Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs
in the College of Biological Science
Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and
Development
University of Minnesota
Robin Wright is Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs in
the College of Biological Sciences and Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and
Development at the University of Minnesota. Over the past 21 years, she
has mentored more than 100 undergraduate researchers. She is currently
working exclusively on undergraduate education research and initiatives. Prof. Wright has experience teaching both
large and small classes, including freshman seminars, large introductory
biology courses, and skill-oriented courses for honors students. She
helped to develop and co-teaches in an orientation/enrichment course required
for all 500 incoming freshmen in the college. She has also been a leader
in development of Foundations of Biology, an innovative, team-based
introductory biology course for biological sciences majors. Prof. Wright is
recognized nationally as a leader in the development of team-based,
active-learning pedagogy in large (>100 seat) Active Learning
Classrooms. Among many contributions to
life-science education scholarship, she is a member of the Advisory Committee
for the HHMI/National Academies of Science-sponsored Summer Institute on
Biology Education, and has served as a mentor and presenter at each annual
workshop since the first one in 2003. She is currently the founding
editor of a new biology education journal, CourseSource, which will publish
biology curriculum materials that are linked to learning outcomes established
by biological sciences professional societies.
In 2012, she was named as a Fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Luncheon
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
"Success in the Classroom Sharing
Practices that Work"
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Robin Wright
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Robin Wright
Space
Matters! How Active Learning Classrooms Affect Teaching and
Learning
Have you heard the
excitement about UNM's Learning Studio classrooms? Last year, more than 12,000
undergraduates at the University of Minnesota took at least one class in
similar “Active Learning Classrooms.” In these classrooms, groups of 9
students sit at a round table that has access to a large LCD which they can
control and a whiteboard panel for keeping notes. Classrooms have from 5
to 21 tables, accommodating 45 to 171 students. There is no front or back in
these rooms, and students can face each other as easily as they can face the
teacher. What happens in an Active Learning Classroom? What is
easier there? What is harder? Is it worth the money? In this
interactive presentation, we’ll take a look at what Active Learning Classrooms
can do to promote learner-centered teaching and explore why they do it. Then, you will want to set your goal to teach in a UNM Learning Studio!
Select the link below to RSVP for the luncheon
CTE/STEM Gateway Workshop
Thursday, February 20, 2014
- 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
- 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
In
this workshop, we’ll explore some effective strategies for designing learning
activities that engage students and promote learning. We’ll begin with a
brief introduction, some examples, and a rubric. Then each participant
will begin to transform one of their favorite (or most challenging) lectures
into an active learning modality. Participants should bring a copy of the
lecture they want to work on, in their format of choice (i.e. on their
electronic device or printed out). Participants will define their
learning objectives and the type of assessments they would use to evaluate
students’ mastery of those objectives. Then they will map what students
should do before class, what they still need to tell students, and what the
students can do in class to achieve those objectives.
And consider how to have fun teaching this class and help students to have fun,
too!
Select the link below to RSVP for the Workshop
