Connecting you to what's happening in the UBC Biology Program
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, Gülnur Birol and I 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 …
Continue reading “The #1 Thing Your Students Want You To Do”
By Christine Goedhart First impressions are powerful, and the thoughts, feelings and expectations that students form about your course during the first day will follow them throughout the term. Here are five things that you can do on the first day of class to set the right tone and get your students excited, engaged, and …
Continue reading “5 Ways to Get Students Excited and Engaged on the First Day of Class”