Professional Development for Educators
Supporting University Educators in Effective and Inclusive Teaching
There is a wealth of education research on how students learn that can help us to teach science more effectively and inclusively. I help instructors connect with research-based teaching ideas, reflect on their teaching, and support each other through communities of teaching. I also design curricula and create resources for educators.
I'd love to work with you to design professional development in teaching for your department or program! lestrubbe@gmail.com
Communities of Teaching
A Community of Teaching is a supportive space where instructors can share and learn new ideas about teaching, reflect, exchange feedback and advice, collaborate, and celebrate successes. I create, facilitate, and study communities of teaching, suited to individual context.
Teaching Triangles
Three instructors (from the same or different fields) form a group that observes each other's classes, and meets regularly to self-reflect and exchange feedback if requested.
I created and facilitated Teaching Triangles at the University of Central Asia (in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) in 2018. I also conducted research on faculty motivation to participate in the program, under review in Pedagogies.
Paired teaching
Two instructors co-design and co-teach a lesson or an entire course, in order to try out new teaching ideas in a supported environment. Our research shows that paired teaching helps newer instructors incorporate innovative teaching strategies into their future solo teaching.Â
I led a research article at the University of British Columbia, and created the program at the Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers.
See our 2019 article in the Journal of College Science Teaching and our 2021 article in the International Journal of Academic Development.
Curriculum Development
I design curricula for undergraduate science courses that emphasize inquiry, intertwining scientific thinking skills with scientific content. I use evidence-based strategies that support equity, inclusion, and compassion.
Univ. of Central Asia: I designed the complete materials for a semester-long course called Physics for Earth & Environmental Science majors
Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers: I led the design for the undergraduate stream of week-long PASEA, including a two-day inquiry lab
Univ. of British Columbia: I led curriculum redesign to inquiry and active learning for the labs and lectures in an intro astronomy course, and designed components for a new physics lab course. See Strubbe et al. (2023) in CourseSource.
Univ. of Toronto: I created an Order-of-Magnitude problem solving course for first-year graduate students in physics and astronomy
Hartnell Community College (California): I co-created an astronomy inquiry activity about transiting planets. See McConnell et al. (2010).
Workshops for Instructors
I design and lead interactive workshops for instructors, in person around the world and online, on inquiry-based teaching, equity and inclusion, active learning, remote teaching, and more. I'm a certified facilitator for Canada's Instructional Skills Workshops.
Univ. of Central Asia: I designed and led a week of in-person teaching workshops for new UCA faculty across all disciplines
Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers: I lead the design and facilitation of a week of teaching workshops for PASEA Instructors
Equity & Inclusion at UBC: I co-created and led many workshops on inclusive teaching for Univ. of British Columbia grad students and postdocs
Remote Teaching Physics and Astronomy: I contributed to the first online AAPT / APS / AAS New Faculty Workshop, and workshops on remote teaching from the Center for Astronomy Education and Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Resources for Educators
I write and develop resources to support physics and astronomy educators at all levels.
Resources for Remote Teaching: I led two highly popular articles at the start of the pandemic on how to move your physics/astronomy lecture and lab courses online, featured by AAPT, APS, and the White House
PhysPort: I was a postdoctoral researcher for PhysPort, an online collection of resources for physics and astronomy educators
AstroEDU: AstroEDU is a collection of peer-reviewed educational activities for K-12 students, sponsored by the International Astronomical Union. I was AstroEDU's first Editor-in-Chief