FSCI 396 / 397 / 398D1D2 - Research Project in Science Teaching and Learning 1/2/3 - are elective science education research project courses open to BSc and BASC students at McGill University. For basic information on the course, see What is FSCI 396.
2023-2024 Information:
Please note we not accepting applications for the Fall 2023 semester.
Theme: Authentic Assessment (other topics may be available)
List of Available Projects: See Available Projects tab
How to apply to do an FSCI project:
- Read Application FAQs (below).
- See list of Available Projects
- Fill in the FSCI Student Application webform.
- If you have questions, contact tamara.western [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Question%20about%20FSCI%20396%20%2F%20397%20%2F%20398) (Tamara Western).
Application FAQs
Who is eligible to take FSCI 396?
All undergraduate students enrolled in a BSc or BASC program at McGill with a CGPA of 3.0 or higher, or permission of the tamara.western [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Question%20about%20FSCI%20396%20%2F%20397%20%2F%20398) (Coordinator).
What commitment is required by students doing an FSCI 396 project?
These are similar to other independent research projects. Students are expect to commit approximately 9 hours per week over a 13-week term. They will be responsible to attend weekly cohort meetings and meet weekly with their supervisor, and keep a research journal. They will research and read pedagogical literature, draft a literature review and research proposal, collect and/or analyze data and/or identify best practices to draft a course resource or activity, give an end-of-term presentation, and submit a final report.
What research support will FSCI 396 students have for completing their project?
Students taking an FSCI 396 project will participate in weekly cohort meetings run by a coordinator from the Office of Science Education that include workshops and discussions of pedagogical literature and student project status. Workshops are taught by experts and topics include pedagogy, literature searching, social science research methods, and science communication. Support for project development provided by the coordinator, who reviews student progress and proposals, as well as an OSE Fellow with education experience.
How do students apply to perform an FSCI 396 project?
Projects for any particular academic year will include a mixture of: (1) annual theme-based projects offered by the Office of Science Education supervised by the course coordinator, and (2) projects proposed by instructors teaching in BSc programs.
A complete submission requires the following components:
- The Student's name and email address.
- The preferred term/length of the project (1 or 2 term).
- A statement of interest of 150-250 words including why you are interested in performing an FSCI science education research project and what skills you could bring to your project.
Interested students should apply using the FSCI 396 / 397 / 398 student application webform. Depending on the relative availability of projects versus application numbers, applicants will be ranked and selected by the FSCI 396 Project committee.