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Julie Lefebvre, PhD

Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Associate Professor (Teaching)

Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry

Contact information

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-6908

Location

Office: EEEL237C

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 2008

B.S. Honours in Chemistry, McGill University, 2002

Research

Areas of Research

Activities

Dr. Lefebvre’s main education research interests are centered around two key questions:

  • How can we engage and motivate first-year science students to learn chemistry?
  • How do students develop critical thinking, and what are the best teaching practices to help them in the process?

To address both of these questions, I focus on the use of in-class group activities designed around live chemical demonstrations. Demonstrations (as part of “magic shows”) have long been used to spark interest in the field but they can also be a valuable teaching aid, whether to introduce, apply or review theoretical concepts and probe misconceptions.

Critical thinking is a mean by which one can come about conclusions based on a reasoned process. In our first-year chemistry context, this includes the collection and interpretation of data and observations, and then using them to propose and evaluate a hypothesis. The in-class and lab activities I design and implement are meant to encourage students to practice this soft skill while applying concepts taught in the course.

Teaching interests

Dr. Lefebvre teaching responsibilities focus on undergraduate introductory chemistry courses offered to both major and non-major students. These include CHEM 201, 203, 211 and 213.

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
CHEM 209 General Chemistry for Engineers Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Winter 2023
CHEM 203 General Chemistry: Change & Equilibrium Winter 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2022
CHEM 213 Foundations of Chemistry: Change & Equilibrium Winter 2013 - Winter 2020
CHEM 211 Foundations of Chemistry: Structure & Bonding Fall 2013 - Fall 2019
CHEM 201 General Chemistry: Structure & Bonding 2011-2014