Connecting you to what's happening in the UBC Biology Program
In this month’s Teaching Spotlight, Celeste Leander explains why and how she ditched exams and began ungrading. Based on her experience, she offers relevant tips and a sample student self-assessment form that can be used by others who might want to try ungrading in their courses. You can read more about Celeste’s experiences with ungrading …
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By Christine Goedhart Have you ever thought that you clearly explained something to your students, but were met with blank stares and looks of confusion? If so, then you were probably experiencing the Curse of Knowledge. The Curse of Knowledge happens when you know something so well that you no longer remember what it’s like …
Do you feel like you spend too much time grading? Do you want grading to better serve you and your students? This month’s Interesting Read provides a brief history of grading in higher education, describes different purposes of grading, and offers some ways to approach grading so that you can teach more by grading less …
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My name is Gaurav and I’m originally from Princeton, New Jersey. I got my BSc undergraduate degree in Biology at UBC and I am currently a 2nd year Master’s student in the Department of Zoology. I’m working in the Claire Kremen lab, which is also known as the Working to Restore Connectivity and Sustainability (WoRCS) …
Hello! My name is Karanvir Dhillon and I am a 4th year Integrated Science (Physiology/Pharmacology) student at UBC. I have served as the peer tutor for BIOL112 for two years now, and have thoroughly enjoyed helping students. BIOL112 has been one of my favourite courses at UBC, as cell biology has always been fascinating to …
Hi there! I’m Kyle Fernandez, and I am currently in the latter half of my third year in the Integrated Sciences program, integrating medical microbiology and public health. I live in Port Coquitlam, but I was born and raised (for 11 years!) in Davao City, Philippines. Currently, I am a peer tutor for BIOL 112, …
By Christine Goedhart I was sitting in the back of a large lecture classroom one day when something striking happened. We were about halfway into a 50-minute class session and I could tell that the students were getting a bit distracted—some students had picked up their phones and were scrolling under the table, some with …
Continue reading “Boost Student Engagement, Learning, and Connection Through Storytelling”
Scientist Spotlights have previously been shown to increase students’ relatability to and perception of scientists and enhance student science identity. This month’s Interesting Read makes the case for engaging students in the creation of Scientist Spotlights to leverage students’ authentic perspectives and unique cultural assets and increase the likelihood that the Scientist Spotlights produced will …
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The scientists featured in biology textbooks and courses tend to be males of European decent, but in reality, scientists are much more diverse, representing different ethnicities, sexes, genders, abilities, sexual orientations, and backgrounds. In BIOL 336, students get the chance to explore this diversity by engaging in a tutorial activity where they select an evolutionary …
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I am from Bombay (Mumbai), India, and completed my undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Biochemisty at St. Xavier’s College in India and graduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Cologne in Germany. I am currently a PhD Candidate in the Auld lab in the Dept. of Zoology at UBC, where I’m studying the …
Hi – I’m Sunny and I’m from Oakville, Ontario. I am currently a fifth year student majoring in biology, and this term I’m a Peer Tutor in the BIOL 121 course. What do you most enjoy about being a peer tutor? I really love interacting with the students and answering questions they have when they …
Hello, I’m Violet! I’m from Calgary, AB, and I moved to Vancouver for UBC where I’m now in my last year of my undergrad. I’m majoring in Biology and minoring in Arts with a focus in Bioarchaeology. I’m a Peer tutor for BIOL 121 where I get to help introduce students to some important topics …
Hello! My name is Katie, and I’m from Richmond, BC. I’m a fourth-year biology student, and in my final term, I have been given the amazing opportunity to peer tutor BIOL 121. I am passionate about genetics, and I hope to work as a clinical genetics technologist in the future. Outside of academics, I am …
BIOL140 students work together in long-term groups throughout the term, so effective teamwork is an important component of students’ experience and success. To help groups develop shared expectations and set the foundation for how group members will interact and engage with one another, one of the first group assignments is to create a Group Contract. …
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Looking for ways to help students develop teamwork skills in your course? This month’s Interesting Read offers suggestions for designing group work projects to help students learn how to operate effectively in a group. Citation: Halonen, J.S. & Dunn, D.S. (2021). Why and How to Teach Teamwork. Chronicle of Higher Education, November 15. https://www-chronicle-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/article/why-and-how-to-teach-teamwork You …
By Christine Goedhart Pandemic teaching was only supposed to last a few months, but we’re now almost two years in, and this term seems to be particularly difficult. The years-long accumulation of extra work and stress has led many faculty to experience extreme exhaustion and negative impacts on their physical and mental health, motivation, and …
Continue reading “5 Reminders To Help You Counter Burnout This Term”
Hi everyone! My name is Chenille, and I am a third year Integrated Sciences student from Coquitlam, BC, integrating Physiopharmacology and Public Health. This past term I peer tutored BIOL 200, a second-year cell biology course, for the first time. Outside of peer tutoring, I can be found conducting genetics experiments with Drosophila to investigate …
By Christine Goedhart Being sexually or gender diverse in a heteronormative society can be difficult, and 2SLGBTQIA+ students face unique challenges both inside and outside of the classroom, such as negative stereotypes, discrimination, lack of visible role models, incompatible structures, and unsafe spaces. It’s no surprise then, that students who identify as LGBTQ+ are more …
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Biology both impacts and is impacted by society, but is commonly taught in a “value free” way that separates science from societal issues. In this month’s Interesting Read, the authors describe how they linked biological concepts to societal issues through the teaching of ideological awareness in an introductory biology course. While students who experienced the …
Students in Rachel Wilson’s BIOL 230 (Fundamentals of Ecology) course recently went to Totem Plant Science Field Station on the UBC campus to look for isopods and contribute to an ongoing long-term experiment dating back to 2009. Rachel was especially excited to return to the site this term after a pandemic-caused hiatus. “This trip was …