Biology

ksuth@uoregon.edu | 541-346-8783

Courses: Marine Biology; Applied Science Communication; Bioinspired Design

In my classes you will:

• Practice foundational, transferrable skills.
• Learn with and from peers.

I was invited into the Teaching Academy because:

• I participated in a Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching.

In what ways are you working to make your teaching inclusive?

Class time is spent by interacting in varied ways to engage different learning styles and I highlight the interdisciplinary aspects of course topics to engage students with a variety of disciplinary interests. I also spotlight scientists with different backgrounds (e.g. women, underrepresented minorities) by discussing their scientific contributions.

What do you do in terms of professional engagement with the teaching and learning culture on campus or nationally?

I read evidence-based literature via the Science Literacy Program's journal club where we read a diversity of articles that spark research-led teaching ideas.  I periodically sit in on colleagues’ courses and this helps initiate conversations about teaching practices.

In what ways was your teaching in this course research-led—informed by research on how students learn and inflected by UO's research mission?

I ask students to develop research questions through lab exercises and proposal writing assignments so that they participate directly in the process of scientific inquiry.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading "The Rules of Magic" by Allison Hoffman. I am a big reader of novels because I need a break from science in my free time and I am really drawn in by fictional narratives. I think that storytelling is really important across disciplines and helps us connect to characters, historical events, and, yes, even science.