Upcoming Courses
For courses taught by Marwan Hassan in current year, please visit the UBC Student Services Website or click here.
Teaching Philosophy
Over the past two decades, I have had the opportunity to teach at all levels of the university curriculum, from first-year introductory physical geography classes to advanced, doctoral-level courses in geomorphology and hydrology. My approach has been refined by the institutional settings and student cultures of the Hebrew University and the University of Glasgow prior to my arrival at UBC. In all of my teaching and advising, I encourage students to undertake a rigorous scientific engagement with the current research frontiers in geomorphology and hydrology. This approach, which emphasizes the methodological and process-oriented questions of the field as much as it reviews textbook answers, does challenge some lower-division undergraduates; but the vast majority of students respond with enthusiasm and diligence. The result is a classroom environment that is substantively enriched by an active and productive program of fundamental research. Moreover, my students’ questions, responses and ideas have alerted me to important new topics and problems for future inquiry.
My first year courses are designed to teach students the basic concepts of physical geography, geomorphology, and earth systems. They also show students how these elementary concepts are connected to current research at the frontiers of scientific inquiry. In these introductory classes, I strive to engage students with material that is relevant through their lives: my lectures draw links between global issues (water resources, disaster impacts, and other human-environment concepts) and contemporary examples from the British Columbia Lower Mainland. I also incorporate empirical material from more exotic locations; my experiences from teaching, living and studying in the Middle East, Europe and North America allow me to give personal, real-world examples of environmental problems at local and regional scales that can be used as analogies for larger global questions. For example, implications of water use in highly urbanized areas are very different when I have students consider areas where I have lived (Jerusalem vs. Vancouver). I use my experiences and research as a bridge from which to initiate discussion on the relevant geophysical topics of the course.
Third- and fourth-year classes usually have more discussion and problem-solving components, involving critique at higher levels of theoretical and analytical rigour. Discussions are drawn from readings in the refereed scientific literature to help sharpen students’ skills in critical reading and thinking. I seek to encourage students to openly question and write about scientific problems and environmental policies that affect them and the world around us.
The flume’s first lecture (Marwan cannot stop teaching)
My graduate teaching and advising emphasizes independent thought and rigorous innovation, balanced with careful supervision and sustained collaboration. In the seminar room, I establish the theoretical and analytical framework and then provide a structured environment for student discussions, individual laboratories and projects, and student presentations. In my supervision and advising of individual graduate students, I seek to give students enough time and freedom to develop their own research paths. At the same time, I provide enough guidance to ensure feasibility and scientific merit. I conduct weekly discussions with each of my graduate students in order to help them make steady progress and enjoy the benefits of sustained theoretical and empirical engagement with the challenges of cutting-edge physical geography research.