Teaching Archives | Biological Sciences Blog

BioSci Instructors Earn Exceptional Student Evaluation Scores!

Published May 20, 2024

Congratulations to the following 9 instructors from Biological Sciences identified as among only 55 MTU instructors campus-wide that received an exceptional “Average of 7 Dimensions” on student evaluations for Spring Semester 2024!

Casey Huckins, Professor and Chair
Robert Larson, Assistant Professor
Brigitte Morin, Teaching Professor
Jill Olin, Assistant Professor
Gordon Paterson, Assistant Professor (Nominated for the 2024 MTU Distinguished Teaching Award)
Thomas Werner, Professor
Jenna Disser, MS Graduate Student
Alexzandra Markle, PhD Graduate Student
Hunter Roose, MS Graduate Student

Their evaluation scores were in the top 10% of similarly sized sections university-wide, with at least a 50% response rate, and a minimum of five responses. Thank you, instructors, for being such an important part of Biological Sciences’ key role in fulfilling the educational mission of MTU!

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

Biological Science’s Influential Leader – Brigitte Morin

Published April 1, 2024

By Sunny Charpentier

Biological Science’s Brigitte Morin was recognized as one of Michigan Tech’s most influential leaders during Women’s History Month. Morin was featured in Tech Today’s story on Michigan Tech’s most influential women, who are making strides to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion across campus. A Husky Nation post titled, “Women’s History Month and Beyond: Six Michigan Tech Leaders Reflect on Their Work and Inspiration” features Brigitte’s personal and professional perspectives on the subject, with insight and quotes from Morin herself.

As the daughter of two K-12 educators, she experienced first-hand what it took to have a significant positive impact on young students. Now, as she teaches her own sizeable college courses at MTU, she takes steps to make sure her classroom is a space for learning, inclusivity, and positivity.

Brigitte earned her Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) from Michigan Technological University, as well as a certificate in Secondary Education and minors in both General Science and Spanish. After graduating from Michigan Tech, Brigitte taught high school Biology for six years, then earned her MS degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University. Brigitte has returned to Michigan Tech as a lecturer, primarily in the MLS program. Her teaching interests include Clinical Lab Techniques, Clinical Immunology and Serology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Human Nutrition, and Parasitology.

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

Amy Marcarelli: Distinguished Teaching & MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year Nominee

Published September 26, 2023

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Congratulations to Amy Marcarelli! She is one of the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award winners. She also is a nominee for the 2023 University’s MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year.

Amy is an ecosystem ecologist with interests in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwaters. Her research program blends basic and applied research and integrates across aquatic habitats, including stream, river, wetland, lake littoral zones, and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes. Marcarelli’s past and future research trajectory is governed by an interest in understanding the role of small, poorly quantified fluxes or perturbations on ecosystem processes and in linking those ecosystem processes to the underlying structure of microbial, algal, macrophyte and animal communities.

Since 1982, a Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award has been presented annually in each of two categories: Associate Professor/Professor and Assistant Teaching Professor/Associate Teaching Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice/Assistant Professor. The award nomination and review processes have always been student-driven; an explicit student nomination process was discontinued in 1999 when it was determined that too few students were participating to identify the best candidates.

Since 1999, a group of five finalists in each of the two categories is selected based on student ratings of instruction completed during a calendar year. All instructional personnel who received at least 35 student ratings during spring and fall semesters within that calendar year are eligible except for those who are previous winners, department chairs, teaching assistants, temporary hires, etc. Eligible faculty are ranked by their cumulative average of the 7-Dimensions on the survey for the given year. The top 5 in each category are selected as finalists.

The Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year award recognizes the outstanding contributions and dedication exhibited by the faculty from Michigan’s 15 public universities to the education of undergraduate students. Each university was invited to nominate a faculty member who has had a significant impact on undergraduate student learning through various activities, particularly classroom instruction, applied research, experiential learning, innovation and mentoring.

Biological Sciences Department Award Winners holding their awards — Biological Sciences Department Award Winners

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings

Amy Marcarelli is the recipient of MTU’s 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award in the Associate Professor/Professor category

Published June 20, 2023

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Amy Marcarelli is a professor of biological sciences and an ecosystem ecologist with an interest in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwater bodies. She received her bachelor’s in biology from Colgate University and her Ph.D. in ecology from Utah State. She is the director of both the Ecosystem Science Center and the Aquatic Analysis (AQUA) shared facility at Michigan Tech. Her research applies across aquatic habitats, including streams, rivers, wetlands, lake littoral zones — the sloping area where sunlight reaches from the lake’s surface all the way to the sediment, located between the shore and deeper water — and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes.

“Amy Marcarelli is a true example of the teacher-scholar model. She maintains an active research program studying ecology of aquatic ecosystems and has administrative duties as the director of our Ecosystem Science Center on campus. Yet she also devotes vast time and talent to doing an outstanding job in the classroom, introducing our students to the remarkable ecology of Lake Superior, involving them by the dozens in research in her laboratory, and preparing students for graduate school and careers. Michigan Tech is fortunate to have Dr. Marcarelli on our faculty.”
David Hemmer, Dean of the Michigan Tech College of Sciences and Arts

Click to read the full article

Biological Sciences Faculty Members Receive Exceptional Spring 2023 Student Evaluation Scores

Published May 10, 2023

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Heartiest congratulations to the following 10 instructors from the Biological Sciences Department who have been identified as some of the only 74 campus-wide instructors who received exceptional “Average of Seven dimensions” student evaluation scores during the Spring 2023 semester.

Only 89 sections university-wide (out of more than 1,411 evaluated) were rated so highly by the students. Their scores were in the top 10% of similarly sized sections university-wide, with at least a 50% response rate and a minimum of five responses.

Provost Storer recently congratulated them for their outstanding accomplishments in teaching.

The following faculty/staff/graduate students received the recognition based on an average of 7 elements of a university-wide class size group with a response rate of >50% on student evaluations of their lecture/lab classes:

Dr. Casey Huckins, Professor and Associate Chair
Ms. Brigitte Morin, MS, Associate Teaching Professor (Winner of MTU teaching award in 2018)
Dr. Gordon Paterson, Assistant Professor
Ms. Claire Danielson, MS, MLS Program Director, and Assistant Teaching Professor (Nominated for the MTU teaching award, 2022 and 2023)
Ms. Sarah LewAllen, MS, MLS Program Coordinator
Ms. Jenna Disser, MS Graduate Student
Mr. Karl Schneider, Ph.D. Graduate Student
Ms. Michelle Kelly, Ph.D. Graduate Student
Ms. Nicole Roeper, MS, Director, Pre-Health Professions, and Instructor
Mr. Hunter Roose, MS Graduate Student

We are very proud of these achievements, and we thank them and you all for fulfilling the educational mission of our university!

The departmental student rating average for Spring 2023 was 4.51 out of 5. Since 2013, our faculty, staff, and students have been in this top 10% of teachers list 162 times.

Amy Marcarelli Receives the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award

Published May 3, 2023

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Amy Marcarelli, a professor in Biological Sciences, has received the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award in the category of Associate Professor/Professor. Dr. Marcarelli is an ecosystem ecologist with an interest in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwaters. Her research program blends basic and applied research and integrates across aquatic habitats including stream, river, wetland, lake littoral zones, and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes.

“That’s fantastic news. Amy is not just passionate about educating the next generation of students but also very kind to her students and creative with her courses. We greatly appreciate her dedication and contributions to the teaching mission of Michigan Tech,” Chandrashekhar Joshi, the Department Chair of Biological Sciences, said.

Dr. Marcarelli said, “Thank you to all of my colleagues in the Biology Department for creating a community where teaching is valued, where we learn from and support each other in our teaching journeys, and where student success is the top priority in and out of the classroom. I believe that community is why we have had such success in this award, with many more who have been nominated (and with awards in their futures, I’m sure!). I am inspired by you, and grateful to have you as colleagues and friends.”

Since 1982, a Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award is presented annually in each of two categories: Associate Professor/Professor and Assistant Teaching Professor/Associate Teaching Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice/Assistant Professor.

Since 1999, a group of five finalists in each of the two categories is selected based on student ratings of instruction completed during a calendar year. All instructional personnel who received at least 35 student ratings during spring and fall semesters within that calendar year are eligible except for those who are previous winners, department chairs, teaching assistants, temporary hires, etc. Eligible faculty are ranked by their cumulative average of the 7-Dimensions on the survey for the given year. The top 5 in each category are selected as finalists.

On behalf of the students, staff, and faculty in the Biological Sciences department, we congratulate Dr. Marcarelli for winning the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award. It is a terrific achievement. We thank you for your excellent contributions to Michigan Tech’s critically important teaching mission.

Biological Sciences Faculty Members Receive Exceptional Fall 2022 Student Evaluation Scores

Published February 14, 2023

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Heartiest congratulations to 12 instructors (that’s 17% of all instructors awarded) from the Biological Sciences Department who have been identified as some of the only 70 campus-wide instructors who received exceptional “Average of Seven dimensions” student evaluation scores during the Fall 2022 semester. Only 91 sections university-wide (out of more than 1,379 evaluated) were rated so highly by the students. Their scores were in the top 10% of similarly sized sections university-wide, with at least a 50% response rate and a minimum of five responses.

The following faculty, staff, and graduate students received the recognition.

Dr. Amy Marcarelli, Professor (Nominated for the MTU teaching award, 2018, 2020, and 2022)
Ms. Brigitte Morin, MS, Associate Teaching Professor (Winner of MTU teaching award in 2018)
Dr. Thomas Werner, Associate Professor (Winner of MTU teaching award in 2013, 2019, and MASU professor of the year, 2021)
Dr. Jill Olin, Assistant Professor
Ms. Claire Danielson, MS, MLS Program Director, and Assistant Teaching Professor (Nominated for the MTU teaching award, 2022)
Ms. Sarah LewAllen, MS, MLS Program Coordinator
Ms. Jenna Disser, MS Graduate Student
Mr. Karl Schneider, Ph.D. Graduate Student
Ms. Michelle Kelly, Ph.D. Graduate Student
Mr. Isaac Lennox, MS Graduate student, KIP
Mrs. Nicole Roeper, MS, Director, Pre-Health Professions, and Instructor
Mr. John Romanowski, MS, Lab Supervisor, Biological Sciences

Interim Provost Dr. Andrew Storer recently congratulated them for their outstanding accomplishments in teaching.

We are very proud of these achievements, and we thank them and you all for fulfilling the educational mission of our university!

The departmental student rating average for Fall 2022 was 4.47 out of 5. Since 2013, our faculty, staff, and students have been in this top 10% of teachers list 152 times.

Three Biological Sciences professors are Nominated for the 2023 Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award

Published February 7, 2023

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We are pleased to announce three finalists for the 2023 Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award. Congratulations go out to:

Professor Amy Marcarelli is nominated for the Associate Professor/Professor category. This is Amy’s fourth nomination.

Teaching Assistant Professor Claire Danielson is nominated for the Assistant Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice category. This is Claire’s second nomination.

Assistant Professor Robert Larson, is nominated for the Assistant Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice category. This is Rob’s first nomination.

These three join prior Biological Sciences department Distinguished Teaching Award winners in the recent past: Dr. Thomas Werner (2013 and 2019), Ms. Karyn Fay (2016), and Ms. Brigitte Morin (2018). Dr. Thomas Werner also won the Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year award in 2021.

The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Michigan Tech’s instructional mission.

To whittle the finalists to a single winner, The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is seeking input on the finalists for its annual Distinguished Teaching Awards. Based on more than 40,000 student ratings of instruction responses, ten finalists have been identified for the 2023 awards. The selection committee solicits comments from students, staff, faculty, and alumni to be referenced during their deliberations.

Comments for the finalists are due by March 31 and can be submitted online.

The process for determining the Distinguished Teaching Award recipients from this list of finalists also involves the additional surveying of their spring 2023 classes. The selection committee makes the final determination of the award recipients. The 2023 Distinguished Teaching Awards will be formally announced in May.

For more information, contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu or 906-487-3000.

Anatomage Table 8.0 is a True Game Changer for Students

Published September 1, 2022

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Students standing beside an interactive table in a lab — Students using Anatomage Table in A & P

Thanks to the generous support from our alumni and friends, the department purchased a virtual human cadaver dissection table from Anatomage. The table cost about $72,000. Our Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) students have been excited to use this equipment since the Fall of 2021. The table will move to our new H-STEM building when that project is complete (and be joined by a second table). This 7.2-foot-long iPad-like table allows eight students to simultaneously learn and experience medical sciences in a way they have never done before! We would greatly appreciate it if you could contribute to Anatomage Michigan Tech Fund #3454. Funds will go to purchase a second Anatomage table. As a result, this increases instruction for up to 16 students at the same time. We are already halfway there.

The Anatomage Table 8.0 is one of the most technologically advanced virtual dissection platforms. The Table’s interactive, life-sized display is now available for our undergraduate students to utilize within the Anatomy & Physiology Teaching Laboratory! It expands our ability to provide ultra-high-quality visualization for students to view photorealistic anatomical structures. Students are amazed by the level of detail within each virtual human cadaver. They see value in comparing models and textbook images to actual medical images. The Table includes a robust library of histology scans, CT and MRI scans, clinical cases, and physiology simulations.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

MLS Program Passes NAACLS Accreditation Site Visit

Published April 25, 2018

By Travis Wakeham

MLS Faculty & Staff: Kelsey Johnson (MLS Clinical Practicum Coordinator), Karyn Fay (MLS Program Director), Brigitte Morin (Lecturer) — Pictured Left to Right: Kelsey Johnson (MLS Clinical Practicum Coordinator), Karyn Fay (MLS Program Director), and Brigitte Morin (Lecturer)

The Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) program recently had a Site Visit by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS). On April 9-10, three reviewers from NAACLS were on campus intensely evaluating curricula, laboratories and outcome measures and talking to University administrators, current students, recent graduates, clinical affiliates and the MLS advisory board. They were especially interested in evaluating the support the administration has shown to accredit the MLS program at Michigan Tech.

The accreditation procedure has been a four-year process, starting in 2014. It began with a preliminary study, a self-study and finally a successful site visit. The MLS program passed without deficiencies, which is unheard of for a first-time program accreditation.

The final step is the NAACLS Executive Board meeting in September, upon which the accreditation will be conferred. This accreditation will allow the MLS program to grow, send more students to clinical sites, and help alleviate the critical need for medical laboratory scientists not only locally, but across the country.

NAACLS logo

Category: Teaching

About the Biological Sciences Department

About the Biological Sciences Department

About the Biological Sciences Department