Biological Sciences Professor Juanita Jellyman Goes to the Wall for Students

Her BIO 499 Course will be Featured on the Wall of Cool

 

 

 

Biological Sciences Professor Juanita Jellyman has been selected to be featured on the Wall of Cool. The Wall of Cool (https://elearning.cpp.edu/cool/) is something that eLearning does to showcase courses that use technology to enhance student learning and success. Jellyman’s BIO 499 Human Reproduction course is one of the courses to be featured. She credits the Studio 6, faculty/staff multimedia lab and the eLearning team with giving her the training she needed to make the most of blackboard. Specifically, Jellyman likes working with SoftChalk because it allows her to include rich digital materials and create online activities and interactive elements such as quizzes which provide immediate feedback.

Jellyman also incorporates online discussion boards and in the classroom uses iClicker which provides another way to engage students. Students who might be reluctant to participate in a traditional class discussion may find it easier to use technology to express themselves. Student reviewers rated her course as their top choice out of all the finalists. Jellyman’s discussion assignments take a topic like genetic engineering and expand those ideas to the greater moral and philosophical issues that arise from such scientific advances.  She believes students should not only know the science but also know why it’s important and what affect it may have on their lives and the society in which they live. She heard a presentation by colleague Paul Beardsley that discussed the idea that scientists can and should do a better job of communicating the relevancy and importance of science. She agrees with Beardsley that making science relevant is important.

Jellyman uses the Quality Matters rubric to align learning objectives with instructional materials, course activities and interaction to ensure students achieve learning outcomes. An added benefit she gives students is digital images of cells and tissues that she was able to obtain from a colleague at Cambridge. The addition of that material allows students to see what’s going on at the cellular level as well as exploring the individual and societal implications of what they’re learning.