Teaching Discovery Days for Faculty & Instructors: Day 1

Established in 1927, the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory (UT Lab School) is one of the oldest and highest-volume laboratory schools in the country. As a laboratory school, the PPFCFL employs exemplary educational practices and provides a setting in which University students may observe, participate, and study children under the supervision of highly trained educators. It also serves as a site for innovative research. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience our very unique laboratory. They will see undergraduates from a variety of courses learning experientially through interacting directly with young children and conducting research under the guidance of lab faculty. They will see students from other courses studying children and collecting data from our observation booths. Finally, visitors will have a chance to hear about recent research projects and community engagement initiatives that are extending the impact of the PPFCFL beyond the University.

Dr. Amy Bryan holds degrees in Early Childhood Education, Clinical Social Work, and a doctorate in Human Development and Family Sciences. She has had successful careers in teaching, school counseling, and social work, and currently serves as the director of the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory. Her research focuses on early childhood development, education, and mental health, with a particular interest in caregiver-child relationships.

This is a large, introductory course that primarily enrolls majors from departments across the College of Natural Sciences. Enrollment in each section is approximately 400 students. The format is lecture, combined with active learning. The planned topics for this day are gas laws and intermolecular forces. 

Dr. Emily Caudill earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after completing her undergraduate studies at St. Edward's University in Austin, where she was actively involved in teaching. She gained additional teaching experience at institutions in Michigan and California before joining UT Austin, where she is now in her third year of teaching general chemistry. Emily is passionate about supporting student success and continuing her growth as an educator.

CS371p is a large lecture class with 60 students who are juniors or seniors in CS. You'll observe cold calling and one-to-one interactions with the students.

Dr. Glenn Downing completed his undergraduate studies at Purdue and Illinois and his graduate work at MIT, Stanford, and UT Austin. Since 1997, he has been an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Computer Science at UT, teaching courses in object-oriented programming, software engineering, data structures, algorithms, and databases. Dr. Browning has received multiple UT teaching awards, including honors in 2002, 2006, 2013, and 2020.

M316L is the second course in a two-part required sequence, offering an advanced analysis of geometry, statistics, and probability. Topics include data representation, discrete probability, random events, conditional probability, measurement, and geometry through similarity, congruence, coordinates, and transformations, with a strong emphasis on problem-solving. Visitors to my class can expect an engaging and interactive learning environment with about 26 students, all enrolled in a teacher preparation program. The class focuses on active learning, incorporating both individual and group work to foster community building. Visitors will observe students participating in discussions and hands-on activities, particularly in group work related to experimental and theoretical probability and data visualization.

Dr. Ishraq Al-Awamleh is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Mathematics. She previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University, where she taught various undergraduate courses in Mathematics and Statistics in both in-person and online formats. Dr. Al-Awamleh has published multiple research articles in reputable journals and conferences, including the Journal of Elliptic and Parabolic Equations and MAA MathFest.

Our new general chemistry lab is taken by all premeds and CNS students, typically in their first freshman semester. This "dry lab" section of 100 students meets every week for two hours, alternating weekly with "wet lab". Dry lab teaches students how to "think like a scientist" and learn skills supporting not only wet lab but their future endeavors. The room is run by a TA supported by 5 LAs, and alternates between flipped videos and group activities. Students work in 4 member pods all semester. Visiting our second hour, you’ll see students preparing to write a group paper.

Ruth Shear is a Professor of Practice and a Research Educator of the Urban Ecosystems research stream in the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). After a PhD in Chemical Physics from Griffith University (Australia) and postdoctoral work at Stanford and Cornell, she started as a lecturer at UT Austin in 1996. After running the physical and analytical chemistry teaching labs for 10 years, she helped create FRI in 2006. She has been teaching students to Think like a Scientist in various classes ever since.

Our new general chemistry lab is taken by all premeds and CNS students, typically in their first freshman semester. This "dry lab" section of 100 students meets every week for two hours, alternating weekly with "wet lab". Dry lab teaches students how to "think like a scientist" and learn skills supporting not only wet lab but their future endeavors. The room is run by a TA supported by 5 LAs, and alternates between flipped videos and group activities. Students work in 4 member pods all semester. Visiting our first hour, you’ll see students learning to use ChemDraw.

Ruth Shear is a Professor of Practice and a Research Educator of the Urban Ecosystems research stream in the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). After a PhD in Chemical Physics from Griffith University (Australia) and postdoctoral work at Stanford and Cornell, she started as a lecturer at UT Austin in 1996. After running the physical and analytical chemistry teaching labs for 10 years, she helped create FRI in 2006. She has been teaching students to Think like a Scientist in various classes ever since.

BIO 325 is a large lecture class required for all upper-division biology courses. The vast majority of students are in their second year pursuing majors from many departments across CNS. Each class session includes concept exploration and introduction by addressing the learning outcomes in lectures interspersed with informal questions. Concept application occurs through utilizing the UT Instapoll, and sometimes additional problem-solving or student-to-student discussions depending on the content of the day. Students are seated in teams of 5-6 organized by their discussion sections to encourage teamwork and instill a sense of belonging. Students are allowed to collaborate on Instapoll and weekly assignments but still submit their individual work.

Dr. Goheun Kim has been teaching Genetics (BIO 325) in the Molecular Biosciences Department and Biology Instructional Office since 2016. She has developed various course materials, including video lectures, assignments, and assessments, aimed at fostering students' critical and creative thinking. Dr. Kim actively incorporates new teaching strategies and evidence-based practices and promotes a growth mindset, helping students connect their learning to personal values and goals.

M427L has approx 100 students, including many Engineering majors, and is an advanced required/elective course. This course involves Matrices, elements of vector analysis and calculus of functions of several variables.

Dr. Haseeb Ansari is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Mathematics. A former middle and high school teacher from Austin, Texas, he earned his doctorate in mathematics from University of Houston. His research focuses on partial differential equations including reaction-diffusion systems and SIR models. He received his masters from UTRGV and his bachelors from UT Austin.

This small, engaged group of students is pursuing secondary STEM teaching certification alongside undergraduate degrees in various STEM fields. The discussion-based course emphasizes best teaching practices through collaborative group work. Students design and lead inquiry-based lessons to promote critical thinking and engagement, with the instructor serving as a facilitator.

Dr. Alexandra Eusebi serves as the academic director of UTeach Access, a co-enrollment program aimed at increasing the diversity of K-12 STEM educators across Texas. As an assistant professor of practice with the UTeach program at UT Austin, she teaches and supports courses guiding undergraduates toward secondary teaching certification. With over 30 years of experience in education, including secondary mathematics instruction and curriculum development, Dr. Eusebi has contributed to professional development initiatives and state-adopted textbooks. She is actively engaged in educational outreach, serving on school boards and educational committees, furthering her mission to enhance STEM education.

NSC 109 is a one-credit seminar course that is largely discussion based. This is a small course with approximately 20 students, spanning a range of CNS majors. This course carries the Ethics Flag, and is fully focused on ethical practices and ethical issues related to research and scienfic study within STEM. In addition to the many ethical issues around scientific research, students also tackle and discuss issues related to mentoring, belonging, collaboration, and represenation in STEM fields. Students will likely be discussing topics related to STEM Identity and persistence in STEM fields during the week of Teaching Discovery Days.

Keely Finkelstein is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Astronomy Department and also works in the Office of STEM Education Excellence (STEMx), heading up STEMx's Teaching Professional Development suite of activities. Keely received her PhD in Astrophysics from Arizona State University in 2008, and joined UT Austin in 2011. Keely also works with the K12 Education team and McDonald Observatory, helping run many of their K12 Teacher Professional Development programs.

This is the second semester of a non-calculus physics sequence aimed primarily at pre-health majors. It is large (~120 enrolled) and students often take it in their third year. Classes include a mixture of traditional lecture, small group problem solving, and brief demos.

Prof. Kravitz joined UT's Physics Department in Jan 2023. This is his third time teaching PHY 302L. He employs active teaching methods such as small group problem solving during lectures. Prior to coming to UT, he was a postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He received his PhD from Stanford University where among other things he helped develop the TA mentoring program in the Physics Department to encourage growth of young instru

This is a medium-size (about 60 students), upper-division marine science course offered for science majors. Most students are from Biology, EVS tracks, Marine Science related disciplines. Visitors will see a mix of a traditional lecture, a student project called 'the expert interview project' that a certain student team will conduct a NPR-style zoom interview with an established scientist in the field on behalf of the class for 10-15 minutes, and a group activity toward the end.

 

Dr. Dong-Ha Min teaches marine science courses for undergraduate students at UT Austin for both science- and non-science major students. Dr. Min loves to inspire and enable his students in his courses through experiential learning and genuine support for his students. Dr. Min is an oceanographer by training and he conducts the NSF-sponsored research to better understand the global- and decadal-scale ocean circulation and ventilation processes and their changes due to the recent climate change.