Panel Discussion on Active Learning

Join us as we welcome Simon Bates from UBC, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, Pro Tem, for panel discussions on active learning.

Dr. Simon Bates joined UBC in 2012, as one of the first cohort at the new rank of Professor of Teaching, in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He served as Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology for six years. In 2018, he joined the Provost's office as Associate Provost, Teaching and Learning, and was appointed as Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, pro tem, effective July 1, 2022. As Vice-Provost, Simon has the leadership responsibility for teaching, learning and technology support to faculty and departments creating credit and non-credit learning opportunities spanning areas of undergraduate, graduate and lifelong learning at UBC.

Simon read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, before undertaking a PhD in computational chemistry at the University of Manchester. Following post-doctoral appointments in The Netherlands and England, he was appointed to fixed-term lectureship positions in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, and Trinity College, Dublin. Returning to Edinburgh in 2000, he took up a permanent appointment in the School of Physics and Astronomy, initially as Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, then Professor of Physics Education in 2008, the first professorial appointment in science and engineering at Edinburgh through the educational scholarship route.

As a passionate champion of evidence-based and technology-enhanced approaches, Simon continues to teach introductory physics courses, including leading an initiative in paired teaching. He has received teaching awards from the University of Edinburgh (2006, 2011) and from UBC (2016). Away from work, he is an avid and year-round cyclist, despite the Vancouver weather.

Panel 1 (2:15pm-3:15pm): What is Active Learning? Sharing experiences from the classroom and hybrid learning environments.

This panel will focus on colleagues sharing their experiences of active learning and will discuss:

• What do we mean by active learning? What is active? What is learning?
• How is active learning approached in the STEM, Social Science, and Art & Humanities disciplines/communities?
• What have people tried? How did it work? Was it successful? What does success look like?
• How have students engaged with active learning?
• What is the underpinning evidence?

Coffee and cake break (3:15pm-3:45pm)

Panel 2 (3:45pm-4:45pm): Addressing the challenges of embedding Active Learning

This second panel will follow on and address some of the issues that were identified, specifically focusing on how active learning can be embedded into the classroom or hybrid learning environment. This panel will discuss:

• How do we deliver active learning in ‘confined’ spaces?
• What should these spaces look like?
• How do we support active learning with students from diverse backgrounds and ensure it is inclusive?
• How do we support staff to understand active learning and embed in their classes?
• What future opportunities are there for collaboration? What networks exists to share practice

Sign up to attend the event, if you would like to be a member of either panels then please let us know when signing up for the event.