Over the last 12 years, Divya has taught undergraduate and graduate students in her roles as a teaching assistant, lab demonstrators and as a course instructor. As a teacher of some of the most difficult courses in the Health Sciences curricula, Divya thoroughly plans the delivery of course contents and is invested in the success of her students.
Her broad experience in course instruction has included:
- HLSC 2P07: Biostatistics – I (2nd year undergraduate course) – May 2014 to present (8 times) – enrolment of 60 to 170 students
- HLSC 3P07: Biostatistics – II (3rd year undergraduate course) – May 2014 to August 2018 (4 times) – enrolment of about 40 students
- Research Methods in Epidemiology (4th year undergraduate course) – Sept 2013 to Dec. 2017 (4 times) – enrolment of 40 to 140 students
As a course coordinator, Divya is currently coordinating the department’s largest course, HLSC 1F90, Introduction to Health Sciences (1st year undergraduate course). Divya describes her overall teaching approach with this comment: “Teaching provides me with an opportunity to inspire and empower individuals to grow intellectually and personally. As I reflect on my teaching, I realize that integrity is important for every individual and for every field. Students tend to model the behaviour they observe in their instructors so I hold myself to the same standards that I hold my students.”
In a support letter, Scott Forrester, Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, writes: “Dr. Joshi is an outstanding teacher. Her passion for teaching coupled with her interactive teaching techniques and practical background in the field, enable her to be very effective as a sessional instructor.” As one student wrote: “Dr. Joshi’s course is set up for student success. The second-year Biostatistics course is challenging but Dr. Joshi’s teaching style allows for students to see how applicable and important the skills learned in this course are to any healthcare professions. The layout of the course enables students to develop strong, independent learning skills through the weekly assignments. Also, example problems that are given in class challenge students to think critically and collaboratively with other students, which further increases understanding and real-life applications of the course material.”