Three Wayne Community College instructors were selected to present at a statewide biology conference earlier this month.
WCC instructors Sondi Hoffman, Amy Cherry Millis, and Lynn Swafford provided talks on methods to enhance learning during the 2019 North Carolina Community Colleges Association of Biology Instructors Conference in Durham.
Hoffman and Millis spoke together on “BIOcenter and Synaptic Feedback.” Those are tools that “provide the chance for students to experience the hands-on type learning that solidifies concepts and improves grades,” Millis said.
BIOcenter is short for “Biology Interactive Opportunity Center.” In addition to her class, Hoffman provides an hour-long, learning opportunity once or twice a week for students in her General Biology course. During that time she is available for one-on-one assistance to students and they can complete additional assignments, play subject matter-related games, or study in groups.
Millis created “Synaptic Feedback” for her Anatomy and Physiology courses. It cultivates “increased connectivity between Instructor and students, student and student, students and material, and students and study strategies,” she said. Held every other week unless there are student requests for more sessions, it employs creative techniques to ingrain the information, from a “Jeopardy”-style game to students providing question-and-answer session for their peers.
Lynn Swafford discussed “Surveying Biodiversity with iNaturalist.” She explained that iNaturalist is a “citizen science app” that “allows anyone with a smartphone or computer to help contribute to real scientific studies while observing and identifying organisms.”
Swafford uses the application to get “students outside to photograph and survey the biodiversity on campus.”
The purpose of the NC Community College Association of Biology Instructors is to improve biology instruction at two-year schools and to foster fellowship and communication among NC community college biology faculty.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 12,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.
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