Have you found that your students need more support to succeed in their college biology courses? Are you curious about ways to incorporate research-backed teaching and learning strategies in your course?
Join us as we dive into the research behind evidence-based teaching practices that improve learning outcomes and support student equity. You will collaborate with like-minded colleagues across institutions while building a course module in the Codon Learning platform.
Workshop goals:
Identify ways that transparent and measurable learning objectives can be used effectively by your students.
Connect different parts of the Codon Learning platform with the evidence-based practices they support, such as high-structure course design and metacognition.
Design a high-structure module in Codon Learning that you can share with students and colleagues.
This event is free to attend. You’re welcome to join as an individual or as a team of instructors. To fully participate in the do-it-yourself (DIY) components of the workshop, please bring a computer. Register today to secure your spot:
FACILITATORS
Dr. Scott Freeman is Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Washington. The recipient of a UW Distinguished Teaching Award, he has published research on how innovative approaches to teaching science benefit all students, but particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is the author of the textbooks Biological Science and Evolutionary Analysis, which have sold over 500,000 copies and been translated into multiple languages, and the popular book Saving Tarboo Creek, which is for general audiences.
Laura E. Hake is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at Boston College. Her BA is from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. After obtaining her PhD from Tufts University in 1992, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research. In 1997 she joined the Biology Faculty at Boston College as a Clare Boothe Luce Professor. Her scientific research focused on gene regulation in early development and the cell signaling events that prepare an egg for fertilization. She’s been teaching Developmental Biology (her first ‘real’ course) since 1999, and started teaching Introductory Biology in 2004. She started teaching Sustaining the Biosphere in 2014, a course for non-majors to help students learn about themselves, their relationships with others and our interconnection with Earth. She also teaches an advanced experience course for biology seniors on the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals, weaving in public health and environmental justice impacts. These two courses are included in the Environmental Studies and the Global Public Health Programs. After attending an HHMI/NAS Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology in 2010, she realized she could do so much more with her courses—improving both her and her student’s experience. This resulted in an Introductory Biology course which is constantly evolving (appropriately enough!) AND shaped her pedagogical approach in all of her courses. She really loves teaching and empowering all of these wonderful new citizens of Earth.
Dr. Heather Olins is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Biology department at Boston College where she teaches introductory biology and has designed upper-level electives titled Deep-Sea Biology, Ecology in a Changing Climate, Microbiomes, as well as a Microbial Ecology lab course. She teaches and advises in the Gateway Scholars for STEM program, which supports first generation and students of color through the introductory courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology and neuroscience. She is deeply committed to experimentation in her teaching, and is constantly working towards a classroom environment that facilitates deeper critical thinking, supports equity and a sense of belonging for students, and helps students retain or reawaken their sense of wonder and propensity toward inquiry related to the natural world.
Erin Vinson takes great pride and joy in her work as one of Codon's Educational Support Specialists. She brings over 15 years experience working as both a science educator and education researcher, most recently at the University of Maine where she oversaw UMaine's Learning Assistant Program, was involved with/co-PI on several NSF-funded projects to improve undergraduate science education, and served as Managing Editor for CourseSource—a peer-reviewed journal of undergraduate biology open educational resources. As an Educational Support Specialist, she works closely with instructors using Codon—discussing evidence-based teaching practices and course design goals, as well as providing course-building and student support.
Curious about Codon?
Check out two of our most popular courses:
Introducing the Life Sciences by Scott Freeman
Genetics by Jenny Knight and Christy Fillman
Have questions about the workshop?
We have answers! Get in touch with us at info@codonlearning.com.