Teaching Evaluations

The graph to the left shows Dr. Cresiski's mean overall student evaluation ratings (on a 5-point scale) from fall 2008-spring 2013, at Nevada State College, as well as the overall mean for faculty teaching face-to-face and hybrid classes in the Department of Physical and Life Sciences (Dept) and the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences (LAS).  As the data illustrate, Dr. Cresiski scored above the departmental and school-wide average every year.  PDFs showing scores in distinct categories (i.e. Relevance, Feedback, etc.) are available here and scanned copies of teaching evaluations from Mount Holyoke are here (for immunology) and here (for microbiology).

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Teaching Approaches & Examples

Innovative Course Design

Examples:

• First Year Experience (FYE) Course combining Biol 189 & Psych 101: "My Hormones Made Me Do It: a Biological Explanation of Psychological Behavior."  This course still taught all topics included in a regular introductory biology course, but utilized examples that connected to the Psychology course.  For example, in learning about genetics, Dr. Cresiski used mental illnesses as traits to investigate.  Rather than do a full fetal cat dissection, students did a brain dissection.  In learning about cellular structure, the example cell was a neuron.  While some assignments were unique to each instructor, Dr. Cresiski created shared exams with the Psych 101 professor, ensuring students were constantly connecting the two disciplines.
  
• Biol 450 "Disease & Discrimination" Project Based Course with Service Learning component.  This course is an upper division biology course taught online that investigates the sociological factors that influence disease discovery and treatment.  Primary literature from the past, narratives, documentaries and other readings will provide unique content and context.  Students examine how homophobia impacted the research of HIV/AIDS in the early 80's, how poverty is influencing the inequitable treatment of tuberculosis in the US, India and Haiti, and how fear of disability and deformity influenced the world's treatment of those with leprosy.  In addition, students spend all semester conducting a research project about a current group being treated inequitably, and examine this with primary literature as well as qualitative research they do by volunteering with a local organization.  For example, a student investigating health provision to the elderly can volunteer with Meals on Wheels, or a student interested in displaced immigrants can volunteer with the local refugee center.
  

Technology Integration

Dr. Cresiski is committed to embracing technology in her courses in a variety of ways.  Some  examples include:

• She updated labs to have modern techniques: As a startup institution still developing infrastructure, NSC originally had very basic labs being used in biology courses.  Dr. Cresiski revamped the laboratory curriculum to include PCR, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics, and other molecular techniques.  Students identified which corn-based groceries were from genetically modified crops, for example, or used flow cytometry to investigate gene expression of a fluorescent protein in a transformed bacteria.
  
• Virtual Labs used to address unique student needs: Classically, a college genetics course may include a fly lab where breeding of fruit flies allows students to investigate a pattern of inheritance.  However, as a commuter campus with many students that work full time and go to school part time, asking students to come in and collect virgin flies at odd hours was not going to work. Dr. Cresiski vetted multiple online virtual labs for fruit fly inheritance investigation to find one that was ideal for use with her students (and published her findings).
  
• Vodcasting: For students in a hybrid course, coming to class to listen to other student presentations would be difficult and time consuming.  Therefore, Dr. Cresiski embraced vodcasting, asking students to use their own devices (or ones provided by the school) to create 5 minute videos about a science-in-the-news topic.  The presentations had to include primary and secondary sources as references. 
  
• She asks students to do unique assignments like building infographics, making digital scientific posters with Prezi, and creating short podcasts.
  
• She uses Camtasia to make virtual lectures for her flipped introductory biology course and her online courses.
  

Relevant Assignments

Projects and Assignments have to be relevant in terms of content and skills. Here are some examples of Dr. Cresiski's assignments:

• Student generated Grant Proposals in Molecular Biology: students worked in groups on writing an NIH style grant proposal to use molecular techniques on a globally relevant issue (food production with less water, combating infectious disease with gene therapy, etc.).  Students did an end-of-semester study section to peer review each others' proposals.
  
• Novel research: Students transformed bacteria with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and then did research on what factors impacted the time to initiate gene expression as measured with flow cytometry.  Certain conditions were investigated and students created posters that were presented the last week of the semester.
  
• Persuasive Letters to Organizations: Students in genetics learned from primary literature about the positive and negative consequences (potential or current) of genetically modified foods, and wrote a persuasive letter to a grocery's store headquarters to ask that they change/do not change their labeling, support legislation, or embrace particular practices. 
  
• Website Creation on Biology Careers: Students in introductory biology worked in pairs to create websites about unique professions in biology (a microbiologist at a brewery or a biological anthropologist for example) and had to include on their website how content from the introductory course was actively used in that career.