TA Opportunity: Winter Term 2 LFS 450 – Land, Food & Community III: Leadership in Campus Food System Sustainability

Hello!

I am seeking a Teaching Assistant (TA) for LFS 450 –  Land, Food and Community III: Leadership in Campus Food System Sustainability. LFS 450 is offered in the 2024/25 Winter Term 2: January to April, 2025 from 2-5pm. The position if for 190 hours.

The course uses an applied learning, team-based approach with students to gain knowledge and skills to critically examine and actively advance food system sustainability challenges, spanning climate change, biodiversity, circular economies, food security to ecological and human health, and more. The position is for 190 hours and involves assisting with course preparation, class and group facilitation, evaluating individual and team based assignments, and consulting with students as needed to support them in achieving course learning objectives. More details about the course and job position can be found on the TA Portal https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/ or below

Interested in applying for this position? Please send me an email at liska.richer@ubc.ca letting me know you are interested along with your resume as soon as possible. If helpful, we can also set up a time to chat about the opportunity first prior to submitting a resume.

Cheers,

Liska

Liska Richer (she/her)

Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Email: Liska.richer@ubc.ca

 

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MORE DETAILS BELOW:

Teaching Assistantship for LFS 450 –  Land, Food and Community III: Leadership in Campus Food System Sustainability

Instructor:  Liska Richer

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

LFS 450 (Land, Food, and Community III) uses an applied learning, team-based approach with students to gain knowledge and skills to critically examine and actively advance food system sustainability challenges. It offers students the opportunity to apply skills and concepts derived from earlier coursework, experience, and areas of specialization to address contemporary challenges in an integrative, interdisciplinary setting. The central theme of this course is the envisioning, planning, implementation and evaluation of projects aimed at enhancing the ecological, economic and social sustainability of the campus food system.  Opportunities will be provided throughout the course for students to critically examine food-related academic literature and food system issues experienced in the UBC-Vancouver Campus and broader regional and global contexts.

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of LFC III, students will be able to:

• Identify personal values, strengths, weaknesses, and leadership attributes
• Gain and apply knowledge that can contribute to professional development building
• Identify and critically evaluate food system sustainability issues
• Develop substantive knowledge in one or more areas of campus operational sustainability and wellbeing, including the practical institutional constraints and opportunities that can contribute to positive change
• Plan, critically evaluate and initiate activities that can alleviate issues posed by the interconnected global climate, nature, human health and wellbeing crises and affect concrete positive changes towards food system sustainability at a local scale
• Learn and apply principles of Community-Based Action Research methodological approaches
• Demonstrate proficiency in conducting secondary and primary research
• Learn and apply principles of whole systems approaches to practical local issues
• Demonstrate competence in project management skills and applications
• Learn to co-develop and implement a realistic project plan to address issues that are of practical importance to the university
• Learn and apply skills to work effectively with a client from an organization and members of a group towards shared interests
• Communicate effectively and professionally in written and verbal form with various audiences, ranging from non-academic to academic food system practitioners and affiliated community members

 

WORK PERFORMED

The position is for 190 hours and involves assisting with course preparation, class and group facilitation, evaluating individual and team based assignments, and consulting with students as needed to support them in achieving course learning objectives.  Specific duties below:

• Participate in regular teaching team meetings with course instructor
• Read all required reading materials in preparation for class discussions
• Consult with students as needed to support individual and group assignments and learning needs (including meetings, email communication and responding to Canvas discussions)
• Evaluate assignments:  Practitioner literature review, UBC Food System Project community-based action research proposals, report and presentations.
• Review various individual assignments for participation marks
• Prepare and tabulate individual and group marks, including entering on Canvas and Faculty Service Centre
• Take attendance
• Other duties as required

 

MINIMUM EDUCATION, QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

EDUCATION:
-Preference for student enrolled in a Masters or PhD Program in an area related to food systems, biodiversity, climate change/justice, planning/policy, sustainability, food security, ecological-human health.

-Preferred Degrees/Disciplines: Land and Food Systems, IRES, Geography, Public Policy, Planning  

 EXPERIENCE: 

– Experience in local food system analysis, community-based action research, student mentorship and evaluation.

-Preference for candidates with TA training and experience.

 

SKILLS:

– Familiarity with a broad range of food system issues (biodiversity, climate, food security, food system sustainability, food justice) and other intersectional issues

– Ability to evaluate written and verbal communication for logic, structure, grammar and argument construction.
– Excellent organizational and time management skills and strong attention to detail is required
– Experience with community-based action/applied research

– Experience in working with students and/or professionals with diverse skillsets and specializations