SoTL Practitioners and Projects

Molly Feldman, computer science, presents her Teaching as Research project.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Practitioners are graduate students and postdocs who have participated in the SoTL Program, during which they received training and support to conduct a pilot-scale Teaching as Research project and present the results to the campus community. Carrying out a Teaching as Research project is the major activity required to earn a Practitioner certificate at Cornell. Some participants go on to earn Scholar certificates by presenting their work at external conferences or writing it up as a manuscript for publication in Cornell’s Working Paper Series or for a peer-reviewed journal.

Explore participants and project titles below.


2019-2020 Participants

Tisha Bohr, Molecular Medicine

Luisa Cortesi, Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies

Benyamin Davaji, Electrical and Computer Engineering (affiliate / continuing)

Arielle Johnson, Plant Biology: Perceptions of scientific professionals in an introductory cell biology course

Elizabeth Kreitinger, Biological and Environmental Engineering

Eugene Law, Soil and Crop Sciences: Scientific literacy in the weed science classroom

Dashiell Massey, Molecular Biology and Genetics

Melisa Medina-Rivera, Nutritional Sciences

Asha Miles, Animal Science (continuing)

Tahneen Neelam, Biological and Environmental Engineering

Duc Pham, Biological and Biomedical Sciences (continuing)

Ezgi Sakman, Psychology (affiliate)

Deeksha Sharma, Human Development

Kelsey Utne, History

2018-2019 Practitioners and Projects

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Practitioners

Ashlee Abrantes, Entomology

Yagna Nag Chowdhuri, Asian Literature, Religion, and Culture: Taking time to pause: Learning via Self-Reflexivity and thinking beyond the classroom

Benyamin Davaji, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Daniel Houck, Mechanical Engineering: Going gradeless: A case study of students’ attitudes and motivation (also graduate instructor for Knight Institute First-Year Writing Seminar)

Maria Sol LisboaBiological and Environmental Engineering (Active Learning Initiative TA): Alignments and misalignments between learning perception by students and class learning objectives in an undergraduate level introductory laboratory-based biology class

Asha Miles, Animal Science

Maria ModanuNeurobiology and Behavior: How Does Loss Aversion Bias Affect Student Motivation and Performance in a College Class?

Duc Pham, Biological and Biomedical Sciences: Beyond Bloom’s: The Role of Repetition in the Maintenance of Mastery

Kriszta Pozsonyi, Performing and Media Arts

Osama SiddiquiHistory

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Publication Residency Scholars

These participants have continued engagement with program mentor Kimberly Williams beyond their initial terms as a SoTL Practitioner or CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow in order to further refine the project into a manuscript for publication or conference presentation, earning them CIRTL Scholar status.

Stepfanie Aguillon and Gregor-Fausto Siegmund, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Gender Differences in Student Participation in an Active Learning Classroom (Active Learning Initiative TAs)

Christine Georgakakos, Biological and Environmental Engineering: Cross-discipline Collaborative Learning in Environmental Engineering and Landscape Architecture

Erin Larson, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Teaching Written Argumentation in the Ecological Sciences: A Case Study

Emily Riddle, Nutrition (Ph.D. 2018): Utility of the flipped classroom when teaching clinical nutrition material (past CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Andrew St. James, Microbiology: Inquiry in Oral Communication (past CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Katherine Thorsteinson, English Language and Literature: Anarchy in the Classroom: the Efficacy of Self-directed Learning for Critical Whiteness Pedagogy (past CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Allison Truhlar, Biological and Environmental Engineering: Student Engagement with Course Content and Peers in Synchronous Online Discussions

Lucy (Xiaolu) Wang, Economics: Connecting with Reality: Using Mini-Case Study Approach to Facilitate and Assess Student Learning


2017-2018 Practitioners and Projects

John Wyatt Greenlee, Medieval Studies: To Be or Not to Be: Efficacy of Focused Efforts at Correcting Overuse of “to be” in a 2018 First-Year Writing Seminar (also CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Yen Vu, Romance Studies: Graduate Students at a Crossroads in Feedback: Sources for Receiving and Practices of Giving

Jared Enriquez, City and Regional Planning: Engagement Without Electronics – Lessons from a Voluntary Electronics Ban

Nidhi Subramanyam, City and Regional Planning: Do Students Read When There Is No Accountability? An Analysis of Midterm Responses (also CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Lauren Griffin, Sociology: Student Perceptions of Learning Outcomes and Writing Prompts: A Case Study Approach in a First-Year Sociology Writing Course (also CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow, graduate instructor for Knight Institute First-Year Writing Seminar)

Matthew Hankins, Astronomy: Examining Student Views on Project Based Learning: Weather Balloons in the Astro 1104 Lab (past CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow)

Molly Q. Feldman, Computer Science: What Really Happens in Office Hours? Characterizing Feedback in Introductory Programming Courses

Scott Wehrwein, Computer Science: A Survey of Major Requirements in Liberal Arts Computer Science Programs

Kelsey Ann Houston-Edwards, Mathematics

Drew Zemke, Mathematics, Office Hours: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Elizabeth Kreitinger, Biological and Environmental Engineering: Student Perceptions of Performance and Confidence Engaging with Science Beyond the Walls of the Classroom

Tristan Shepherd, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (Postdoc): Lost in Translation? Student Action Plan Assignments Reveal Climate Change Course Messages May Not Be Getting Through


Spring 2017 SoTL Practitioners and Projects

Elizabeth Case, Mechanical Engineering, and Reece Kearney, Aerospace Engineering: Teaching for the First Time: the Graduate Student Teaching Experience (collaborative project)

Daniel Houck, Mechanical Engineering: Dependencies Between Prelim Scores and Parts of a Course Show Possible Gender Differences

Jeffrey Mulligan, Electrical and Computer Engineering: Using the Tools of Teaching as Research to Inform and Improve Student Engagement and Learning in the Biomedical Engineering Classroom

Christine GeorgakakosBiological and Environmental Engineering: Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Environmental Engineers and Landscape Architects

Eugene Law, Soil and Crop Sciences: Student Perception of Benefits of a Program Supporting Diversity in STEM Fields (also Center for Teaching Innovation graduate fellow)

Dhyan Palanichamy, Integrative Plant Science, Augmenting Statistics with Science History (also Center for Teaching Innovation graduate fellow)


Fall 2016 SoTL Practitioners and Projects

Stepfanie Aguillon, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Gregor-Fausto Siegmund, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Gender Differences in Student Participation in an Introductory Biology Classroom (collaborative project) (Active Learning Initiative TAs)

Megan Biango-Daniels, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology: Understanding the Accuracy of Self-evaluation in Students’ Scientific Writing

Susan Cheng, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: What Motivates Student Engagement in Class? A Case Study with an Undergraduate Course in Environmental Biology

Anna Golovkova, Asian Literature, Religion & Culture, Tyran Grillo, Asian Literature, Religion & Culture, and Andrea Mendoza, Asian Literature, Religion & Culture: Using Role-Play in First-Year Writing Seminars (collaborative project)

Rebecca Harrison, Science and Technology Studies: When Teaching the “Science and Politics of the GMO” MOOC is Itself Political

Janet Hendrickson, Romance Studies: Close Reading Through Creative Writing: Comparing the Effectiveness of Analytic and Creative Writing to Understand the Meaning of a Text

Catherine Spirito, Biological and Environmental Engineering: Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Oral Examinations as a Method to Assess Learning in an Autotutorial Introductory Biology Course


Spring 2016 SoTL Practitioners and Projects

Dawn Berry, International Studies: Teaching Publication Process in Diverse Classrooms

Kathleen Hefferon, Food Science: An Examination of Instructors’ Experiences with the Course Design of a New and Controversial MOOC (Active Learning Initiative postdoc)

Jillian Marshall, Music, Andrew Zhou, Music: Sounding Evidence: Performing Close Readings of Music as Aural Text (collaborative project)

Nicholas Mason, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Using Learning Analytics to Examine the Biology Scholars Program at Cornell

Nancy Quintanilla, English Language and Literature: Breaking Boundaries: Performance Poetry and Vulnerability in Prison Education (past Cornell Prison Education Program instructor)

Rachel Sturge, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Do Students Taking a Writing Intensive Version of an Ecology Course Understand Key Concepts Better Than Those in the Regular Version? (past Active Learning Initiative postdoc)

Brianna Thompson, English Language and Literature, and Katherine Thorsteinson, English Language and Literature: Collaborative Writing in the Humanities (collaborative project)

Allison Truhlar, Biological and Environmental Engineering: “I didn’t know GMO’s cause cancer!”: Investigating Student Engagement with Course Content and Peers in Online Chat

Andrew Waxman, Applied Economics and Management: Social Norms, Public Goods, and Peer Review in First-Year Writing Seminar


Fall 2015 Practitioners and Projects

Georgia Andreou, Classics: Digital Environments in the Education of Humanities: The Benefits of an Organically Evolving Syllabus

Cissy Ballen, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Active Learning Promotes Diversity in Undergraduate Science (past Active Learning Initiative postdoc)

Jasmine Crumsey, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: In-Class Polling, Pre-Lecture Quizzes, and Exam Performance as Predictors of Student Learning in an Introductory Ecology Course

Peter DelNero, Biomedical Engineering: Cancer Researchers Collaborate with Patients and Survivors to Forge Campus-Community Partnerships in Biomedical Science and Engineering (past Engaged Graduate Student grantee)

Chantal Koechli, Microbiology: Effectiveness of Active Learning Small Groups on Comprehension and Retention of the Concept of the Central Dogma

Lee Yoke Lee, Natural Resources: The Influence of Course Design on the Quality of Cooperative Learning


Spring 2015 Practitioners (formerly CGS Writing Assessment Fellows) and Projects

Steffen Blings, Government, and Sarah Maxey, Government: Teaching Students to Engage With Evidence: An Evaluation of Structured Writing and Classroom Discussion Strategies (collaborative project) (also graduate instructors for Knight Institute First-Year Writing Seminars)

Ezen Choo, Pharmacology: Professional Development Workshops on Teaching: Motivations, Experiences and Recommendations

Lacie Rae Buckwalter Cunningham, Romance Studies: Teaching Teatro Campesino: Student Actos in Action!

Chuan Liao, Natural Resources: How Do Rubrics Enhance Learning? Using a Place Journal as a Case Study

Martin Luke McDermott, Chemistry and Chemical Biology: Autonomy in Undergraduate Lab Projects: Crafting Independent Scientists with Craft Beer

Nirav S. Patel, Natural Resources: University-wide Teaching Workshops (1989-2004; 2010-2015) at Cornell University: Evaluating the Metrics of Participation

Dexter Thomas, Asian Literature, Religion and Culture: Quizzes are Broken (But I Might Have Fixed Them)


Spring 2014 Practitioners (formerly CGS Writing Assessment Fellows) and Projects

All participants in this cohort were also graduate or postdoctoral instructors for Knight Institute First-Year Writing Seminars.

Jessica Abel, English Language and Literature: We’re Not Exactly Tweeting Here: Teaching Students to Control the Level of Formality in Their Writing

Michaela Brangan, English Language and Literature: Students Helping Students: Preferences and Practices for Peer Review

Molly Katz, English Language and Literature: Thinking Aloud Through Writing Prompts: A Case Study

Will Youngman, English Language and Literature: A Tale of Two (or More) Tones: Strategies for Assessing and Improving Student Knowledge of Tone 


Spring 2013 Practitioners (formerly CGS Writing Assessment Fellows) and Projects

All participants in this cohort were also graduate instructors for Knight Institute First-Year Writing Seminars.

Adam Bendorf, Philosophy, and Stephen Mahaffey, Philosophy: Judging Others: Comparing Structured  and Unstructured Peer Review Exercises (collaborative project)

Elizabeth Blake, English Language and Literature, and Ben Tam, English Language and Literature: He Said/She Said: Teaching the Use of Secondary Sources (collaborative project)

Hannah Byland, Medieval Studies, and Ruth Mullett, Medieval Studies: Entering the Conversation: Scholarly Sources and Student Writing (collaborative project)

Alex Harmon, English Language and Literature, and Danielle Morgan, English Language and Literature: Confidence and Argumentation in Analytical Prompts and Theses in the Freshman Writing Seminar (collaborative project)

Daniel Radus, English Language and Literature, and Aaron Rosenberg, English Language and Literature: Incorporating Secondary Sources in the Freshman Writing Classroom (collaborative project)