Physiology Educators to Discuss Inclusive Teaching, Mentoring and Assessment at the APS Institute for Teaching and Learning

(Rockville, Md.) June 16, 2022—Physiology educators will gather in Madison, Wisconsin, June 21–24, 2022, for the American Physiological Society (APS) Institute on Teaching and Learning (ITL). The interactive multiday workshop will engage educators in sessions focused on the latest research and best practices in teaching, learning and assessment.

“We are very excited that APS President Dee Silverthorn, PhD, FAPS, will be giving the keynote lecture for the fifth ITL. The meeting will cover topics such as inclusive and anti-racist teaching, mentoring and advising; assessment; helping students cope with failure in research; career transitions to teaching; and tools for teaching challenging physiology concepts. Something new this year will be featured workshops to bookend the conference,” said co-organizers Beth Beason-Abmayr, PhD, of Rice University in Houston, and Ryan Downey, PhD, of the American University of the Caribbean in Saint Maarten, in a statement.

Highlighted sessions are listed below. View the meeting program for more information.

Program Highlights

Tuesday, June 21

Featured workshop—Scientific communication through improv: talking about tough ideas
Facilitator: Monkey Business Institute, Madison, Wisconsin

Keynote lecture—Adapting to change: reflections on the evolution of teaching and learning
Speaker: Dee Silverthorn, PhD, FAPS, University of Texas at Austin

Wednesday, June 22

Plenary lecture 1—Where do we go from here? Key considerations for equity-focused teaching in dynamic times
Speaker: Kayon Murray-Johnson, PhD, University of Rhode Island

Workshop 1—Navigating difficult dialogues on race and justice: building capacity for when emotions run high
Facilitator: Kayon Murray-Johnson, PhD, University of Rhode Island

Workshop 2—Effective and inclusive assessment strategies in physiology
Facilitator: Josef Brandauer, PhD, Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania

Workshop 3—A framework for reasoning about complex physiological systems
Facilitator: Tara Slominski, PhD, North Dakota State University, Fargo

Plenary lecture 2—Toward more inclusive biology learning environments: identifying inequities and possible underlying mechanisms
Speaker: Katelyn Cooper, PhD, Arizona State University

Workshop 4—Building inclusive and fair classrooms: spotting sources of bias in biology classrooms
Facilitator: Katelyn Cooper, PhD, Arizona State University
 
Workshop 5—The joys and challenges of mentoring students and colleagues in teaching settings
Facilitators: Robert Carroll, PhD, FAPS, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University; Dee Silverthorn, PhD, FAPS, University of Texas at Austin
 
Workshop 6—Teaching strategies/tools: Learning how to use dramatization to teach difficult concepts in physiology
Facilitators: Helena Carvalho, PhD, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine; Patricia Halpin, PhD, University of New Hampshire at Manchester; Elke Scholz-Morris, PhD, Methodist College Unity Point Health, Peoria, Illinois

Thursday, June 23

Plenary lecture 3—Anti-racist and inclusive pedagogies
Speaker: Amanda Jungels, PhD, Rice University, Houston

Workshop 7—Using anti-racist and inclusive techniques in the classroom
Facilitator: Amanda Jungels, PhD, Rice University, Houston
 
Workshop 8—Inclusive and productive advising
Facilitator: Katie Johnson, PhD,Trail Build LLC, East Troy, Wisconsin
 
Workshop 9—How do I move up or over? Making transitions to teaching and education
Facilitator: Sydella Blatch, PhD, National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

Plenary lecture 4—Failing (in order) to succeed: Exploring how challenge and failure in course-based undergraduate research experiences can become a learning opportunity
Speaker: Lisa Corwin, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder

Workshop 10—Failing (in order) to succeed: helping STEM students to approach challenges, cope with failures and develop scientific resilience
Facilitator: Lisa Corwin, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder
 
Workshop 11—Putting our points where our mouths are: pre-specifying exam structure to improve cognitive richness and fairness
Facilitators: Gregory Crowther, PhD, Everett Community College, Seattle; Benjamin Wiggins, PhD, University of Washington
 
Workshop 12—Teaching strategies/tools: tools for teaching cell signaling, bioenergetics and the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve
Facilitators: Zhiyong Cheng, PhD, University of Florida; Alice Villalobos, PhD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Friday, June 24

Plenary lecture 5—Bearing witness to trauma and resilience of our students
Speaker: Mays Imad, PhD, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

Featured workshop—Engaging students and identifying barriers to inclusion in physiology classrooms
Facilitators: Monica Cardenas Guzman, University of Maryland; Jeff Schinske, PhD, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The APS Institute on Teaching and Learning will be held June 21–24 in Madison, Wisconsin. To schedule an interview with the researchers, conference organizers or presenters, contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more highlights in our Newsroom. 

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.