Marcy Slapcoff (she/her)

Role: Director

Email: marcy.slapcoff [at] mcgill.ca

Biography: Marcy's journey through education has taken many twists and turns but the one constant has been her enthusiasm for teaching and learning. She holds an appointment with Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) where she has worked since 2006 as an Educational Developer on projects with instructors from across the University. As the first Director of the Office of Science Education, her raison d’être is to foster student learning in Science by bringing faculty, students and staff together to investigate questions related to pedagogical innovation.

One of her major preoccupations is how to capitalize on McGill’s research culture by designing projects that link research and teaching – whether it’s in the classroom, lab or during co-curricular activities. Can students experience the joy of discovery, even at the undergraduate level? Can instructors and students explore findings from neuroscience and apply these to their teaching and learning? How can we all work together to address the climate crisis? These are just a few examples of the questions that have fueled the creation of projects for Marcy and her OSE team. Some of these new offerings include: the Large Class Teaching Exchange, a university-wide forum for instructors to share pedagogical strategies and insights; SciLearn, an online program to help first-year students transition to university by providing learning strategies drawn from neuroscience; the Undergraduate Poster Showcase, where students hone their research and presentation skills with the support of alumni mentors; and the Physics Education Research group, which conducts a longitudinal study on inquiry-guided learning in labs.

Before coming to McGill, Marcy was an Educational Developer with Concordia’s Centre for Teaching and Learning and an Education Specialist with Equitas (formerly the Canadian Human Rights Foundation). She holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University (English Literature) and a Master of Arts from Concordia (Educational Technology).