VBS Team Teaching: Exploring microbiology and the macro of large class teaching 

The Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences is best known for its cutting edge research, but popular educational offerings such as our “General Microbiology“ course (VBS 2032) is a huge draw for undergraduate students interested in human or animal medicine, food science, environmental science and even liberal arts. In the past spring semester, over 225 students were enrolled. Half of this student cohort came from the University’s Nursing program. This is due to a long partnership with the School of Nursing to fulfill their microbiology graduation requirement. This course is offered annually in fall, spring, and summer semesters, and the lab course Instructors Cheryl Dvorak, PhD, and Lisa Bofenkamp, BS, must be ready for anything and everything at all times.

One of the most anticipated and  imaginative activities for this course is the Agar Art competition where students are given the opportunity to create art with bacteria. They use different colored bacteria to create their image on a petri plate of agar media.  After the bacteria grow and the images fully develop, the students vote for their favorites and prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place entries as well as a “Staph” pick.

In addition to the microbiology course, Cheryl Dvorak and Lisa Bofenkamp support other undergraduate basic science courses including “Introduction to Biotechnology” (VBS 1001). Dr. Dvorak also teaches in the Grand Challenges course, “Science & Society: Working Together to Avoid the Antibiotic Resistance Apocalypse” (GCC 3016/5016). Cheryl’s and Lisa’s combined teaching efforts have contributed to some of the highest undergraduate enrollment numbers recorded in the College of Veterinary Medicine. In just this past academic year, they helped over 400 students pass their courses.

Although they are always busy, they kindly agreed to answer a few questions for this interview.

What is your background and how did you find yourself teaching basic science courses like Microbiology and Biotechnology?

Cheryl: I’ve always been interested in science, ever since I was little. I started working in a research lab the summer after my freshman year in college and ended up doing research for about 30 years, mainly as a molecular virologist. Later in my research career I helped run a research lab. One of my favorite parts of running the research lab was to teach students and technicians different experimental techniques, discuss experimental design, and analyze results. In 2020, I switched jobs from basic science research to teaching, as one of the former microbiology instructors retired. As a graduate student, I had the opportunity to teach a lab section for a semester and loved teaching, but when I had to choose, research won out. Now I get to go back to teaching and have embraced my enjoyment of teaching and I’m loving every semester!

Lisa: My background is in biology. I did research for seven years in leukemia biology and then over a decade in developmental biology for HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute). After our second child was born, I was a stay at home mom for five years. As my son entered kindergarten I was looking for a job and ran into Dr. Pat Goodman while she was buying food for our Food Microbiology lab module!  I knew Pat from our work at the leukemia research institute and that led to my current position here. I always enjoyed teaching others new lab techniques, so this was a perfect fit!

What are the students learning about right now?

Lisa and Cheryl: Students just finished up our Genetics lab module in the “General Microbiology” course, which teaches them about eukaryotic and prokaryotic genetics as well as the genetic mechanisms underlying antimicrobial resistance.  Students will next enter the Immunology module where they will learn about blood typing, strep tests and antibody-antigen interactions using ELISA.

Do you have a teaching philosophy or style?

Cheryl: I strive to encourage all students that they are capable of success. I believe that science is more than facts, it also involves curiosity and persistence to explore the world around us. I love the discovery aspect of science and performing experiments and hope to pass on this passion to my students. Ultimately, I want to equip students with problem-solving and critical thinking skills that will enhance many different aspects of their lives.

Lisa: I try to keep things simple and straightforward. Students have a lot of their plate, often juggling many courses, jobs, hobbies, family obligations and other activities. I try not to bog them down with unnecessary details. Often it’s just an additional simple explanation after they have their results that helps them connect the dots.  Also, many students don’t like to be singled out in front of everyone, so walking around the lab and connecting one on one really helps fill in the gaps for many students. Oftentimes, they just need reassurance that they are on the right track.

What are your thoughts about the value of collaboration and bringing different perspectives to teaching?

Cheryl: When I was in the research lab, I found that collaboration greatly enhanced our work and ability to solve problems. I collaborated with many different labs, often sharing my skills and teaching others, and I learned a lot from other research groups. I love to collaborate with others and I always find that I learn new skills and ideas that enhance my ability to teach. I have also learned a lot from our TA’s and students in our courses. When speaking with others, I hear about the material and ideas from different perspectives. This has allowed me to think critically about how I have presented material and I have changed or added new perspectives to much of our material. Different people learn differently, so it is great that we have different instructors as well as teaching assistants as resources to help explain material to students in different ways.

Lisa: We have a lot of students and they all have different backgrounds, goals, experiences and learning styles. By collaborating and bringing different perspectives to our teaching, we hopefully reduce learning blind spots, improve the quality of our course and the learning outcomes associated with it. Between the instructors and many teaching assistants we have, hopefully all students feel there is someone in class they can relate with, ask questions or talk to.

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Cheryl: I love to read, sew, do crafts, make soap, walk, yoga, and do puzzles with friends. My daughter recently got me into crochet and I have been designing and making crochet microbes. My son has gotten me interested in playing computer games again, especially when he comes home from college and we play family games together. He also says I’m obsessed with playing Pokemon Go, which I started playing to motivate myself to walk. If you ever see me staring at my phone and walking, I’m probably trying to catch Pokemon!

Lisa: Right now I spend a lot of my free time with my husband and kids, planning for college for our daughter and running to/from lacrosse practices and games with our son. In addition, I love walking our two sweet dogs every day in the park, as well as reading, cooking/baking, art projects and spending time with my amazing mom and three awesome siblings :)