Expertise and Services

Skylight is able to help in the areas below. If you're looking for support in the teaching and learning environment or to get a project off the ground, let us know. 

Expertise in educational research, pedagogy and curriculum development

Skylight supports or leads the development, implementation and assessment of teaching and learning activities. We provide evidence and analysis to inform decision-making faculty wide.

  • Skylight collaborates with partners on campus-wide surveys on faculty teaching practices, attitudes towards specific practices and perceptions of support for teaching.
  • We advise and connect units to support new course development and implementation.
  • Skylight provides start-up and ongoing training for department-based educational developers.
  • We facilitate teaching and learning reading groups and we are a founding partner in UBC’s Writing Across the Curriculum + program.
  • Skylight contributes to the growing body of knowledge on science education and faculty development.
  • We share our expertise and collaborate with other institutions.

Services and support for teaching and learning enhancement

Skylight identifies, plans, leads and evaluates teaching and learning projects and initiatives of various scope and scale. We act as a liaison between teachers and resources to facilitate the adoption of best practices and build capacity for change within the Faculty of Science. We also provide opportunities for reflective professional development, reflective approaches to teaching practice, and informal sharing of teaching and learning best practices.

  • From inception to completion Skylight supports faculty on large-scale, multi-year teaching and learning projects.
  • We directly fund small teaching and learning enhancement projects through two annual Skylight Development Grant competitions.
  • Skylight develops and facilitates mid-program evaluation surveys to help faculty members and departments make informed decisions about program curriculum.
  • We foster community building and showcase people and projects through events, open houses and symposia.

Learning technology ecosystem innovation and support

In partnership with the Faculty of Science departments’ internal learning technology (LT) and information technology (IT) teams and in close collaboration with the LT-HUB, CTLT and UBC-IT, the Skylight LT team offers a range of LT-related services and support, including LT ecosystem support, LT consulting, LT innovation, and LT-related research and evaluation.

  • Skylight supports faculty members in designing and developing grant proposals and project plans that are focused on the use of LT and/or AI.
  • We collaborate with faculty members to design and integrate innovative tools, methods, and practices that enhance student learning environments, assessment, and learning engagement and experiences.
  • Skylight conducts in-depth analysis of students’ learning using novel and advanced learning analytics methods (e.g., events flow analysis, eye tracking data analysis, argumentation analysis) and offers support to faculty members to employ such methods.
  • We conduct studies to analyze how the use of technology impacts different aspects of the learning experience.

Musqueam First Nation land acknowledegement

We honour xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam) on whose ancestral, unceded territory UBC Vancouver is situated. UBC Science is committed to building meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples so we can advance Reconciliation and ensure traditional ways of knowing enrich our teaching and research.

Learn more: Musqueam First Nation

Skylight: Science Centre for Learning and Teaching


skylight@science.ubc.ca

Faculty of Science

Office of the Dean, Earth Sciences Building
2178–2207 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada
V6T 1Z4
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