Webinars and talks SALTISE Webinar Series
Bridging Disciplines: Practical Approaches to Interdisciplinary Course Design
November 15, 2024 | 2:30 - 4:00 PM
Virtual
About this event
In today’s educational landscape, interdisciplinarity has become essential in many college and university programs. Instructors are now asked to design courses that connect ideas across disciplines and to collaborate with colleagues across departments and faculties. Yet, while the goal is to prepare students for an increasingly complex world, educators often face common challenges:
- How should we design effective interdisciplinary courses?
- What distinguishes interdisciplinary approaches from multi- or trans-disciplinary methods?
- What frameworks can guide us in implementing interdisciplinary strategies that truly benefit students?
If you’ve grappled with these questions, join us for this insightful webinar where experts will address these challenges head-on.
Dr. James Charbonneau, Dr. Gregor Kos, and Dr. Firas Moosvi will help clarify what interdisciplinarity means in teaching and learning and share real-world, thoughtfully designed implementations.
- The Science One Program at the University of British Columbia, where a cohort of first-year students studies core subjects together in an interdisciplinary learning environment.
- A Seminar Course at Concordia University, where students engage in two hands-on interdisciplinary projects: a fieldwork transect at a local mine and an Arduino-based air quality monitoring project.
Join us to explore these innovative models. You’ll come away with practical insights and frameworks to help you design interdisciplinary courses that empower students to thrive in a complex world.
Presenter(s)
Firas Moosvi
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, UBCDr. Firas Moosvi became a Lecturer in the Computer Science department at UBC after three years away teaching at UBC Okanagan. He has many interests in teaching and pedagogy research – they fall under three main areas: 1) incorporating innovative learning technologies in large classes, 2) implementing alternative grading systems in higher education, and 3) conducting the scholarship of teaching and learning with learning analytics data. Most recently, he is looking at how the field of learning analytics can provide insight to surface and reduce inequities in STEM programs. Firas has a deep appreciation for data visualization, active learning, and open source projects.
James Charbonneau
Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Teaching, Physics and Astronomy, UBCDr. James is an Associate professor of teaching in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Associate Dean, Students for the Faculty of Science at UBC. He is a two-time Killam Teaching Award winner and the winner of the 2022 CAP Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He spends most of his time thinking about how to best support instructors and students to make teaching and learning better.
Gregor Kos
Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Concordia UniversityDr. Gregor teaches Analytical Chemistry, Thermodynamics (undergraduate) and Advanced Statistical Modeling (graduate). Furthermore, he has been part of the “First Year Science Experience” at Concordia teaching an experiential learning-based Integrated Science seminar. His teaching interests are focused on student participation, peer learning and two-stage assessments.
Additional information
- Organizer
- SALTISE
- Language
- English
- Fee
- Free