Connecting you to what's happening in the UBC Biology Program
By Christine Goedhart In the spring 2024 semester, I had the privilege to develop and teach a brand new undergraduate course at UBC: Biology of Cannabis – BIOL 348. This wasn’t my first time developing or teaching a course; prior to coming to UBC I was a biology faculty at a community college in Los …
Continue reading “What I Learned from My Recent Course Development Experience”
By Christine Goedhart Walk into any undergraduate biology classroom, take a look around at the students in the room, and you might notice something: most students are women.* Given that women now outnumber men in higher education throughout much of the Western world, this might not be too surprising, but it actually is quite different …
Continue reading “Serving the Underserved Majority: 5 Ways to Support Women in Biology Classrooms”
By Christine Goedhart A question I often get from instructors is: How can I make my classroom more inclusive and equitable for all students? My answer: Get to know your students. This response usually takes people off guard because they are expecting a checklist of defined things that they can do that will result in …
Continue reading “The Simple Secret to Creating a More Inclusive and Equitable Classroom”
By Christine Goedhart There are many reasons to ask students for mid-course feedback. It’s a great way to learn about students and how they are experiencing the course so that you know what’s working well and what could be improved. It’s also an opportunity to build trust and rapport with students and to show them …
Continue reading “Addressing the 5 Major Reasons Instructors Don’t Do Mid-Course Student Feedback”
By Christine Goedhart The term is almost over and Vania has only spoken a few times in their biology course. While there has been a lot of opportunity for student interaction through group work and class discussions, Vania decided early on that it was just easier to stay silent. Vania identifies as gender non-binary and …
Continue reading “9 Ways to Help Students Develop Psychological Safety in Your Course”
By Christine Goedhart Can you recall a time when you felt joy, delight, or pride while learning something? What about a time when you felt anxious, bored, frustrated, or hopeless? If you’ve ever experienced these emotions while learning, how did it impact your interest in what you were learning or your ability to perform on …
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 …
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”
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”
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 …
Continue reading “How to Support 2SLGBTQIA+ Students in the Biology Classroom”
By Christine Goedhart Being able to ask good questions is particularly important in science, because good science begins with good questions. But when you think of someone asking a question in a classroom, who do you picture? If the classroom is like a typical science classroom, it is probably the instructor who is asking the …
Continue reading “How to Get Students to Ask Better Questions”
By Christine Goedhart There’s something special that happens when students start asking questions, and it shows up in their body language. They perk up, lean in, look intently, and you can almost see the wheels turning in their heads as they struggle to make sense of what is eluding them. They’re ripe for learning. Humans …
Continue reading “Using Student Questions To Improve Learning”
By Christine Goedhart When teaching, have you ever welcomed students at the beginning of class, provided instructions for doing an activity, shared a personal story, offered study tips, or explained the ‘why’ behind your teaching decision? If so, then you were using Instructor Talk. Instructor Talk is the term used to describe the things you …
Continue reading “Instructor Talk: Small Talk That Makes a Big Impact”
By Christine Goedhart There’s a lot to do when getting ready to teach a course. It can be overwhelming to stay on top of everything, make sure nothing is forgotten, and get it all done before you enter class on that first day. To help you stay organized, the following checklist lays out important items …
Continue reading “24 Ways To Get Ready For The Term: A Checklist”
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”
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”
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 …
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”
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”
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”
By Christine Goedhart Engaged students actively participate. They are receptive, connected, invested, and motivated to learn. You’re probably familiar with what student engagement looks like in the physical classroom, but what about when teaching online? How can you tell if students are engaged if you can’t see or hear them and if you are separated …
Continue reading “10 Ways to Engage Students as You Teach Remotely this Fall”
By Christine Goedhart This year has turned out to be one big, huge, messy exercise in learning how to teach remotely. You’ve been asked (forced, really) to step outside of your comfort zone, experiment with new techniques and technologies, and become an online instructor. I’ve had the privilege of working and talking with many of …
Continue reading “Remote Teaching 2020: The Biggest Lessons Learned”
By Christine Goedhart Congratulations on surviving the 2020 mass migration to emergency remote teaching! Now that the dust has settled and final grades are submitted, it’s a good time to reflect on the past term and consider what lessons you might want to take with you moving forward. Here are four simple, yet powerful questions …
Continue reading “Reflecting on Remote Teaching: What Have You Learned?”
By Christine Goedhart One of the biggest challenges of teaching from home during the COVID-19 pandemic is the inevitable integration of work and life, making it easy to work all day long. However, working non-stop can have devastating effects on your physical and mental health, causing stress and burn out, and ultimately diminishing the quality …
Continue reading “5 Ways to Practice Self-care When Teaching From Home”
By Christine Goedhart There are a lot of decisions to make when thinking about how to implement group work, and I’ve noticed that there are a handful of questions that I frequently get from instructors regarding how to best structure group work in their courses. In general, the group work structure that will work best …
Continue reading “Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions About Group Work”
By Christine Goedhart The half-way point of a course is a great time to ask students for feedback. It is far enough into the course where students are able to draw upon their experience to give meaningful feedback, while also providing you enough time to make changes based on that feedback. Additionally, mid-course feedback sets …
Continue reading “A Win-Win: Making Mid-course Student Feedback Useful For Instructors AND Students”
By Christine Goedhart Group work is a common component of an active learning classroom and can be a great way to help students learn. However, anyone who has ever tried to facilitate group work in their course knows that results can vary. Group work experiences can go really well, can be a complete disaster, or …
By Christine Goedhart A major benefit of an instructor position is having a flexible work schedule. However, without defined work hours, work can expand to take up all waking hours. This is because there is always something to do. If we’re not physically teaching in the classroom, we can be preparing for class, reflecting on …
Continue reading “An Instructor’s Guide To Finding Work-Life Balance”
By Christine Goedhart There are a variety of reasons why students don’t reach out for help when they are struggling. Sometimes students are in denial and don’t realize they are struggling, or they mistakenly think that they can figure it out on their own. Some students feel too ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help, …
By Christine Goedhart To gain a better understanding of the experiences and needs of our students, we recently interviewed a number of UBC students who had completed biology courses. In their responses to the interview questions, these students generously shared many things that instructors could do to improve the experiences of students in their courses. …
Continue reading “The #1 Thing Your Students Want You To Do”