The WAC+ community of practice (WAC+ CoP) ran from November 2015 – November 2016. It brought together educators with a shared interest in improving how written, oral, multimedia and other non-traditional forms of communication are taught, assessed and used in the sciences. WAC+ CoP members engaged in informal professional development activities with colleagues from across the disciplines. The WAC+ CoP focused on encouraging discussion, brainstorming and collaborative problem-solving and on facilitating sharing of resources and best practices among educators teaching science-specific communication or using communication assignments as a learning tool in the sciences.
The WAC+ CoP was replaced in May 2017 by the interactive Best Practices in Teaching Science Communication Symposium.
Monthly Lunch and Learn
The WAC+ CoP Lunch and Learn met monthly to discuss topics related to communication in the sciences.
Previous
- Student Peer Feedback (November 2016) with Dr. Silvia Bartolic, Department of Sociology and Dr. Amanda Bradley, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Teaching Writing and Communication to Multilingual Students (October 2016) with Amber Shaw (Academic English Program) and Dr. Ashley Welsh (Science), Vantage College
- Example activities on academic citation practices, paraphrasing and academic sources and tips on teaching writing and oral communication to multilingual students – Developed and provided by Amber Shaw and Ashley Welsh.
- Resources for Student Success with Writing (September 2016) with Meghan Aubé, Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication.
- Writing Assignment Check-in (August 2016) with Janey Lew, Aboriginal Initiatives Unit, CTLT, and the WAC+ Team. An opportunity to bring your writing assignment and your questions.
- Guided Peer Review of Your Writing Assignment (July 2016). An opportunity to bring your writing assignments and to conduct a guided peer review of the assignments.
- Handouts for participants, including questions to use in reviewing your assignment, example rubrics and resources.
- Writing Assignment Design: Start to Finish (June 2016) with Dr. Gillian Gerhard, Science Centre for Teaching and Learning (Skylight) and the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) and Janey Lew, Aboriginal Initiatives Unit, CTLT
- Encouraging Students to Proofread Their Writing (May 2016) with Dr. Carellin Brooks, Arts Studies in Research and Writing and Dr. Gisele Baxter, Department of English.
- Using Writing to Learn (Low-Stakes Writing) in Science Courses (April 2016) with Anka Lekhi, Department of Chemistry and Dr. David Oliver, Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
- Reducing Jargon in Science Writing (February 2016) with Chris Balma, Director of Communications, Faculty of Science; Jenna Zukswert, Department of Forestry and Research Assistant on CWSEI project on the impact of jargon on student learning.
- Meeting Summary and resource on jargon in scientific writing: “Scientific Jargon” by the Writing Studio at Duke University.
- Designing Effective Student Peer Review (January 2016). Guest Speakers: Dr. John Sherman, Department of Chemistry; Dr. Peter Graf, Department of Psychology.
- Using Writing in Large Classes (December 2016). Guest Speakers: Dr. Robin Young, Department of Botany, Dr. Neil Armitage, Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
- Meeting Summary and WAC+ Resource: Approaches to Writing in Large Science Classes Table
- How to Motivate Students to Get Help With Their Writing (November 2015). Guest Speaker: Meghan Aube, Writing Services Leader from the UBC Writing Centre.
