Peer Teaching

DEADLINE FOR Spring 2024 PEER TEACHING APPLICATIONS IS DECEMBER 5th 2023.

NEW: PEER TEACHERS FOR INTRO BIO WILL BE AWARDED A $350 FELLOWSHIP

The Undergraduate Peer Teaching Program in Biology offers students the opportunity to serve as learning assistants under the supervision of professors, or graduate or undergraduate teaching assistants.

Peer Teachers make substantial contributions to the learning experience by offering students a further degree of individualized attention. Perhaps more importantly, Peer Teachers can alter the dynamic of the students' learning experience, by blurring distinctions between teaching and learning, between professor and student, in ways that foster excitement and enthusiasm. The effectiveness of Peer Teachers is clear from the responses we consistently receive from their students. In fact, many of our Peer Teachers mention their own experiences with a Peer Teacher in previous semesters as a factor in their decision to apply to the program.  Peer Teachers find the experience enriching and rewarding. It gives them the opportunity to develop their communication skills and to explore their interests in teaching, while expanding and deepening their own knowledge of the topics at hand.

The contributions of our Peer Teachers are formally recognized within the department. New for Fall 2023, we are thrilled to offer peer teachers in Intro Biology a $350 fellowship to acknowledge the essential contributions they make in supporting the biology department’s teaching mission.

BIOLOGY 2100 PEER TEACHING

Biology 2100 (Introduction to Biology: Cell Biology and Genetics Laboratory) is offered in the fall of each academic year to more than 800 students in 33 lab sections. Each section is staffed by one teaching assistant and one undergraduate peer teacher. Biology 2100 encompasses 2 primary areas: DNA analysis (extraction, cloning, transformation, restriction mapping, sequencing, bioinformatics) and enzyme analysis. Peer teachers will work closely with students in one lab section per week to enhance the classroom learning experience and promote further understanding of the material.

 

BIOLOGY 2200 PEER TEACHING

Biology 2200 (Introduction to Biology: Organismal and Evolutionary Biology) is offered in the spring of each academic year to approximately 800 students in 33 lab sections. Each section is staffed by one teaching assistant and one undergraduate Peer Teacher. BIOL 2200 encompasses 3 major themes: evolution, biodiversity and animal form and function. Peer teachers will work closely with students in one lab section per week to enhance the classroom learning experience and promote further understanding of the material.