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Aya Sakaya is an Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto. Her research interests focus on chemical education practices, with a particular emphasis on physical chemistry. She aims to help students comprehend fundamental concepts of physical chemistry and apply these concepts to various fields of chemistry, thereby connecting knowledge to real-world applications. Aya employs student-centered learning approaches in her classroom, enhancing student engagement through the relevance and ubiquity of physical chemistry. Her teaching methods include group problem-solving and polling to foster critical thinking skills and effective problem-solving strategies. In her tutorials, she emphasizes active learning through peer-led activities, encouraging students to engage directly with the material instead of passively receiving answers. Currently, she is exploring the effects of integrating complementary active learning activities to improve student understanding, test performance, and overall course experience. Aya is also passionate about chemistry outreach, creating events that invite the public to interact with chemistry through interactive experiments, hands-on demonstrations, and informational sessions.
Department of Sociology