Teaching
Introduction
I have gained extensive experience teaching Human Anatomy & Physiology while in graduate school at Portland State University (PSU) and now as an assistant professor at Linfield University. Through teaching these courses, I have developed a passion for human biology that I enjoy sharing with my students. I strive to build a classroom environment based on inclusion and equity. By utilizing active learning, I have encouraged students to think critically and engage in class material, rather than simply memorize it. To improve my abilities as a teacher, I pursued a Certificate of Innovation in College Teaching (CICT) through the Office of Academic Innovation (OAI) at PSU that prepares future and junior faculty to engage in teaching practices that promote best learning techniques and invoke cutting-edge technologies for all students, but especially those experiencing additional hurdles in higher education. Completing this program afforded me the knowledge needed to implement AL techniques (e.g., think-pair-share and group work) and research-supported teaching practices in my classroom to facilitate student-centered learning environments, and was especially integral in my course development midst the COVID-19 pandemic. This portfolio was created in partial fulfillment of a CICT and is the culmination of hours of workshops, seminars, and classwork that have helped me better understand and apply teaching methods to create a classroom built on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Innovation in College Teaching in Biology
Currently, introductory science courses are considered by many students to be regurgitation of facts; biology is no exception. In my experience teaching Human Anatomy & Physiology, I have realized that students consider it a class that revolves around rote memorization. This sort of pedagogical approach mainly engages in the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in asking students to memorize. Students are introduced to an abundance of terms that they are expected to know in an appreciably short amount of time. Of course, knowledge of terminology is important, especially those students taking anatomy in hopes for a career in medicine; however, learning terms does not need to be bland or an independent activity. As instructors, we can do more than give students a list of terms and tell them, "Go memorize these." Learning terminology can be an excellent opportunity for group work and active learning exercises. For example, when introducing the terminology of the many body regions students are expected to know, I use group activities focused on creation of mnemonics to allow students to work together, be creative, and come up with unique ways to learn the material. I remind students that the mnemonics and word associations they create do not have to be "scientific." One association a student came up with that I will never forget is for the popliteal region (meaning: behind the knee); the student introduced the term to the class and said, "to remember the popliteal region, I remember that sometimes your knee pops a little." Not only did this provide a new association for students, but it also created smiles and laughter in the classroom, which only brought the classroom together. What works for me or for some students may not work for all, so by encouraging teamwork and promoting the voices of all students, we can discover and share new ways to learn the material. I would like to help engage students in higher levels of thinking in anatomy by introducing them to case studies and creating questions that cover all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create).
Not-Tests
In addition to exams to assess understanding of the lecture material, I implemented “Not-Tests” into my human anatomy class in fall 2021. Students complete two of these each semester and combined, they equal one lecture exam. The goal of the Not-Tests is for students to communicate their understanding of a topic within human anatomy to someone outside of this class in any way they want. They pick a topic we have already covered, then use their creativity to design something that explains it to either a scientist who does not have expertise in human anatomy or non-scientists. I provide students with a rubric along with examples, but ultimately, I want their passion and creativity to guide their project. Examples of student submitted work include designing an infographic, performing a song, drawing a comic, creating a game, creating a series of memes, writing a poem, etc. With student permission, I have boasted about their brilliance and creativity by sharing their work on Twitter, which has attracted the attention of colleagues from other departments and universities. Students loved the assignment and I loved seeing their creativity (the added bonus being it made grading fun!)!
Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs)
Traditionally, undergraduates gain research experience by apprenticing in faculty-led research labs; however, only a fraction of undergraduates have access to these opportunities. Together with the Biology Education Research Group at PSU, I helped design and implement a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in the introductory biology laboratory series at PSU. CUREs provide students with the opportunity to conduct experiments to answer relevant research questions, thus allowing undergraduates to gain authentic research experience at a large scale. Providing students from marginalized populations with these opportunities is crucial for closing the equity and achievement gap, which is near and dear to me. I would like to continue developing and implementing CUREs in my own teaching practice, as evidence (Eagan et al., 2013; Laursen et al., 2010; National Academies of Sciences & Medicine, 2015) has shown research experiences can increase student motivation, interest, and retention in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
My Future in University Teaching
I am very thankful for participating in the CICT process while at PSU. CICT has been critical to my development as an instructor through providing me with so many resources and ideas to build a student-centered classroom built on diversity, equity, and inclusion. I was exceedingly fortunate to start my academic career at Whitman College, a small private liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, WA. Whitman afforded me the opportunity to conduct research first-hand as an undergraduate, which sparked my interest in biology. The ability to learn from a leading scientist while at the same time take ownership of my project enabled to me to build the confidence and independence needed for graduate school. None of this would have been possible without the small classroom sizes and student-to-faculty ratios, which enabled me to work closely with professors. To that end, I was excited to join the Health, Human Performance, and Athletics (HHPA) department at Linfield University as a tenure-track assistant professor of anatomy in fall of 2020. I enjoy contributing to the student-faculty interactions that were integral for both my academic and personal growth. I continually work on ways to apply my knowledge of pedagogy and science-based practices to make my classroom accessible to all types of students and create an environment that fosters learning and promotes success.