Dr Sho Jacobs 🍁
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shoshanahjacobs.ca
Dr Sho Jacobs 🍁
@shoshanahjacobs.ca
6.9K followers 3.3K following 940 posts
Professor | #Education & #Biomimetics | Addicted collaborator | Just-in-time thinker | settler | they/them | EN/FR/SP | Aggressively Helpful |

Thinking a lot about climate adaptation: ManufacturedEcosystems.com for more details about our NFRF
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shoshanahjacobs.ca
📣Developing transferable skills.
Does disciplinary topic matter?

We asked. Our students answered.

@uofguelph.bsky.social #HigherEd

Many congrats to MSc Simone Boivin!

Check out our transdisciplinary research team and the full article: doi.org/10.5430/ijhe...
@danielgillis.ca
screenshot of the title and authors: Developing Transferable Skills: Does Disciplinary Topic Matter? Simone Boivin 1 , Daniel Gillis 2 , Soha Eid Moussa 3 , Steve Mattucci 3 , Sara M. Fulmer 4 & Shoshanah Jacobs 1 1 Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Canada 2 School of Computer Science, University of Guelph, Canada 3 School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Canada 4 Office of Teaching and Learning, University of Guelph, Canada Correspondence: Shoshanah Jacobs, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Canada. E-mail: sjacob04@uoguelph.ca Screenshot of the first graph in the article: Figure 1. Percentage of correct responses to two knowledge-testing questions following a scientific inquiry workshop delivered in two different contexts: general (teal) and biology (purple) The graph shows that students in the more general skills workshop performed better on the knowledge testing questions related to scientific methods.
December 17, 2025 at 2:07 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Actual immigration policy 👇🇨🇦

#GladYoureHere

www.canada.ca/en/immigrati...
December 15, 2025 at 10:58 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
#HigherEd #Research #AI
a statement saying: * I confirm I have not uploaded the author manuscript to any third party tool and have not used a generative AI tool to produce this reviewer report.
December 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
The research is on different pathways to a PhD.
So we'll break it all down.
Here's a sneak peek.
2 degree = Bachelors + PhD
3 degree = Bachelors + Masters + PhD
What strikes me most is that though the average to completion is not consistent with gov support for #HigherEd
A figure showing that 2 degree takes 6 years and 3 degree takes 5.5 years
December 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
My PhD student is about to Qualify and their exam table is set!

There are pipe cleaners!!!

#HigherEd
#QualifyingExam
Photo of exam room with place mats and pipe cleaners and play doh
December 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
May their memories continue to be for a blessing of change and hope
#December6
#Montreal
The memorial plaque of the Montreal massacre
December 6, 2025 at 1:07 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
#HigherEd isn’t even close to ready for what’s coming with #AI in assessments

Our policies and practices can’t reliably prove AI use—and students can (and do) insist that yes, they genuinely believed the rat anatomy looked like that
(Example anonymized, obviously)

We need a serious rethink
the viral image of that lab rat with giant genitalia
December 4, 2025 at 10:22 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
This year, I'll be adding a Metadata Policy to my course.
All submitted documents must include the file metadata.

Students have been experiencing technological issues, some of them totally legit. And the metadata helps me support them.

Here's what it looks like. Help me make it better #HigherEd
File Integrity and Metadata Policy To support academic integrity and ensure that submitted work reflects your own authorship, all assignment files must retain their original metadata (including creation date, modification date, and author information). You are responsible for submitting the original digital file you worked on, not a copy, export, or screenshot that may erase or alter metadata. Please follow the general file-handling expectations below: Create your assignment file directly on your device, or in an approved cloud platform. Name your file once at the beginning of your work and continue using the same file throughout. Avoid “Save As,” copying content into a new document, or exporting multiple times, as these actions may reset metadata. Submit your assignment as the same file you have been working with. Importantly: if you do not submit your documents with the metadata, we will still grade the document but we will not be able to provide any accommodations should there be a technological issue or accident.  Microsoft Word (.docx) Create the document on your device (File → New). Do not duplicate or “Save As” a new file near the deadline. Keep using the same file from start to finish. Submit the original .docx file unless the assignment explicitly asks for a PDF. Google Docs → Downloaded Submission If working in Google Docs: Work in a single document from start to finish. Do not copy text into a new document before downloading. When ready to submit, download once, using: File → Download → PDF (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.docx) Upload the downloaded file directly to CourseLink. PDF Files Export to PDF only once at the end of your work. Do not re-export repeatedly, print-to-PDF, or convert via online tools — these actions may strip metadata. Avoid uploading scanned PDFs unless scanning is part of the assignment.
December 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Are #HigherEd students experiencing burnout?
Yes
We learned about the lives of over 1,000 undergraduates

Check out how we answered the question with transdisciplinary approaches to research

Stay tuned for more details about the student experience in subsequent research
Screenshot of the list of authors: Ball, Demers, Okwusiuno, Jones, Jacobs, and Gillis Feelings of burnout, a psychological syndrome due to an imbalance in workplace or academic demands and available resources to address those demands, have been increasingly reported by undergraduate students. While not presently classified as a mental illness by the World Health Organization, burnout is associated with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal. In Canada, rising reports of hopelessness, depression, and overwhelming anxiety among undergraduate students highlight a growing mental health crisis in higher education. Despite this, limited research has examined the prevalence and patterns of burnout among students, and none have considered the Canadian university context. This study examines the risk of burnout among undergraduate students at a medium-sized university in Ontario, Canada, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS). The MBI-SS is a validated psychometric tool that measures burnout across three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy. Students (n=1123) across various years and programs of study completed an online survey capturing demographic data, academic characteristics, self-reported grit, social network strength, general sentiments about university life, and the MBI-SS. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), implemented using the mclust package in R, was applied to the MBI-SS responses to identify distinct burnout risk profiles within the student population. The analysis revealed three latent sub-groups: a low-risk group comprising 51% of respondents, a medium-risk group comprising 21%, and a high-risk group comprising 28%. These findings suggest that while over half of students are managing academic demands without significant burnout symptoms, a substantial proportion is experiencing moderate to high-risk levels of burnout.
December 1, 2025 at 6:19 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
I'm so done with detailed rubrics. It's disingenuous to have students think that instructors will be able to anticipate all potential elements and variance of an assessment.
But then, students hold instructors to them as though they are contracts.
#HigherEd
From now on, here's what I'll be using:
0 - No answer or missed point of the question 1 (novice) - Some, but not all, necessary information; and/or information is not well communicated; and/or inclusion of incorrect or irrelevant information 2 (progressing) - All information is there, but not well communicated; or most, but not all information is there, and, for the most part, well-communicated. 3 (progressing +) - All information is there and is well communicated. 4 (expert) - All information is present and in a coherent and logical form, there is evidence of having gone 'beyond' either in information, context, analysis, or creativity.
November 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Can Ecosystem Services be replaced by Technology, yet?

"Our conclusion is both cautionary and constructive: some can be mimicked; very few can be entirely replaced; none should be rendered optional"

The #ManufacturedEcosystems Team takes a transdisciplinary approach 🧪

doi.org/10.3390/biom...
Screenshot of title, authors, and some of the affiliations: Are Ecosystem Services Replaceable by Technology Yet? Bio-Inspired Technologies for Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities Shoshanah Jacobs 1,* , Jindong Zhang 2,3 , Emily Wolf 2, Elizabeth Porter 1 , Shelby J. Bohn 4, Adam Maxwell Sparks 1, Marjan Eggermont 5 , Mindi Summers 4 , Claudia I. Rivera Cárdenas 6 , Heather Clitheroe 7 , Daniel Gillis 8 , M. Alex Smith 1 , Karina Benessaiah 9, Andria Jones 10 , Adam Davies 11 , Michael Helms 12, Dawn Bazely 13, Mark Lipton 14 , David Dowhaniuk 14 , Nyssa van Vierssen Trip 13 , Nikoleta Zampaki 15 , Peggy Karpouzou 15 and Kristina Wanieck Figure 4. Distribution of bio-inspired research articles by technological trajectory and ecosystem service focus. The inner pie chart shows the proportion of the 31,593 ecosystem-service-linked publications that aim to replace (orange), enhance (green), or support the corresponding services (blue). Radial branches list the individual ES, and bar length represents the number of papers within that trajectory devoted to the service.
November 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
My favourite AI-resistant assignment in #HigherEd:

In my human biology course, students synthesize all content by redesigning the Pioneer Plaque to depict humanity for extraterrestrials 👽

ChatGPT’s version? Predictable👇

Its justification? “Full human diversity.”

Cue the collective womp womp
Chat GPT's miserable attempt at redesigning the pioneer plaque. There is a naked man with a hand-penis, a nuclear family, all white people, a disaster.
November 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
October 31, 2025 at 10:46 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
I'm reading the transcript of a House of Commons committee hearing about #EDI in Research

Full text: www.ourcommons.ca/documentview...

#HigherEd 🧪

Representative Vincent Ho, Richmond Hill South, is asking the USAgov-questions out loud:
There was a study that was done, which was submitted as part of this study, and it states that 88% of all Canadian faculty in universities are left-leaning and that 12% are right-leaning. Do you see an issue with that?
October 31, 2025 at 3:42 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
This is unhinged and violent:

The layers of hate in these statements need to be addressed directly and continuously

EDI initiatives are a critical ingredient to ensuring a happier and healthier future

#HigherEd 🧪

@uwaterloo.ca @sshrc-crsh.canada.ca @create-les.bsky.social
Brief submitted to the House Committee on Science and Research; Impact of the Criteria for Awarding Federal Funding on Research Excellence in Canada Delete DEI. Invest in AI. Mikko Packalen CDASH Director, Associate Professor Department of Economics University of Waterloo 15 October 2025 Background: For two decades my research has focused on science policy. For over a decade, this work has been regularly mentioned in leading international news outlets (including in the New York Times last month). I’m a member of the National Institutes of Health Council of Councils Working Group on Science of Science, which gives advice to the world’s largest funder of scientific research. For nearly a decade, I have taught AI. My course is the most popular fourth year elective course. Fact 1. There is no high-quality evidence to support the idea that EDI policies advance scientific progress or benefit university students. Fact 2. Canada’s funding agencies’ and universities’ preoccupation with EDI has a significant opportunity cost. Canada is losing out on the AI economy. Fact 3. Leading U.S. universities now strongly reject social change goals and non- merit-based funding. Recommendation 1. Prohibit SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR from implementing EDI policies. Recommendation 2. Force SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR to publish data on hiring practices, applicant pools, and outcomes in Canada Research Chairs program. Recommendation 3. Give universities incentives to delete EDI from their activities and strategic plans, and to re-focus on education and discovery. Recommendation 4. Invest in AI instead of EDI
October 31, 2025 at 1:43 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Educators!
Here's one idea to disrupt the narrative and recognize contribution over attribution.

Try telling the stories of discovery in a different order

eg. instead of starting with Watson and Crick, start with Franklin

#HigherEd #AdaLovelace #WomenInSTEM 🧪
screenshot of my slides, where the slide about Franklin is before the slide about watson and crick
October 15, 2025 at 2:26 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
It's T-25 mins to class time and I've got our welcome song all cued up: Ukiuq by The Jerry Cans.

Take a break: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nef...

TURN IT UP AND DANCE WITH US!! 🕺

#HigherEd
screenshot of the welcome slide for today's class that highlights that we are listening to the The Jerry Cans. Ther is also a fun search puzzle and a short announcement about a mental health break next week.
October 7, 2025 at 6:09 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
If you are invited to speak at a conference or on a panel, consider sharing this caveat 👇

Feel free to use it. It's mine.
#HigherEd 🧪
It would be an honour to participate. And here's the 'fine print' (but I'll keep it in large print 🙂 ) : I agree to support your efforts in whatever way that I can provided that there is evidence of inclusive and accessible practices throughout. I am happy to step aside as an authoritative voice should we decide that the voices of others are more important, and I reserve the right to step down should commitments to equity and access not be realized.
September 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
This you?

Stop it

#HigherEd
Screenshot of a text that reads “the Department of redacted text is deeply committed to equity and diversity“ Posts list of nominees for Chair’s advisory committee. All one demographic
September 22, 2025 at 8:40 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
A tradition that divides us….

Anthems can be fine, but the Canadian version needs to be more inclusive

I will not bear a cross for any country
BREAKING: Our PC government has issued a new directive requiring all schools to play the national anthem every morning. A simple tradition that builds pride in Canada and respect for our shared values.
September 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
"Do not be afraid", chirped the robot, which was about the size of a small mouse. "I am a B3704 Pollination Drone -"

- @rosemarymosco.com imagines the future of pollination

Learn more about projected futures #ManufacturedEcosystems
at www.manufacturedecosystems.com/program
Screenshot of two pages from the manufactured Ecosystems program guide located at the website URL included in the text.
September 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Inclusion-action in the #HigherEd classroom can include learning about HOW your students access the course tools and materials

Here's an example if you teach using Zoom:

On day 1, ask: “How do you find Zoom Annotate?”
Then students stamp under their path
A simple way to see differences in access
A slide showing three patheways to accessing the annotate tools of zoom depending upon the tech that they use.
September 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
📣Research Publishing Advisory:

@tandfresearch.bsky.social does not accept submissions from Manuscript-based theses

Avoid submission of this format if you want your students to get published quickly after the defence, without having to rewrite

See explanation below
Please share
#HigherEd
The specific issue was that a range of text and references written by one of the authors and used in their Master's thesis is directly copied into the manuscript that is offered as the result of the work of multiple authors. As this is clearly not the case, it raises issues of academic integrity for the journal (and the Senior Editor assessing the manuscript for consideration). Therefore, for this article to be considered as jointly authored, it requires either: a) the text and references directly copied from the thesis of one of the authors is included as direct quotes by this single author from their thesis; or b) the material that is directly taken from the thesis is reconsidered and rewritten by the joint authors to ensure it is legitimately the output of all those claiming authorship. Either of these options would effectively respond to the concerns raised by this decision.
September 4, 2025 at 3:59 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Classes are about to start, and in #BIOL1500, I invite students to attend a tech-check for our synchronous, virtual course

A lot goes into creating virtual spaces that can spark learning

Here's the front and back of house:
What students experience vs My #HigherEd set up
September 2, 2025 at 8:14 PM
shoshanahjacobs.ca
Known unknowns, the unknown knowns, I'm overwhelmed!

#Biodiversity is our shared heritage🪲

Conservation, preservation, curation, and respect are critical elements of our collective survival

So is curiosity

AND, check out @alexsmithants.bsky.social 's mad-R-skills!

www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10...
Figure 3. The phylogenetic breadth of biological systems used for bio-inspired technologies. This phylogenetic tree has been developed, mapping predicted (blue) and described (green) diversity (phylogeny adapted from Dunn et al. [22]—a hypothesis of animal phylogeny, compiled across multiple studies and methodologies) against their usage frequency in bio-inspirations (purple) within the animal kingdom. The “Biomimetic Examples” (purple) illustrates the total frequency at which biological systems have been used as inspiration, based on the number of biological systems used for the inspiration of documented 379 products [ 20] combined with data from an extensive literature analysis [23 ], i.e., these frequency counts reflect the number of times models within each phylum were cited, rather than the number of distinct taxonomic groups utilized.
September 2, 2025 at 1:55 PM