Events
- Annual Convention
- Great Teaching Round-up
- Leading from the middle
- fall conference for faculty leaders
- Webinars
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
Events: 2008 Biology Schedule
Biology Summary
Friday, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
"Global Warming: Some Science and Solutions"
Speaker: Robert B. Jackson,
Nicolas Chair of Global Environmental Change, Duke University
Friday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.
"Las Vegas as the Sustainability Everytown:
A Systems Perspective on the Environment"
Speaker: David M. Hassenzahl,
Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies, University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Friday, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Round Table Discussion
"Teaching Biology Labs: Experiments and Techniques That Work at Various Community Colleges"
Moderator: P. Jane Brixey ,
Instructor and Biology Coordinator, Cisco Junior College
Saturday, 10:30-11:45 a.m.
"Cooperative Learning Exercises in Cellular Respiration
and Fermentation"
Speakers: Deborah Cardenas, Professor of Biology
and Julie Pickard, Associate Faculty Biology, Collin County Community College District - Spring Creek Campus
Friday, February 22nd, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Friday morning's Biology Section will feature a hot topic: "Global Warming: Some Science and Solutions."
Speaking will be noted authority Robert B. Jackson, Nicolas chair of global environmental change at Duke University. According to Dr. Jackson, the presentation will address three aspects of global warming. The first will be a brief discussion of the history and evidence -- why such a strong consensus exists among the scientific community that the issue is immediate and important. The second aspect will involve the effect of global warming on species and ecosystems. The third will contain a brief discussion of some solutions.
Dr. Jackson's research examines feedback between people and the biosphere, including studies of the global carbon and water cycles, biosphere/atmosphere interactions, and global change. His research has been covered in various newspapers and magazines, such as the Boston Globe, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Scientific American, Business Week, and on National Public Radio.
Meet Dr. Jackson on TCCTA Online!
Friday, February 22nd, 2:30-3:45 p.m.
Friday afternoon, the group will learn about "Las Vegas as the Sustainability Everytown: A Systems Perspective on the Environment."
Speaking will be David M. Hassenzahl, associate professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Dr. Hassenzahl says, "Any local environment can serve as a springboard to every topic covered in an environmental science course. In this talk, a day in Las Vegas is used to explore the interconnectedness of humans and the environment from the personal to the global levels. Topics include (but are not limited to) the first and second laws of physics, photosynthesis, biochemical oxygen demand, energy and water resources, agriculture, climate change, air pollution, suburban sprawl, and the impacts of physical inactivity."
Professor Hassenzahl's research focuses on information, expertise, and uncertainty in risk decision-making. He is co-author of the risk analysis textbook Should We Risk It?, as well as numerous other publications. He chairs the Society for Risk Analysis Education Committee, and is president-elect of the Risk Assessment and Policy Association. He has received the UNLV Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award, and both the Outstanding Researcher and Outstanding Teacher Awards from the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.
Dr. Hassenzahl received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and his undergraduate degree in Paleontology and Environmental Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He is also the author of Environment, and Instructor's Manual for Environment, published by J. Wiley and Sons.
Friday, February 22nd, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Later, at 4:00 on Friday afternoon, the biology faculty will participate in a "Round Table on Teaching Biology Labs: Experiments and Techniques that Work at Various Community Colleges."
Moderating will be P. Jane Brixey, who has taught botany, zoology, and microbiology at the Abilene campus of Cisco Junior College for seven years.
This will be an informal session during which biology faculty members will be urged to share ideas and techniques used to teach biology in the labs. Topics will include photosynthesis, genetics, osmosis, plant diversity, and the metric system.
A former Biology Section Chair for TCCTA, Dr. Brixey was raised on a farm near Hooker, Oklahoma. She received an Associates of Science degree from Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas, a Bachelors of Science in wildlife ecology from Oklahoma State University, a Masters of Science in wildlife biology from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in botany from Auburn University. Her research interests include plant molecular biology and heat stress proteins.
Saturday, February 23rd, 10:30-11:45 a.m.
Saturday morning, the group will hear about "Cooperative Learning Exercises in Cellular Respiration and Fermentation," with Deborah Cardenas and Julie Pickard. This session will provide teachers with worksheets they can use to help students better understand the stages of cellular respiration and fermentation.
The presenters say, "Generally, students taking biology find cellular respiration and fermentation to be two of the most difficult topics to understand. They find this chapter overwhelming. The material is generally spread throughout the chapter and students often fail to make the connections.
"To help students understand these energy-yielding pathways, we have constructed a one-page diagram of cellular respiration and a one-page diagram of fermentation. It is important that the pathway be on a single page so that students can readily follow a molecule through the stages.
"This activity demonstrates how the stages interact with one another and confirms that the stages are not stand alone reactions. The students typically receive these handouts after their cellular respiration and fermentation lecture and are asked to complete the diagram in small groups. Seeing how the molecule is transformed as it goes through the stages helps them visualize each pathway."
Deborah Cardenas holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas Woman's University and also a master's degree from Texas Tech University. Her research has dealt with propionibacterium acnes and the pilosebaceous gland. She is a professor of biology at Collin County Community College.
Julie Pickard received a Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola University in New Orleans and a master's degree in botany from Lousiana State University. Her research includes a two-dimensional analysis of flagellar proteins in chlamydomonas. She is an associate professor of biology at Collin Country Community College.
Biology Section Chair: P. Jane Brixey, Cisco Junior College