Learning Technology Teaching Exchange
Wednesdays, May 17, 24, 31, 3-4pm, Zoom
Are you curious about how other instructors are using learning technologies to increase engagement and interaction in the classroom (whether online, in-person or blended)? Join us for the Learning Technology Teaching Exchange where instructors from McGill's Faculty of Science will share their experiences and strategies for using tools like Mural, Polling, ANS, and ChatGPT. Register for one or more of the following sessions:
Wednesday, May 17: Using learning technologies to engage students during class time
Wednesday, May 24: Teaching strategies and assessments in the era of ChatGPT
Wednesday, May 31: Using learning technologies to engage students outside of the classroom
Past Events
OSE Breakfast Club: Visualizing Invisible Barriers to Learning Using Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality by Hannah Derue
Monday, May 1, 2023, 10-11am by Zoom
One in five Canadians experiences chronic pain, with high prevalence even in young adults. Pain is fluid, influenced by genetics and sociocultural factors, and incredibly challenging to quantify. It is not only difficult to conceptualize but also a challenging experience to communicate to others. Research shows considerable psychological, social, and academic distress in students living with chronic pain and highlights the need for postsecondary institutions to understand and support this student population. In this project funded by the Building 21 Cordelia Dingle BLUE fellowship, Hannah Derue, Ph.D. candidate in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, asks “how does chronic pain impact your learning?”. Using artificial intelligence and virtual reality platforms, artwork was produced derived from the testimonies of students and faculty living with chronic pain at McGill University.
Reply to the calendar invitation or contact Valerie Bourassa (valerie.bourassa [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
What is the Breakfast Club? It is a bit like a journal club where one person presents their education-based research or project, then leads a discussion. Even though the event is on Zoom, we want to keep the 'breakfast' aspect of the club alive, so feel free to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea while taking part in the session!
SciLearn First Year Finals Fest
April 11-13, 2023, Zoom and in-person
Residence Life (RLife), the First-Year Undergraduate Science Society (FUSS), Stay on Track and SciLearn hosted the First Year Finals Fest, a series of events for U0 & U1 students in Science courses, April 11-13.
Breakfast Club: FSCI 396 Winter 2023 End-of-Term Symposium
Monday, April 3rd, 2023, from 3:30 – 5:00 PM in MS-55 (McLennan Library, behind Service Point)
What is the common link between CHEM 222, NSCI 300, PHYS 101, BSc students teaching, and passion projects? They are all topics of BSc student research in science education design and assessment this term in FSCI 396! Join the Winter 2023 cohort to learn about and discuss their work on Monday April 3rd from 3:30-5:00pm.
To learn more about FSCI 396 – Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning, you can visit the Office of Science Education website.
Contact Valerie Bourassa (valerie.bourassa [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
Student's projects (alphabetical order by first name)
Anna Tripier - The effects of continuous assessment on student motivation in COMP 202: Experience in Undergraduate Computer Science Course
Emma Arnell - Students taking the wheel: Designing a framework to implement student-led mini-courses at McGill
James Wang - Improving the Self-Efficacies of University Undergraduate Students Through Authentic Assessment in BIOL 302
Louis Ghaleb - Illustrated abstracts - Non-disposable assessments that promote metacognition?
Madalina Patron - Passion projects within communities of practice
Nicole Xu – Adapting PHYS 101 tutorials
Sophia Tuch - Student attitudes of two-stage collaborative midterm examination in CHEM 222, a university-level organic chemistry course
Yujia Cui - The use of authentic assessment to develop self‐efficacies for disciplinary agency in NSCI 300
What is the Breakfast Club? It is a bit like a journal club where one person presents their education-based research or project, then leads a discussion. Even though the event is on Zoom, we want to keep the 'breakfast' aspect of the club alive, so feel free to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea while taking part in the session!
Dan Petrescu Speaker Series 2023: Presentation by Dr. Sara Brownell
Tuesday, April 4th, 2023, 10:30-11:30am, Location: 2001 McGill College, Room 102
Presentation by Dr. Sara Brownell, Faculty Identity in the Science Classroom: Who is represented, what factors influence revealing concealable identities, and how does revealing affect students?
Description: Faculty as role models and mentors can positively impact students, but yet we know little about the identities of faculty. In this study, we collected data from over 2000 faculty across the United States to document what percentage have concealable stigmatized identities, to what extent they reveal these identities to students in their classes, and how revealing these identities may positively impact students.
Profile: Sara Brownell is a biology education researcher whose research focuses on making undergraduate science learning environments more inclusive. Trained as a Ph.D. neuroscientist, she transitioned to discipline-based education research and is an expert on course-based undergraduate research experiences and making undergraduate science learning experiences, specifically active learning courses and undergraduate research experiences, more inclusive. Her research focuses on students with concealable stigmatized identities such as religious students, LGBTQ+ students, and students with disabilities, as well as the impact on students of instructors revealing these identities in the context of the classroom. Her research in biology education has been internationally recognized and featured in Science Magazine, as well as in numerous news outlets, including the NY Times, CNN, and Scientific American.
Dr Sara Brownell's slides on Disclosure Decisions: Exploring the Concealable Stigmatized Identities of Science Instructors, can be seen here: 
Dr Brownell: Disclosure Decisions
Please contact Rebeca Brosseau (rebecca.brosseau [at] mail.mcgill.ca) with any questions or accessibility concerns.
The Speaker Series honours our late friend and colleague, Dan Petrescu. Learn more about Dan Petrescu and his legacy.
Accessibility information: We are committed to making this event as accessible and barrier-free as possible. This meeting will be held in person at 2001 McGill College, Room 102. Upon arriving at 2001 McGill College (entrance via McGill College), Room 102 is straight ahead on the main floor. Please note that Room 102 is located within the Faculty of Dentistry, and it will be mandatory to wear a mask when passing through the Faculty of Dentistry hall. Masks will be provided at the door and can be removed upon entering Room 102. 2001 McGill College has automatic, power-operated doors. The door to Room 102 is not automatic. An OSE Team member will be present at the door and will be happy to assist as needed. Gendered, multi-stall bathrooms can be found on the 1st floor. Single-stall, accessible bathrooms can be found on the 4th floor. Please also note the space is not scent-free.
2023 Undergraduate Poster Showcase
Wednesday, March 15th, 6-8pm, University Centre Ballroom
The Undergraduate Poster Showcase celebrates the work of students by providing them with an opportunity to share their scientific research, passion projects, in-class work, and more!
We're thrilled that for the first time since 2020, the Showcase will take place in-person! Join us on March 15, 6-8 PM in the University Centre Ballroom, as students present to an audience of alumni, faculty, staff, fellow students, and friends & family.
Breakfast Club: Creative Activities Promote Student Motivation and Engagement in a Large Cell Biology Course
Tuesday, February 21st, 10 AM –11 AM in MS-55 (behind Service Point)
Want to learn more about strategies to promote student motivation in the classroom? Join us for a presentation by Isaac Bouhdana and Gary Brouhard who will share their findings on the implementation of creative activities in BIO 201.
Contact Valerie Bourassa (valerie.bourassa [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
What is the Breakfast Club? It is a bit like a journal club where one person presents their education-based research or project, then leads a discussion. Even though the event is on Zoom, we want to keep the 'breakfast' aspect of the club alive, so feel free to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea while taking part in the session!
2023 Undergraduate Poster Showcase: Presentation Skills Workshops
The Undergraduate Poster Showcase celebrates the work of students by providing them with an opportunity to share their scientific research, passion projects, in-class work, and more! Since the Showcase is an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn and develop essential research skills, presenters are required to attend one workshop from the dates listed below. Presenters are invited to choose the format and date that work best for them.
- February 22nd, 6-7 PM, room 461, 2001 McGill College Ave., Montreal QC
- February 23rd, 6-7 PM, Zoom
TEAM Workshops: Winter 2023
The Tomlinson Engagement Award for Mentoring (TEAM) workshops are designed to provide TEAM students (TEAMsters) the foundational skills to engage in peer-mentorship in their assigned course(s). In our hour and a half workshop, we will present scenarios that you are likely to encounter and how to tackle them. Understanding that peer-instruction flips inherent power structures within the classroom, our workshop aims to provide all students with the necessary resources to confidently and successfully serve as peer mentors in McGill’s diverse learning community.
If this is your first time as a TEAM mentor, you are strongly encouraged to attend one of our training sessions. This Winter 2023 we have the following training sessions still available:
- In-person SciLearn session - Monday, 9 January 2023, 5:30-7:00 PM (Registration closed)
- Online General Session: Thursday, 19 January 2023, 5:30-7:00 PM (Registration closed)
- In-person General Session: Friday, 27 January 2023, 5:30-7:00 PM
To attend a workshop please register below.
SciLearn Orientation: Winter 2023 Session
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 7-9 PM, Zoom
U0 & U1 students are invited to attend a 2-hour “orientation” session. Using feedback from our previous participants, we've handpicked the best learning strategies and content to set you up for a great first year at McGill.
Contact ose [at] mcgill.ca to receive the Zoom link.
Breakfast Club: FSCI 396 Symposium: Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning
Tuesday, November 29, 2022: 10am-11:30am, McLennan Library Building, Room MS-55 (Near Service Point)
Faculty of Science students not only investigate the natural world, but also science education at McGill! Join the fall 2022 FSCI 396 – Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning students as they talk about their work on universal design for learning, two-stage exams, illustrated abstracts, and agency in our classes and undergraduate student research. Featuring Abigail Wolfensohn (Neuroscience), Chuxuan Nie (Mathematics), Faye Nikolettos (Neuroscience), and Patrick Horlaville (Physics).
Contact Valerie Bourassa (valerie.bourassa [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
Breakfast Club: Climate Research: A Team Effort
Thursday November 10, 11AM – 12 PM - IN PERSON!
Want to learn more about the importance of interdisciplinary research on the Arctic and Climate Change? Join us for a presentation by Lizz Webb, recipient of the Science Education Conference Award (SECA), who will share findings from the CHESS Winter School on Sea-Ice-Ocean Interactions that took place in Longyearbyen, Svalbard this past May.
Contact Valerie Bourassa (valerie.bourassa [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
What is the Breakfast Club? It is a bit like a journal club where one person presents their education-based research or project, then leads a discussion. Even though the event is on Zoom, we want to keep the 'breakfast' aspect of the club alive, so feel free to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea while taking part in the session!
Dan Petrescu Speaker Series 2022
Looking to use the latest research in cognitive science to boost student learning in coursework? Join us for a speaker series tailored for McGill instructors and open to all with an interest in cognition and education. The Fall 2022 edition features a presentation by Dr. Sanjay Sarma, current Professor of Mechanical Engineering and former Vice President for Open Learning at MIT, and author of the book "Grasp". This event series is part of SciLearn, the Office of Science Education’s program to help McGill students get the most out of university learning.
Please contact Hilary Sweatman (hilary.sweatman [at] mail.mcgill.ca) with any questions.
Presentation by Dr. Sanjay Sarma: Rethinking Learning
Friday, October 21st, 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Info Session: Study on Equitable Learning Environments
Tuesday, October 4th, 12 PM EST (Zoom)
Please join us for a short zoom meeting about participating in an REB-approved pilot student on fostering healthy learning environments for all students. During this session you’ll hear from the OSE team and Dr. David Zandvliet, author of the original study that we are building upon: Zandvliet, D.B., Stanton, A. & Dhaliwal, R. Design and Validation of a Tool to Measure Associations between the Learning Environment and Student Well-Being: The Healthy Environments and Learning Practices Survey (HELPS). Innov High Educ 44, 283–297 (2019).
Contact Marcy Slapcoff (marcy.slapcoff [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
Breakfast Club: Linking Active Learning and Critical Thinking in a Large Biochemistry Class
Thursday September 29th, 11AM – 12 PM (Zoom)
Wondering if students are gaining critical thinking skills through their coursework? Join us for a presentation by Winston Ge, alumnus of Anatomy & Cell Biology, and Dr. Maxime Denis, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, who will share the results of their recent study investigating the link between active learning and critical thinking in a large Biochemistry class.
Contact Véronique Brulé (veronique.brule [at] mcgill.ca) if you would like to attend the session.
What is the Breakfast Club? It is a bit like a journal club where one person presents their education-based research or project, then leads a discussion. Even though the event is on Zoom, we want to keep the 'breakfast' aspect of the club alive, so feel free to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea while taking part in the session!
TEAM Workshops Fall 2022
The Tomlinson Engagement Award for Mentoring (TEAM) workshops are designed to provide TEAM students (TEAMsters) the foundational skills to engage in peer-mentorship in their assigned course(s). In this hour and a half workshop via Zoom, we will present scenarios that you are likely to encounter and how to tackle them. Understanding that peer-instruction flips inherent power structures within the classroom, our workshop aims to provide all students with the necessary resources to confidently and successfully serve as peer mentors in McGill’s diverse learning community.
During the Fall 2022, the following training sessions were available to TEAM students:
General (all mentors are welcome) - Monday, 26 September 2022, 6:30-8:00PM EST via Zoom
General (all mentors are welcome) - Monday 19 September 2022, 6:30-8:00PM EST via Zoom
STEM Workshop - Tuesday, 13 September 2022, 6:30-800PM EST via Zoom
SciLearn - Friday 9, September 2022, 6:30-8:00PM EST via Zoom
Large Class Teaching Exchange
Tuesday, February 15, 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Are you teaching a large class and are looking for ways to check in with students on how the class is going? The Office of Science Education, in collaboration with Teaching and Learning Services, invites you to join us for a teaching exchange session focused on gathering in-course feedback from students.
Large Class Teaching Exchange
Wednesday, December 8, 1:30 – 2:30 PM
Are you teaching a large class online next term and are looking for ideas to promote student learning and engagement? The Office of Science Education, in collaboration with Teaching and Learning Services, invites you to join us for a teaching exchange session focused on sharing online strategies that have worked well for instructors from a variety of disciplines.
SciLearn Speaker Series 2021
Looking to use the latest research in cognitive science to boost student learning in coursework? Join us for a new speaker series tailored for McGill instructors and open to all with an interest in cognition and education. The series launches with a presentation and workshop by Drs. Joe Kim & Faria Sana from McMaster University and is part of SciLearn, the Office of Science Education’s program to help McGill students get the most out of university learning.
Please view the event details below and contact Hilary Sweatman (hilary.sweatman [at] mail.mcgill.ca) with any questions.
Presentation by Dr. Joe Kim: Motivating Durable Learning: Focused Attention through Instructional Design
Friday, October 22, 11:30am – 12:30pm
Friday, October 29, 11:30am – 1:00pm
Incoming Students Panel: Your First Year in Science at McGill
Friday, June 11, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
The Faculty of Science and the Office for Science Education are thrilled to invite all incoming students to a panel discussion featuring professors and current students. Panelists will share their experiences with remote teaching and learning and give incoming students a sneak peek of what they can expect in Fall 2021.
Large Class Teaching Exchange
Tuesdays, starting May 25, 2021, 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Are you teaching a large class online this Fall and are looking for ideas to promote student learning and engagement? The Office of Science Education, in collaboration with Teaching and Learning Services, invites you to join us for a teaching exchange series focused on sharing online strategies that have worked well for instructors from a variety of disciplines.
Ask Us Anything: Faculty Perspectives and Plans for Fall 2020
Tuesday, July 28, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The Faculty of Science invites all incoming McGill B.Sc. and B.A. & Sc. students to a panel and discussion with their future professors. The professors, who teach courses for U0 and U1 students, will share their plans for the fall semester and respond to questions!
Panel Discussion: Your first year in Science at McGill
Friday, June 12, 10:30-11:30 AM
The Faculty of Science and the Office for Science Education would like to invite all incoming students to a panel discussion featuring professors and current students. Panelists will share their experiences with remote teaching and learning and give incoming students a sneak peek of what they can expect in Fall 2020.
Panel Discussion on Remote Teaching in the Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science in collaboration with Teaching and Learning Services will hold a Panel Discussion on Remote Teaching on Monday, May 25th, 3-4pm. The Panel is geared to all faculty members, faculty lecturers, Chairs, and Departmental Managers.
The Panel will have three parts:
- Presentation on key strategies for engaging and assessing students in Fall2020
- Brief presentations by instructors Laura Pavelka, Chemistry and Nik Provatas, Physics and two students
- Q & A with participants
Academia Week Poster Showcase
February 11, 2020, New Residence Hall, 5-7pm
Live updates from the Science Undergraduate Society
Join us for the first Undergraduate Poster Showcase on February 11, 2020! This event, sponsored by the Office of Science Education, the Science Undergraduate Society and Teaching and Learning Services, is the opening event for the SUS Academia Week. This is your chance to see undergraduate students present research, projects and assignments. All types of work will be showcased including projects completed inside and outside of class. Students, staff, faculty and alumni are most welcome to attend! Refreshments will be served.
Read more: Introducing SUS Academia Week x OSE
