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Usama Abbasi |
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I am currently a PhD candidate in the department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, with my research focuses on drug development and delivery strategies. I first did my ISW back in 2016 – it was mind-opening experience. As many may have heard, I am still unpacking what we did the ISW. In hindsight, I give credit to the ISW experience which set me on my journey into the CTLT as a facilitator. I am grateful for having this opportunity, no doubt! |
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Aloy Anyichie |
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Aloy is a PhD Candidate in the Human Development Learning and Culture program. His research investigates the use of an integrated framework “Culturally Responsive Self-Regulated Learning framework” in supporting all learners’ engagement and success in multicultural classroom environments. Building on sociocultural and situated perspectives of teaching and learning processes, he facilitates ISW participants’ meaning making process by engaging them in critical thinking and reflection.
Aloy joined ISW team in 2016. He brings his diverse educational backgrounds including Philosophy, Theology, and Education; and over 10 years of both high school and university teaching experiences. He loves co-facilitation of workshops. |
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Artem Babaian |
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I’m a graduate student in Medical Genetics with Dr. Dixie Mager. I research the transcription of endogenous retroviruses in cancer. I joined the facilitator team in 2013 because I saw the Instructional Skills Workshop as a bridge between the science research and science education gap. A young scientist is an apprentice, and must learn a plethora of difficult technical and mental skills. These functional aspects of science research are often omitted from science education for more ‘traditional’ and comfortable lecture performances. My personal goals are to change my perception of what is possible in the biology classroom and share my experiences with anyone willing to listen. Thus I am here to explore. |
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Jeff Bale |
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I am a PhD student in the physics specializing in Physics Education Research (PER) under Doug Bonn. I did my masters at Canada’s national lab for particle and nuclear physics. In my spare time I enjoy aiding TAs to become better teachers through our mentorship program, facilitating ISWs, and facilitating learning at our local science center. My favorite strategy to engage people in learning is through guided inquiry in which people are allowed to come to terms with new concepts on an individual level. |
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Jennifer Brown |
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I am a PhD student in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Through my research, I am trying to characterize a previously unidentified enzyme in baker’s yeast through the study of well conserved stress pathways. I have always been passionate about teaching and am an Ontario Certified Teacher for Senior Chemistry and Biology. However, as a lifelong learner, I decided I was not yet ready to finish learning about science, and thus elected to pursue Graduate Studies.I feel grateful to have the opportunity to pursue teaching experiences during my graduate school career to keep me up to date on current teaching philosophies and paradigms. More importantly though, I am excited to surround myself with like-minded people on the Graduate Student Team at CTLT who can share in my education passion and support me along this journey. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for teaching with fellow graduate students and continuing to learn and improve along the way! |
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Laura Yvonne Bulk |
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I am a friend, learner, woman, person with a disability, occupational therapist, a Christian, a scholar, and, weaving through all of these, I am a teacher. Whatever the setting, I believe that we can be teachers in all situations. This can be good news, or it can be frightening because I am constantly teaching, or professing, something through my actions and words. This emphasizes the importance of being a person who lives with integrity, embodying one’s identities and values in all situations. I deeply value collaboration, equity, interdisciplinarity, inclusion, and integrity.
Just as I embody all my identities simultaneously, so do the people with whom I interact – when I facilitate a lesson or workshop, I know that each member brings a multiplicity of intersecting identities. It is a privilege to interact with each of these individuals and to learn from their perspectives and knowledge.
As a facilitator and teacher, I aim to 1) facilitate the co-creation of a constructive, diverse, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all learners; 2) remain humble and ready to learn; 3) challenge learners to enter critical reflection and engage in transformational learning that will lead to action; and 4) equip learners with the basic strategies, knowledge, and skills they need in relation to the subject at-hand. Drawing on the work of Freire (1970), I hope that learners (myself included) will not only experience personal transformation as they examine previously-held assumptions and learn new ways of viewing the world, but also that they will act on their learning and become better teachers themselves. |
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Kaylee Byers |
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Kaylee Byers is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia and a passionate science communicator. Kaylee’s research is part of the Vancouver Rat Project where she studies urban rats, their parasites, and the diseases they carry. When she’s not trapping rats in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, she co-organizes Nerd Nite Vancouver a local outreach initiative that combines seminar-style lectures with beer. |
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Colin Dring |
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A community developer, a change facilitator, a researcher, a connector, a teacher, and a lover of the outdoors. I join the CTLT Graduate Facilitator Team bringing over ten years of experience in the field of community food security, agricultural planning, community development, and agri-food policy. My PhD in the Faculty of Land Food Systems seeks to understand how ethno-cultural farmers are included (or excluded) in governance processes and actively transforming unsustainable and inequitable food and agricultural systems in Canada.I completed my ISW in early 2017 and was stoked to join the team in June, 2017. My approach to facilitation and teaching is inspired by the works of Freire, hooks, Orr, and Dewey. I believe that learning is (and can be) both exciting and serious, that the role of teaching is to, not only assist our learners to know content, but to work towards self-actualization in an engaged community of learners.
My professional experience has led me to work across different disciplines (scientific, humanities, education), across ages, races, genders, and socio-economic statuses. I aim to create community spaces where learners can experiment and take risk, can reflect and grow, and are both supported and challenged in their pursuit of becoming incredible teachers and facilitators in their own rights.
In my spare time, you may find me rock climbing, sampling Vancouver’s cuisine and microbreweries, and talking nerdy about pedagogy. I look forward to working with you and your learners! |
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Roquela Fernandez |
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Hello there! My name is Roquela, and I’m a reader, storyteller, workshop facilitator, lifelong learner, mum of two, and caffeine enthusiast! Here at UBC, I’m an MFA candidate in the Creative Writing Program where I’m working on my memoir. For me, research, storytelling, learning, listening, and pedagogy are all integral parts of, what I call, ‘the long conversation.’ This conversation is where we investigate: Who are we? How should we be? And what is all of this, anyways? Whatever it is, I love the whole curious, delightful thing. And I love hearing other peoples’ approaches and answers to these questions. You can bet I’m excited to work with you! |
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Kieran Forde |
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I’m an MEd student in the Faculty of Education looking at Media and Technology in Education. After completing my BA, I spent some years abroad teaching English as a foreign language before returning to education in 2004 to complete my MA in English Language Teaching. After this, I spent over a decade working at a university in China where I delivered courses for Lambton College (Ontario), Memorial University (Newfoundland), and Northwood University (Michigan). I have also spent many years working in language assessment with the British Council in China, Nepal, and India. My experience as a teacher has taken me on a journey, literally and figuratively, which has allowed me to learn from a diverse group of people and to engage with a broad range of educational experiences. I completed my ISW shortly after I arrived in Canada and found the workshop extremely helpful in allowing me to reflect on this journey and in re-situating myself in my pedagogy through examining my practices and teaching style. I have benefited immensely from learning with others in the workshop and from the opportunity to engage with people studying in fields completely different to mine. For me, the opportunity the ISW provides to gain perspective on our own learning, as well as to learn from our peers, is the most rewarding part of the process. |
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Shaya Golparian |
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I hold a PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy from UBC and I am an Educational Developer at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at UBC. I consult with departments to plan, design, and deliver department-specific TA teaching skills development through the TA training Program. I facilitate Instructional Skills Workshops (ISW) and train facilitators in the Facilitator Development Workshops (FDW). I have been designing, facilitating and implementing teaching and learning professional development initiatives, programs, and workshops at CTLT since 2011.I equally identify myself as an a/r/tographer: An artist/researcher/teacher in writing. And by doing so, I maintain that art, research and teaching, are contiguous and inseparable aspects of my identity that support my work as an education developer. I am committed to a life where knowing, making, and doing are always in the process of becoming and where people, data and methods are also recognized as “becoming forms” – always in the process of “moving beyond the already-familiar to affirm the actuality of what is yet unknown” (Triggs, Irwin & O’Donoghue, 2013).
I believe in the kind of facilitation/teaching that provokes questioning, wondering, and wandering that brackets the conventional as artist-researcher-teacher and educational developer, and performs knowledge, teaching, facilitating, and learning from multiple perspectives. I also believe in a methodology of inclusions – A methodology that invites pluralism of vision and multiplicity of realities. I am committed to the kind of facilitation /teaching that nourishes that pluralism of vision and multiplicity of values, and acknowledges individual voices, stories, imaginations and ways of being with/in the world. The kind of teaching/facilitation that provokes self-transformation through visual/textual and relational engagement with reverberations of meaning. |
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Kyle Gooderham |
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Kyle is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology where he studies cognition and the impact of physical health on cognitive functioning. After completing the ISW and FDW in 2017 he joined the Graduate Student Facilitator Team and has enjoyed the opportunity to work and learn with the endlessly talented graduate students from across UBC. He has found teaching to be a fulfilling experience and is looking forward to continuing his growth as an educator. |
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Mabel Ho |
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I’m a sociology PhD candidate who joined the Graduate Student Facilitator Team in December 2014. Since then, I facilitated multiple ISWs and TA training sessions. Being part of this collaborative community has transformed how I approach lesson design and delivery. The discussions on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning among facilitators and participants inspires growth, creativity, and innovation. As a result, my facilitation and instructional practice has grown to be consciously deliberate, reflective, and inclusive. As the Lead Facilitator, I work to support the wonderful work done by our facilitator team. |
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Linda Horianopoulos |
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I am a PhD student in Microbiology and Immunology studying a super cool human fungal pathogen! I have a passion for science in which my passion for teaching is rooted. It has always been important to me to consider how teaching can pass that passion on to learners and if there are ways I can improve my instructional skills. I took the ISW and FDW where I not only learned new things, but also had opportunities to test out new teaching techniques. I really loved that many assessments and active learning techniques were modelled to us. I also particularly liked the emphasis on reflection and feedback which is something that I believe should always be incorporated into instruction. I look forward to working with the team to facilitate ISW’s and help create a space in which participants can grow in their instructor abilities.
One of my favourite things to do outside of the lab and classroom is birdwatching and I haven’t decided on a favourite birdwatching spot in Vancouver yet. If you know of one, and if you enjoy birdwatching, please let me know! |
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Reilly Ische |
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I am a MSc student in the Department of Wood Science in the Faculty of Forestry. My research focus is on bioremediation using Poplar trees, as well as the development of agricultural fertilizers from sustainable sources. I joined the Graduate Student Facilitator Team after my ISW and FDW in 2017. I started teaching science at a Science Centre so I really appreciated the goals of the ISW to bring active learning into the more traditional classroom and in lecture halls. I like trying new things and reflecting on ways of teaching concepts more effectively, which is one of my favourite parts of facilitating the ISWs. I’m looking forward to the experiences ahead with the GSFT! |
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Andrea Johnson |
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I am a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work. My research has unfolded from a decade in clinical practice in pediatric oncology and I am currently investigating the early survivorship experiences of adolescents who have completed treatment for cancer. I love my research work and continue to be excited about the opportunities to translate research findings into practice. I have been a graduate student facilitator with CTLT since May, 2016. I took the ISW shortly before that and it was a transformative experience for me. Within my professional clinician identity, I have presented and taught (what I had previously considered “teaching”…) quite extensively. However, it wasn’t until I took the ISW that I appreciated the important distinction between presenting and teaching and confronted my realization that I had been presenting in a teaching context. This has been such important awareness for me that continues to ground me in my teaching. What I love about being part of this CTLT team is the mutual and overlapping identities of learner and instructor. We hold both of these identities simultaneously and each enriches our teaching and learning. It is so inspiring and motivating to be on a team with others also striving to truly facilitate learning. |
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Rhy McMillan |
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I am interested in helping archaeologists, palaeoanthropologists, and palaeontologists better describe and explain the spatial, temporal, and biological relationships within and between assemblages of exhumed bones and teeth. As a multidisciplinary researcher, I approach this through the lenses of taphonomy and geochemistry by focusing on the sedimentary context of excavated remains, their preservation states, and the degree to which they have been physically and chemically altered post-mortem. Under the supervision of Dr. Dominique Weis and Dr. Marg Amini, my research with the MAGNET program involves analysing the chemical and isotopic signatures of both modern and fossilised human and animal remains. My objective is to further develop the application of geochemistry to the acquisition of information not obtainable with traditional morphological analyses and osteometry. This is to facilitate the interpretation of the source, identity, and movement of humans and their artifacts through space and time.
I joined the CTLT Graduate Student Facilitator Team in Fall 2015 and look forward to sharing my passions for teaching and learning at ISWs throughout my graduate career! |
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Vanessa Radzimiski |
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I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. My research is in mathematics teacher education, where I investigate the role advanced mathematical knowledge plays in prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge for teaching. Since 2013, I have taught courses and facilitated TA training in the UBC Mathematics Department, so I’m excited to bring forward these experiences and passion for education to my work on the CTLT grad team. Education pervades nearly every aspect of my life: my research, teaching mathematics, working in CTLT, and teaching group fitness classes from time to time! When I’m not teaching in some respect or another, I love dancing, overanalyzing the Star Wars Universe, and cooking delicious vegan meals at home!I joined the CTLT Graduate Student Team in the winter of 2017. I look forward to fostering a learning environment that challenges ISW participants to take risks and grow in their pedagogy. |
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Rowshan Rahmanian |
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Having switched from one engineering discipline to another in my PhD, I took the ISW in 2010 in hope of increasing my chances of getting a TA in my new department. It was a failure! I didn’t get to TA that year, nor the next year. But my life had been ISW-ed, and it could never be the same again.
I joined the grad facilitator team in 2012 and have been since facilitating Instructional Skills, Presentation Skills, and TA training workshops, as frequently as I could manage without disqualifying myself as a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering. Getting to learn about the concept of facilitation, inspired by fabulous mentors and colleagues, has totally transformed not only the way I teach and learn, but the way I am; a transformative experience which has kept happening to this day.
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Emily Scribner |
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I’m a PhD candidate studying mineralogy in the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. As part of my project, I’m also developing a concept inventory for undergraduate mineralogy courses. I have been a TA in my home department as well as in the Department of Integrated Sciences since I first came to UBC in 2014. I love working on a variety of different courses to expose myself to and learn from a variety of teaching styles, and to meet and work with students from different disciplines. I joined the graduate team at the CTLT in the winter of 2017 and as a facilitator I hope to foster a supportive environment in which my participants can learn, take risks, and grow as teachers. |
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Jens Vent-Schmidt |
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I first came from Germany to Vancouver in 2012 to work on my PhD thesis on a new treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the program of Experimental Medicine. I participated in both the Presentation and Instructional Skills Workshops within 6 months of arriving and I joined the CTLT Graduate Student Facilitator Team in May 2013 after finishing my Facilitator Development Workshop. Since then, I have facilitated many ISW’s, TA training workshops and presentation skills workshop. I strive to constantly develop my lesson plans and facilitation learning from every single workshop. I strongly believe in peer-based participatory learning and see the benefits in all my workshops. I facilitate a nurturing environment, where participants can safely take risks in their teaching practice. This directly translates into an evolution in their teaching towards better achieving their learning objectives throughout their mini-lessons. Since fall 2014, I got interested in flexible learning and have worked together with many other facilitators, to develop an online platform (currently on WordPress) for components of the ISW. By making parts of the content and activities available online, we were able to cut down the time spent in the workshop while concomitantly achieving better learning outcomes due to higher energy levels during the face-to-face session. I look forward to continuously working on the team, taking new approaches and translating those experiences into my teaching practice. In my off-time, I spend as much time as possible in the beautiful mountains of British Columbia; rock-climbing, hiking and skiing. |
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Austin Taylor |
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I am a PhD candidate in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine studying the production and biological actions of the hormone islet amyloid polypeptide, and the role it plays in diabetes and pancreatic cancer development. I found the ISW to be an exceptionally beneficial (and fun!) experience that helped me to translate previous athletic coaching and instructional experience to a classroom. It helped me to see the value of reflective practice in teaching, and allowed me to start building a creative window through which I could begin to view the world of instruction. The skills gained, the wonderful people involved, and the joy of the process led me to become interested in continuing with the ISW as a facilitator, and sparked an insatiable appetite for teaching. When not working, I can usually be found brewing beer, or on the side of a mountain somewhere enjoying skiing, climbing, or biking. |
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Joseph Topornycky |
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I’ve been a part of the graduate team at CTLT since 2007 (before it was CTLT), joining the team in the second year of my Philosophy Ph.D program (completed in 2012). In that time, I’ve been a grad facilitator, grad team coordinator, TA training coordinator, and am now the Manager of Graduate Student Programs at CTLT. In this role, I work with our team to help plan and adjust our pedagogical strategy to meet the emerging needs of the university, i advocate for the teaching and learning needs of graduate students and TAs, I work with a design team to redevelop and facilitate the Graduate Certificate Program, and most of all do whatever I can to support the brilliant, hard working people on the grad team, and get them whatever they need to let their genius shine.
In all my work, I am still a philosopher at heart. In teaching and facilitating, I value clear thinking, imagination, boldness, and most of all kindness. I’ve been investigating signature pedagogies, metacognition, and learner agency, and much of my work as an educational developer connects to some or all of those things. I really enjoy the opportunity I’ve had on this team to witness, and in some cases make some small contribution to people flourishing as teachers and as facilitators. |
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Roselynn Verwoord |
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As an educator, facilitator, and curriculum developer, I have worked in a variety of formal and informal educational settings both locally and internationally. Presently, I work as a Learning Design and Curriculum Consultant at the UBC Centre for Teaching Learning and Technology where I support departments and units to design and develop curriculum and related courses and materials. When I’m not at UBC, I enjoy teaching in the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program at Vancouver Community College and in the Early Childhood Education Program at Douglas College. My formal education includes a Bachelor of Education in Elementary Curriculum as well as a Master of Arts in Society, Culture, and Politics in Education. I am currently completing a PhD in Educational Studies from UBC with a focus on pre-service teacher education. |
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Natalie Westwood |
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I am currently a PhD student in Zoology where I examine how fragmenting forests changes the decomposition cycle of leaf litter in aquatic systems. I did my ISW and FDW in 2017. I am passionate about sharing science in the most effective manner possible, and I found that what I learned in the ISW was incredibly helpful in doing so in classes I teach. Not only have these techniques been helpful in formal settings, they have made me better at public outreach events as well. I believe that no matter what you plan to do in the future, there is almost always a component of teaching or instructing in your job. I hope that through my facilitation, not only will I help others become better instructors, but that I will continue to improve my own skills |
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Magdalena Wojda |
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After completing my LLB at UVic and working as a lawyer in Vancouver for six years, I came back to UBC for graduate studies in law. I’ve worked as a TA in various courses at the law faculty, and I joined the GSFT after completing the ISW at CTLT in 2013. Participating in the ISW and working as a GSF have enriched my life in many ways, including by transforming how I think about and approach teaching and learning. Importantly, these experiences have underscored for me how central focusing on the learner/participant is to teaching/facilitating effectively. This is the main principle that serves as my compass when I’m instructing and facilitating. I’m always asking myself: what do the learners/participants need to achieve their goals and how can I best support them on their way? I’ve also come to see active learning as an integral part of the learning process, as well as a special outlet for creativity. As a result, I try to make participatory learning a priority in every class or session I lead, and have my experiences with CTLT to thank for gaining the concrete skills and confidence I need to do so. I am regularly learning from workshop participants, my fellow facilitators, as well as other members of CTLT and the teaching and learning community, all of whom inspire me to continually strive to improve my skills as both an instructor and facilitator. I am truly grateful for the wonderful privilege it is to be on the GSFT, and excitedly look forward to continuing down this path of discovery, growth and joy! |