Week of May 11, 2022

Ungrading – Special Issue

Workshop Recap

On May 5th, a workshop discussing ungrading and alternative approaches to grading was co-hosted by the Faculties of Forestry and Science. Examples of ungrading in the classroom were shared, as well as discussions surrounding types of grading and the concept of ungrading. To learn more, please view the presentation slides and workshop recording, found here.

More Information

There are currently over 80 members in the UBC Ungrading and Alternative Grading Slack Community of Practice. Join us to hear about our trials and tribulations, and also ask the community for questions and get feedback on your ideas here.

Ungrading has also been included as part of UBC’s strategic plan for transformative learning (more information can be found here).

Other articles on the topic of ungrading can be found here (anecdotal experience) and here (academic paper).

Workshops

How to Put Together a Winning Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) Application

Date & Time: May 19 (Thursday) 11:00 – 12:30

Location: Zoom

Jeff Miller, TLEF Program Director & Senior Associate Director, CTLT, and three Forestry speakers, Dr. Shannon Hagerman, Dr. Peter Marshall, and Dr. Simon Ellis, who have profound knowledge and experience in the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) will share their insights in this workshop to help our Forestry instructors better understand the scope and criteria of TLEF grants as well as identify synergies across the faculty to enhance our chances for success.

Workshop structure:
(1) What is the TLEF program
(2) Successful examples from Forestry
(3) Tips for preparing a winning proposal (panel discussion)
(4) Open discussion and brainstorming for ideas and synergies within Forestry

Register for the workshop here.

Faculty Updates

UG Computing Labs Announcements

Labs Software Request 

The UG lab systems will be refreshed shortly with a bare system of Windows, Office and Chrome/Edge browsers. As only what is requested will be installed, any additional software required must be communicated in this request form*, and sent to forestry.ithelp@ubc.ca.

*Note: Hybrid mode represents if the course is remote or mixed remote/in person

Anyone teaching summer courses in
May-August should contact forestry.ithelp@ubc.ca immediately with your software needs. Please complete the form and send it by June 1, 2022 for upcoming 2022/23 courses.

New requests that involve a cost will be
sent to the Associate Dean Academic and the Dean for approval while Open-Source software requests will be reviewed for indemnity and conflict issues before they are added.

Software versions will be what is available as of June 1st. As such, please ensure that your office machine version matches that of the UG labs. Expect the
versions in the UG labs to stay static for the entire year unless there is a bug or a cyber risk issue. OS and Office and web browsers are excluded, since these are immediately updated when updates appear.

Hybrid teaching is still limited to 7 machines. Attempts to increase this number will be investigated this summer, TBA. FSC 1404 will be available for remote access (21 seats) only for this summer.

Trimble software is known to conflict with Remsoft Woodstock. Trimble will be restricted to FSC 1404/6 labs and Remsoft Woodstock is restricted to the FSC 2942 lab. The vendors have been informed that these softwares cannot co-exist and they will not fix the issue.

Requests can be rejected if there are compatibility issues that we are unable to resolve.

Summer Renovations

• FSC 1406 out of service until renovations are completed.
• FSC 1404 remote use only until FSC 1406 renovations are completed.
• FSC 2942 is not impacted, open for in-person use only.

Sustainability Education Grants Program

The Sustainability Education Grants
program provides funding for Vancouver faculty members looking to advance and diversify sustainability education opportunities for students across campus in all disciplines. The funding supports curriculum development centred on transformative learning that incorporates experiential, applied and/or interdisciplinary sustainability education principles. We encourage applications that look to inspire and empower students in the themes of Climate, Biodiversity, Resilient Communities and the Circular Economy. 

Applications are now open for funding of up to $10,000 per year, for up to two years. Apply here by May 16.

Sustainability Hub Online Sessions
The Sustainability Hub is delivering three sessions as part of the Centre for
Teaching, Learning and Technology’s Spring Institute:

1. Education for Sustainability: Integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Teaching, Learning and Leadership – May 30 at 9 am.

2. Integrating Sustainability and Climate Change Content in your Course – May 31 at 1 pm.

3. Confronting Climate Distress: Climate Affect, Anxiety and Action – June 2 at 1 pm. 

UBC’s New Faculty Teaching Orientation: Making Connections
Date & Time: August 16, 2022, 10-11:45 at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability

The Sustainability Hub endeavours to support sustainability education at UBC by connecting faculty members from different disciplines to bring multiple perspectives and domains of expertise to the table. In this event we will share resources and opportunities for new UBC faculty members to build connections across the University through the Hub as well as other support units on campus. Details coming soon here.