One of the websites I stumbled upon last year is called DonorsChoose. On this website, teachers who have need of supplies and support can create a project to attract funding from donors. The recipient also provides pictures and updates on … Continue reading Giving Back
Sticky post
Two weeks ago, I received news that my Ph.D. advisor, Dr. John Rutledge, passed away. As I am writing this, it will be his memorial service tomorrow. I grieve with his family, and I also want to honor his impact on my life with this tribute. When other graduate students complained to me about their advisors, it is difficult for me to relate because that was not my experience. I was very blessed to have Dr. R as my advisor, and I felt very cared for. I was not the most motivated or productive graduate student and would probably have … Continue reading In memory of Dr. John Rutledge
First observed at Newport Back Bay, subsequently at Davis road outside of San Jacinto Wildlife area and Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Continue reading White-tailed Kite
First observed at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve Continue reading Red-Breasted Merganser
First observed at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, subsequently in my backyard. Continue reading Swinhoe’s White-Eye
The pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ located behind the stomach. The organ is organized into lobes. The relationship between the pancreas and other organs can be viewed in the model here. Microscopically the organ has two parts – the endocrine … Continue reading Pancreas
At the end of last semester, with permission from my campus’ PHRRC, I surveyed my Fall 2020 class on the top three features of the class that were helpful for them to learn the material. The choices and the technique … Continue reading Surveying students on asynchronous and synchronous adaptations
The cross section images of spinal cord from different regions show that the white and gray matter vary. Below are pictures from the 4 regions of the spinal cord. Continue reading Spinal Cord (c.s.) from different regions
One of the most significant decisions I faced at the beginning of this remote only semester was the delivery method, as in, whether to deliver lectures “live” at a set time using Zoom (synchronous) or to deliver lectures via video with no set class time (asynchronous). The diagram below summarizes my weighing of the pros and cons: As I thought about what makes teaching exciting to me, interacting with students is one of the top reasons. It would appear that the synchronous model would then be the obvious choice. But it was not as clear cut in my context. My … Continue reading Synchronous vs. Asynchronous, or, How I made Asynchronous work
While COVID-19 and the subsequent remote class delivery brought its share of disruption, it also allowed me to try something new. One of the methods I tried was to “chunk” my lecture. I think the following schematic should explain it: I had read about “chunking” or breaking up the lecture for a while. From what I understand, its primary benefit is to reduce the students’ cognitive load in any given class. By breaking up a lecture, more active learning strategies can also be implemented. Finally, it helps to reset students‘ attention. My typical Human Anatomy lecture is 75 minutes long. … Continue reading “Chunking” the lecture
