Week of February 1, 2023

Teaching Tips

ChatGPT & Teaching

The Teaching & Learning Support Team has prepared a report about ChatGPT to understand its ability and impacts on teaching. To view the report, please contact forestry.tls@ubc.ca. Meanwhile, UBC Academic Integrity and CTLT are working on guidelines around academic integrity using ChatGPT and advice around designing assessments.                                

To detect AI-generated text, Turnitin will integrate this feature sometime this year. GPTZero is a free tool that detects AI plagiarism. It analyzes the complexity and variation of text choices, but cannot detect a mixture of AI- and human-generated text. Its accuracy is unknown and may cause fairness issues.
People can also use many other AI writing tools (see this site), and personalize the text to recreate content. No detector can effectively identify it now. Additionally, the references that ChatGPT generated could be entirely made up. Therefore, double-checking references may help track plagiarism. Overall, please keep our minds open and creative toward using these AI tools as they will only be better and better.

Better Teaching? You Can Write on It

Dr. Patrick Culbert recently had an essay published in the new issue of Liberal Education Magazine about his process of reflecting upon teaching through writing, and how it has led to improvements in his teaching. Read the essay here.

Forestry Teaching & Learning Support Drop-In Session: ChatGPT

Time: This Friday (1 – 2 pm)
This week we will host an open discussion about ChatGPT during our session. Instructors and TAs are welcome to register for the session here.

Language Use in Assessments: Making Multiple Choice Questions More Intelligible

Time: Feb 7, 2023 (12:30 – 2:00 pm)
Students who use English as an additional language can have difficulty comprehending complex academic languages used in multiple choice questions. Drawing on a linguistic justice lens, this session goes over assessments to better support equity in student learning. Register here.

Inclusive Teaching: Universal Design for Learning

Time: Feb 10, 2023 (11:00 am – 12:30 pm)
Intentionally implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approaches to teaching and learning can bridge accessibility gaps and support equitable/inclusive learning opportunities; therefore, it was one of the main recommendations from UBC’s recent Teaching and Learning Beyond COVID report.

UDL has continued to be helpful in the transition back to campus and providing hybrid learning opportunities. This workshop introduces UDL principles, strategies, concrete applications, and its implementation. Register here.

Faculty Tip-sheets

Alternative Recording Options for In-person Classes

The TLS team has completed a tip-sheet to explore different recording options that you can consider if there is no in-class recording system available in your classroom or if you would like to learn alternative recording options to add another dimension to your teaching.

Other Tip-sheets for Classroom Livestreaming and Recording

View tip-sheets for using in-room livestreaming and recording systems, touch panels, and more.

Sharing Class Recordings with Students

Here is the tip-sheet for different options to share class recordings with students, such as Zoom cloud recording and Kaltura Video.

TA Meeting Pod

The TA meeting pod is available in the FSC atrium. TAs can book a spot at one of the three tables in the pod to meet with students. Instructions for reserving the space can be found here.

Awards

Jordan L. Burke Memorial Award in Forestry & Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

Only 1 TA nomination submission is required to be considered for both competitions.                                                 

Jordan L. Burke Memorial Award Prizes:
First Prize | $5,000 (and forwarded as the UBC Forestry Killam Award designate)
Second Prize | $2,500                                   

Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Award Prize:
Killam Award Certificate | $1,000                  

Consolidated Deadline: Friday March 3, 2023 (11:59 PM).

More information about the eligibility and nomination procedures can be found
here.

Submit nominations here. Please contact
forestry.grad-awards@ubc.ca if you have any questions.