Science Education Specialist (SES), Skylight

University of British Columbia • Vancouver, BC

33d

About The Position

The UBC Faculty of Science offers a wide range of undergraduate BSc Degree programs, including majors, honours and combined specializations. It also administers programs including Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Integrated Sciences, Combined Major in Science, and first-year programs including First-Year Seminar in Science (SCIE 113) and Science One. The Science Centre for Learning and Teaching (Skylight) in the Faculty of Science is seeking a Science Education Specialist (SES) to support faculty and teaching assistant development and promote teaching excellence in the Faculty-administered programs with a particular focus on the first-year programs. The SES in this role will serve as a resource, guide and support within related programs. Their expertise will be bolstered with Skylight-coordinated professional development workshops and ongoing mentoring from Skylight leadership and peers. The SES will work closely with Program Directors, faculty, and teaching assistants to advise on evidence-informed teaching practices, curriculum and assessment design, and the evaluation of student learning and educational initiatives. A central and initial priority of this role is to support Indigenization and inclusive approaches in science teaching, and to support evaluating the impact of these curricular and pedagogical efforts on student learning.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Minimum of four years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Nice To Haves

• An interdisciplinary science background; a graduate degree in a science discipline or in science education, or an equivalent combination of disciplinary and pedagogical expertise, is preferred, so that the incumbent will have sufficient knowledge of the subject to better provide relevant pedagogical guidance in the courses taught.
• Expertise in current pedagogical research and best practices in inclusive and evidence-based teaching in Science context
• Demonstrated commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization
• Demonstrated commitment to deepening their understanding of Indigenous issues, particularly as they relate to STEM fields, and an appreciation of the complexity and range of Indigenous peoples and communities
• Highly proficient in assessment and evaluation skills; written and verbal communication, and presentation skills; project management and organization skills
• Experience in curriculum development
• Experience in managing change by helping to implement a vision and taking appropriate action to ensure acceptance and support
• Experience in providing training to faculty and teaching assistants in pedagogical best practices
• Ability to conduct respectful consultation and collaboration with communities, including Musqueam
• Ability to initiate and conduct education research projects
• Ability to analyze and interpret data, determine implications, and provide recommendations
• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision
• Ability to deal with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous, and effective manner
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Teams, Zoom
• Experience with learning management systems e.g., Canvas and other educational technologies

Responsibilities

• Instructional guidance • Advise and collaborate with faculty on curriculum review and course design, including aligning learning outcomes, identifying gaps, and refining learning activities and assessments across courses and/or programs • Support the weaving of Indigenous perspectives, knowledges, and pedagogies in science curriculum, in collaboration with Indigenous partners and campus units, in ways that are respectful, relational, and context-appropriate • Design and support curriculum and program evaluation activities (e.g., method development, surveys, focus groups, interviews, review of student work) to assess teaching effectiveness and student learning experiences • Analyze and synthesize qualitative and quantitative data to inform faculty decision making, program improvement, and reporting • Collaborate with faculty on teaching and learning improvement proposal development (e.g., large and small TLEFs, development grants) • Liaise with Skylight and CTLT to coordinate relevant educational technology support and administrative assistance • Prepare reports, presentations, and internal knowledge sharing related to teaching and learning initiatives within the Faculty of Science • Coordinate relevant program efforts towards the achievement of the vision around teaching and learning
• Faculty and Teaching Assistant development • Support faculty and teaching assistant development through coaching, consultations, collaborative course planning, and contributions to professional development activities and teaching resources • Provide guidance to Graduate Academic Assistants or student staff supporting evaluation, data analysis, or educational research activities • Provide formative, informal expert feedback to instructors on their teaching • Facilitate the professional development of faculty in the area of teaching and learning through workshops and one-on-one consultations, providing expertise and support in the planning, designing and implementing of evidence-based teaching practices and resources, and by measuring the effectiveness of such interventions
• Discipline-based education research (DBER) • Design educational research experiments and collect relevant data for course projects and publish newly developed instruments or implementation of novel methods, in both laboratory and lecture courses • Consult and collaborate on scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) efforts undertaken by faculty • Disseminate scholarly work in collaboration with faculty through presenting at national and international conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals
• Community building • Facilitate faculty members' communication and consensus building around teaching and learning in the First-Year Science programs. • Liaise across Science departments and with colleagues at other institutions in the same discipline, • Serve on committees related to departmental teaching and learning activities • Organize and participate in activities related to instructional practice such as discussion series, science education seminars, reading groups etc. • Participates in centrally-organized work and activities, including collaborating on FoS-wide projects, actively participating in the community of their peers across departments, attending/contributing to Skylight meetings, Science Teaching Series and the Science Education Open House, serving on committees as needed. • Performs other duties related to the qualifications and requirements of the position. As part of the larger teaching improvement mission, may be asked occasionally to instruct in courses that are under development/study and have been identified as in need of pedagogical advancement (this would be less than one (up to three credits) course a year, at most twice (up to six credits) in a three-year time span, and would be done under an Honorary Lecturer appointment).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level