Science in the 21st century is driven by cross-cutting, interdisciplinary questions, but often introductory courses are criticized widely for overemphasizing details and memorization at the expense of helping students develop higher-level cognitive skills.
At the next UCITE session—titled “Evidence-based teaching: Just the facts or thinking like scientists?”—Diane Ebert-May will discuss teaching practices that demonstrate the necessity of training future faculty members in inquiry-based, learner-centered instruction.
Ebert-May is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. Ebert-May leads FIRST IV, a National Science Foundation-funded professional development program to help postdoctoral scholars create and teach their first introductory biology course in preparation for their future academic positions. Her book, Pathways to Scientific Teaching, is based on active learning, inquiry-based instructional strategies, assessment and research.
The discussion will take place Thursday, Feb. 14, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Herrick Room, located on the ground floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library building.
Pizza and sodas will be provided at this session. To help estimate the amount to order, RSVP to ucite@case.edu.