Explore our curated collection of teaching and learning resources designed to support and inspire your teaching practice within the Faculty of Arts.
Filter by theme or resource type to find practical guides, instructor interviews, classroom-tested teaching recipes, project resources, and publications that showcase innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Sustainable & Climate-Conscious Teaching | Publication
Expanding Formal School Curricula to Foster Action Competence in Sustainable Development: A Proposed Free-Choice Project-Based Learning Curriculum
Micheal Jerowsky and colleagues from the University of Melbourne and the Jane Goodall Institute express how education initiatives should foster sustainable action competence.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
A brief guide to in-class assessment
Learn strategies for designing in-person assessments for your course.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
The 4 modes of course delivery
There are many ways you can deliver your course, including the traditional in-person method, or newer methods, such as online, hybrid, or multi-access.
Technology in Teaching | Project
The Online Course Enhanced Learning Intelligent Assistant (OCELIA)
Siobhán Wittig McPhee (Geography) and team are developing an AI-powered learning assistant to help students engage with dense academic texts and arrive at tutorials prepared and confident.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Event Highlight
End of Winter Session Social & Reflection for Arts Instructors
Arts instructors gathered in person to reflect on teaching practices, student engagement, and the evolving classroom.
Technology in Teaching | Project
We’re only Human? Educative Frameworks for Artificial Intelligence, Academic Integrity, and Writing in the Faculty of Arts
Laurie McNeill (English) and Andrew Owen (Political Science) brought together educators and learning technology specialists to develop, test, and share teaching materials that help instructors address generative AI in writing-intensive courses.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Helpful tools for grading exams
Discover easy-to-use tools to help you streamline grading this exam period.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Start-of-Term Checklist for Arts Instructors
Review this start-of-term checklist to ensure that your courses are ready for the upcoming term.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
How UBC Arts is reshaping teaching and learning in the age of AI
Laurie McNeill and Andrew Owen discuss how UBC Arts is reshaping teaching, writing, assessment, AI literacy, and academic integrity in response to generative AI and student concerns.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Simplify your teaching workflow with Canvas scripts
Request to have a Canvas script set up for your course to help you save time on various tasks.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Deliver an online exam with Canvas Quiz and Respondus Lockdown Browser
Follow our step-by-step guide for successfully delivering a Canvas exam with Respondus Lockdown Browser.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Best practices for delivering an online exam
Discover tips for planning and delivering online exams with ease.
Technology in Teaching
Educative frameworks for AI and academic integrity in Arts’ writing-based courses
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Beyond technical skills: a pedagogical perspective on fostering critical engagement with generative AI in university classrooms
Siobhán Wittig McPhee and Micheal Jerowsky examine critical AI literacy in higher education, presenting a pedagogical framework for ethical generative AI engagement, reflection, evaluation, and university teaching.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Paper or Canvas exam?
Compare the benefits and challenges of delivering paper versus online exams.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Guide For Getting Started With Teaching
Arts ISIT has provided a guide for getting started with teaching within UBC Arts, including setting up Canvas, recording lectures, creating assessments, engaging students, and more.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Monitor Your Online Exams with LockDown Browser and Zoom
Are you thinking of monitoring your students during an online exam? A combination of LockDown Browser and Zoom can be a good alternative to Proctorio for online exam invigilation.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Creating AI-resilient assessments: A guide for Arts instructors
Find practical strategies for creating assessments that are more resilient to AI misuse.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Playing the language game with AI
Explore AI’s evolving role in language education, as discussed by Prof. Muhammad Abdul-Mageed.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Guide
Unlock the benefits of your major for your students with signature pedagogies
Learn how signature pedagogies make disciplinary habits of mind, hand, and heart visible, strengthening student self-awareness, skill identification, lifelong learning, and career readiness, with insights from Shagufta Pasta.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Project
Advice from the Field: Creating Open Resources in Relationship Science
Silvia Bartolic (Sociology) invited students to interview academics and practitioners working in relationship science and translate those conversations into easily accessible multimedia resources.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Project
Creation of a Canvas Module: “What Science Can Tell You About How To Be Successful in University”
Lillian May (Psychology) is developing an accessible Canvas module that uses short videos and reflections to share research-based strategies for effective learning, helping students apply psychological insights to their own academic success.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Project
Learning Research, Learning Reciprocity: Student Community Engagement with the Making Research Accessible Initiative
Evan Mauro & Kirby Manià (Coordinated Arts Program / Journalism, Writing, and Media) are building on a pilot collaboration and asking first-year students to make infographic summaries of Downtown Eastside-relevant research articles.
Accessible & Inclusive Teaching | Project
Cultivating Inclusive Writing Instruction: Planting Seeds Across the Curriculum
Laila Ferreira, Rebecca Caruthers Den Hoed, Katja Thieme (Journalism, Writing, and Media), and Jennifer Walsh Marr (Vantage College / Engineering) are supporting faculty in teaching writing in ways that are inclusive, accessible, and responsive.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical learning: Advocating for social change with practicum partners
In GRSJ 480, Dr. Rosanne Sia blends theory with hands-on, practicum experience in the community.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Sharing Alumni Career Journeys
Learn how Dr. Stewart Prest brings alumni into the classroom to broaden students' understanding of career possibilities.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Exploring Artistic Practices in Creative Writing
Learn how Lecturer Sheryda Warrener uses hands-on approaches to engage with Vancouver's artist community.
Technology in Teaching | Recipe
Practical Learning: Connecting Theory and Practice in Geography
Siobhán Wittig McPhee shares how GEOG 350 integrates guest lectures, practical learning, design thinking, positionality, reflection, career development, urban geography, and open-source wiki assignments.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Applying Research Methods to Career Development
Learn how Dr. Catherine Rawn encourages PSYC 217 students to apply research methods to their career development.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Interviewing and Digital Storytelling
Students in select fourth-year History courses gain hands-on experience in interviewing and digital storytelling.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Historical Research Methods
In Historical Research Methods, students conduct hands-on archival research to consider the methodological challenges with state archiving and large-scale recordkeeping.
Collaborative Learning | Guide
Strategies for collaborative learning
Collaborative learning flips the script on traditional, transmission-based approaches to post-secondary education, turning classrooms into dynamic spaces for interactive problem solving, more engaging discussions, and the co-creation of knowledge.
Technology in Teaching | Recipe
Reading Circles: Teaching Students to Critically Engage with Research Articles through Collaborative Writing
Discover how Dr. Laura Baumvol, lecturer at the UBC School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, applied a learning circle activity to encourage student participation in academic writing and scholarly discourse through interactions with their peers.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
What is ‘blended learning’ and how can it benefit post-secondary students?
Blended learning combines face-to-face and virtual instruction through the use of online learning technologies. Post-secondary students attend lectures in real-time, either virtually or in person, and this is accompanied by online learning activities
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Creative Student Projects Using Collaborative Learning
Discover how ENGL 243: Speculative Fiction students worked together to construct a synthetic human based on literary and cultural representations of synthetic humans in plausible near-future settings.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Anthropology, Sociology, and Urban Ethnography
In Urban Ethnographic Field School, students discuss readings and ideas that they are working on, comparing and contrasting experiences of people doing ethnographies all over the world, how they write and what kind of techniques they use, and how th
Technology in Teaching | Recipe
Practical Learning: Designing Sound and Emerging Technology
In THTR 308, a Sound Design course, students learn about different considerations when it comes to the design of sound for live or virtual productions.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Students gain applied understanding of course concepts through collaboration with non-profit organizations
Katherine Lyon shares a SOCI 290 community-engaged learning assignment, developed with Tamara Baldwin and Gaylean Davies, integrating disaster studies, nonprofit interviews, collaborative learning, knowledge translation, and peer assessment.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Guide
Support for integrating practical learning and connections with alumni in the classroom
Connect Arts’ disciplinary learning to students’ futures—help students see how classroom learning can be applied in other contexts, including workplaces and the community.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Experiencing Real-World Dynamics with Community Partners
Explore how students are partnered with on-campus groups or community partners to build relationships and enhance their learning.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Hands-on Preparation for Careers in Writing
In Malory Tater's course, students discuss hypothetical, professional opportunities and prepare the tools necessary for them to feel emboldened and confident to go out and succeed in however they want to forge their writing careers.
Collaborative Learning | Guide
Guide to peer review
Explore this guide to learn about the benefits peer review brings to student learning, how to design peer review activities, and what strategies you can incorporate to make it a successful learning activity.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Project
Speaking in the Disciplines: A “Precedents” Archive for Teaching and Learning Oral Genres
Moberley Luger (English Language and Literatures / Coordinated Arts Program) and team developed an open resource designed to help students build confidence and competence in academic speaking situations.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Engaging Community
Community-engaged learning shows students the kinds of things that they could be doing when working in economics and related fields.
Technology in Teaching | Recipe
Practical Learning: Information Curation for a Public-Facing Website
Students build skills to curate, filter, and present information efficiently in this Political Science course.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Alumni Interviews
By interviewing alumni, students get to know about life post-graduation.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Practical Learning: Bringing Alumni Expertise into the Classroom
Connecting students directly with alumni from a whole range of different working situations and professions in this Political Science course.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Implement student response activities into your classroom
Increase engagement, check student understanding, and stimulate discussion in large classrooms with student response activities.
Collaborative Learning | Project
Strategies for the Effective Design and Implementation of Collaborative Peer Learning Activities
In 2020-2022, Arts ISIT partnered with instructors through a Small TLEF grant, Strategies for the Effective Design and Implementation of Collaborative Peer Learning Activities.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Collaborative Note Taking for Language Classes
Discover how Qian Wang leveraged a collaborative learning note for students in CHIN 131.
Technology in Teaching | Recipe
Facilitating Peer-Based Learning Through Collaborative Translation
Discover how Zhaokun Xin leverages peer review and collaborative learning to help students further develop their knowledge of grammatical points in Classical Chinese and traditional Chinese cultural elements.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Peer-Learning Projects
Discover how Jonathan Graves provided students with a creative yet structured opportunity to connect the ideas developed in class to real-world situations of their own selection.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Blending Classes With Creative Student Work
Discover how John Vigna and Annabel Lyon leveraged peer feedback and self-reflection in their Creative Writing course.
Technology in Teaching | Project
Tapestry: Enabling Interactive, Remixable, Reusable, and Extensible Open Educational Modules
Steven Barnes (Psychology) and team developed an interactive tool for creating learner-centred, co-created, and reusable online course content to promote more engaging and inclusive learning at UBC.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
"A Teaching Manifesto on the Assembly:" Co-facilitating Collaborative, Participatory Learning in SPAN 280: Revolution!
Discover how Brianne Orr-Álvarez encouraged students to lead and participate in peer inquiry and dialogue about complex ethical and political issues.
Technology in Teaching | Guide
Designing for accessibility: An introduction to universal design for learning
Explore accessible teaching practices using Universal Design for Learning, inclusive course materials, captions, colour contrast, Canvas, Zoom, Kaltura, CLAS, Microsoft accessibility tools, and more.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Recipe
Blending Large Online Lectures: Learning Activities to Encourage Active Student Participation
Discover how Allen Sens incorporated active participation techniques to help broaden the students' practice and competencies.
Technology in Teaching | Project
Beyond the Classroom: Disseminating multimodal project resources for faculty and students
Christine D'Onofrio (Art History, Visual Art and Theory) and team developed digital and pedagogical resources to help faculty design effective multimodal assignments and equip students with visual and media literacy skills.
Technology in Teaching | Project
Immersive Tools for Field-Based Geoscience Education in Large Undergraduate Courses: Pacific Spirit Forest Augmented Reality Field Trip and Alpine Ecosystem Virtual Reality Tours
Nina Hewitt (Geography) and team included the use of augmented reality and virtual reality learning tools to help students engage more directly with ecological processes, spatial relationships, and human impacts on ecosystems.
Indigenous & Decolonial Pedagogies | Project
in/relation: Educational Resources for International Students Learning Indigenous Contexts and Histories at UBC
Daniel Justice (English / First Nations and Indigenous Studies) and team created learning modules to help international students engage with Indigenous histories and responsibilities on Musqueam lands.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Misuzu Kazama in Asian Studies uses CLAS for language learning
Misuzu Kazama discusses teaching advanced Japanese pronunciation through shadowing, CLAS recordings, instructor feedback, and eNunciate video tutorials to improve phonological awareness, reading fluency, listening, and speaking skills.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Marina Milner-Bolotin in Education uses CLAS to support teacher-candidates
Marina Milner-Bolotin discusses using CLAS video annotation for peer feedback, microteaching, teacher education, online learning, reflective practice, and collaborative discussion, while sharing technical challenges and advice for instructors.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Bridging the gap between academic theory and professional practice with Arts ePortfolios
Discover how four Arts instructors integrated Arts ePortfolios into the classroom.
Technology in Teaching | Project
Data Analysis and Statistics with Stata: Online Resources for Undergraduate Programs
Nisha Malhotra (Economics) and team created modular online resources to strengthen students’ understanding of statistical concepts and their application in Stata across economics and related courses.
Technology in Teaching | Project
Integrating Sign Languages into the Linguistics Curriculum
Kathleen Hall (Linguistics) and team developed educational resources, research tools, and hands-on learning activities that promote understanding of Deaf culture and the linguistic richness of signed languages.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Project
Our Cheating Hearts: Academic Integrity Curriculum Design in First-Year Arts Programs
Laurie McNeill (First-Year Programs / English) and team developed materials to help support students and faculty to foster more robust understandings of ethical research, writing, and learning practices.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Interview
Jenny Peterson in Political Science uses active learning to enrich student engagement with course material
Jenny Peterson discusses active learning in political science through gallery walks, simulations, debates, reflection, and debriefing, including benefits, challenges, student engagement, large-class teaching, and knowledge creation.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Catherine Rawn in Psychology uses peer assessments to encourage peer-based learning
Catherine Rawn discusses using peer assessment and peerScholar to strengthen writing in large psychology courses, including student training, feedback quality, grading fairness, trust, rubrics, and research with Peter Graf.
Experiential & Practical Learning | Interview
Michael Griffin in Philosophy investigates pedagogies that support the growth of citizenship skills
Michael Griffin discusses research on humanities teaching, signature pedagogies, and citizenship skills, measuring perspective-taking, empathy, intercultural fluency, tolerance of ambiguity, integrative complexity, classroom debate, and written feedb
Experiential & Practical Learning
Allen Sens and Matt Yedlin Bridge Arts and Science to Explore Nuclear Arms Control
Interdisciplinarity is what we need more of in the university…more connection between different faculties and different ways of thinking.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Leveraging UBC Blogs to cultivate student engagement
Discover how two Arts instructors leveraged UBC Blogs in the classroom.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Christina Hendricks uses Lecture Capture to allow Arts One Students to Review Lectures
We have found numerous positive benefits from using lecture capture and sharing our videos with many people within and beyond UBC, and thus we are continuing to do so when faculty agree to be recorded.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Alfredo Ferreira in Vantage College uses CLAS for linking language in math practice
Alfredo Ferreira discusses using CLAS video annotation in Vantage College mathematics to connect academic English, mathematical reasoning, disciplinary literacy, scaffolding, peer assessment, metacognition, and international student learning.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Leveraging UBC Wiki to cultivate student engagement
Discover how two Arts instructors leveraged UBC Wiki in the classroom.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Dr. Jon-Beasley Murray in Latin American Studies uses Wikipedia for student projects
"I think it’s the outcome, the output, that they’re the most proud of, though. It’s the one they can show their parents and their friends and so on. It’s the one that endures more obviously, at least, after the semester is over."
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Leveraging the use of video to enhance student learning
Discover how three Arts instructors integrated video technology to improve student engagement and comprehension in the classroom.
Technology in Teaching | Interview
Robert Taylor uses CLAS in Conducting and Symphony Orchestra Courses
"CLAS is a fantastic way for students to review their own work and for professors to give highly specific feedback."
