Faculty of Science offering slate of 15 online undergraduate courses this spring and summer – more courses to follow

Undergraduate students from McMaster and other universities looking to get a jump on their studies can now register for 15 Faculty of Science online courses to be offered this spring and summer.

The eight first-year and seven second-year courses are part of the Faculty’s Science Online Learning Project, with more online courses rolling out in the months ahead. The project is in direct response to students who are asking for more choice and greater control over how, where and when they take courses, says Rosa da Silva, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science.

She says the online courses in biology, earth and environmental sciences, physics, psychology, kinesiology and chemistry will benefit two groups of students – students who want to take courses during the spring and summer to lighten their course load during the fall and winter terms and students from other universities who are looking for equivalent transferable courses.

For more than a decade, science faculty have been early adopters of blended and online learning, says Rosa, who was also among the first to use technology to complement in-class teaching. She’s the driving force behind Cells at War, a game-based learning platform for biology students who’ve grown up playing Fortnite and Mario Kart.

“Even before COVID-19, Science faculty have been at the forefront of reimaging education. Our Science Online Learning Project is yet another bold step forward by our Departments and Schools for the benefit of our students.”

Faculty members who’ve created online versions of their courses for phase one of the project include Lovaye Kajiura, Jim Ghoshdastidar, Maureen Padden, Luc Bernier, Melanie Bedore, Kari Dalnoki-Veress, Krista Howarth, Joe Kim and Michael Mercier. “All of these faculty share a real passion for teaching and learning that’s been incorporated into the design and delivery of their first and second-year online courses.” Rosa adds the learning objectives and academic standards are identical with both the online and in-person versions of the courses.

An instructional team’s been assembled to help faculty build online courses, including Sonia Rehal, Lisa Leoni, Sara Cormier, Adrienne Tearle and Michelle Cadieux. The Online Learning Project is also supported in part by the Office of the Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning through the McMaster Online Learning Fellows Program.

“Our Science Departments and Schools are working alongside exceptional teams to make this happen at an accelerated pace for our students,” says Rosa.