Constructivism

May 8, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Accessibility and UDL, Constructivism, Course Design, Instructor Behaviors, Online Learning, Reflections, Teaching techniques

Balancing AI and Learning Goals: Insights from Amanda Hardman

Amanda Hardman is a senior learning designer with the Colorado Community College System. Hardman is also an online instructor and teaches a course on Universal Design for Learning. ” Harman presented “Aligned AI: Balancing Learning Goals, Learner Engagement, and Learner Support” at the QM research conference. The presentation began with a quote from Ethan Mollick […]

May 2, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Academic Development, Accessibility and UDL, Constructivism, Course Design, Instructor Behaviors, Mobile Learning, Online Learning, Reflections

Understanding HIDOC: A Framework for Online Course Design

Tonight I started watching QM sessions from the online conference earlier this year. The title of the session was “Introducing HIDOC: The Course Design Model Purpose-built for Online Modalities.” HIDOC, Penny Ralston-Berg explained, stands for high-impact design for online courses. The approach was framed by research. The process is intended to be highly collaborative with […]

March 30, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Constructivism, Course Design, Discussions, Instructor Behaviors, Online Learning, Pedagogy, Reflections

Enhancing Course Creation with AI: Takeaways from Jason Neiffer’s Webinar

Tonight I watched the Quality Matters (QM) webinar titled “The AI Authoring Advantage: Balancing Speed and Substance in Course Creation.” Dr. Jason Neiffer is the Executive Director of Montana Digital Academy. The Academy is located on the University of Montana campus. Neiffer created a presentationbuddy link: presentationbuddy.io/qmwebinar0325 This is a ChatGPT with the slides and […]

March 24, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Accessibility and UDL, annotation, Constructivism, Course Design, DBER and SoTL, Mentoring

AI and Assessment Strategies for Online Courses

Tonight I watched the Quality Matters (QM) Research Connect Conference session on assessment. The title of this session was “Assessment in Online Courses in Higher Education: Perspectives of Instructional Designers in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The presenters were Florence Martin, Jennifer DeLarm, both from NC State University, and Stella Kim from UNC Charlotte and […]

March 18, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Constructivism, Course Design, DBER and SoTL, qualitative research, Reflections

Exploring Mentoring Needs for Instructional Designers

Tonight I watched the Quality Matters conference session titled “Mentoring Instructional Designers in Higher Education: A Needs Assessment.” Barbara Frey, Assistant Professor at the School of Education of Point Park University and Rae Mancilla, Executive Director of Online Learning at the University of Pittsburgh shared findings from a survey they conducted. The defined professional mentoring […]

February 18, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Constructivism, Course Design, Guest Speakers, JMBE, Molecular Biology Education Research, Pedagogy, Presentations & Talks, Reflections, Teaching techniques, Why

Celebrating ASM Carski Award Winners and Their Impact

Tonight, I watched Stanley Maloy, Editor-in-Chief of JMBE, host a conversation at ASM Microbe 2022 in DC. This was a conversation with four ASM Carski Award winners: Nancy Boury, David Westenberg, Mark Martin, Loretta Brancaccio-Taras, about their insights into excellence in undergraduate teaching. Westenberg spoke about about student success as part of the reason why […]

February 16, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Constructivism, Course Design, DBER and SoTL, JMBE, Metagenomics, Online Learning, Reflections, Student groups, Teaching techniques

Kombucha Project in Microbiology Education: A Success Story

Tonight I watched another JMBE Live! session: Microbiology lobs with virtual and hands-on parts with Marcos Garcia-Ojeda. I skipped the JMBE discussions with editors mostly because I didn’t want to hear myself. Garcia-Ojeda does a lot of work with SABER and other groups. The research article they published in 2022 was about their virtual labs […]

February 14, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Academic Development, Constructivism, DBER and SoTL, Instructor Behaviors, Molecular Biology Education Research, Reflections, Teaching techniques

Benefits of Collaborative Two-Stage Exams in Biology

Tonight I watched Claire Meaders speak about two-stage exams as part of a JMBE Live! session. The title of the session was “Collaborative Two Stage Exams Benefit Students in a Biology Laboratory Course.” Meaders used menti and polled the attendees. Meaders explained that they joined UCSD as an Assistant Teaching Professor in November 2020. They […]

February 11, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Academic Development, Constructivism, DBER and SoTL, JMBE, Reflections

Exploring Student Knowledge in Biofilm Development

Drs. Sharleen Flowers and Stephanie Gardner presented at JMBE Live! on September 29, 2023. Rachel Horak moderated the session. The title of the session was “Here Is the Biology, Now What is the Mechanism? Investigating Biology Undergraduates’ Mechanistic Reasoning within the Context of Biofilm Development.” Gardner spoke about the challenges of understanding complex biological systems. […]

February 7, 2025
By Carlos C. Goller
Constructivism, Course Design, Metacognition, Molecular Biology Education Research, Pedagogy, Reflections, Student groups, Undergraduate Research

Benefits of CUREs on Scientific Identity in Undergraduates

I am happy to have found the JMBE YouTube playlist I had forgotten about! Tonight I watched the session on “CURES increase students’ scientific self-efficacy, scientific identity, and self-assessed skills.” Grace Borlee and Carolina Mehaffy were the guests, and the session was moderated by Stanley Maloy, JMBE Editor-in-chief. Mehaffy is at Colorado State University along […]