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After coming to Missouri S&T I quickly learned one of the key components to successful teaching is effective communication. Being clear about my expectations for the students and understanding the students’ expectations for me is a critical aspect of this communication. I continue to work on strengthening each course that I teach and to search for ways to improve teaching effectiveness.
In the classroom, it is my desire that exposure to bacterial diversity will motivate students toward careers in microbiology just as I was motivated by taking a microbial diversity course while an undergraduate student at Michigan State. As an American Society for Microbiology Scholar-in-Residence, I have attended workshops on assessing student learning. I am now applying what I learned to assess the effectiveness of classroom activities in improving information literacy in microbiology. I have also explored ways to introduce similar activities in other course.
The use of teaching technology is also an excellent way to enhance communication with students and allows more time in the classroom for discussing and analyzing key points. I now use personal response devices to introduce topics, test knowledge and stimulate discussion in the classroom. Blackboard is used extensively in my courses allowing students to take quizzes and complete other assignments online outside of class time. This provides immediate feedback and frees up class time for discussion. I use the blog and discussion board options on Blackboard to stimulate student discussion of current events and ethical issues.
A significant factor in a student’s success after graduation is the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research. Of the approximately 50 students who have done research in my lab, the vast majority have gone to graduate school or medical/veterinary/dental school. I strongly encourage students to apply for funding through local and national programs and to seek opportunities to present their research. Each year that I have been at S&T students in my lab have received research support through the OURE program and four students have applied for Undergraduate Research Fellowships from the American Society for Microbiology with two students succeeding in earning a fellowship. Students in my lab have participated in regional and national conferences where they have had the opportunity to present their research results in posters or oral presentations such as the S&T Undergraduate Research Symposium, the Annual Meeting of the Missouri Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (MO-ASM) and the Annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). One of these students earned first place for an outstanding student presentation award at a MO-ASM Annual Meeting and two student teams recently earned first and third place at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
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