Marion Pearson, BSc (Pharm), MA, PhD
Scholar
Dr. Marion Pearson is a Professor of Teaching and is currently serving as the Associate Dean, Students in the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She received her BSc(Pharm) degree from UBC in 1982, following which she completed a community pharmacy residency. She joined the Faculty in 1983 as coordinator of the Year 1 pharmacy skills lab in the BSc(Pharm) program. During her years in this role, she taught thousands of future pharmacists and was an innovator in the use of portfolio assessment, peer teaching, and narrative pedagogy. Dr. Pearson has received several teaching awards, including the Killam Teaching Prize.
Dr. Pearson was part of the first cohort to undertake the UBC Certificate on Teaching in Higher Education, now the International Program for the Scholarship of Educational Leadership (SoEL). She subsequently completed an M.A. in Higher Education (2008) and a Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies (2014) at UBC. Her master’s thesis explored factors contributing to rural job location decisions of recent pharmacy graduates, while her doctoral dissertation was a qualitative case study that examined curricular integration as espoused and enacted by faculty and as experienced by students.
Dr. Pearson served for 5 years on the university’s Senior Appointments Committee, including 2 years as Chair, and is available for consultation on promotion and tenure matters.
Research Interests
Dr. Pearson is an active member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Pharmacy Education Research and Leadership research stream, and one of her aims is to support the SoTL efforts of her colleagues. Her current research interests include:
- Evidence-based admissions standards
- Curriculum design
- Health humanities curricula
- Student workload
- Navigating failure
Publication Highlights
Eva, K. W., Brady, C., Pearson, M, & Seto, K. (2018). The pedagogical value of testing: How far does it extend? Advances in Health Sciences Advances Education: Theory and Practice, 23(4):803-816.
Hubball, H. T., Clarke, A., & Pearson, M. L. (2017). Strategic leadership development in research-intensive higher education contexts: The scholarship of educational leadership. In S. Mukerji, & P. Tripathi (Eds.) Handbook of Research on Administration, Policy, and Leadership in Higher Education (pp. 1-19). Hershey, PA:IGI Global.
Pearson, M. L., Albon, S. P., & Hubball, H. (2015). Case study methodology: Flexibility, rigour, and ethical considerations for the scholarship of teaching and learning. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(3), Article 12.
Pearson, M. L., & Hubball, H. T. (2012). Curricular integration in pharmacy education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 76(10), Article 204.
Pearson, M. L., & Andres, L. (2010). Rural job location decisions of pharmacy graduates. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 74(4), Article 74.
Prsentation Highlights
Pearson M, Albon A. (2024). PERL: Making educational scholarship count. Presentation at the AFPC Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference, Quebec City, QC.
Pearson M, Micallef J, Pammett R, Au A, Gill J, Wilbur K, Vallee G, Harper L. (2024). Piloting hybrid learning: Enhancing student flexibility. Presentation at the AFPC Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference, Quebec City, QC.
Pearson M (2022). Try before you buy’: Pilot testing curricular innovations. Invited keynote presentation for the 48th International Improving University Teaching Conference, Tblisi, Georgia and online.
Pearson M, Brodoway H. (2022). “I’m overwhelmed”: Perceptions of student workload. Presentation at the AFPC Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference, St. John’s, NL.
Nemir A, Pearson M, Kitchin V, Wilbur K. (2021). Patient participation in workplace-based assessment of health professional trainees: A scoping review. Video presentation at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Annual Conference (virtual).
Renaud R, Lafleur I, Whelan AM, Shevchuk Y, Moroz S, Kellar J, Cameron A, Cor K, Pearson M, Brocks D, Letarte N. (2021). A review of PharmD admissions processes: Current practices and considerations for improvements. Presentation at the annual Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference of the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (virtual).
Liu E, Seet T, Pearson M (2021) Humanizing patient case scenarios using the humanities. Presentation at AACP Lab Instructors SIG Webinar for LITE Award Nominees.
Lopatka, H., Bishop, L., Pearson, M. (2016). Informatics peer leader network: A model for integrating pharmacogenomics into pharmacy curricula. Presentation at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA.
Pearson, M. L., Chatterton, J. E., Kuang, C. S. K. (2016). Evidence-based modifications to admission requirements and processes. School poster presentation at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA.
Awards
- Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada Educational Scholarship Poster Award (2022)
- The University of British Columbia Award Alumni Builder Award (2017)
- The University of British Columbia Killam Teaching Prize (1995)