Emily's Teaching

I currently am a Practicals Head TA for PHY 131F - Introduction to Physics I. The course is taught by Dr. Jason Harlow, and the practicals are managed by Dr. Carolyn Sealfon. Course information can be found on U of T Quercus.

I was part of the online development of PHY 131, and have been involved in the course since I began at U of T. I have participated in workshops for the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE), and take an interest in phyiscs education initiatives.

One particular area of interest for me is the difference in training necessary for a future physicist and for another science-related field (for instance, medicine). I was trained at the University of British Columbia under Dr. Natasha Holmes' labs, and had a chance to be a teaching asssistant for them in my last year of undergraduate. I am also interested in the use of simulation technologies to improve student learning, and on principles of universal design in education.

My email inbox is always open to starting graduate students who would like to talk about physics education!

A circuit featuring an op-amp.

Education Links

  • PHY 131 is taught using the Scientific Abilities Rubrics, which outline specific learning goals within a lab situation.
  • I always recommend students and starting TAs investigate the PhET simulations if they haven't come across them (HTML 5 versions coming soon!). Of particular interest is this article, demonstrating that learning from a simulation first produces better confidence and competence on real life circuit building.
  • Teaching Assistants at the University of Toronto have access to the Teaching Assistant Teaching Program (TATP). I highly recommend taking advantage of those courses when possible!
  • The University of Toronto also employs accessibility consultants. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a position of course design, please consider integrating universal design into your course curriculum.

Changelog

Quick contact:

etyhurst (at) cita.utoronto.ca

This page was last updated June 2020. Changes implemented were a complete restructure to the website itself, but mostly to facilitate better categories and a more cohesive format overall.

External Links

About Emily

A photograph of Emily Tyhurst. Emily is a white woman with glasses. She is wearing a black hat and is outside in full sunlight.

Emily Tyhurst has been studying physics and mathematics since 2013. She completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of British Columbia in 2018. Emily is native to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Her hobbies and interests can be perused in the personal section of the website.