Lessons Learned:
The Keck Postdoctoral
Fellowship Experience
Xenia Morin
May 2004
Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship
Goal: Training College Teacher/Scholars
Mentored
Mentored
Research
Teaching
Research
Experienc
e
Supervisor
y
Experience
Supervising Research
Teaching
What I have learned…
 Students come eager to learn; some are eager to talk and to
discuss
 Classroom dynamics are different in all-women classes versus
mixed classes
 The assessment part of teaching is difficult to do well and time
consuming!
 Teaching is very emotional
 Some students are “received knowers” and need to be
encouraged to think and analyze
 Students love field trips….
 My research postdocs did little to prepare me for the teaching
role of a liberal arts faculty member
What I have learned…
 Students love field trips….
Fuch’s
Di Historia
1551
Blackwell’s
A Curious Herbal
1782
What I have learned…
 Students come eager to learn
• Most want to be successful and will rise to a challenge,
sometimes to their own physical detriment (sleep
deprivation; eating disorders)
• Be open to different learning styles or abilities
• Get excited about trying different styles of teaching, both
in and out of class e.g. “Fun Fridays”
• Get to know the students personally and this will help
you to guide their learning
 e.g. summer student research
What I have learned…

Classroom dynamics are different in all-women classes versus mixed
classes (even when men make up 10% of class; Bio210)
• Most women, although not all, are much less likely to voice their
opinion in mixed classrooms
• Think-write-pair-share exercises reinvigorate discussion by giving
a safe environment to test out initial ideas before sharing in large
groups
• Our women in science and math need to be encouraged to talk
and discuss
• Classroom size and space matter! Choose carefully!
What I have learned…
 Teaching includes assessment which is
difficult to do well and time consuming!
 Multiple ways of assessment can be useful: written,
quantitative, visual (e.g. structural representation), and public
speaking
 Not all assignments need to be graded carefully
 Some forms of assessment can be useful feedback tools
 …Still have to figure out how to reconcile my desire to assess
in certain ways and the amount of time and energy I have!
What I have learned….
 Some students are “received knowers”
• I have learned to deal with plagarism
• Sadly, some students just want to cut and paste from internet
resources, sometimes edit, and present as their own work: the
internet has become the best tool for “received knowers” (learning
to deal with plagarism); students need much more guidance here!
• As teachers we must encourage our students to grow and
develop their own voices and thoughts
 e.g. Position papers (Bio210); Designing laboratory protocol
(CHEM242 lab); analysis of scientific papers (CHEM546)
My Background
 1985 B.Sc. in Biochemistry, U. of Toronto
• Summer research experience
 1992 Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Dept. of Biochemistry, Molecular
and Cell Biology, Cornell University
• Always knew teaching was my passion
• Started Grad Teaching Workshops
 1992-1996 Post-doc experience at EMBL, Germany and
Hospital for Sick Children
• Research focus due to nature of fellowships
 2001- present Keck Fellowship was re-entry to work force
Introductory Courses
 My assignment: to teach the biochemistry and chemistry
section of an Introductory Biology (Bio101 Fall) course to
undergraduates and post-bacs
 Challenges: convince biology students that understanding
some chemistry is important yet many will only be starting
introductory chemistry
 large class sizes, lecture format; variety of backgrounds
 Stimulation: break up classes with “Fun Fridays”
• used hands-on activities (e.g. building molecules out of
marshmallows and toothpicks),
• songs (Cold Spring Harbor Books),
• mamba-line (demonstrate primary structure of proteins)
• The ribosome and protein translation done with students
Biochemistry Laboratory
 Assignment: teach the laboratory section of an introductory
biochemistry class (Chem242)
 Challenges: content vs. concepts; introducing new
• Time and energy!
 Stimulation:
•
•
•
•
•
Model good technique
Use smart classrooms for computer-based work
Create a variety of labs that have good visual appeal
Change lab partners midway through semester;
Field trip to BioMol
Non-Majors Course
 Assignment: Teach Biology and Public Policy (Bio210)
 Challenges: writing course; students want lots of discussion
but class size is large (46 students); classroom dynamics; get
up to speed on policy issues and ethical considerations; don’t
want to scare the students too much!
 Stimulation:
• Think-Write-Pair-Share exercises
• Videos: lot of good material here
• Planned debate
• Introduce the ethical dimension (Bioethics Workshop)