Paula_Wilson

York University

<pjwilson AT yorku DOT ca>

Department of Biology

York University , 4700 Keele Street

Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3

416 736 2100 X 23220

Hats I wear

Senior Lecturer, Biology Department, York University

Undergraduate Program Director, Biology Department

Robes I wear

BA Economics

PhD Biology

Work

My training is in the field of cell biology, with a focus on mitosis and meiosis, the cytoskeleton, cell motility and microscopy.

My position as a faculty member in the alternate (teaching) stream at York began in 1998. As a teacher I have taught primarily in large first year undergraduate Biology courses, for majors and non-majors. More recently I was involved in creating and implementing a second year blended lab course in cell and molecular biology.

Regarding teaching, I have a longtime interest in teaching science to non-science students – what key things do they need to know? Do they learn science differently from non-science students? What are the best practices for this group of students? I also am interested in best practices for teaching large classes and improving the laboratory experience, moving from "cookbook" to "real research".

I have spent much of my career in administration, as Biology Undergraduate Program Director and Associate Dean, Student Affairs for my Faculty, looking after things such as curriculum, academic integrity, student relations and academic standards. One of my major interests over the past 5 years has been internationalization. International experiences can be transformative for students, fostering global citizenship and better preparing students for careers that involve diversity and change.

Play

Includes clogging (a percussive dance that melds many different styles - google it!), genealogy and pretending to occasionally play mandolin and banjo. I also travel whenever I get the chance and love good food, good wine and interesting beer. Laughing…laughing is good.

Feathers

• My two XY F1, who have given me the gift of experiencing the extremes of human emotions, and made me a more thoughtful, empathetic person.

• Establishing an international BSc degree, which integrates international exposure and language study into a science degree.

• Establishing a Teaching & Learning Committee in our Faculty, and helping to launch BEST (Best Engineering and Science Teaching) a Faculty teaching initiative (check out Tanya Noel’s page for more info on that).

Some Conference Presentations and Publications from the last decade

R. Kenedy, R. Webb, M. Lambert-Drache, P. Wilson and V. Monty “Says Who?: Academic Integriy and the First-year Experience”. 22nd International Conference on The First-Year Experience, July 2009.

P. Wilson, I. Coe and T. Noel “Challenges of Teaching Life Sciences in the 21st Century” National Biotechnology Education Resource Centre’s National Bioscience Educators’ Conference, February 2008.

N. Fisher-Stitt and P. Wilson “Enhancing Academic Integrity in a Highly Multicultural University” Asia-Pacific Association for International Education Annual Conference, March 2008.

P. Wilson and A. Shubert, “Science and Internationalization: The Final Frontier?”

Canadian Bureau for International Education Annual Conference, November 2006.

P.J. Wilson and P.C. Cribb “Reflections on Internationalizing Science Programs”

York International Conference Internationalizing Canada’s Universities: Practices

Challenges and Opportunities, Spring 2006.

Wilson, P. (2003) Fostering Academic Integrity in Science Laboratories. Core 12 7-8.

Wilson, P.J., Riggs, C.D. and Hasenkampf, C.A. (2005) Plant chromosome

homology:hypotheses relating rendezvous, recognition and reciprocal exchange.

Cytogenet. Genome Res. 109 190-197.

Wilson, P.J., Forer, A and Wise, D. (2003) Microtubule distribution during meiosis I in

fleabeetle [Alagoasa (Oedionychus)] spermatocytes: evidence for direct connections

between unpaired sex chromosomes. J. Cell Sci. 1161235-1247.

Forer, A, Spurk, T. Pickett-Heaps, J.D. and Wilson, P. (2003) Structure of kinetochore fibres in crane-fly spermatocytes after irradiation with an ultraviolet microbeam: neither microtubules nor actin filaments remain in the irradiated region. Cell Motil. Cytoskel. 56 173-192.

Forer, A and Wilson, P.J. (2000) Evidence that kinetochore fibre microtubules

shorten predominantly at the pole in anaphase flea-beetle spermatocytes.

Chromosome Res. 8 151-163.