Joanna Wilson
Biology
Course
BIO3ZZ3 | Topics in Physiology | 33 students
Their story
Dr. Joanna Wilson is a Professor in the Biology Department who is serious about teaching inclusivity. When faced with online teaching for the first time, she developed creative strategies to engage students in her 3rd year Topics in Physiology course.
During the first week, Dr. Wilson encouraged everyone to create 1-2 minute video introductions of themselves. This was a fantastic way for students to get to know each other, and to establish a cohort feel (and to learn what amazing skills and experiences our undergraduates have! – one had performed at a Raptor’s half time show and another flies airplanes!).
She further developed an effective blended strategy, having her students create asynchronous class presentations on MacVideo on an assigned science article, followed by ‘live’ (and chat-based) discussions on Microsoft Teams. This combined approach provided students with time to process the presentation material, and facilitated thoughtful discussions of the associated articles.
To further promote engagement and teamwork, Dr. Wilson organized students into groups of 4-5 to work together on class assignments in break out rooms during tutorials. Compared with ‘pre-pandemic’ classes, Dr. Wilson saw an increase in overall class participation, less resistance to asking questions, and more dialogue between students – particularly in the ‘chat’.
It is a remarkable achievement to have created a strong student community in an online course (without any experience in this realm beforehand), and it is a testament to Dr. Wilson’s thoughtful and considered approach to her teaching. We are so grateful for her work!!
Helpful support: The instructional How-To-Guides to teach on Microsoft Teams and using other virtual modalities was led by one of our amazing Departmental Undergraduate Coordinators- Dr. Mihaela Georgescu, who was supported by staff from the MacPherson Institute.
Please direct any inquiries to: rosa.dasilva@mcmaster.ca