BU welcomes PhD candidate visiting from Taiwan

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This article was published 13/08/2025 (197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon University (BU) has received Wei-Ting Li, a visiting PhD candidate from National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Li is expected to conduct research on the Nature of Science (NOS) in collaboration with BU’s Ellen Watson in the Faculty of Education between July 2025 and August 2026.

The researcher is supported by two “prestigious” grants: a MITACS Globalink Research Award and Taiwan’s NSTC Graduate Student Study Abroad Program, which together provide more than $36,000 in funding.

The research explores how teachers and informal science educators conceptualize and teach the Nature of Science — what science is, how scientists use evidence, and how students can be taught to think like scientists.

Understanding the Nature of Science is foundational to scientific literacy, Watson said.

“Wei’s work is timely and crucial, especially as Manitoba moves toward a new science curriculum that prioritizes NOS,” he said. “His international perspective brings richness and nuance to our understanding of how science is taught and learned.”

Wei holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in education, as stated in the press release issued by BU on Tuesday. As a former high school physics and chemistry teacher in Taiwan, the release added, Wei brings classroom experience to his academic work. His doctoral research, which he began in 2021, will culminate in a dissertation defence in late 2026. His year at Brandon University will provide valuable data and insights, especially through interviews with Manitoba science teachers and museum educators.

Taiwan implemented a new curriculum in 2019 that integrates the Nature of Science, and now Manitoba is doing the same, Wei explained.

“This is a unique opportunity to compare systems and learn from each other, he said. “I’m excited to speak with Manitoba teachers and to understand how they view science and help students become scientifically literate citizens.”

Li and Watson met through Li’s supervisor at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) conference in March 2024. Wei later visited Brandon for two weeks in the summer of 2024 to compare the science represented in the Taiwan and Manitoba curriculum documents. That initial collaboration has already borne fruit: the pair will present their comparative curriculum research this month at the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) conference in Denmark.

This kind of international partnership exemplifies the collaborative and community-oriented spirit fostered at Brandon University, dean of education Alysha Farrell said.

“Wei’s presence will have a positive ripple effect, not just in research, but across the province,” Farrell said.

Wei’s research has the potential to impact science education locally and globally, said Bernadette Ardelli, BU’s vice-president of research and graduate studies.

“We are proud to support this kind of meaningful, cross-cultural scholarship that engages with real-world educational challenges,” Ardelli said.

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