The annual Microbiology Teaching & Learning Community series provides participants with an opportunity to learn about current topics from microbiology and biology education leaders in a convenient, online format. The series contains both weekly, interactive webinars, delivered by education scholars, and optional, informal discussions with our educators over Zoom, designed to help you apply the principles of the webinars to your own context. Webinars include, an overview of the topic, an interactive portion for participants to get feedback on their ideas and learning and a resource list for further learning. This is the third iteration of the Microbiology Teaching & Learning Community series. 

In this iteration of the series, we will take a deep dive into designing teaching spaces that work for your diverse classroom. Classrooms are increasingly diverse, and sometimes the diversity is not always easily apparent. One method to improve student success and learning in diverse classrooms is to employ Universal Design for Learning and other evidence-based design strategies.  

Webinar Series Learning Goals 

After the completion of the webinar series, participants will be able to:

• Grow awareness of diversity that may appear in your classrooms. 
• Feel more confident in designing learning environments that work for diverse classrooms.  
• Identify strategies to improve student outcomes through growing student STEM identity.
• Discuss and collaborate on potential solutions for challenging situations in your own classroom. 

Format

How will you learn in this series?

• Four 60-minute, interactive webinars presented by active practitioners in the field, which include opportunities to participate in live activities and Q&A sessions with the presenters. Webinars are recorded for later viewing, in case of conflicts.  
• Engage in 4, weekly, informal “Conversations about Biology Teaching” discussions with other participants and series leaders (optional). Conversations about Biology Teaching will occur at 1-2 p.m. ET on Sept. 9, 17, 25 and 30. These conversations are not recorded.   

Friday, Sept. 6, 2-3 p.m. ET | Trading Accommodation Nightmares for Inclusive Instruction for All: Cultivating a Universal Design for Learning Mindset for Better Biology Teaching Practices

The number of students with disabilities who pursue a STEM education is disproportionately small. This is partly due to a feedback loop: instructors and institutions have little experience making biology and other STEM courses accessible, thanks to low enrollment of students with disabilities, and students with disabilities don’t enroll because they assume that those courses are not, and cannot, be accessible to them. As instructors who love the biology we teach, how do we break this cycle of self-fulfilling prophecies? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a mindset and framework that provides practical solutions. In this interactive presentation, audience members will learn how and why to cultivate a UDL mindset and to apply it to the classroom, laboratory and field. We will explore how to minimize the need for individual accommodation while improving the learning environment for all students, all while maintaining rigorous learning goals. This presentation will draw on evidence-based practices and the experiences of a scientist who is blind and has approached the STEM inclusivity challenge as student, instructor and practitioner. 

Andrew Hasley, Ph.D.

NIH Office of Data Science Strategy

Speaker

Friday, Sept 13, 2-3 p.m. ET | Supporting Students with a Vision or Hearing Impairment in Microbiology

Microbiology presents barriers for students with a vision or hearing impairment, but with the necessary support the students have the opportunity to achieve successful course completion. This webinar will discuss the barriers microbiology presents, provide information on creating an accessible course and offer suggestions of specific accommodations to support students with vision and hearing impairments. 

Barbara R. Heard, Ed.D., M.S., MLS(ASCP)

Speaker

Friday, Sept. 20, 2-3 p.m. ET | Mindset, Motivation and Metacognition

Reaching all learners warrants our attention to the variety of cognitive, social, physical and emotional needs existing within our increasingly (neuro)diverse learning communities. In this session, we will explore conceptions of, approaches to and impacts of fostering a growth mindset, motivation and metacognition in our courses. In the research presented, you will learn how a holistic post-exam intervention (i.e., an “exam wrapper”) helped students enrolled in a non-majors introductory microbiology class improve their exam performance over time—with a disproportionately greater impact observed for students scoring below 70% on their first exam. A resource guide will also be shared to help you design an approach to fostering a growth mindset, motivation and metacognition in your course(s)! 

Anne M. Spain, Ph.D.

Ferris State University

Speaker

Friday, Sept. 27, 2-3 p.m. ET | Leveraging Learning Assistants to Support Diverse Learners

Learning assistants are undergraduates who collaborate with instructors to enhance the learning experience for current students enrolled in a course. In this session, we will share experiences developing a learning assistant program that supports 6 core biology courses, emphasizing the many benefits for diverse learners, instructors and learning assistants themselves. Considerations and recommendations for utilizing learning assistants relevant to multiple contexts will be discussed.  

Katie Tifft, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins University

Speaker

 

Emily Fisher, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins University

Speaker

Eligibility

Registration Details

Registration Details:

• All sales are final. No refunds will be issued.  
• All registrants will be given access to recordings of all webinars through March 31, 2025.