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 …
Author Archives: Christine Goedhart
Peer Tutor Spotlight – Jennifer Liu
Jennifer Liu is a third year biology student. Originally born in Vancouver, she has also lived in Saskatoon and Edmonton. Recently, she received the Mildred Brock Memorial Scholarship for her efforts in undergraduate affairs. Jennifer is also involved in student government as the Vice-President, Finance of the Science Undergraduate Society and in volunteer work at …
Promoting Student Metacognition
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 – …
Activating Student Metacognition: How to Help Students Learn More Effectively and Efficiently
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 …
Teaching Spotlight – Adding Metacognition to Art-based Observation Activities in BIOL 323 and BIOL 203
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). Brett chose to include a metacognitive …
Teaching Spotlight – Pam Kalas On Using Metacognitive Activities
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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TA Spotlight – Liam Coleman
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 …
Peer Tutor Spotlight – Elliott Gee
Elliott is a 3rd year student in the Biology program with hopes to add a second major in the Microbiology & Immunology program. Elliott is a lower mainland local, originally from Burnaby, BC and his favourite thing to do is explore the Vancouver food scene. As a biology student with a passion for life at …
Creating More Inclusive Active-learning Environments for Students with Disabilities
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., & …
How to Prevent Work Overload for You and Your Students Next Term
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 …
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Teaching Spotlight – A Guest Speaker Brings Science to Life in the BIOL 140 Online Classroom
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. …
Peer Tutor Spotlight – Madina Kagieva & Taylor Reilly
Madina Kagieva and Taylor Reilly met and became good friends when they took BIOL 463 last year. Since then they have collaborated on instructional materials for BIOL 463, co-presented a CTLT Remote Teaching Institute workshop, founded and serve as Co-Presidents for the AMS Medical Genetics Club, and currently work together as peer tutors in the …
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Instructor Spotlight – Michelle Tseng
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 …
TA Spotlight – Evgeniya Yangel
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 …
Peer Tutor Spotlight – Giselle Mirfallah
Hello, my name is Giselle and I am majoring in Behavioural Neuroscience and minoring in Biochemistry at UBC. I have peer tutored BIOL 111 twice now, and hopefully I can also do it next term. I was born in the capital city of Iran and shortly after I moved to one of the most beautiful …
TA Spotlight – Busra Turgu
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, …
How to Make Genetics More Inclusive
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 …
Teaching Spotlight – Creative Ways to Engage Students Before Class Begins
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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Teaching Spotlight – Analyzing How Students Process Questions On Exams
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 …
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Mid-course Reflection: It’s Time to Check-in with These 3 People
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 …
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