Reflections

Encouraging First Year Students to Think about the Diversity of Scientists

Dr. Erica Kosal is the Director of the Life Sciences First Year program (LSFY) and Associate Teaching Professor at NC State University. It is always great to hear/watch what your departmental colleagues are doing in their classrooms to promote inclusion and the diversity of scientists! Kosal presented a recorded session at the 2020 Lilly Conference […]
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Carlos… speaks… slowly?

I finally did it. I watched our recorded presentation for the 2020 Lily Conference today. I recorded it in November in a single Zoom session with Deb and didn’t look back. I’ve been watching one or two recorded sessions each night and admiring the beautiful slides and thoughtful interactions presenters incorporated. I wondered: how long […]
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Training Mental Health Clinicians during a Pandemic

I’m waiting for the minivan to get serviced and watched the 2020 Lilly Conference by Dr. Sinem Akay-Sullivan from Sam Houston State University. Akay-Sullivan has extensive experience in counseling and was the director of the counseling clinics at Sam Houston. It was interesting to learn about the accreditation system and structure of training for future […]
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Active Teaching for Today’s Students

It has been an interesting week! Classes started, and I have enjoyed the energy that students bring. I observed a Zoom synchronous session, launched our online yeast course, participated in a virtual workshop, and attended a faculty and instructional design virtual break. At the same time, I’m working on scheduling and planning our summer programs […]
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Templates for Community of Inquiry in Real-Time Remote Learning

Drs. Carolyn Samuel, Angela Guadagno, and Mariela Tovar from the McGill University shared tips and templates for real-time remote learning at the 2020 Lilly Conference. The three work as educational developers at Teaching and Learning Services at McGill and developed strategies instructors could use to enhance engagement in Zoom sessions, including webinars. Their recording was […]
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Gratitude and Reflective Writing Practices

Dr. JoAnne Bullard from Rowan University presented at the 2020 Lilly Conference on the use of reflective writing and gratitude to increase resilience of undergraduate students. Bullard reviewed literature about the anxieties that affect students and the research on using journaling and reflection to promote well-being. I did not know that studies have indicated that […]
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Experiential Learning… Virtually

Dr. Laura Hunt Trull from James Madison University shared insights on teaching a grant writing course with significant experiential learning at the 2020 Lilly Conference. Hunt Trull began by introducing (for me, probably review for others familiar with experiential learning) National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) Principles of Good Practice. There are eight principles: intention, […]
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Two Articles from the Pros to Prepare for the Spring Semester

Tomorrow we start our spring 2021 semester. I am fortunate to be able to teach an online version of the BIT 480/580 Yeast Metabolic Engineering course with my significant other, Claire Gordy. We have planned the course to be asynchronous to provide flexibility and options to students who could benefit from this alternative. Several undergraduates […]
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The Delftia Project Presented at SENCER

I am impressed by the creativity and motivation that students generate when they latch onto something they are passionate about. The Delftia Citizen Science group of undergraduates launched an entirely online collaborative research, annotation, and public science initiative last fall. Lauren Ramilo and Daiza Norman helped coordinate a group that at times had a dozen […]
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