What's it like to learn here?
As you can see, every faculty member has their own way of bringing the classroom to life at Western. From simulations to case methods to collaborative learning, you will learn from the very best, in new and exciting ways.
Want to step inside a virtual classroom?
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our professors had to take their classes online with just a few days’ notice. This was new territory for many of them, much like learning online has been new for many of you. The benefit of this shift to online learning is that we can provide you with a sneak peek of what a real lecture is like at Western. The videos below are raw. They are real. They showcase what you can expect this fall.
Remember, Western has a common first year for most programs. This means you can explore courses across faculties, so we encourage you to watch videos in – or related to – your area of interest as well as those that are in completely different fields.
Professor Konerman · Science
Course: Microscopic Phenomena (CHEM 2384)
Professor Konerman introduces transition state theory with a hiking example, to show how entropic and energetic aspects can limit how fast chemical reactions can proceed. This is a five-minute segment of the full lecture.
Professor Edgell· Science
Course: Synthetic Biology: Principles and Practice (BIOCHEM 3392)
Professor Edgell talks about developing
Professor García-Allén · Arts & Humanities
Course: Spanish for Beginners (SPANISH 1030)
This video explains what it is like to learn Spanish at Western. Professor García-Allén inverts the traditional model and focuses first on practice so that you learn faster and enjoy learning Spanish from day one.
Professor DeViveiros · Arts & Humanities
Course: Culture and Literature in Society: France in the 19th Century (FRENCH 3690)
In this short video, Professor DeViveiros introduces us toÉmile Zola. Zola was an important French naturalist novelist from the 19th century. He also got involved in the Dreyfus Affair: publishing an open letter J'accuse") to defend Captain Dreyfus when he was wrongfully accused of treason because he was Jewish.
Professor Johnson · Western Continuing Studies
Course: Reading and Understanding Research Information
This video is for an introductory course taught through Western Continuing Studies. Professor Johnson explains some of the basic characteristics of a variable: the building blocks of an experiment. At the undergraduate level, Professor Johnson teaches research methods, measurement and analysis courses in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Professor Wedlake · Health Sciences
Course: Resilience and the Creation of Wellbeing (HEALTSCI 2110)
What are some of the factors that are connected to the cultivation of resilience? Dr. Wedlake discusses these factors by dividing them into three areas: cognitive, behavioral and existential —and how we can understand each one to recover from traumatic experiences or events.
Professor Blackmore · Information & Media Studies
Course: Killer Culture: War and the Mediation of Reality in the 20th-21st Centuries (MIT 3215)
In this video, ProfessorBlackmore talks about gynephobia (an abnormal fear of women) in James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens. His discussion invites us to ponder: is the film fundamentally afraid of women or does it support women? This is a six-minute segment of the full lecture.
Professor Salcedo · Social Science
Course: Intermediate Microeconomics II(ECON 2261)
In this lecture about mechanism design, Professor Salcedo shows how designing mechanisms is often counterintuitive and how social policies can have unexpected effects. In this lecture, he shows how adding roads to a city can make traffic worse for all — even if the number of cars and trips stay the same.
Professor Ocampo Diaz · Social Science
Course: Intermediate Macroeconomics II (ECON 2221)
In this video, Professor Ocampo Diaz introduces the key concepts from national accounts and how it relates to the amount of savings and investment in a country.
Professor Magguilli · Science
Course: Software Tools and Systems Programming (COMPSCI 2211)
Professor Magguilli uses the concept of pointers (i.e., addresses in computer memory) to create a list of nodes (data storage) that is linked (one node also stores the address of the next node), using the procedural computer language of C. This video shows just a seven-minute segment of the full lecture.
Professor Kidnie · Arts & Humanities
Course: Understanding Literature Today: The Art of Belligerence (ENGLISH 1020)
Through the analysis of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, Professor Kidnie’s lecture explores the power of disobedience (whether in face of the state, gods or family) and the desire to belong. This video is an eight-minute segment of the full lecture.
Professor Leonard · Arts & Humanities
Course: Winter is Coming: A Game of Thrones (ENGLISH 2096)
Professor Leonard discusses how George R.R. Martin portrays disabilities in his novel Game of Thrones by exploring themes of dwarfism, facial disfigurement due to injury or disease, severed hands or fingers, blindness, castration, cognitive disabilities and other mental health issues, gigantism and obesity, living death, and paralysis. This video is a 27-minute segment of the full lecture.
Professor Pilling · Social Science
Course: Introduction to Accounting and Finance (MOS 1023)
This the final lecture in the introduction to accounting and finance course. This is a first-year course which is compulsory for our students in DAN Management. Professor Pilling covers such things in the securities markets as options, rights &warrants
Professor Walsh · Social Science
Natural Wonders Mini-lecture
Through an example of beautiful sapphire stones in Madagascar, Professor Walsh guides us through a critical thinking exercise on what people value and why. Anthropology is the study of all people and it is as much about what ties humans together as it is about what sets them apart.
Professor Joel · Social Science
Course: Is Psychology A Science?
Professor Samantha Joel delivers this lecture focused on why (and when) is modern psychology considered to be a scientific field.
Ready to give a university assignment a try?
Professor Woodward, who teaches Culture and Literature in Society: France in the 18th Century (FRENCH 3582) in the Department of French Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, has an interactive course excerpt for you to try!
Your assignment:
- Read Paul et Virginie, the sentimental novel by Bernardin de St. Pierre in French or in English.
- Download this questionnaire (PDF) and respond to the questions.
- Email Professor Woodward (
swoodwar @uwo . ca) for personalized feedback! (Parents are welcome to try too.)
Interested in studying Music at Western?
Being a member of a large ensemble or performance group is an integral part of your experience at Western. Music students can join large and small
Symphony Orchestra
Excerpt from “Symphony No. 7 (III. Presto-Assai
Conductor: Simone Luti
Wind Ensemble
Various excerpts from “Sit de Plata”, José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana; “Give Us This Day”, David Maslanka; “Metallëphônic Remix”, Daniel Nelson/Arr. Anders Högstedt
Conductor: Colleen Richardson
Choir: Chorale
“Mangisondele Nkosi Yam”, Traditional isiZulu/Arr. Michael Barrett
Guest conductor: Janet Loo
Jazz Ensemble
Excerpt from: “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, Don Gibson/Arr. Quincy Jones
Conductor: Bobbi Thompson
Watch and listen to more excerpts from several of our choral and instrumental ensembles.
Non-Music majors: Do you play an instrument or sing? If you were part of your high school band, orchestra
