sessions. For some examples, check out Celeste Leander’s recent blog post and keep reading to learn how Karen Smith, Greg Bole, Angie O’Neill, Rachel Wilson, and Kathryn Zeiler are using pre-class activities to engage students in their courses. Karen …
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Alyssa Gutierrez is a 4th-year student in the Combined Major in Science Program concentrating on Life Sciences, Computer Science, and Earth & Environmental Science, with a keen interest in teaching & learning, among many things. In Spring 2020 (pre-COVID-19 disruption) Alyssa put her biology and coding skills to good use to help instructors gain insight …
Continue reading “Teaching Spotlight – Analyzing How Students Process Questions On Exams”
By Christine Goedhart We’re about a month into this unique fall term of remote teaching. Congratulations on getting to this point! You probably had to try out some new structures, technologies, and techniques to be able to teach your course in a virtual format this term. You are now far enough into the course to …
Continue reading “Mid-course Reflection: It’s Time to Check-in with These 3 People”
Members of the LGBTQ+ community face unique challenges in academic biology settings. This month’s Interesting Read features an article that describes 14 literature-based recommendations for biologists to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals. Recommendations include practical tips for implementation and are organized into the following categories: 1) Be thoughtful about the language used regarding the …
I completed my BSc in zoology at the University of Guelph. While I was there, I did an honours project under Nick Bernier on the stress physiology of larval zebrafish exposed to high environmental ammonia. This work inspired me not to work with fish going into grad school. I then started my master’s in zoology …
By Christine Goedhart The fall term is upon us, and if you’re like most other instructors I’ve talked to recently, you may be feeling a bit apprehensive about the upcoming remote teaching experience. You’re not alone. Many of your students are also going to be entering your course feeling unsure, uneasy, and uncomfortable with the …
Continue reading “4 Things Students Need From You This Fall”
Jaclyn Dee recently assigned a Scientist Spotlight activity in her BIOL 112 course. Students were asked to watch and respond to a short TED talk video in which Dr. Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi talked about her life and work as a Nanophysicist and how she invented a tool that detects dangerous bacteria earlier than traditional methods. …
Continue reading “Teaching Spotlight – Scientist Spotlight Activity”