Learning Communities

Graduate Students Special Interest Group

McGill University, Montreal, QC, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Sweden

About

SALTISE has supported the efforts of graduate students from various institutions to create a Special Interest Group (SIG) with the aim of providing doctoral & masters students with opportunities to learn more about Teaching & Learning. The SIG is comprised of grad students from STEM who are interested in teaching & learning issues and want to make a difference to learning and instruction at their institutions.

This SIG is an opportunity within the SALTISE community for students to find the support they need to learn and discuss effective and evidence-based teaching methods.

The team meets …

Members

André Liberati

Education & Background

PhD (In Progress), Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC
“Diplôme d’Ingénieur” (M.Sc. equivalent), Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chimie ParisTech, Paris, France
M.Sc., Materials Engineering, “Matériaux pour l’Énergie et les Transports”, Université de Paris-Saclay, Paris, France

Having grown up in France, I pursued the French “Engineering path” after high school with two years of classes préparatoires, which are intensive courses preparing for the Engineering school entrance exams (Concours d’Entrée aux Grandes Écoles). Having ranked in the top tier of the CCP exams (Concours Commun Polytechnique), I entered Chimie ParisTech, a general engineering school with a focus on chemistry and chemical engineering, and discovered the breadth of more applied physics and chemistry. There I learned to appreciate Materials Engineering as a cornerstone and a source of most engineering fields. During my last year of studies, I pursued a double degree with PSL (Paris Science et Lettres) and the University of Paris-Saclay, to obtain a Masters degree in Materials Engineering, spurred by wonderful internship experiences at Produits Chimiques Magnus (Boucherville, QC) and the laboratory of Structural Metallurgy at Chimie ParisTech, under the supervision of Prof. Frédéric Prima. I have since started pursuing my PhD at McGill University under the supervision of Prof. Stephen Yue, on the subject of cold-spraying mixed metallic powders onto carbon fibre reinforced polymers.

Reflecting on these past years has brought to light the importance of the teachers and professors that have helped me to this point, and in turn made me reflect on the key aspects that these professors put forward to motivate their students should they be regarding material presentation or towards shaping their future. This has led to me to start as a Teaching Assistant, become passionate for teaching and try to make the best for my students’ learning experiences.

Projects & Expertise

Alongside my research project, I have assisted Prof. Sidney Omelon as a Research Assistant at McGill University to test, use, and compare the results provided by the software CATME in the context of some Materials Engineering courses. This software allows for group building based on specific criteria relevant to the course and professor (diversification, etc.) , and opens to peer-to-peer commenting on the work provided by students in projects. This allows students to compare their impressions of their “soft skills” to what others may perceive, and therefore evaluate these skills, deemed so important for future engineers, yet unassessed during their studies.

I have also worked as a Research Assistant to Prof. Paul Yachnin on the TRaCE McGill Project, designed to help “track, report, connect, exchange” with former PhD students from McGill University. This project aims to produce a detailed statistical picture of career outcomes for all McGill PhD graduates, tell the stories of the education and career pathways of the PhD graduates, help build a PhD mentoring community inside and outside the University.

Education & Background

Currently a postdoctoral fellow at Nordita (Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics)
PhD in Theoretical Physics (McGill University)

I obtained my bachelor’s degree in physics at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and master’s degree at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (Brazil) before moving to Canada where I got a PhD in Theoretical Physics at McGill University. Currently, I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (Nordita) in Sweden. Throughout my career, I have held many different teaching positions, which developed my appreciation for education. These days, I share my time between my research on the very early universe, with emphasis on String Cosmology, and discussing effective and evidence-based teaching methods in a study group promoted by SALTISE.

Expertise

Theoretical Cosmology, emphasis in String Cosmology

Education & Background

M.Sc., Physics, Concordia University, Montreal, QC
B.Sc., Physics (Honours), McGill University, Montreal, QC

I obtained my honours bachelor’s degree in physics and minor in computer science from McGill University, throughout which I developed a passion for education. During that time, I have been involved in computer graphics and animation research with Dr. Paul Kry, as well as in research in machine learning (specifically deep neural networks) and early universe cosmology with Dr. Robert Brandenberger. I then went on to pursue my master’s degree in physics at Concordia University, where I did research in physics education (in particular, pertaining to improving physics labs) under the supervision of Dr. Calvin Kalman. Currently I’m an International Baccalaureate Instructor at Nagoya International Junior And Senior High School, Nagoya, Japan.

Expertise

Labatorial (conceptually-driven lab) design

Projects

My Master’s research involved investigating labatorials, a conceptually driven, guided inquiry approach to pedagogical lab courses, in comparison to traditional methods in the context of Concordia’s introductory classical mechanics lab course. The project aimed to address the questions of how the student learning experience differs between the lab approaches, as well as in what ways the two approaches each promote the development of conceptual understanding in physics.

Presentations

Labatorials – A conceptually driven approach to physics labs
SALTISE CONFERENCE 2019

Improving high school students’ conceptions of force and motion through labatorials and reflective writing (Poster)
SALTISE CONFERENCE 2019

Awards

SALTISE Graduate Student Award – SALTISE CONFERENCE 2020

Education & Background

Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry (Biochemistry option), Concordia University, Montreal, QC.
M.Sc. in Human and Experimental Biology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Certificate in Biosciences and Health Teaching, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil.
B. Sc. in Biological Sciences (Biomedicine option), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Licenciate in Biological Sciences, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

My interest in education is focused on learning science education, teaching science, and communicating science. Those topics are involved in studies about neuroeducation, formal and non-formal learning, active learning, science communication, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning.

Expertise

Science teaching, use of sci-fi movies in science classes, and science textbook analysis

Projects

Cabinet of Curiosities in Science Odyssey (2017) at Concordia University

Resources, readings and more

Students as co-creators of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula: implications for academic developers

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Coordinator

Suéli Bonafim

Dawson College, Montreal, QC