Gavan Watson, PhD
@gavan.ca
Dad. Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning at Queen’s University. Educator and lifelong learner. Sharing thoughts on pedagogy, higher education, and local nature around Kingston, Ontario. He/him. Views here are my own.
Cheering on the Kingston Chestmates Dragon Boat Team today, competing this weekend in Vancouver, all the way from the waters of Lake Ontario! #ConcordPacificDragonBoatFestival #DragonBoatBC
June 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Cheering on the Kingston Chestmates Dragon Boat Team today, competing this weekend in Vancouver, all the way from the waters of Lake Ontario! #ConcordPacificDragonBoatFestival #DragonBoatBC
Proud teaching and learning moment at #QueensU: Dr. Brian Frank of Smith Engineering has been awarded Engineers Canada’s 2025 Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education! engineerscanada.ca/awards2025/b... #EngineeringEducation #SmithEngineering
Brian Frank | Engineers Canada
Brian Frank spends a lot of time and energy improving engineering education, whether it’s in the classroom through innovative teaching and learning approaches or by supporting professional development...
engineerscanada.ca
May 23, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Proud teaching and learning moment at #QueensU: Dr. Brian Frank of Smith Engineering has been awarded Engineers Canada’s 2025 Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education! engineerscanada.ca/awards2025/b... #EngineeringEducation #SmithEngineering
More about this #QueensU recruitment initiative for doctoral students who are reconsidering studying at a top US institution: www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
May 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
More about this #QueensU recruitment initiative for doctoral students who are reconsidering studying at a top US institution: www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Excited to be offering some welcoming remarks at the annual Showcase of Teaching and Learning. This 15th annual event is the official kickoff to #QueensU Teaching and Learning month!
Special thanks to those presenting and to the CTL staff who organized this event.
Special thanks to those presenting and to the CTL staff who organized this event.
May 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Excited to be offering some welcoming remarks at the annual Showcase of Teaching and Learning. This 15th annual event is the official kickoff to #QueensU Teaching and Learning month!
Special thanks to those presenting and to the CTL staff who organized this event.
Special thanks to those presenting and to the CTL staff who organized this event.
Congratulations to this year's cohort of ten 3M National Teaching Fellows!
The 3MNTF has been described as the "superbowl" (don't ask how the metaphor works) of teaching awards here in Canada.
www.stlhe.ca/award_winner...
The 3MNTF has been described as the "superbowl" (don't ask how the metaphor works) of teaching awards here in Canada.
www.stlhe.ca/award_winner...
2025 3M National Teaching Fellows – STLHE
www.stlhe.ca
May 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Congratulations to this year's cohort of ten 3M National Teaching Fellows!
The 3MNTF has been described as the "superbowl" (don't ask how the metaphor works) of teaching awards here in Canada.
www.stlhe.ca/award_winner...
The 3MNTF has been described as the "superbowl" (don't ask how the metaphor works) of teaching awards here in Canada.
www.stlhe.ca/award_winner...
Chimney Swifts have returned to Kingston—first day I’m hearing their chortling calls overhead.
May 6, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Chimney Swifts have returned to Kingston—first day I’m hearing their chortling calls overhead.
I was a regular runner until 2017, then injured my ankle and stopped. Eight weeks ago, I started again with the goal of running 5km comfortably. Today, I finished the program and met my goal. Ran 6km.
The next goal: stay injury-free and keep it going—5km, three times a week will make me happy!
The next goal: stay injury-free and keep it going—5km, three times a week will make me happy!
May 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I was a regular runner until 2017, then injured my ankle and stopped. Eight weeks ago, I started again with the goal of running 5km comfortably. Today, I finished the program and met my goal. Ran 6km.
The next goal: stay injury-free and keep it going—5km, three times a week will make me happy!
The next goal: stay injury-free and keep it going—5km, three times a week will make me happy!
Grateful to have taken a day for myself today, spending the morning in the glory of spring ephemerals and returning migrants (23 birds species) at Frontenac Provincial Park.
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
May 2, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Grateful to have taken a day for myself today, spending the morning in the glory of spring ephemerals and returning migrants (23 birds species) at Frontenac Provincial Park.
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining teacher candidates from our Faculty of Education at Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre for the final class of their Environmental Education course.
Excited to see how they’ll integrate what they’ve learned into their future classroom practice!
Excited to see how they’ll integrate what they’ve learned into their future classroom practice!
May 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining teacher candidates from our Faculty of Education at Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre for the final class of their Environmental Education course.
Excited to see how they’ll integrate what they’ve learned into their future classroom practice!
Excited to see how they’ll integrate what they’ve learned into their future classroom practice!
Val Plumwood would like a word…
(Environmental philosopher Plumwood wrote the essay *Being Prey* that argues the embodiment of humans not as separate, but as part of the more-than-human world, subject to its dangers)
(Environmental philosopher Plumwood wrote the essay *Being Prey* that argues the embodiment of humans not as separate, but as part of the more-than-human world, subject to its dangers)
Unveiling the Myth: Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja Attacks on a Human in the Amazon Forest | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶
April 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Val Plumwood would like a word…
(Environmental philosopher Plumwood wrote the essay *Being Prey* that argues the embodiment of humans not as separate, but as part of the more-than-human world, subject to its dangers)
(Environmental philosopher Plumwood wrote the essay *Being Prey* that argues the embodiment of humans not as separate, but as part of the more-than-human world, subject to its dangers)
Trout Lilly and Bloodroot in flower; went looking for flowers yesterday without luck. That’s changed today! #SpringEphemerals
April 27, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Trout Lilly and Bloodroot in flower; went looking for flowers yesterday without luck. That’s changed today! #SpringEphemerals
Local park dripping with White-throated Sparrows this afternoon. Some giving short versions of their “sweet Canada” song
April 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Local park dripping with White-throated Sparrows this afternoon. Some giving short versions of their “sweet Canada” song
Today's idle thought in #HigerEd: Fostering transparency, trust and literacy around a University's budget (not just balancing it) may be one of the most under-valued aspects of being a Provost?
Best I've seen have taken the approach of an educator and looked to "teach" the University community.
Best I've seen have taken the approach of an educator and looked to "teach" the University community.
April 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Today's idle thought in #HigerEd: Fostering transparency, trust and literacy around a University's budget (not just balancing it) may be one of the most under-valued aspects of being a Provost?
Best I've seen have taken the approach of an educator and looked to "teach" the University community.
Best I've seen have taken the approach of an educator and looked to "teach" the University community.
Over many years, I had the opportunity to visit Whitehorse, Skagway, Haines Junction and Haines. As this article suggests, the connection between these Alaskan and Yukon communities can't be understated. thewalrus.ca/tariffs-are-...
Tariffs Are Unravelling the Lifeline Between Yukon and Alaska | The Walrus
For one Northern community, the cost of friendship with Trump's America is too high
thewalrus.ca
April 25, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Over many years, I had the opportunity to visit Whitehorse, Skagway, Haines Junction and Haines. As this article suggests, the connection between these Alaskan and Yukon communities can't be understated. thewalrus.ca/tariffs-are-...
Reposted by Gavan Watson, PhD
"At least one Ontario university has already told professors it expects to move hundreds of spaces in arts programs to STEM as a result of the announcement."
Anybody in #onPSE have the scoop on which university this was?
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Anybody in #onPSE have the scoop on which university this was?
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Ford government boosts STEM education funding by $750M
Colleges and universities will receive a $750 million boost from the Ontario government for 20,500 spaces in science and engineering programs each year, helping fill — but not close —
www.thestar.com
April 22, 2025 at 12:49 PM
"At least one Ontario university has already told professors it expects to move hundreds of spaces in arts programs to STEM as a result of the announcement."
Anybody in #onPSE have the scoop on which university this was?
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Anybody in #onPSE have the scoop on which university this was?
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
FOY Yellow-rumped Warbler, heard calling near Lake Ontario.
April 20, 2025 at 2:04 PM
FOY Yellow-rumped Warbler, heard calling near Lake Ontario.
Cold water and warm air made for a misty scene on the St. Lawrence this afternoon—the view from the Brockville waterfront.
Tool the quick trip downstream from Kingston to pick up a maple sap bucket, lid and spile for youngest’s school project.
Tool the quick trip downstream from Kingston to pick up a maple sap bucket, lid and spile for youngest’s school project.
April 19, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Cold water and warm air made for a misty scene on the St. Lawrence this afternoon—the view from the Brockville waterfront.
Tool the quick trip downstream from Kingston to pick up a maple sap bucket, lid and spile for youngest’s school project.
Tool the quick trip downstream from Kingston to pick up a maple sap bucket, lid and spile for youngest’s school project.
19°C and flying insects are out (like midges).
In my local park, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets are busy fly catching from the reaches of a soft maple. Quiet enough to hear their beaks snapping together as they catch their prey.
In my local park, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets are busy fly catching from the reaches of a soft maple. Quiet enough to hear their beaks snapping together as they catch their prey.
April 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
19°C and flying insects are out (like midges).
In my local park, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets are busy fly catching from the reaches of a soft maple. Quiet enough to hear their beaks snapping together as they catch their prey.
In my local park, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets are busy fly catching from the reaches of a soft maple. Quiet enough to hear their beaks snapping together as they catch their prey.
Advance voting start today, and there’s already a line up at this Kingston and the Islands poll.
Whether it’s today or April 28, get out and vote!
#ItsOurVote #CdnPoli #Elxn45 #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions #VotingMatters #ReadyToVote
Whether it’s today or April 28, get out and vote!
#ItsOurVote #CdnPoli #Elxn45 #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions #VotingMatters #ReadyToVote
April 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Advance voting start today, and there’s already a line up at this Kingston and the Islands poll.
Whether it’s today or April 28, get out and vote!
#ItsOurVote #CdnPoli #Elxn45 #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions #VotingMatters #ReadyToVote
Whether it’s today or April 28, get out and vote!
#ItsOurVote #CdnPoli #Elxn45 #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions #VotingMatters #ReadyToVote
News of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) advising against "non-essential" US travel is being quickly amplified across my feed…
April 15, 2025 at 4:29 PM
News of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) advising against "non-essential" US travel is being quickly amplified across my feed…
Fascinating little case study how the planned use of AI at convocation (theoretically to correctly pronounce names) gets significant blow back because of the dehumanizing nature of what should be human celebration. #HigherEd
Students Found Out AI Will Help Read Their Names at Commencement. Protest Ensued.
The University of North Georgia is the latest to turn to AI tech during graduation. Sources say students’ reactions offer a critical takeaway.
www.chronicle.com
April 11, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Fascinating little case study how the planned use of AI at convocation (theoretically to correctly pronounce names) gets significant blow back because of the dehumanizing nature of what should be human celebration. #HigherEd
As the W25 exam period begins, I want to acknowledge the effort, focus, and resilience #QueensU students have shown this term. Wishing you clarity of thought and confidence in action over this final stretch of the term.
April 7, 2025 at 12:10 PM
As the W25 exam period begins, I want to acknowledge the effort, focus, and resilience #QueensU students have shown this term. Wishing you clarity of thought and confidence in action over this final stretch of the term.
Spring continues—with Boreal Chorus Frogs now calling. These Chorus Frogs in the Kingston area are in their own geographically isolated population to the rest of the species in North America.
April 6, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Spring continues—with Boreal Chorus Frogs now calling. These Chorus Frogs in the Kingston area are in their own geographically isolated population to the rest of the species in North America.