Kaleb Heinrich
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D.A., Biological Sciences, Idaho State University M.S., Zoology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale B.S., Biology, Kansas State University Kaleb is from Carlsbad, NM. He and his wife, Ashley (who graduated from Texas A&M), have two daughters and one son. His hobbies include music, sports (especially college football), and the outdoors. Kaleb's research interests include biology education, active-learning and outreach in STEAM, biology graduate student professional development, and freshwater ecology. Email Dr. Heinrich |
Monica Lafferty
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Degree: B.S., Biology
My name is Monica Lafferty and I am from Boston, MA. I have had the pleasure this year to dive deeply into studying the effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate students at the University of Alabama. By doing this, I used a tool called COPUS (Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergrad STEM) which is a tool designed to evaluate teacher and student behavior in the classroom. There was a dramatic shift of undergrad classes from in-person to virtual or hybrid during the COVID-19 pandemic. To see the shift, I reached out to the intro to biology professors to see if they were willing to share their videos from pre-pandemic as well as lectures recorded during the pandemic. I then watched the 60-minute lecture and charted every 2 minutes what the instructor was doing and what the students were doing using the COPUS protocol. The results gave us an overall picture of how the pandemic has affected the intro to biology lecture classroom, mainly reducing active learning, and provide a non-threatening way to help faculty members and their students evaluate how they are spending their time in lecture. In the future, we plan to observe classrooms to observe what students and instructors are doing in BSC 114 and 116 to incorporate post-pandemic teaching. Results will also be shared with instructors and the Department of Biological Sciences assessment committee. |
FORMER RESEARCHERS:
Hannah Schmidt
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B.S., Biology, 2022 Hannah is from Bethalto, IL, majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology. Hannah aspires to go to medical school. Her interests include exercising, reading, volunteering her local church nursery, hockey (Lets Go Blues!) and of course college football. Her research interests include biology education and brain astrocyte function. Hannah's project involves developing an inquiry-based field and laboratory investigation of ecological succession. This recommended-content report will be used in high school AP Environmental Science courses as well as lower-level undergraduate biology courses. |
Angel Tarabay
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B.S., Public Health, 2020 Angel is from Nashville, Tennessee. She studies public health and biology at The University of Alabama. Her interests include teaching science, reading, volunteering at the local elementary school, and spending time outdoors with her two dogs. Angel’s research interests revolve around biology education, behavioral and linguistic mannerisms of individuals, and STEAM outreach in young children. She conducted a project that evaluated and assessed an ecology lab course that had to transitioned to fully on-line due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Chandler Noordhoff
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B.S., Biology & B.S., Studio Art (Ceramics), 2020 Chandler is from Dallas, Texas and double-majored in Biology and Studio Art. She plans to attend medical school in hopes of becoming a craniofacial surgeon. Her interests include painting and ceramics, volunteering at the hospital, and traveling. Paired with the Biology Outreach Program, her research focused on the effects of implementing artistic elements in active learning projects, and how it can benefit a child’s understanding of the subject. It’s our goal to see how student’s participation affects comprehension and to provide helpful feedback for educators, while encouraging kid’s passion for STEM subjects. Roll Tide! |
Parker Dean
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Degree: B.S., Chemistry
Parker's project is looking at graduate teaching assistant (TA) instruction in lower level biology laboratories for majors. He is using the Laboratory Observation Protocol (LOPUS) tool to assess the behaviors of the students and the TAs. The results of Parker's project will help inform and enhance the experience of both the undergraduate student and the TA. |
