WORKING WITH VANTAGE FACULTY AND STAFF
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UBC Vantage College invites applications for one Graduate Research Assistant position to assist with the Vantage College Intercultural Communication Committee.
UBC Vantage College offers first-year curriculum in a cohort program to academically strong international students whose English language proficiency does not yet meet the English language requirements for direct admission into UBC degrees. Students take courses in one of the Vantage One programs (Arts, Science, or Engineering) before transferring into second year in their degree program. The aim of the Vantage College Intercultural Communication Committee (ICC) is to foster awareness and dialogue among students, staff, TAs, RAs and faculty that acknowledge the roles diversity and culture play in the student experience as well as facilitate programing that support international students’ and English Language Learners’ transition into their first year at university.
The ICC is developing a new symposium informed by student focus groups, where UBC educators can share what they have learned and participate in dialogues with the wider UBC community of educators on strategies that include, engage, and support first-year international English language learners. As part of this project, we are seeking a graduate student research assistant (GRA) to work up to 40 hours (August-December 2020).
Duties
The successful candidate will develop surveys, conduct focus group interviews and analyze data with respect to project goals. Working with the ICC members, the GRA will be responsible for the following tasks: a) apply for human participants approval through the Behavioral Research Ethics Board, b) develop a survey and create interview questions that are aligned with current literature intended to measure student experience, feelings of inclusion and engagement, c) transcribe and analyze data, d) write reports. The GRA will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary faculty members from Vantage College.
The student’s duties and responsibilities will include some or all of the following, depending on incoming skill set and interest:
- Review literature to gather published evaluation tools of similar nature to help guide the survey and interview development process
- Develop surveys and interview questions (which may include adaptions of existing surveys)
- Administer surveys
- Organize and conduct focus groups (following best practices of physical distancing)
- Analyze data
- Write a report
Qualifications
Applicants should be current graduate students (masters or doctoral level) in any Faculty. Preference will be given to candidates who have a background in or experience with education research. Familiarity with ethics protocols for research with human participants is an asset. Experience with survey design and conducting interviews is an asset, as is the analysis of quantitative and qualitative research data using software such as SPSS, R, and NVivo. Strong verbal and written communication skills and organizational skills are required. Candidates with a demonstrated interest in intercultural communication, diversity, and inclusion are particularly encouraged to apply. The student should be relatively self-sufficient in collecting and analyzing qualitative data and be capable of training themselves to fill knowledge/competency gaps. To be a great fit for this position, an applicant will be enthusiastic about education and have a strong desire to develop their research skills.
Application instructions
The following application materials must be sent (as separate Word or .pdf files, using this file-naming convention: LASTNAME, Firstname_Cover; LASTNAME, Firstname_CV; etc.) by email with the subject heading “Graduate Research Assistant – Vantage College Intercultural Communication Committee” to the following address: employment@vantagecollege.ubc.ca. Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. Please be sure to include:
- a cover letter indicating your suitability for the position “Graduate Research Assistant – Vantage College Intercultural Communication Committee” and your availability,
- curriculum vitae, including a list of all teaching related activities,
- names and contact information of two referees.
For questions about this position, please contact anka@chem.ubc.ca
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.
UBC Vantage College invites applications for a Sessional Lecturer position in the 2020-2021 academic year in the Vantage One Arts program:
one section of ASTU 204A: Topics in Interdisciplinary Arts Studies (Inquiry and Evidence in the Humanities), to be taught in Winter term 1
and
one section of WRDS 150: Research and Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences, to be taught in Winter term 2
UBC Vantage College offers first-year curriculum in a cohort program to academically strong international students whose English language proficiency does not yet meet the English language requirements for direct admission into UBC degrees.
Students take courses in one of Vantage College’s three streams (Arts, Science, or Engineering) before transferring into second year in their degree program.
The primary goals of the Vantage College curriculum are:
(1) to encourage students’ cultural, linguistic, and academic engagement in disciplinary communities and
(2) to maximize students’ successful transition to Year Two in the Faculties of Arts, Science, or Applied Science.
For more information about the Vantage One Arts program, please see vantagecollege.ubc.ca/arts
Teaching duties
ASTU 204A, “Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities,” is an interdisciplinary course that focuses on the critical thinking practices we find in the humanities, in disciplines such as literary studies, art history, film studies, media studies, and history. In this course, students will practice the ways that humanities scholars analyze different cultural forms, use them as evidence, and make claims about them in their scholarly writing.
WRDS 150, “Research and Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences,” is an academic research and writing course that introduces students to the research culture of the university and to disciplinarity. Students learn the distinctive characteristics of scholarly prose and the styles of expression used by the different disciplines; how and why scholars enter into conversation with each other in their research writing; and how students can apply scholarly style in their own writing as they begin to participate in the academic conversations of their future areas of specialization.
Duties include lesson planning, teaching, holding regular office hours, marking assignments, providing feedback, reporting grades, and attending planning meetings and program meetings as needed. Successful applicants will work closely with the Chair of the Vantage Arts One Program Committee, and other members of the instructional team at UBC Vantage College in a highly collaborative environment.
Qualifications
Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Writing Studies, Composition and Rhetoric, Applied Linguistics, or a related field, and must have demonstrated evidence of teaching excellence. Applicants must also have experience teaching writing from a writing-in-the-disciplines approach and have taught university-level writing courses. Experience teaching scholarly writing in intercultural contexts and/or for intercultural populations will be considered an asset.
Application instructions
The following application materials must be sent electronically (as separate Word or .pdf files, using this file-naming convention: LASTNAME, Firstname_Cover; LASTNAME, Firstname_CV; etc.) by email with the subject heading “Vantage One Arts, Sessional Lecturer- ASRW” to the following address: employment@vantagecollege.ubc.ca.
Review of applications will begin August 11, 2020. Applications will continue to be accepted until the position has been filled.
(1) a cover letter indicating your suitability for the position and your teaching availability,
(2) curriculum vitae, including a list of all post-secondary courses taught, indicating credit value of each,
(3) evidence of teaching effectiveness, if available, and/or a statement of teaching philosophy,
(4) names and contact information of two referees.
The salary for these Sessional Lecturer positions will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position is subject to final budgetary approval.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
UBC Vantage College invites applications for a Sessional Lecturer position in the 2020-2021 academic year in the Vantage One Arts Academic English Program (AEP):
Four sections of LLED 200: Introduction to Writing in Academic and Professional Registers, to be taught in Winter terms 1-2
UBC Vantage College offers first-year curriculum in a cohort program to academically strong international students whose English language proficiency does not yet meet the English language requirements for direct admission into UBC degrees.
Students take courses in one of Vantage College’s three streams (Arts, Science, or Engineering) before transferring into second year in their degree program.
The primary goals of the Vantage College curriculum are:
(1) to encourage students’ cultural, linguistic, and academic engagement in disciplinary communities and
(2) to maximize students’ successful transition to Year Two in the Faculties of Arts, Science, or Applied Science.
For more information about the Vantage One Arts program, please see vantagecollege.ubc.ca/arts
The Academic English Program (AEP) courses consist of two foundational credit-bearing academic reading and writing courses (LLED 200 and LLED 201) and a series of credit-bearing adjunct courses (VANT 140) linked to respective courses in the disciplines. AEP and disciplinary course instructors collaborate in the design of the lesson plans and materials, and coordinate course and program activities (e.g., through regular meetings and attending each other’s classes). All AEP courses are informed by the language theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen), and also draw on genre-based pedagogies following the Sydney school (Martin & Rose, 2008).
Teaching duties
LLED 200 “Introduction to Writing in Academic and Professional Registers”, introduces students to writing in university settings. The course promotes deeper understanding of the role of language in achieving academic and professional registers. This is done by providing explicit instruction through the use of SFL-informed metalanguage via lessons, individualized feedback (through assignment drafts as well as individual tutorials), and extensive opportunities to write across a variety of university registers.
Instructors are part of the AEP team and thus work closely with other LLED 200 instructors and with the Director of the Academic English Program. Instructor are also members of the Vantage One Arts teaching team, and thus work closely with the Chair of the Vantage Arts One Program Committee, and other members of the instructional team at UBC Vantage College in a highly collaborative environment.
Duties include SFL/genre-based pedagogy-informed lesson planning (could be online and/or face-to-face), developing/revising teaching materials, teaching, holding regular office hours, marking assignments, providing detailed feedback on multiple drafts, reporting grades, and attending planning meetings and program meetings as needed.
Qualifications
Applicants should preferably hold a PhD in English for Academic Purposes, Applied Linguistics, Teaching English as a Second/Additional Language, Second Language Writing or a related discipline. Applicants with a Master’s degree and expertise in the above-mentioned areas will also be considered.
Preference will be given to applicants with the following knowledge, skills and abilities:
• Experience teaching LLED 200 and/or LLED 201 in one of the Vantage One programs.
• A strong foundation in socio-cultural approaches to research and pedagogy and/or educational linguistics, and familiarity with (ideally also with pedagogical experience informed by) the systemic functional linguistics and/or associated corpus approaches. AEP instructors are expected to draw on SFL and genre-based pedagogies for teaching AEP courses, as is this is the language orientation underpinning the AEP program. Thus, instructors who may lack enough familiarity with SFL and/or genre-based pedagogies will be expected to develop expertise in this area in order to be able to teach the program courses as expected.
• Substantial experience teaching English for academic purposes to undergraduate students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. A minimum of five years of demonstrable successful, full-time English for Academic Purposes instruction at the tertiary level is preferred.
• Familiarity with CLIL/CBI (content and language integrated learning/content-based instruction); task-based instruction; and multi-literacies pedagogies.
• A principled approach to curriculum and materials design (in face-to-face as well as in technology-mediated modes); pedagogical approaches grounded in sound research and theory in the field of EAP; familiarity with assessment practices.
• Familiarity with Arts (Social Science), and/or Science discourse, and ability to work with subject specialists in these areas. Individuals lacking the above specified background but with a keen interest in developing familiarity in any of these disciplinary fields are also encouraged to apply.
- Experience working with online teaching platforms (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) and ability to teach both in face to face as well as online teaching contexts.
Additionally, ideal candidates will demonstrate a passion for language education as well as awareness of strategies to fully engage students in their (language) learning trajectories.
Application instructions
The following application materials must be sent electronically (as separate Word or .pdf files, using this file-naming convention: LASTNAME, Firstname_Cover; LASTNAME, Firstname_CV; etc.) by email with the subject heading “Vantage One Arts AEP, Sessional Lecturer- LLED 200” to the following address: employment@vantagecollege.ubc.ca.
For questions about the position and courses, applicants can contact the AEP Director, Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman, at Sandra.zappa@ubc.ca
Review of applications will begin August 11, 2020. Applications will continue to be accepted until the position has been filled.
(1) a cover letter indicating your suitability for the position and your teaching availability,
(2) curriculum vitae, including a list of all post-secondary courses taught, indicating credit value of each,
(3) evidence of teaching effectiveness, if available, and/or a statement of teaching philosophy,
(4) names and contact information of two referees.
The salary for these Sessional Lecturer positions will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position is subject to final budgetary approval.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.