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• KEYNOTE: Strategies for Increasing Active Learning in the Classroom
  Dr. Thomas Terry, University of Connecticut
• Lecture PLUS Chemistry
  Dr. Karen Timberlake, Los Angeles Valley College
• Assessing the Development of Science Students' Problem-Solving Skills
  Dr. Ron Stevens, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
  
• Hands-On PhysioEx™ V5.0
  Dr. Lori Smith, American River College, CA
• Teaching Students the Science of Creative Poster Design. (Chemistry)
  Dr. John Weide, Mesa Community College
  Ken Costello, Mesa Community College
• Michelangelo Meets the Boss: Tips for Engaging a Large Environmental Biology Classroom
  Dr. Lorne Wolfe, Georgia Southern University, GA
• Active Learning in Teaching A&P
  Dr. Steven Williams, Glendale Community College
• Developing the Biotechnology Workforce
  Dr. Bill Thieman, Ventura Community College, LA
• Online Course Management: WebCT, Blackboard, Course Compass
  Dr. Thomas Terry, University of Connecticut, CT
  Jason Crossett, Benjamin Cummings.

KEYNOTE: Strategies for Increasing Active Learning in the Classroom
There is ample evidence that students learn better when they are engaged in some level of active participation, as opposed to being "lectured at". I teach large classes in introductory biology and microbiology, and have experimented with a number of stratagems for active learning. Most of these require little instructor preparation, take very little class time, and can quickly "perk up" a lecture and get students to participate at some level. Examples will be demonstrated, and range from short group activities to the use of interactive computer activities in which student feedback controls the instructor's demonstration. Participants will receive a handout with a number of ideas to bring back for potential use in their own classrooms.

Dr. Thomas Terry earned his B.S. (Physics) and Ph.D. (Molecular Biophysics) degrees at Yale University. He has been on the University of Connecticut faculty since 1969. Dr. Terry has received several awards for outstanding teaching, including selection as a University of Connecticut Teaching Fellow (1994), Chancellor's Award for National Recognition in Information Technology (1998), Connecticut Professor of the Year (1998) by the Carnegie Foundation, Teacher Innovation Award in Higher Education for the development and application of technology-based innovations in learning (2001), and UConn Alumni Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching (2003).

Lecture PLUS Chemistry
Lecture PLUS is a teaching strategy that incorporates student-centered activities and assessment into lecture to promote Participation, Learning, Understanding, and Success. In this session, attendees will experience ways to convert a traditional teacher-centered chemistry classroom into a student-centered learning environment. It will model a classroom lesson by engaging participants in a Lecture PLUS learning environment, integrating collaborative learning activities and formative assessment strategies into a mini-lecture format.

Karen Timberlake has been a professor at Los Angeles Valley College for the past 35 years. She received her Masters in Biochemistry from UCLA and has long been an advocate of student-centered teaching. For ten years she also taught a preparatory chemistry class at UCLA using non-traditional teaching methods. She was regional winner of the 1985 Award For Excellence in Teaching from the Chemical Manufacturers Association. Karen is the author of a number of textbooks, and received the 2004 McGuffey Award in Physical Sciences for textbook excellence and longevity.

Assessing the Development of Science Students' Problem-Solving Skills
What if you could reliably predict your student's future problem-solving strategies (good and bad) - would you try to intervene? What if you could assess the effectiveness of these curricular interventions on student problem solving? And, what if you could get these predictions and evaluations in real-time across the web? This presentation describes IMMEX, an online problem-solving environment for grades 6-20 that tracks how students select and use strategies as they solve complex science problems. In this session we will first demonstrate the IMMEX problem-solving system and show educators how to gain free access to these tools. Next, we will provide case histories of how these technologies have been successfully incorporated throughout districts across the country. Finally, we will describe how educators can partner with other educators to create such assessments for their own needs.

Dr. Ron Stevens is the director of the technology-based IMMEX problem-solving project and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, UCLA School of Medicine and Professor of Education at UCLA. As a basic science researcher he has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in the area of cellular and molecular immunology. He has also published articles on technology and professional development topics spanning elementary school through medical school. He is/has been the principal investigator on multiple science education grants (National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Institute) to foster the integration of technology and problem solving into the classrooms of Los Angeles and through the Department of Education's PT3 program has extended these technologies to preservice teacher instruction.

Hands-On PhysioEx™ V5.0
A common challenge for A&P and Human Physiology laboratory courses is that many good learning activities may be too costly, too time-consuming, or too dangerous to perform in an actual wet lab. This session will allow you to explore a few of the 36 PhysioEx™ physiology lab simulations that may be used to supplement or substitute for wet labs. Suggestions will be given for use in the laboratory as well as in a lecture setting. Session attendance limited to 24.

Dr. Lori Smith earned her B.S. (Biochemistry) and Ph.D. (Biochemistry) degrees at the University of California at Davis. She worked as a Research Scientist for Dade Behring MicroScan for 9 years. In 1999, she joined the Biology Department at American River College in Sacramento. She teaches the 2-semester Anatomy and Physiology course and Microbiology. She was voted Instructor of the Year by the American River College Student Association for the 2003-2004 school year. Dr. Smith is a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation Grant - Tools to Teach Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics

Teaching Students the Science of Creative Poster Design. (Chemistry)
In the past, posters were a way for students to research a subject and present it to others. Unfortunately, the posters were not always effective. The science of poster design analyzes the factors that make educational posters effective. Borrowing from techniques used in multimedia presentations, poster making gets a high-tech boost. All aspects of the poster, from the initial impression to the enlightenment of the reader, are discussed. Students are taught the rules that address poster aesthetics, readability, navigation, and content. This presentation shows how teachers can improve the quality of their students' poster projects.

Dr. John Weide Full time Chemistry Faculty at Mesa Community College. He is involved with the physical science outreach program at MCC. In this program members of the department work with K through 6 students from lower income school districts to encourage their interest in science. He also is involved with the development of chemical nomenclature tutorials on the PowerPoint Platform that can be accessed via the web.

Ken Costello has provided multimedia support for faculty at Mesa Community College for over 15 years. His skills and talents are diverse and in demand at the college. He is also developing and teaching a distance learning chemistry class with lab. This ambitious project has involved developing a large web site and a portable chemistry laboratory kit.

Michelangelo Meets the Boss: Tips for Engaging a Large Environmental Biology Classroom
It is no secret that students learn more if they are excited about the course material. So, the question becomes, just how do we go about putting together a product that contains valuable content and, at the same time, engages the students to want to learn? I will argue that there is no single formula for success. Your course is ultimately a blend of the technical information and the way in which you present it (e.g. your personality and use of technology). I have found that one of the keys to success in teaching my large (250 students) environmental biology class is to keep students engaged by mixing multiple activities into each class. In this presentation, I will present some of the activities that I have found to create a more dynamic atmosphere in my classroom.

Dr. Lorne Wolfe earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois and then held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel). He is an Associate Professor at Georgia Southern University where he conducts NSF-funded research on the ecological genetics of biological invasions. Dr. Wolfe teaches courses to biology graduate and undergraduates but his favorite teaching assignment is the large core Environmental Biology course. In addition to receiving campus-wide awards for excellence in research and service, Dr. Wolfe was recently chosen as GSU's Professor of the Year for his contributions to teaching.

Active Learning in Teaching A&P
How do you incorporate active learning into your course and still cover essential concepts in human anatomy and physiology? How do you switch from lecture-oriented learning to student-based learning? The presenter will provide examples of a student-centered workbook that has replaced his traditional lectures. The workbook includes learning objectives, preconception questions, student activities, problem-based learning, applications to life experiences, homework assignments, and memory matrices. Some assessment of these activities will also be presented.

Dr. Steven Williams teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology to Allied Health students at Glendale Community College. He earned his B.S. from Rutgers University and M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Williams was an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico and the Pennsylvania State University - New Kensington before coming to GCC in 1981. Dr. Williams wrote the Grade Summit for Anatomy and Physiology, 3rd edition, by Saladin and has made numerous presentations on active learning and multiple intelligences/learning for understanding at both state and national meetings. Dr. Williams is a member of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), AAAS, and the Physiology Education Research Consortium (PERC).

Developing the Biotechnology Workforce
When was the last time you questioned yourself with "Am I really teaching something that my students will ever use?" Biotechnicians are in short supply and represent one of the best entry points for biology/chemistry students to an industry that values continuing education. Ventura College has been training biotechnicians for over 11 years, with a high percentage of placements in industry and transfer to university programs. If you are looking for an application for the subject you teach, you may find it in this historical review of how a successful program has expanded and has helped the biotechnology industry in this area of Southern California. Hopefully, the discussion will stimulate questions that will help you find applications that apply to your teaching.

Bill Thieman earned his AA from Pierce College in 1964, his Bachelors in Biology at California State University at Northridge in 1966, and his Masters degree in Zoology at UCLA, in 1969. He has been teaching biology at Ventura Community College since 1970. Professor Thieman is co-author of "Introduction to Biotechnology" from Benjamin Cummings. He received the 1996 NABT award for Excellence in Biotechnology Teaching, and other state and local teaching recognition awards. He has received over $3.2M in grants (in the last 8 years) from federal, state and private organizations to develop biotechnical (and related) training programs. He welcomes your questions about biotechnology.

Online Course Management: WebCT, Blackboard, Course Compass
As advances in Internet technology are helping instructors teach online science courses more effectively, the variety of options for online course management can be overwhelming. The session will demonstrate a variety of popular course management options and highlight Benjamin Cummings customizable content, including lecture outlines, chapter-specific test and quiz questions, interactive exercises, case studies, web-based research activities, and more. Dr. Terry will provide feedback about his own experiences in using some of these tools in the classroom. Session attendance limited to 24.

Dr. Thomas Terry earned his B.S. (Physics) and Ph.D. (Molecular Biophysics) degrees at Yale University. He has been on the University of Connecticut faculty since 1969. Dr. Terry has received several awards for outstanding teaching, including selection as a University of Connecticut Teaching Fellow (1994), Chancellor's Award for National Recognition in Information Technology (1998), Connecticut Professor of the Year (1998) by the Carnegie Foundation, Teacher Innovation Award in Higher Education for the development and application of technology-based innovations in learning (2001), and UConn Alumni Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching (2003).

Jason Crossett is a technology specialist for Benjamin Cummings.

Special Thanks To:

Karen A. Conzelman, Ph.D., Assistant Department Chair, Department of Biology, Glendale Community College

Fernando Camou, Ph.D., Chemistry Department Chair, Glendale Community College

Jeff Glemba, Facilities Technician, Glendale Community College