Past Proceedings
ASM Annual Conference for Undergraduate Educators Past Proceedings 1995-2006 - pdf
14th Annual American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators
May 18-20, 2007
University at Buffalo, SUNY North Campus, Buffalo, NY
Microbiology: Diversity of Life, Diversity in Learning, Connecting Disciplines
Conference Co-Chairs:
Aaron Best Jennifer Herzog
Hope College Herkimer County Community College
Holland, Michigan Herkimer, New York
Scroll down to see the Final Program and on-site presentations from ASMCUE 2007.
Highlights by Aaron Best and Jennifer Herzog
Although the ASM General Meeting was held in Toronto, ASMCUE made the decision to keep this year’s meeting stateside at SUNY at Buffalo. Several economic factors led to the decision to keep ASMCUE “across the border.” First, the meeting is heavily subsidized by ASM (i.e. operates at a loss to the Society) and it would have been difficult keeping attendee costs in line with previous years if the meeting was held in Canada on a holiday weekend (Victoria’s Day). Also, polls of previous attendees indicated that most faculty would have difficulty securing funding to attend an “international” meeting as many institutes do not authorize professional development travel outside the US. Evidenced by the fact that we had a record number of attendees, this was a very pivotal decision made by the ASM Education Board. Their efforts to make a smooth transition from our meeting to Toronto were also well received, as nearly 25% of the attendees used the complimentary bus service to make the trip from Buffalo to the ASM General Meeting on Monday morning.
In light of ASM’s new focus to reach out to all branches of the biological sciences, the theme of this year’s meeting was “Microbiology: Diversity of Life, Diversity in Learning, Connecting Disciplines,” As a committee, we felt that this best exemplified ASMCUE’s dedication to gathering educators for the purpose of learning effective techniques for teaching microbiological concepts in a variety of biology courses. The entire program was developed with this theme in mind, and based upon initial feedback we found that participants found it every timely, engaging and useful.
The following is a breakdown summary of each of the major sessions offered at ASMCUE 2007:
Pre-Conference Workshops: Friday, 6-9:30pm
Three Pre-Conference Workshops were organized for ASMCUE 2007 (we had a 4th cancel that we could not reschedule). Gary Kaiser, of The Community College of Baltimore County, presented a session on using Flash Animation software in the classroom, focusing on the implementation and the creation of animation for beginners. Steve Pechous from the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the National Institutes of Health held a session giving participants an overview of microbial genomes and how to employ bioinformatics into a course. Finally, Stephen Nold, of the University of Wisconsin, presented a workshop on writing effective case studies for the classroom.
The schedule for the Pre-Conference Workshop and ASMCUE was very different this year due to the ASM General Meeting beginning on Monday evening instead of the typical Sunday evening start. Workshops were offered Friday evening and 53 attendees participated in the three workshops.
First-Timers Breakfast: Saturday, 7-8am
This year, the Committee decided to make a big change in the format of the opening day breakfast. Attendees were separated into two groups: first-timers and returning participants. This new grouping was done to facilitate a planned activity (a “treasure hunt”!) for the first-timers group which represented 42% of ASMCUE attendees. As Co-chairs, we presented nine individuals who graciously volunteered to be “interviewed” by first-time participants throughout the Conference. The volunteers represented the various faculty professional development offerings from ASM including members of the Education Board, individuals serving on the various editorial boards of MicrobeLibrary and Chairpersons of various Education Committees. The first-timers heard a few “words of wisdom” from the volunteers, saw their faces, and then were off to have their cards signed by at least 6 of the 9 individuals. On Sunday, all completed cards were eligible for a variety of prizes generously donated by ASMCUE exhibitors and ASM. In all 45 cards were collected and 20 prizes were awarded during the final wrap-up session on Sunday. Initial feedback at the conference was overwhelmingly positive and we hope to conduct similar activities to welcome the “newbies” at future conferences.
Plenary Lectures: Saturday and Sunday
This year, three plenary sessions were presented. They covered a wide array of topics in the discipline of microbiology. Dr. Robert Doms, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, started off our conference with a lecture on HIV/AIDS at 25 years. His clinical experience combined with his research expertise allowed him to tell a very informative, engaging story of the virus and moreover illustrated how easy it is to employ the HIV/AIDS model in teaching undergraduate students. Dr. Durland Fish, Yale Center for EcoEpidemiology, spoke on Saturday evening regarding the topic of “ecoepidemiology”. His talk reinforced the idea that microbiology today is not a stand alone discipline, but overlaps with many other areas of the biological sciences (i.e. ecology, genetics, evolution, etc.). Finally, our last speaker was Dr. Naomi Ward, T.I.G.R., who spoke about her work in microbial genomics. Her real-life examples of how bioinformatics and genomics have been successfully employed in microbiology gave our educators concrete and fascinating examples to employ in their classrooms.
Learn Something New/Try Something New Sessions: Saturday and Sunday
As indicated below, a variety of topics and approaches to teaching and learning were presented during these sessions at ASMCUE 2007:
Learn Something New:
Effective Outreach Materials to Teach Microbiology to Pre-College Students (Leslie Miller and Liliana Rodriguez); How to Get Service-Learning into Microbiology Courses (Cynthia Cooper); Microbiology Food Safety Issues-Real World Problems that Get Undergrads Excited About Microbiology (Martin Wiedmann); Microbiology in the Nursing Curriculum (Carolyn Holcroft Burns); Preparing for the Future of Biology (and Microbiology) Education at NSF (Daniel Udovic); Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science: Pitfalls and Opportunities (Ross Nehm).
Try Something New:
Exploring Active Teaching: How Not to be a Talking Head (Sue Merkel); Integrating Research into Your Classroom: What Works? (Stephen Nold); Integration of Math and Micro Across the Curriculum (John Jungck and Anthony Weisstein); Microbial Ecology: Opportunities for Inquiry-Based Learning (Mary Puterbaugh Mulcahy and Harry Edenborn); Podcasting in Education (Rita Alisauskas and Chris Condayan) and Rubrics Cube: Development of Six Rubrics to Aid with Student Performance Assessment (Marcy Kelly).
MicrobeLibrary Sessions: Saturday, Lunch and Sunday, 9-10:30am
Members of the MicrobeLibrary led two very well-attended sessions at this year’s meeting. In response to comments from ASMCUE 2006, the committee decided to alter the format of the Saturday lunch session. Attendees to the lunch session were divided into 7 groups, and each group had the task of reviewing the 2007 MicrobeLibrary Atlas-Protocol projects. Initial feedback from the lunch indicated that this format was a great success.
In addition to the above event, the Curriculum Editorial Board Committee of the MicrobeLibrary sponsored a session on “Half-fermented Ideas” on Sunday morning. Participants were asked to complete a homework assignment discussing a class/lab activity that they successfully employ in their courses. During the session, these activities were shared and built upon as a means of potentially submitting them for review into the Curriculum Collection.
Poster Sessions: Saturday and Sunday
We had 46 posters accepted and presented at this year’s conference. It was wonderful having all of the posters displayed in one area amongst the rooms used for all of the sessions during the conference. It greatly increased the traffic at all of the poster sessions throughout the weekend. We also noticed an increase in the use of effective assessment tools in many of the posters presented, which supports our commitment to continuing Try Something New sessions on this topic.
We would like to thank our abstract reviewers for the time and efforts: Janelle Hare, Lee Hughes, Marcy Kelly, Jeanne Kagle and Michele Shuster.
Author Corners: Saturday and Sunday
Five publishing companies sponsoring eight Author Corners a time set aside for meeting textbook authors and discussing their work. We recognize and appreciate the support of this year’s corporate sponsors: John Wiley & Sons (Friday reception co-sponsor), ASM Press (Saturday pre-dinner reception sponsor), and Benjamin Cummings (Sunday Lunch sponsor). As the exhibit and sponsorship program grows, we earnestly look forward to the day when the conference will be self-supporting or at least “less subsidized” by ASM.
Exhibit Showcase: Sunday, 9am-1pm
This year, we had 11 companies participate in the Exhibit Showcase. The effort of the Committee to arrange such a variety of vendors paid off and ASMCUE participants were able to network with publishers, biotechnology companies and government agencies alike.
Travel Grants:
Our congratulations are again extended to all the Faculty Enhancement Program and Early Career Travel Grant Awardees: Julius Afolabi, Savannah State University; Anthony Arment, Central State University; Sagarika Dash, Glendale Community College; Mireya Macias, Merced College; Peggy Ann Mason, Brookhaven College; Jennifer Bennett, Juniata College; Cheryl Blake, Pima Community College; Jorge Gomez-Moreno, University of Florida; Maria Guerrero, Miami Dade College; Troy Jesse, Broome County Community College; Joanna Klein, Northwestern College; Tamara McNealy, Clemson University; Michelle Parent, University of Delaware; Srebrenka Robic, Agnes Scott College; Rachel Robson, Morningside College and Audra Swarthout, Delta College.
“Thank You’s”:
We greatly appreciate the assistance of our host institution, SUNY at Buffalo. We thank Dr. Michael E. Ryan, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, for taking the time to speak at our opening “Welcome” session on Saturday morning. The efforts of Dr. Gerald B. Koudelka, Professor and Chair, Department of Biological Sciences, were invaluable in making this conference a success including making copies, moving boxes and making a quick dash to the local hardware to buy wingnuts and bolts for the poster stands donated by the Department of Chemistry! His willingness to work with ASMCUE staff in planning this conference and during the event itself went over and above any expectations of our hosts. Another huge thank you is due to Joseph Helfer, Executive Officer in Department of Biological Sciences. Joe worked hard on scheduling the classrooms, a/v services and even managed to wake up his two teenage daughters VERY early on Sunday morning to help lug even more boxes out to the exhibitor tables. The food service, technical and all other associated staff at SUNY at Buffalo were top-notch and their hard work appreciated as well.
Thank you as well to Neil Baker, Chair of the ASM Education Board and Marjorie Kelly Cowan, Chair of the Undergraduate Education Committee which oversees ASMCUE for their continued support of our efforts in planning the Conference. Their attendance at the conference was appreciated and their feedback is always useful in making this the most effective conference for microbiology educators.
Finally, our most sincere thanks are extended to the ASMCUE staff: Amy Chang, Kelly Gull, Michelle Godinez, Veronica Dove and Jean Kayira. They were tireless in the planning and execution of ASMCUE 2007, and their efforts were recognized by every participant at this conference. THANK YOU, LADIES!
In closing, we hope you found ASMCUE 2007 to be a worthwhile experience. Planning has already begun on ASMCUE 2008 and we hope to see you (and maybe a coworker!) in Boston!
ASMCUE 2007 Proceedings and Presentations
ASMCUE 2007 Program
ASMCUE 2007 Abstract
ASMCUE Photo Slideshow
Presentations or Handouts from ASMCUE 2007:
Rita Alisauskas, County College of Morris and Chris Condayan, American Society of Microbiology
Podcasting in Education – Lectures for the On-demand Student (Handout)
Durland Fish, Yale Center for EcoEpidemiology
Ecoepidemiology: Integrating Ecology with Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Handout)
Carolyn Holcroft Burns, Foothill College
Microbiology in the Nursing Curriculum (Handout)
John R. Jungck, Beloit College and Anton Weisstein, Truman State University
Integration of Math and Micro Across the Curriculum (Handout)
Biological ESTEEM Collection – Jungck (Powerpoint)
Unpacking “ESTEEM” – Weisstein (Powerpoint)
Gary Kaiser, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
Pre-Conference Workshop: Flash Animation for Beginners (Link)
Marcy Kelly, Pace University
Rubrics Cube: Development of Six Rubrics to Aid with Student Performance Assessment (Powerpoint)
Sue Merkel, Cornell University
Active Learning: How Not to Be a Talking Head (Powerpoint)
Active Learning (Handout)
Leslie Miller, Rice University and Liliana Rodriguez, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Effective Outreach Materials to Teach Microbiology to Pre-College Students (Handout)
Ross Nehm, CUNY
Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science: Pitfalls and Opportunities (Handout)
Stephen Nold, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Pre-Conference Workshop: Writing Case Studies (Powerpoint)
Peer Evaluation Form – TLQ (Handout)
Constructive Criticism (Handout)
Antibacterial Academic Controversy (Handout)
Integrating Research Into Your Classroom: What Works? (Powerpoint)
Mary Puterbaugh Mulcahy and Harry Edenborn, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Microbial Ecology: Opportunities for Inquiry-Based Learning (Link)
Daniel Udovic, National Science Foundation
Preparing for the Future of Biology (and Microbiology) Education at NSF
Applying for a NSF Grant? Read these documents first:
Writing the Proposal and Other Tips
Insight into the Review Process
Resources to Explore Ongoing Projects
Graduate and Undergraduate Education Programs of Interest
Breakdown of FY 06 Phase 2 and FY07 Phase 1 Funded Projects
Naomi Ward, The Institute for Genomic Research
Microbial Genomics: Bizarre Bacteria, Extreme Environments and How They Interact (Powerpoint)
Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University
Microbiology Food Safety Issues - Real World Problems that Get Undergrads Excited about Microbiology (Powerpoint)
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