Photo of head and shoulders of Nicole Sandblom

Dr. Nicole Sandblom

PhD
Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Natural Sciences Program Director

Faculty of Science, Natural Sciences Program

Contact information

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 210-9816

Location

Office: SA144J

Background

Educational Background

B.Sc. (Honours) Chemistry, Dalhousie University, 1994

Doctor of Philosophy Chemistry, University of Calgary, 1999

Research

Areas of Research

Activities

Chemistry Education - How can we support students when learning about chemistry? In large classes, how can technology help with this part? How can we encourage students who are not training to be chemists to ask questions about the chemistry in their everyday lives?

Scientific Writing - How can we develop student writing so that they can communicate clearly and concisely about a wide variety of scientific topics? How can we develop information literacy skills and an appreciation of scientific evidence? How can students develop skills for self-reflection and self-assessment of their writing? How can we improve TA training so that they can offer better feedback on student writing?

These research interests align with my teaching responsibilities that include undergraduate introductory chemistry courses along with the Faculty of Science's writing course. For the Natural Sciences Program, I have taught courses that include students from all disciplines in science. These courses focus on the nature of science as an endeavour, on the impact of science on society, and on the importance of scientific communication.

Note: I do not supervise graduate students.

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
CHEM 301 The Chemical World Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023
SCIE 311 Write & Review Scientific Reports Winter 2020, Winter 2021

Awards

  • Nomination: Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award, 2005
  • Nomination: The Learning Partnership's National Technology Innovation Award, 2005
  • Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award, 2005