Dawn's Blog and General News Items

#WinterTerm2016 is a wrap: some of what went down

Education, Field Work, People, Plant Biology, Public understanding of science, Science Education, Social Media, York University

It's Friday of Week 13, and next Monday is the last day of classes, before final exams begin, next Wednesday. York University's Winter Term 2016 began earlier than any other Ontario university, so, we finish early, too. Here are some Plant Ecology students today, weary, yet still smiling (ok, I asked them to smile), from left […]

Resources for understanding implicit bias & other barriers to #WomenInSTEM

Education, Higher Education, People, Public understanding of science, Science Education, Women in Science

Also published at YorkU Women In STEM blog. In the last few years, we have seen a new wave of awareness and data about the ongoing challenges faced by Women in STEM. Many of the insights about their subtle nature come from peer-reviewed research by colleagues in the social sciences. They deal with diverse topics, ranging from implicit or unconscious bias, […]

@YorkuScientists project wants you!

Education, Higher Education, Public understanding of science, Science Education, Social Media, Women in Science, York University

Project Page -- Check Availability of Dates -- Sign Up Form Many STEM researchers and teachers have found found Twitter to be an efficient and effective way of communicating about their work with each other, and a broader audience. In addition to individuals tweeting, the institutional account is also a thing. But, as many institutions discover, creating and […]

#ProfChat: Male undergrads think that the smartest Biology student in the class is unlikely to be female

Education, Higher Education, Science Education, Social Media, STEAM, Women in Science

One of the reasons for the renewed interest in addressing systemic barriers to women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a plethora of recent social sciences peer-reviewed research into implicit or unconscious bias, stereotype threat, and the Dunning Kruger Effect. I think that Ben Schmidt has created the most compelling data visualization tool for illustrating […]

UK Academics aren't supposed to work over 37 hours per week. Seriously

Field Work, People, Science Education, Science policy, Science-Policy-Politics, Women in Science

UPDATE: This is my 15 January 2016 post, which is finally going live on 7 February 2016. This Winter Term has been much more hectic that Fall Term 2015, because I'm teaching 2 four-credit biology courses: BIOL 2010.40 (Plant Biology) and BIOL 3290.40 (Plant Ecology). Each course has 3 lecture hours a week, and between 1 to 6x3 hour labs, […]