About Us

We work in different teams to help each other, to reflect on how the work is going, to decide what we want to improve next, and to give each other feedback.

• At the start of every semester, we gather for instructor training to prepare us to teach in the upcoming semester.
• Faculty instructors give each other formative feedback once a year via peer observations and post-observation discussions.
• As a division, we discuss and edit the shared living documents for the BioSci Bylaws, Policies, and Standard Operating Procedures.
• In the Curriculum Development workshops at the end of each semester, we work on division wide projects, such as working to align scientificargumentation instruction and assessments across courses and creating “tips for success” documents to share with students.

We have some defined leadership roles – such as course coordinators for the individual courses – that help organize the work effectively. Led by course coordinators, we develop materials together, share perspectives, and every member of the team can influence course direction. Course coordinators regularly seek input and incorporate multiple views.

We have standing committees (often with rotating leadership) as well as committees or groups that form for certain tasks (such as hiring, website development, to develop a case study for class, or an activity for professional development).

Leadership roles tend to be fluid, and people are empowered to suggest or take a lead on initiatives depending on their interests and common goals.

In BioSci we actively pay attention to team dynamics.

• We regularly discuss and develop shared norms.
• We also have training that helps us with our team skills, for example during the end-of-semester BioSci development workshop.

We remind ourselves regularly to assume good intent, that our shared goal is to support inclusive learning, and to approach difficult, but important, conversations with sensitivity toward shared goals.

The level of lab and administrative support in our division is outstanding. Our support staff are highly trained and experienced, devoted to common goals, and integrated into decision-making.

As lab prep staff we feel encouraged to speak up and provide constructive feedback and feel included in program affairs. We are pro-active in making sure we have conversations ahead of time to test experiments, troubleshoot, and make sure labs are ready for students.

As a teaching division, we are focused on student experiences and learning. We participate in learning communities like 3DL (dimensional learning) and attend events such as the annual Spring Teaching Conference.

We also engage in educational scholarship to learn

from and improve student experiences. We share our educational innovations and research findings through presentations and publications.

We believe in balancing hard work with fun! We get together for social events such as Friday get-together, escape room or pottery painting outing, “painting in the garden”, yoga in the park, a hike after our work retreat, a visit to the Kellogg Biological Station, or even a quick energizing walk on campus. We stay connected through Teams channels for sharing opportunities and fun moments – that invite anyone to initiate an event or join one!