Amy Seigesmund

Invited Guest Speakers

Dr. Amy Siegesmund

The School of Molecular Biosciences Seminars Series
& the CVM Teaching Academy Presents
"Using Metacognition in the Classroom"

January 16-17, 2014

Dr. Amy Siegesmund, is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma Washington. Dr. Siegesmund has been actively involved in the biology education pedagogy during her time at PLU.

Dr. Siegesmund has regularly presented at the American Society for Microbiology Conference on Undergraduate Education annual meetings—topics including: case-based learning, interactive journaling, and role-play as an instructional tool. She is an alumni of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biology Scholars Research Residency (2010).

Since 2009, Dr. Siegesmund has been actively involved in the Introductory Biology Project, a nationwide effort to rethink introductory biology education.

Recently, Dr. Siegesmund was a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Task Force on Curriculum Guidelines charged with revamping the goals of microbiology undergraduate education. Within PLU she is a leader in departmental curriculum and assessment.

Presentation Flier

Survey Report from Dr. Amy Siegesmund's Presentations - Click Here

Additional documents can be found on the Internal Teaching Academy website. (WSU only)

Schedule of Events:
Thursday (January 16^th): 9 - 11:45 am - Individual Meetings 12 pm -SMB Seminar: “Self-assessment as a tool for increasing metacognition & learning gains” Description: Many introductory biology students have two compounding problems: 1) they are inadequately prepared for college, much less a college-level biology class; and 2) they overestimate their abilities. Together (or separately), these issues tend to result in lower-than-desired-grades for students. For the instructor, these issues require making time to cover basic learning skills at the expense of content and/or time devoted to developing higher order cognitive skills. Self-assessment is an effective tool for increasing student responsibility for learning; a logical extension is that increased responsibility can empower students to make purposeful choices regarding learning behaviors. Increasing the ability of students to effectively self-assess and regulate their learning has significance not only for the individual student, but for entire classroom learning community. Location: BLS 402 (Biotechnology Life Sciences Building) 1:00 - 2:00 pm - Lunch with SMB graduate students and post-docs 2:00 - 4:30 pm - Individual Meetings Friday (January 17^th): 9:00 - 11 am - Teaching Academy Workshop: -“Increasing metacognition in your classroom" Description: This workshop will be focused on developing tools that you can use in your classroom to facilitate increased metacognition and learning. While some background and context will be provided, this will be an interactive workshop; participants can expect to leave with tools they can use immediately. To that end, participants should bring course or assignment materials that can help inform instrument design. Location: CUE 518 11:00 am - Break 12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch Discussion:“Discussion of national teaching initiative work" Description: In updating the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) guidelines for undergraduates, a committee leveraged work from the 2011 AAAS Report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, a national report urging faculty to work towards ensuring that students have a foundational understanding in biology. Working from a national consensus, the committee worked to add additional areas of scientific thinking and microbiology skills. As one of the six members of this group that helped hone these guidelines, Dr. Siegesmund will share her experiences and discuss challenges for these activities on a national level. Location: ABDF 1002

Schedule of Events:

Thursday (January 16^th):

9 - 11:45 am - Individual Meetings

12 pm -SMB Seminar: “Self-assessment as a tool for increasing metacognition & learning gains”

Description: Many introductory biology students have two compounding problems: 1) they are inadequately prepared for college, much less a college-level biology class; and 2) they overestimate their abilities. Together (or separately), these issues tend to result in lower-than-desired-grades for students. For the instructor, these issues require making time to cover basic learning skills at the expense of content and/or time devoted to developing higher order cognitive skills. Self-assessment is an effective tool for increasing student responsibility for learning; a logical extension is that increased responsibility can empower students to make purposeful choices regarding learning behaviors. Increasing the ability of students to effectively self-assess and regulate their learning has significance not only for the individual student, but for entire classroom learning community.

Location: BLS 402 (Biotechnology Life Sciences Building)

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Lunch with SMB graduate students and post-docs

2:00 - 4:30 pm - Individual Meetings

Friday (January 17^th):

9:00 - 11 am - Teaching Academy Workshop: -“Increasing metacognition in your classroom"

Description: This workshop will be focused on developing tools that you can use in your classroom
to facilitate increased metacognition and learning. While some background and context will be
provided, this will be an interactive workshop; participants can expect to leave with tools they can
use immediately. To that end, participants should bring course or assignment materials that can help
inform instrument design.

Location: CUE 518

11:00 am - Break

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch Discussion:“Discussion of national teaching initiative work"

Description: In updating the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) guidelines for
undergraduates, a committee leveraged work from the 2011 AAAS Report Vision and Change in
Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, a national report urging faculty to work towards
ensuring that students have a foundational understanding in biology. Working from a national
consensus, the committee worked to add additional areas of scientific thinking and microbiology
skills. As one of the six members of this group that helped hone these guidelines, Dr. Siegesmund will
share her experiences and discuss challenges for these activities on a national level.

Location: ABDF 1002