Igniting our Practice Speakers

For this session, we asked inspirational University of Waterloo professors to draw us into the learning spaces they create for their students and ignite our curiosity about their field or course. The methods they use are diverse, but the intention underlying them is the same: to cultivate curiosity about important disciplinary ideas and questions. After each speaker’s session, we will reflect on and discuss the ways in which these methods might be adapted in our own fields and within our own classrooms.

​Vivian Dayeh

Vivian Dayeh is a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Biology at UW. Her focus is undergraduate teaching in physiology, human anatomy and zoology. She is a past recipient of the Department of Biology Jack Carlson Teaching Award and the Excellence in Science Teaching Award. In 2011, she was awarded the UW Distinguished Teacher Award.

In this session, Vivian will replicate her introductory physiology class. She will endeavour to cultivate curiosity in physiology by showing how nervous system impulses travel using the entire classroom.

Brent Doberstein

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Brent Doberstein is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair Graduate Studies in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at UW. His main research focus is on the human dimensions of natural hazards and disasters, and resource and environmental management. He teaches courses on human geography,  natural hazards and climate change, and natural resources management. Much of his research and teaching focuses on how communities interact with their natural environment, and how human decision-making influences this interaction.

In this session, Brent will simulate one technique (to be revealed at the opening of the session!) that decision-making authorities can use to involve the public in environmental decisions. He will then connect this technique to possible uses in other disciplines across campus.

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