Today is the fifth and final day of the July 2022 MSE virtual symposium, which is focused on “MSE Education Practices and Curriculum Design”. Don’t worry, you still have time to register!
This session will feature three talks featuring educators who have brought sociology into their microbiome courses, and vice versa, and who have experience creating out-of-the-box curricula to engage students in learning while helping them to see themselves as scientists. Our hope is that attendees for this session learn from different perspectives how to creatively present microbiology courses which situate learning about the microbiome with learning about social and environmental systems.
Session 5: “MSE Education Practices and Curriculum Design”
Friday, July 22nd, 12:30 ~ 16:00 EST. post updated, event has passed, watch the recorded talks.
Session leaders:
Erin Eggleston, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology, Middlebury College
Monica Trujillo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, of Biology Queensborough Community College, The City University of New York
Carla Bonilla, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of San Diego
Scope: Curriculum which blends disciplines is highly engaging, and can be used to teach complex concepts, and can help students combine their existing cultural and social identities with their growing researcher identity. However, creating an interdisciplinary curriculum can be challenging. This session frames educational conversations in MSE, and gives perspectives on creating courses that blend microbiome and social sciences for different levels of education.
Learning Objectives of Session: Attendees will 1) identify successes and barriers to entry for MSE curriculum at different education levels (K-12, UG, grad, general public), 2) Share ways in which we incorporate MSE in our curricula (i.e. assignments, class period, multi-day module, full course, etc.); 3) develop ideas for further curriculum design for their own courses.
Format of talks: Three 30-min lecture-style talks from education practitioners who have successfully built courses around MSE topics, including an outline of learning goals, approach to course, lessons learned/challenges, and more.
Format of breakout rooms: Each room creates a lesson plan outline, and each room has a designated topic area (e.g. human microbiome equity) to help audience members group by teaching discipline.
Session Speakers
Sarah Miller, M.S., Executive Director of Tiny Earth at University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Tiny Earth: Leveraging an instructor community to create antiracist curriculum in a research course”
Dr. Ally Hunter, PhD., Lecturer, iCONS Program & Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Youth Engagement, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Part of NSF Project RAISE (Reclaiming Access to Inquiry Science Education for Incarcerated Learners), and NSF Project INSITE (INtegrating STEM Into Transition Education for Incarcerated Youth).
Dr. Melissa Zwick, PhD., Associate Professor of Biology, Stockton University
“Science through storytelling: Using case study pedagogy as inclusive practice in undergraduate microbiology.”
Dr. Davida Smyth, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology at Texas A&M University in San Antonio
“Using wicked problems to CURE your teaching”
12:30 – 14:15 Introduction and Speakers
14:15 – 14:30 Break
14:30 – 16:00 Breakout room discussions based on skills development, in smaller groups
- Undergraduate microbiology courses resources/MSE integration
- Pedagogy as scholarship/publishing mechanisms/resources
- Assessing case study style teaching
Prior to this session, you may want to watch these recorded talks:
- “Teaching with microbes: Biopolitical lessons from fermentation”. Dr. Megan Carney, PhD.
- “Missing Microbes and Missing Out: microbes and social equity in the context of youth in detention”. Drs. Ally Hunter, PhD. and Christina Bosch, M.A., M.Ed., PhD.
- “Analyzing and harnessing microbiomes from Soil to Society: Towards sustainable and equitable agricultural systems“. Dr. Frank Carbonero, PhD.
- “Intimate Exchange and Queer Ecologies”. Dr. Gabriel N. Rosenberg, PhD.
