The University of Memphis
GRADUATE COURSES
College Biology Teaching (Spring 2017 – ongoing each fall)
Under faculty supervision, graduate students participate in teaching a laboratory section of an existing undergraduate course in the biological sciences and participate in weekly discussion of assigned readings, teaching practice, and theory. At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to (a) create a positive student/instructor relationship, (b) perform the duties of a teaching assistant, (c) assess student learning and grade student performance, (d) understand the ethical/legal issues associated with teaching and learning, and (e) understand best practices and basic theory of teaching and learning.
Advanced College Biology Teaching (Spring 2018 – ongoing every other fall)
This course is designed for graduate students in the sciences who are interested in improving their science teaching and/or pursuing academic careers that require college science teaching. Students will develop a teaching portfolio and participate in weekly discussion of assigned readings, teaching practice, and theory. Prerequisite: BIOL 7004/8004 College Biology Teaching or Permission of the Instructor.
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
General Biology I (Spring 2022 – ongoing every semester)
Biology 1110 (General Biology I) is the first course in a two-semester sequence. General Biology I emphasizes unifying principles of biology with a focus on cell structure and function, biochemistry, genetics, and evolution. This course fosters the integration of core concepts and competencies needed for biological literacy and the development of complex thinking skills. Additionally, the course emphasizes the experimental approach, since biology, like any science, is not merely a collection of facts, but a way of posing and answering questions about nature.
Biology Learning Assistants (Fall 2020 – ongoing every semester)
Under faculty supervision, students will act as learning assistants (LAs) and attend lectures to provide assistance during active learning lectures, grade class participation points as needed, and participate in weekly discussion of assigned readings, teaching practice, and theory. To be an LA for a major’s course, students must have completed the course for which they are an LA with a B or above. To be an LA for a non-majors’ course, students must have completed BIOL 1110 to be an LA for BIOL 1010 and must have completed BIOL 1120 to be an LA for BIOL 1020.
Biology of Cells (Spring 2017 – Spring 2022)
BIOL 1010 serves the general education curriculum and is for students not majoring in the sciences. This course exposes non-science majors to the diversity and universality of biological principles, and the increasing importance of understanding basic biology in our daily human lives. The goal of this class is for students to become biologically literate members of society, and to prepare them for making informed, reasoned decisions about biological topics. Successful participation in this class will enrich students’ knowledge and understanding of themselves and the biological world around them, and students will leave better prepared to address the many biological issues that they will encounter throughout their lives. Using an interactive approach to teaching different biological topics, the human dimensions, research aspects, and social consequences are explored for each subject.
General Biology II (Summer 2018 and 2019)
Biology 1120 (General Biology II) is the second course in a two-semester General Biology sequence. This course relies on the integration of core concepts and competencies needed for biological literacy and development of higher order thinking skills. Additionally, the course will emphasize the experimental approach since biology, like any science, is not merely a collection of facts, but a way of posing and answering questions about nature. BIOL 1120 emphasizes active learning and is designed to motivate and engage students while promoting critical thinking. Students who complete this course will comprehend the evolution of biodiversity, the complexities of organismal structure and function, and the major concepts of ecology and behavior. BIOL 1120, in conjunction with BIOL 1110 (General Biology I), serves as a gateway to all advanced courses in the biological sciences. General Biology II is designed to meet the general education requirement of science majors and pre-professional students. Students must complete CHEM 1110 (General Chemistry I), BIOL 1110 (General Biology I) and BIOL 1111 (General Biology I Laboratory) with a grade of C- or better before enrolling in BIOL 1120 (General Biology II)
Synthetic Biology CURE Lab (Fall 2018 – 2021)
Synthetic biology involves designing and creating new biological products and systems, or the redesign of existing products for improved or modified function. Synthetic biologists play an important role in advancing products and technologies used in research and medicine. The lab is designed as a Course-Based Research Experience (CURE) for biology majors to learn and engage with synthetic biology concepts and practices. This lab uses the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) registry of standardized “parts” (DNA sequences that encode a biological function) that can be assembled together to make more complex parts or “devices” to produce a novel biological function in living cells. Students will design and conduct their own synthetic biology experiments with instructor support. Students who successfully complete this course will gain research experience and learn useful laboratory techniques. This three credit lab will meet two times per week for three hours each meeting time. Additional time outside of the scheduled lab period will be required to successfully complete the project. Pre-requisite: Gen Bio II (BIOL 1120), Co-requisite: Cell Biology (BIOL 3130). Permission by the instructor is required for registration.
Adjunct Instructor
Kirkwood Community College
Introductory Biology with lab (Fall 2011 – Spring 2013)
Intended as a beginning-level course for liberal arts students who are not planning to major in the sciences. The course includes genetics, evolution, ecology, plant and animal reproduction, and biodiversity. Current topics in life science are covered throughout the course. Students are offered a variety of opportunities in laboratory through investigations, discussion, written expression and readings.
Basic Biological Concepts (Spring 2011)
Basic Biological Concepts is a 3 credit course designed for students with little or no background in biology and chemistry, or as a refresher for students who have not taken either for many years. This course will provide a basic foundation in the biological sciences that will be necessary for continued study in the biological sciences and health related fields.
Teaching Assistant
The University of Iowa
Teaching and Learning in the Biological Sciences* (Fall 2013)
This course is designed to provide you with meaningful and practical learning experiences that will prepare you to foster elementary science learning environments that engage students in scientific practices and sense-making about the biological sciences. There are two scheduled class meetings each week. The first is a central lecture meeting that emphasizes course content. The second is a small methods lab in which students will engage in collaborative sense-making and engage in professional teaching practices.
*primary instructor for one section, designed course with team
Developmental Biology Lab (Spring 2013, Spring 2007)
Experimental manipulation of embryos to examine mechanisms of early development, including gametogenesis and fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, pattern formation and organogenesis; in vivo imaging of development, methods to visualize gene expression and independent research; model organisms including sea urchin, fish, frog, chick, mouse.
K-12 COURSES
Summer Faculty, National Scholars Institute (Grades 9-12)
Belin Blank Center Summer Program, The University of Iowa
Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Summer, 2016, 2013)
How do embryos develop from single cells into the wide variety of organisms we see either living or in fossilized form? What are the evolutionary consequences of changes in embryonic development? Questions like these are the foundation of the field of evolutionary developmental biology, also known as “evo devo.” The answers lie in where and when certain genes are turned on or off during development. These differences in genetic instructions determine how a human cell knows to take on the characteristics of a human and not a chimp or a mouse or a fly. In this class, we’ll examine the evolutionary relationships of organisms and how changes to their gene expression can lead to changes in their development. We’ll look at how different kinds of embryos develop, when developing embryos start to look like the organism they will become, and we’ll have the opportunity to examine embryos of organisms like fish and frogs that are often used as model organisms in scientific research. We will also explore how changes in body structures can lead to evolutionary advantages for some organisms while becoming disadvantages for others. Finally, we’ll visit research labs where scientists are currently working on some of these questions, learn about some of the exciting research occurring in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, and see how scientific researchers approach these evo devo questions in their daily research.
Medical Genetics (Summer 2015)
Advances in technology have made it possible to understand the genetic causes of diseases to a greater degree than has ever been possible. Whole-genome sequencing, for example, has led to discoveries of rare diseases and novel treatments for patients. However, these new technologies and discoveries have brought with them questions about access to medical technology and how the information should be used as well as debates over ownership and access to our genes and genetic information. In this class, we will explore the basics of genetics as well as the complexity that is involved in how diseases are inherited or how mutations can create different variations of medical conditions. We will visit research labs where scientists are currently working on medical genetics questions and talk to both genetics researchers and medical doctors about how they use genetics to determine the causes of some medical conditions and diseases as well as to find treatments to help patients. We will also explore new, emerging technologies that are allowing the rise of personalized medicine and discuss the ethical issues that come with the new decisions both doctors and patients are able to make about medical care.
Summer Faculty, Junior Scholars Institute (Grades 6-8)
Belin Blank Center Summer Program, The University of Iowa
Mystery Science (Summer 2013)
Throughout the week, we will have the opportunity to use science to solve many different kinds of mysteries. We will examine forensic science with crime mysteries, health science with medical mysteries, and environmental science with mysteries found in nature. In addition to our classroom activities, we will have the opportunity to tour a University of Iowa research laboratory where we will see how mysteries can be solved with scientific research. We will have a chance to meet the scientists and see how they approach these mysteries in their daily research.
The Human Genome (Summer 2012)
We will begin the week thinking about DNA, the amazing molecule at the root of Human Genome. We will then explore what a genome is, what the goals of the Human Genome Project were, and where the Human Genome Project is going now that the human genome has been sequenced. We will also investigate how genes lead to normal variation in characteristics, like height, as well as how they contribute to diseases, like cystic fibrosis. We’ll look at both simple genetics, where a single gene leads to a characteristic, as well as complex genetics, where many genes have to work together to give a characteristic. We will have the fantastic opportunity to tour two different University of Iowa research laboratories where we will learn about what it is like to be a research scientist working on the human genome. Finally, by the end of the week, we will turn to examine some of the ethical, legal, and social issues that surround the knowledge we are learning about the human genome.