Formal Teaching Experiences

Biol 150: BioLit

University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Fall 2023

Course Overview: BioLit is the discussion portion of Biol 150: Organismal & Ecological Biology. The goal of BioLit is to introduce undergraduate students to primary scientific literature and to help them develop the skills needed to engage with scientific articles from the organismal and ecological biology fields. Each week, students would read a new paper, and we would explore certain aspects of the scientific process together in class. In total, I taught 78 students, spread evenly across three sections. 

Course Assessment Plan: Students would complete induvial homework assignments on Canvas before class, which introduced them to the paper and the topic of the week. In class, students would work in small groups to complete a more detailed activity, while I floated around the room to assist with the tricker problems.  At the two points throughout the semester, students completed a quiz that tested their recall of topics from previous weeks. The end of the semester project was a pair project where students would be assigned a paper to extract information from and present to their peers in a poster talk format. The points earned in BioLit would be added to the lecture portion of their grade.   

Additional Duties: In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I attended weekly meetings to discuss class sessions, grading concerns, and future sessions with my fellow TA's. I also assisted Dr. Randy Small, the lecturer for my sections, in grading and proctoring exams. 

Biol 102: Introduction to Biology: Biodiversity and Ecology

Course Overview: Biol 102 is the second course for non-majors. It covers a wide range of topics regarding  the diversity and unity of life around us with activities ranging from computer simulations, field observations, and experiments. I have taught this course both as a regular TA, where I had two sections, and as a Head TA, where I taught one section with additional responsibilities. Each section had approximately 24 students each. 

Course Assessment Plan: The assessment plan for the lab has undergone vast changes during the two times teaching it. During my initial round of teaching, the grades for the lab portion was based on post-lab worksheets and in class presentations. However, under the direction of the Course Coordinator, the other Head TA's and myself, we revamped the assessment structure to include low stakes pre-lab assignments, in-lab participation points, post-lab reflections, and a final, semester long project that applied critical thinking to a novel biological situation. 

Additional Duties: In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I attended weekly meetings to discuss class sessions, grading concerns, and future sessions with my fellow TA's. 

As Head TA, I assisted in curriculum development and mentoring fellow TA's. Collaborating closely with two other Head TAs and the Course Coordinator, I helped revamp existing lab protocols to make them more engaging and relevant for students. Specifically, I redesigned two labs on "Plants" and "Protists and Fungi" by incorporating additional critical thinking and application activities, and I created an entirely new lab focused on "Biomes."

Syllabi

Educational Outreach