Fleeting Form Studio forges community-based climate action
Shani Laskin, The Tribune, September 10, 2024
鈥淲e created this workshop not to enrich the community, but to build community,鈥� co-founder of听听Hannah Marder-MacPherson said at the onset of the group鈥檚 inaugural event on Sept. 6. The organization, supported by 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF), is hosting a series of six workshops inviting various artists to share their work, followed by creation sessions and discussions with the goal of fostering climate action through art.
A 鈥榬iver of experience鈥�: How many ways of knowing feed a course on the climate crisis and听actions
Diane Dechief,听Natalya Gomez,听Julia Freeman,听and听Jennifer Sunday, The Conversation, September 3, 2024
How can we educate about the climate crisis in a way that gives students the tools they need to move towards hopeful visions for the future? A new kind of climate course has emerged from our collaboration at 黑料不打烊 University across the fields of environmental studies, biology, geoscience and science communication as we teamed up to explore this question.
Celebrating International Pi Day with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives
Christine Pallon, 黑料不打烊 Faculty of Science, August 12, 2024
Earlier this year, 黑料不打烊鈥檚听Office of Indigenous Initiatives听celebrated International Pi Day with a talk from mathematician Dr. Edward Doolittle followed by a student panel on Indigenous experiences in STEM and, of course, some delicious pie.
Can hopeful moments lead to hopeful futures?
Daphne Chalmers,听Julia Freeman,听Diane Dechief, Natalya Gomez,听Blane Harvey,听Amy Janzwood, and听Nik Luka, Teaching for Learning, June 13, 2024
A sunny Friday last October found us away from campus, in a narrow room with many plants, conversing at three large tables, but they were not quite large enough as it turned out.
As part of听Montreal 2140, a conference organized by the Bieler School of Environment at 黑料不打烊, more than 50 engaged folks joined us to talk about Teaching and Learning for Hopeful Futures, and together we focused on getting our ideas onto colorful sticky notes. We were working to address climate-focused challenges.
Undergraduate research takes center stage at Poster Showcase
Emily Foxman, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, April 30, 2024
On the evening of March 19, more than 500 members of the 黑料不打烊 community gathered in celebration of student work at the fifth annual Undergraduate Poster Showcase. Hosted each March by the Office of Science Education (OSE), the Showcase invites students from across the University to share their scientific research, field work, in-class assignments, passion projects and more.
黑料不打烊鈥檚 Undergraduate Poster Showcase celebrates star students鈥� scientific research
K. Coco Zhang, The Tribune, March 26, 2024
On March 19, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Office of Science Education hosted its听fifth annual听Undergraduate Poster Showcase听in the University Centre Ballroom, providing students with an opportunity to share their research, passion projects, and in-class work. This year, the event featured 150 colourful posters rich with information, images, and creative interpretations of science.听
Lessons learned from the inaugural Inclusive Teaching Initiative
Jeremy Audet, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, November 2, 2023
From December 2022 to May 2023, a group comprising seven Faculty of Science instructors from six different departments met monthly to discuss ways of making their courses more inclusive. The Inclusive Teaching Initiative is part of the Faculty鈥檚 response to the 黑料不打烊 Provost鈥檚听Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism (ABR) 2020-2025听and the听Strategic Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan 2020-2025.
Science, storytelling, and stepping up: Conference highlights hope about the climate crisis
Helen Griffiths-Barnhart, The Tribune, October 17, 2023
On Oct. 12 and 13, 黑料不打烊 University鈥檚听Bieler School of Environment听hosted the听鈥淢ontr茅al 2140: Hopeful Futures in Science and Storytelling鈥澨齝limate conference. The conference included a series of events that worked toward inspiring productive discourse around climate change and enabling younger generations to uncover hopeful narratives for the future.听
脡coanxi茅t茅: redonner espoir aux jeunes gr芒ce au savoir
Catherine Couturier, Le Devoir, September 23, 2023
Devant les changements climatiques et leurs effets de plus en plus visibles, nombreux sont les jeunes paralys茅s par l鈥櫭ヽoanxi茅t茅. 脌 黑料不打烊, un cours veut susciter l鈥檈spoir et outiller les 茅tudiants pour faire face aux changements climatiques.'
鈥淓veryone wins鈥� in this education research with a TEACH Mentor
Adele Lopes, 黑料不打烊 Faculty of Science, May 25, 2023
It鈥檚 a sunny afternoon at the Office of Science Education office, and I鈥檝e just sat down with Dr. Jasmin Chahal and Alex Wang to talk about the education research they undertook when they teamed up to assess how self-reflection and pre-lab activities affect students鈥� confidence levels and success in a Microbiology and Immunology 384 Lab course. So, how did this project get started?听
Mieux apprendre gr芒ce 脿 la science du cerveau
Jean Fran莽ois Bouthillette,听Radio-Canada, April 9, 2023
Jean Fran莽ois Bouthillette nous emm猫ne sur le campus pour rencontrer ceux qui offrent aux 茅tudiants, 脿 travers le programme SciLearn, des trucs pour 茅tudier plus efficacement, mieux retenir l鈥檌nformation et, surtout, graver les notions apprises plus durablement dans leur m茅moire.
Hundreds gather for Undergraduate Poster Showcase
Jeremy Audet, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, March 28, 2023
On March 15, over 100 undergraduate students at 黑料不打烊 and a large audience of alumni, faculty, staff, fellow students, and family crowded the University Centre Ballroom for the Undergraduate Poster Showcase. The fourth edition of the annual event, which is held every March, took place in person for the first time since 2020, with an online livestream available as an alternative.
Teaching hope during the climate crisis
Jeremy Audet, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, March 21, 2023
Worried about the climate crisis? Want to learn about climate change from experts and explore what you can do about it? 黑料不打烊 has a course for you.
The Undergraduate Poster Showcase 2023: Gather with us!
Ezelbahar Metin and Bhavya Bhushan, Office of Science Education, March 3, 2023
Office of Science Education Student Engagement Administrator听Ezelbahar Metin听and Communications Assistant听Bhavya Bhushan听sat down with presenters to discuss the upcoming Undergraduate Poster Showcase. This year, the highly-anticipated hybrid event will be hosted on March 15, 6-8 PM ET in the University Centre (SSMU) Ballroom and via livestream.听
The Science (Students) of Course Change 鈥� FSCI 396 Research Projects
Tamara Western, Office of Science Education, February听6, 2023
Data and collaboration are key in science 鈥� so why not use both to drive change in teaching and learning at the Faculty of Science at 黑料不打烊? FSCI 396 鈥撎�Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning听is a course that partners undergraduate students and instructors to design and assess learning opportunities, resulting in improvements for everyone.
Pursuing an Arctic research dream
Fergus Grieve, 黑料不打烊 University News and Events, December 20, 2022
Imagine a place where there are as many polar bears as people and reindeer roam the streets like squirrels in Montreal. Welcome to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago barely 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole. Now imagine you get to go there as part of your studies at 黑料不打烊.
SciLearn: Helping first-year science students learn better
Fergus Grieve, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, December 12, 2022
Each year, around 1,000 new students begin an undergraduate science degree at 黑料不打烊. For many of them, their first year at university represents a dramatic change from the world of high school or CEGEP.
The Dan Petrescu Speaker Series presents: Rethinking Learning with MIT鈥檚 Dr. Sanjay Sarma听
Hilary Sweatman, Office of Science Education, December 8, 2022
On October 28th,听SciLearn听of the听Office of Science Education听welcomed Dr. Sanjay Sarma to present a talk on rethinking learning. Dr. Sarma is the former Vice-President for Open Learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and author of听听a book on the science of transforming how we learn. His work has served as great inspiration for the SciLearn program. Burning the midnight oil, Sarma enthusiastically Zoomed in from India to speak to over 60 eager faculty, staff, and students. His talk marked the second edition of the Dan Petrescu Speaker Series, recently renamed in honour of our late friend and colleague. We invite you to learn more about Dan and his legacy听on the OSE website.听听
SciLearn helps connect students with course material outside of the classroom
Gillian Cameron, 黑料不打烊 Tribune, November 8, 2022
On a Monday afternoon during midterm season, the cafeteria of听 Royal Victoria College (RVC) is the place to be. It鈥檚 buzzing with energy, full of people eagerly discussing a wide variety of topics鈥攁nd no, they鈥檙e not there for the food. The students are there for the听SciLearn Peer Collaboration, a program offered by the Office of Science Education (OSE) to help students ace their courses by working together.听
Strategies to foster equitable and inclusive learning environments听
Jennie Ferris and Charlene Lewis-Sutherland, Teaching for Learning, October 25, 2022
Diane Dechief听from the Office of Science Education and听Stephanie Weber听from the Dept. of Biology were among several 黑料不打烊 instructors who recently gathered to share their ideas for fostering equitable and inclusive learning environments. Event co-facilitators Charlene Lewis-Sutherland and听Jennie Ferris from 黑料不打烊's听Teaching & Learning Services (TLS)听wrote the following blog post to make the ideas more broadly available and perhaps inspire other instructors to adopt or adapt them.
Online teaching strategies we can bring back to the classroom
Jennie Ferris and V茅ronique Brul茅, Teaching for Learning, October 13, 2022
The fall term is underway, and campus is hopping! At 黑料不打烊, nearly all classes are taking place in person once more. With the start of a new academic year comes an opportunity to look back on instructional strategies that have worked well that we might use again. Many of the strategies that instructors of large classes have used in online courses over the past couple of years can work just as well when teaching in person. In this blog post, you鈥檒l discover听strategies for assessment, teaching, and logistics听that colleagues from multiple disciplines shared at the听Large Class Teaching Exchange听in 2021 and 2022. Though these strategies were discussed in the context of large online classes, they can be adapted to in-person classes of any size. Which of these strategies pique your interest?听
Meeting the climate crisis with resilience and collaborative action
Office of Science Education, July 14, 2022
黑料不打烊 undergraduates have a unique opportunity to expand their climate science literacy and acquire tools for taking action to reduce the impacts of the unfolding climate crisis.
Setting the tone: how you write听your syllabus can make a big difference
Diane Dechief and V茅ronique Brul茅, Office of Science Education, December 16, 2021
Instructors: think back to when you were an undergraduate. Do you remember how you felt as you read the syllabi for your courses? Hopefully there were feelings of excitement and intrigue. But perhaps there was also confusion or worry that certain classes weren't really what you鈥檇 thought you were signing up for.
Thinking Outside the Zoom Box with the Large Class Teaching Exchange
Part 1: Engaging Students Online
Jacqueline Kort Mascort, Hilary Sweatman, V茅ronique Brul茅 and Jennie Ferris,听Office of Science Education, September 28, 2021
Have you heard about the Large Class Teaching Exchange (LCTE)? If you鈥檙e imagining instructors swapping large classes, think again! The LCTE was a six-part webinar series that took place between May and August 2021, offered by the听Office of Science Education听and听Teaching and Learning Services.听
Part 2: Considerations for Online Course Delivery
Jacqueline Kort Mascort, Hilary Sweatman, V茅ronique Brul茅 and Jennie Ferris, Office of Science Education, September 30, 2021
Are you teaching a large class this term, or preparing to teach one in the future? In this blog series, instructors who attended the Large Class Teaching Exchange (LCTE), that took place between May and August 2021, share strategies from their experiences teaching online this past year.
Building science students' communication skills with the MSWI
Office of Science Education,听September 27, 2021
Marina Nysten and Joyce Wu are the co-founders of the听, a student-run organization dedicated to promoting effective science communication at 黑料不打烊 and beyond. The听Office of Science Education听recently collaborated with MSWI, which concluded its first year in service to the student body. Here, Marina and Joyce reflect on MSWI鈥檚 inaugural year and future plans as recent 黑料不打烊 alumni.
OSE First-Year Student Panel
Catherine Wang,听Office of Science Education, July 8, 2021
Will classes be in-person? How do labs work? How will I make friends? How do I keep up with so many courses?听These are some of the questions that students have as they prepare for their first year at 黑料不打烊. On June 11, 2021, the听Office of Science Education鈥檚听Incoming Students Panel brought together professors, current students听and staff to respond to these questions and give around 300 incoming students a sneak peek of the school year to come.
New program helps students get the most out of first year
Fergus Grieve, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, June 8, 2021
Launched by the Faculty of Science in Fall 2020, SciLearn is a new way of helping incoming students make the transition to university study. The program draws on key concepts from neuroscience to guide students in identifying the learning strategies that work best for them. Born amid the COVID-19 pandemic, SciLearn also aimed to combat the isolation many faced when learning entirely online.
鈥淭he show must go on!鈥�: Undergraduate Poster Showcase brings students to the virtual stage
Catherine Wang,听Office of Science Education, April 21, 2021
As 黑料不打烊 University marks its bicentennial anniversary, students, staff, and alumni are coming together, not only to celebrate our past achievements and reflect on the milestones that have shaped our community, but also to embrace the challenges and opportunities that our next century will bring. In that spirit, the听Undergraduate Poster Showcase听celebrated a group that will undoubtedly have a defining role in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 future 鈥� the students.
Celebrity chef Bruno Feldeisen guest stars in baking-themed biology class at 黑料不打烊
V茅ronique Brul茅, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, March 18, 2021
The atmosphere in the Biology 201 classroom is far from what one might expect on a grey Friday morning after a long week of online lectures and cramming for midterms. A mosaic image of the main campus greets students as they enter the Zoom room while bossa nova plays quietly in the background, helping everyone settle in and focus on being present in class for the next hour. Students exchange hellos in the chat with the familiarity of a tight-knit community, and there is palpable excitement in their conversation. Today isn鈥檛 an ordinary lecture.
The Undergraduate Poster Showcase 2021: The show must go on!
Brent Jamsa,听Office of Science Education, March 9, 2021
Join the virtual celebration! This year, the Office of Science Education is thrilled to host the second annual Undergraduate Poster Showcase in collaboration with the 黑料不打烊 Bicentennial, and attendees are asked to prepare for the 鈥渞ip-roaringest鈥� of Zoom meetings. Despite the online platform, this year鈥檚 Showcase will feature almost double the number of student presenters, who will share their scientific research, passion projects, in-class assignments, and more. With the event less than two weeks away, four presenters gave me a sneak preview of their presentations. Spoiler alert: you鈥檙e going to love them!
Greater need to talk about equity, diversity and inclusion in STEM
Lucia Wang, Faculty of Science, February 22, 2021
Following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement through the second half of 2020, many have come to the realization that systematic oppression exists in many institutions throughout our society. As such, a wider conversation about equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has become more and more relevant. While science is often regarded as being rooted in fact, with little room for emotion or opinion, scientists are not exempt from the experience of discrimination. In a 2020 Nature paper, 鈥溾��, a group of scientists worked together to highlight the idea that 鈥渧aluing diversity leads to scientific excellence, the progress of science and, most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do鈥�.
Storytelling by the points of a compass: how story maps can bring to life conference and course learning experiences
V茅ronique Brul茅, Office of Science Education, February 3, 2021
Conferences are often a flurry of racing from one presentation room to the next (always seemingly at opposite ends of the venue), with a brief stop in between for a coffee to stay energized. We get caught up in the whirlwind of learning new topics, getting ideas, meeting people; the opportunity to shake up our thinking and dream big about potential projects. In the days following a conference we hang onto those idea sparks, letting them take on semi-tangible forms in our minds, but all too soon they are forgotten as quick scribbles in a notepad as work routines and obligations take precedence.听
Divided by geography, yet united by the same love of rocks!
Meghomita Das,听Office of Science Education, January 19, 2021
Once upon this pandemic-riddled year, where we shuffled from one Zoom meeting to another and doom scrolled our way through all of the social media platforms, 34 members of the听Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)听at 黑料不打烊 University decided to attend one more Zoom meeting. And it was a very special one.
Faculty of Science launches living library of teaching strategies
Office of Science Education, December 16, 2020
The听Living Library: Teaching Strategies from 黑料不打烊 Classrooms听is a new initiative from the Office of Science Education to support faculty with planning and delivering courses.
What to expect when you鈥檙e learning remotely: Tips for incoming undergraduate students
Nicole George, Teaching for Learning, September 1, 2020
Starting an undergraduate program is a big transition, accompanied by many uncertainties. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added to the number of unknowns facing incoming students, through the switch from on-campus to online courses.听听
Remote delivery experiences and advice: Lessons learned from Winter 2020
Nicole George, Teaching for Learning, July 9, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic forced instructors, teaching assistants, and students to quickly adapt to the remote delivery of courses in the Winter 2020 semester. While the transition was an abrupt and challenging task, the ongoing pandemic has provided instructors with an opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices and try new strategies through an online format.
Magic of the mind
Morgan Sweeney,听Office of Science Education, April 29, 2020
If you had told me five years ago that I would graduate college with a science degree, I would have said you were crazy. Sixteen-year-old Morgan thought science was dry textbooks and boring labs, too much work for things that would never affect her life. Until January 29th, 2017, when a serious knee injury forever transformed my relationship to science.
Smash hit food chemistry course to run in summer 2020
Faculty of Science, April 27, 2020
For the first time ever, 黑料不打烊 University will run a summer-semester version of听CHEM 181, its enormously popular course on the chemistry of food. Enrolments are now open for a June 2020 edition of the course that has been taken by tens of thousands of students over its nearly 40-year history.
Undergraduate students 鈥榮tars of the show鈥� at first ever poster showcase event
Nicole George, Office of Science Education, April 1, 2020
鈥淭he balloons were a very intentional decoration,鈥� explained OSE Director Marcy Slapcoff during her welcoming remarks at the Undergraduate Poster Showcase on February 11, 2020. 鈥淭his is a celebration. It鈥檚 a celebration of inquiry, a celebration of student engagement in learning, of faculty engagement in learning, and just the complete undergraduate experience and the community we are all a part of at 黑料不打烊.鈥�
Introducing SUS Academia Week x OSE
Cynthia Feng听and听Kira Smith,听Office of Science Education, January 9, 2020
Inquiry is at the heart of the听Office of Science Education听(OSE)'s听mission and opportunities to engage the 黑料不打烊 community in research are at the forefront of our priorities. This year, the OSE is excited to be joining forces with the听,听Teaching and Learning Services (TLS)听and other partners to stage Academia Week, a rich and exciting series of events to inspire appreciation for scientific inquiry.
Rethinking the way science is taught
Fergus Grieve, 黑料不打烊 Reporter, November 25, 2019
It could be a scene from a movie; sometimes it even happens in real life 鈥� a great idea hastily scribbled down on a napkin goes on to听. But what if those napkins of legend were something more than an ephemeral record of a flash of genius? Could the spontaneous act of writing be an indispensable step in turning a creative spark into a fully formed idea?
New award to support participation in science education conferences'
Office of Science Education, November 13, 2019
The Office of Science Education (OSE) is offering 10 conference awards 鈥� worth up to $2,000 each 鈥� to students, staff and faculty in the Faculty of Science. The awards will support members of the Faculty who would like to participate in scholarly exchange related to science education at the local, national or international level.
A.P.O.S.: the 鈥渨rite鈥� tool for the job
Anna Hayden,听Office of Science Education, October 24, 2019
A.P.O.S., which stands for Audience, Purpose, Organization, and Style, is an approach to writing that can be applied to any discipline and writing style1. 鈥楢udience鈥� focuses on who the piece of writing is intended for, and, in scientific writing and communication, can range from an expert to a non-specialist. When considering your audience, it is helpful to think about how similar they are to you. Are they familiar with the subject matter? Or is additional background information required for context?
New course gives students applied education research experience
Office of Science Education, October 21, 2019
A new course available to students in science programs puts students in the driver鈥檚 seat. Offered through the Faculty of Science, the听Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning听(FSCI 396)听introduces undergraduate students to pedagogical research, educational assessment, and resource design in university-level science education settings.
EPS Learning Community: Exploring our 鈥渨rite鈥� to learn
Anna Hayden, Teaching for Learning, September 26, 2019
Our meeting place has a few different names: Frank Dawson Adams 232, The Gill Room, but when we met together, it was home to the Earth and Planetary Sciences Learning Community. As the only student in the room of professors and university staff, would I be taking an exam? It turns out, I would wear many hats as part of the Learning Community, including that of a facilitator鈥�
Lifting the lid on online grading tool Crowdmark
Kira Smith, Teaching for Learning, September 19, 2019
I was in the depths of the McLennan Library Building 鈥� room MS-12. It was late in the term, late in the day, and I was poised in front of the printer. I鈥檇 been listening to it rattle on for at least five hours as I scanned final exams for the winter term. Around hour three the room began to smell pungent: it was the printer鈥檚 cry for help. I realized then that I struggled to empathize 鈥� I had become a Crowdmark convert.
The ins and outs of Polling @ 黑料不打烊
Kira Smith, Teaching for Learning, June 6, 2019
Formerly called 鈥渃lickers鈥�, Polling @ 黑料不打烊 is a technology platform 黑料不打烊 instructors use to ask students questions in class. On February 15, 2019, the听Office of Science Education听and听听invited twenty instructors to meet to discuss strategies for using this technology, which may be particularly helpful in large classes. Lawrence Chen (Faculty of Engineering), Catherine-Anne Miller (Faculty of Medicine), Laura Pavelka (Faculty of Science), Kenneth Ragan (Faculty of Science), and Pallavi Sirjoosingh (Faculty of Science) outlined their strategies for engaging students through polling.