Workshops and Training

Learning Goals Workshops

Research has shown that students don't necessarily learn what professors think they are teaching, producing significant gaps in student understanding. This workshop is designed to help you bridge this gap. In the workshop, you will define conceptual learning goals for your courses, design assessment questions that specifically address core concepts, and learn how to use assessment techniques during class to gauge student learning. You will also learn how to connect your exam questions to the broader goals of the class. You will work in groups with faculty from similar disciplines to generate and analyze goals and questions, and will also put into practice ongoing assessment of your students in between workshop sessions.

1. Wieman Learning Goals Workshop - Full Day [view slides]

2. Connecting Learning Goals and Assessments (Two-hour Faculty Development Workshop from Kathy Perkins and Stephanie Chasteen, CU-SEI) [view site to see slides, handouts, and video demonstration]

3. UBC Learning Conference, Oct 2, 2008: Learning Goals Symposium Materials from Learning Goals: What, Why, How by Beth Simon, Jared Taylor, and Steve Wolfman, and Bringing Learning Goals to Fruition by Francis Jones and Brett Gilley [view slides]

Clickers and Peer Instruction

1. Clicker Workshop Materials from CU-SEI - Want to give your own clicker workshop? Visit this page with downloadable slides, activities, and handouts, developed through the University of Colorado SEI. Past CU-SEI Clicker Workshops materials can be accessed here

2. Effective Peer Instruction Using Clickers - 2011 CWSEI Workshops by Cynthia Heiner and Peter Newbury (Physics and Astronomy, UBC)
Materials: Peer Instruction Workshop (view pdf, view Powerpoint), Example Clicker Questions (view pdf, view Powerpoint), Creating Good Clicker Questions in Physics and Astronomy (view pdf, view Powerpoint), Tri-Fold: Ready, Set, React! Getting the most out of peer instruction using clickers (view pdf)

Pre-Reading

Effective reading: getting students to critically read the textbook before class by Cynthia Heiner (Physics and Astronomy, UBC) - [view slides]

Science Education Specialist Development

1. STLF Development Series [view overview]
The purpose of this series is to develop knowledge and skills in new STLFs so that they can effectively apply relevant research in cognitive psychology and education to improve teaching and learning in higher education. The series is 12 sessions, ~1 per week, with 1.5 hour meetings. The document gives the preparation required for each session, the tasks at the meetings, and a list of resources with links.

2. Stanford 6-day workshop for Training Department Education Specialists [view overview]
Carl Wieman ran a workshop at Stanford in the summer of 2017 that replicated—in 6 intensive days—the STLF training program developed and refined in the CWSEI at UBC and Carl’s 10 week graduate course in science learning and teaching at Stanford. Details of the workshop are in the document below.

3. SEI Handbook chapter on development for education specialists [view SEI Handbook chapter on role development]
The SEI Handbook has a comprehensive description of the "discipline-based education specialist" role in its chapters along with a variety of recommendations and documents that cover proposals, hiring, training, and department integration.

New Science Faculty Workshops

1. How People Learn – the Science of Learning [view pdf, view Powerpoint]  
This session covered some basics of research on learning, and the implications of this work for being an effective teacher. This includes what is known about how the brain learns, its limitations and strengths, and what enhances and inhibits learning and retention.

2. Implementing Principles of Learning [view pdf, view Powerpoint]  
This built on the first session and explored what studies say as to the effectiveness of various teaching practices and how these results connect to basic research on learning.

Teaching Assistant Training

1. Physics and Astronomy TA Training Materials [download zip folder]
These materials were developed by Mya Warren, Sandy Martinuk and Joss Ives in the UBC Physics & Astronomy Department and are good models to follow. The materials include the schedule, handbook, slides for each section (introduction, learning to teaching, problem solving, TAing by questioning, working with groups, marking, formative evaluation, and running the big show). The UBC Department of Physics and Astronomy TA Training Course Website can be found HERE.

2.TA Training CWSEI End-of-Year Event afternoon discussion session [view pdf]
Notes from April 28, 2008