Welcome to ASMCUE in Seattle, Washington! Registered attendees are able to download the mobile app onto their phone, create a log-in, and make a personalized schedule and chat with attendees. Questions? Email [email protected]
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As biology instructors, one of our goals is to help students learn to explain and predict how and why phenomena occur i.e. use mechanistic reasoning. The goal of this workshop is for participants to (1) develop a robust understanding of mechanistic reasoning as a tool for making sense of novel biological phenomena, (2) learn guiding principles for developing effective in-class activities that support students' mechanistic reasoning, and (3) apply these principles to create a scaffolded in-class activity they can use in their classroom and (4) gain confidence in developing additional activities that support student use of mechanistic reasoning in their courses.
Curious about integrating quantitative image analysis in your undergraduate courses? In this interactive session, we will explore the mindset of an image analyst, learn about user-friendly, free image analysis software that require little to no coding experience, and discuss resources appropriate for classroom use. Panelists will present case studies and share tips for incorporating open-source plug-and-play resources for teaching quantitative image analysis in undergraduate courses. Participants will work in teams to begin designing activities that introduce the principles of image analysis to undergraduates using the introduced resources, gaining insights into the theory and practice of teaching quantitative image analysis.
The Microbiology Achievement through Research and Valuable Experiential Learning (MARVEL) program was developed as an early post-secondary curriculum intervention to promote academic success, persistence and retention in STEM by focusing professional development activities. MARVEL workshops focusing on STEM communication, networking, teamwork, and relational skills are incorporated directly into their majors first-semester seminar course within the broader Microbiology community to promote belonging and STEM identity development. Workshop participants will become familiar with the MARVEL curriculum, practice learning activities used in the workshop "Embracing the Mentor-Mentee Relationship," and discuss strategies of how to implement the MARVEL curriculum effectively at their home institutions.
This mini-workshop is designed for biology and microbiology faculty who are interested in creating engaging, student-centered teaching case studies. Whether you're new to case-based instruction or looking to enhance your current approach, this mini-workshop will provide practical tools and guidance to help you design a case study that fits your course goals and teaching style. You will leave with an idea for a teaching case study (TCS) and knowledge of steps to take to move from idea to tested (and published) teaching case study.
Oftentimes, large enrollments constrain certain high-impact practices that develop or assess critical thinking, because of their time-intensive nature. These include in-class discussion, individualized feedback on student writing, oral and essay exams, or large projects or presentations. Now that AI is requiring faculty to shift from assessing final products to assessing the student reasoning that goes into developing a final product, we ask whether GenAI can also restore some critical thinking practices and assessments traditionally relegated only to small classrooms. In this roundtable, three biology professors first share their successes and failures with piloting AI-enabled practices to tackle these challenges. Then we open a pertinent roundtable discussion: how to assess process vs product and where AI might enable some of the “small-class” practices and assessments in our largest classes. Attendees will leave with new perspectives about using GenAI to facilitate high-impact, process-orientated, and time-intensive practices and assessments in large classrooms.
This hands-on workshop will introduce educators to teaching genome assembly and annotation using the free, web-based platform Galaxy. Participants will assemble a bacterial genome using SPAdes, evaluate assembly quality with QUAST, annotate genomes with Prokka, and explore how these tools can be integrated into short modules or course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). The session emphasizes accessibility, requiring no command-line experience or specialized computing resources beyond a standard laptop. Participants are welcome to bring their own sequenced genomes if desired. Attendees will leave with strategies and techniques for implementing genome analysis in their own courses.
Despite its relevance for the advancement of science, the incorporation of effective science communication (SciComm) strategies into undergraduate courses remains limited. Expectations for SciComm in laboratory and Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are also not well defined. This workshop will introduce attendees to evidence supporting the integration of formal SciComm training into STEM courses. We will share examples of SciComm curricula focused on effective, evidence-based strategies that support the development of students’ skills, mindsets, and behaviors in SciComm. Attendees will also create a plan for integrating evidence-based SciComm into their didactic, laboratory, or CURE curriculum.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education, yet guidance on using it to foster critical thinking in STEM education is limited. This interactive roundtable session explores how AI can support active knowledge construction rather than passive information retrieval. Examples of AI-infused learning activities will be shared, including what-if modeling, concept mapping, and error analysis, that may promote higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. Through hands-on activities and discussions, attendees will identify strategies for integrating AI as a mindtool into STEM instruction and leave with adaptable approaches that may encourage deeper learning and critical thinking.
Since 1954, Bloom’s Taxonomy has become a popular framework to structure learning, but the focus has been on the cognitive domain (remember, understand, etc.). In this roundtable, we will consider the affective domain, one of the other domains in Bloom’s Taxonomy. The affective domain focuses on emotional components of learning, such as willingness to receive and respond to information, assign value and organize viewpoints, and ultimately incorporate values into personal decisions, and is integral in supporting cognitive learning. Affective learning supports reasoning skills for ethical use of AI and decision-making in our science-skeptical society, but affective learning outcomes are underrepresented in science course or program learning outcomes. As a group, we will uncover challenges that have prevented the articulation and systematic teaching of affective learning in science. We also will explore strategies the community has or could use to support affective learning in students and how to research their effectiveness.
Co-curricular activities help students to build and sustain their sense of belonging, professional identity, and career readiness. In response to declines in participation in co-curricular science clubs resulting from repeated shifts in student leadership, faculty at our institution developed a sustainable, faculty-led STEM Society to provide equitable and regular programming that students can depend upon. By intentionally embedding opportunities for connection across science disciplines, faculty are showcased as an approachable source of support. This has resulted in students feeling empowered to inform faculty of resources needed for success. In response our STEM Society now offers an MCAT study group, peer study group facilitators, career panels, internship fairs, and student achievement celebrations. During this interactive presentation we will introduce our faculty-led model, share the programming framework, and engage participants in discussions about opportunities and challenges of developing sustainable co-curricular programming aimed at promoting belonging, persistence, and career readiness at their institutions.
Attendees will learn principles of designing inquiry-based teaching activities with large authentic datasets, especially open datasets. Working with open resources helps students understand and participate in the full process of discovery, including experimental design, data analysis, data visualization, and reporting. This facilitates experiences on a massive scale that are not otherwise possible in undergraduate classes or even most research labs, especially for students who lack access to research experiences. Participants will experience a field-tested, inquiry-based activity using Allen Institute open science, learn best practices of teaching with open science, and then brainstorm other authentic data sources, activities, and classroom applications.
SuperHero Immune Cell Team is an engaging in-class visual learning activity. Students are provided with five different crocheted or plush toy immune cells, animation videos, and immune cell questions to recreate immune cell function necessary to clear infections in your body. The students will visualize and develop questions about each immune cell’s role in The 3 Rs of Immunology (Recognition, Response, & Remember) in clearing pathogens, pathogen escape tactics, and response to vaccines. This activity is relevant for students that learn Immune cell basics in Biology, Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology, and Immunology courses at the college and high school level.
AI touches so many facets of education that AI policies have a lot to balance: far more than any other policy in our syllabi. From brainstorming and correcting grammar, to using AI as electronic lab notebooks and formatting data tables, it’s still an open question of what uses of AI are appropriate in Microbiology teaching, research, and learning. Come learn a simple approach for co-designing policies with students to increase buy-in, promote openness about AI use, discover what AI uses students care about, and promote the best practices of only those specific uses—instead of policing AI and education writ large.
A correct answer does not necessarily demonstrate strong biological reasoning. Students may identify the right organism, pathway, or outcome yet struggle to explain the mechanism or justify why one interpretation fits the evidence better than another. In this interactive mini-workshop, participants will explore a transferable framework that pairs low-cost manipulatives with structured argumentation. Examples involving multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and whether viruses belong on the tree of life show how students construct and revise models, apply them to competing claims, and defend evidence-based explanations. Participants will complete a brief activity and leave with a practical sequence adaptable to their own courses.
STEM careers in healthcare and biomedical sciences continue to be stable and growing professions. However, learners often struggle to connect foundational science disciplines to real-world applications. The Rural Appalachian Health Disparities minor at WVU provides a curricular framework that integrates basic science, community engagement, and public health policy to address health challenges in rural Appalachia. This roundtable will explore strategies for leveraging existing curricula to demonstrate how disciplines such as microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology inform public health initiatives and community partnerships. Participants will discuss strategies for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations across their institutions and explore how integrating community-relevant health challenges into foundational science curricula can better prepare and retain students from diverse backgrounds for careers in healthcare, biomedical research, and public health while reinforcing the societal relevance of basic science.
There have been disruptors to traditional educational practices with Wikipedia being a long-avoided source of information due to the lack of evidence-based information. Now, generative AI brings another wave of uncertainty in the authenticity of information. Students continue to need tools to navigate web-based platforms. A course project was created with the guidance of Wiki Education and use of a generative AI platforms to provide a training framework for students in how to interface with resources to identify and verify information that could be scientifically supported, and in turn communicate accurate information on a Wikipedia page.
Pre‑health students often separate Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) and Microbiology rather than viewing them as interconnected. This workshop will focus on a project that bridges that gap through a Bloom’s‑aligned, co‑developed case study. Students analyze a 22‑year‑old patient with trismus, rigidity, and hyperreflexia, diagnosing tetanus and tracing how tetanospasmin blocks inhibitory neurotransmitters to produce spastic paralysis. The activity requires integrating microbial pathogenesis with nervous system physiology. Assessments span all Bloom’s levels, including evaluating clinical claims and constructing mechanistic explanations. An AI‑literacy component models transparent, faculty‑guided AI use. Early feedback shows improved understanding of concept integration across the pre‑health curriculum.
Science is rapidly moving into an AI-driven space with new tools and applications becoming increasingly available. As the US Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) updates to a modernized, AI-integrated platform, how can KBase continue to support key workforce development skills in science? The KBase Educators community needs your input! We are a very active network (https://www.kbase.us/engage/educators/) that develops resources for using KBase in undergraduate courses. What are educators considering, exploring, and concerned about teaching alongside advances in AI technology for research and analysis? Possible topics to explore include: developing students’ critical thinking skills while using AI; ensuring scientific integrity, transparency, and reproducibility. This session encourages a candid discussion where educators can share their thoughts on using data analysis platforms with AI-integration (e.g., research / co-scientist agent). Join this open conversation to share concerns and what excites you about adopting AI tools with students!
As undergraduate programs increasingly seek to incorporate industry-recognized credentials (IRCs), faculty and educators face an important question: how well do bioscience industry standards align with academic preparation and existing coursework? IRCs provide a tangible connection between the classroom and the workplace by validating competencies valued by employers, but what does meaningful integration look like in practice? This interactive roundtable invites participants to complete, at no cost, the Biotechnology Aptitude and Competency Exam (BACE) and/or the Aseptic Processing Technician Exam (APTE) prior to the session. By experiencing the exams firsthand, participants will gain insight into their rigor, content, and workforce relevance. Guided discussion will focus on strategies for aligning curricula with industry-defined competencies, adapting existing courses, developing credential-forward learning experiences, and examining the role of IRCs in enhancing student opportunity, employability, and career readiness. Participants will leave with practical ideas for bridging academic and workforce expectations.
The Educator Exchange is a new ASM program that brings colleagues together in small, facilitated groups to develop or adapt ideas, resources, or implementation strategies to improve student learning. During each semester-long session, small groups meet biweekly and workshop ideas that add to a teaching toolbox. All participants in an Educator Exchange session address one broad educational topic, with the facilitator guiding the group to collaboratively identify specific sub-topics to explore and workshop. This round-table session will begin with a description of the Educator Exchange program (EExP) and what has been learned from the Fall 2026 pilot implementation on the topic of classroom assessment. Session leaders will then prompt attendees to participate in roundtable discussions intended to strengthen further implementations of the Educator Exchange by providing broader community feedback.
Typical vaccine education focuses on the biology and science of vaccines, while the conversations our students will face after college are often shaped by emotion, lived-experience, and trust. In this mini-workshop, participants will first become the students as they experience first-hand a discussion that involves historical, cultural, and social aspects of vaccine hesitancy. Participants will then evaluate the pedagogy of this teaching approach and consider ways to implement interdisciplinary discussion into their courses. Finally, an example of a broadened vaccine curriculum will be presented along with evidence from biology education research of its effectiveness in building understanding that fosters empathy.
Education research studies and the translation of their results into evidence-based teaching have resulted in increased learning outcomes for learners in diverse contexts. However, the dissemination of education research through publication in peer-reviewed journals can be daunting to newcomers to the field. This workshop is for practitioners and trainees interested in learning how to write up and publish their education studies in a peer-reviewed journal. Using structured materials and practical guidance, this interactive workshop will walk participants through the phases of planning and writing a manuscript in science education research and will explore different venues for publishing education research manuscripts.
Long-term professional development (PD) programs can improve student learning, but they are not easy to build or run. This session highlights practical PD frameworks that create lasting change by detailing the Biologists and Graph Interpretation (BioGraphI) Project, an NSF-funded network that promotes evidence-based teaching. BioGraphI is an online community of practice (CoP) that has trained over 100 faculty across multiple institutions. We will describe the structure, curriculum, facilitator tools, evaluation, and faculty outcomes of BioGraphI. Using BioGraphI’s materials as a guide, participants will draft a plan to build their own CoP and connect with others to explore potential collaborations.
Attendees will be introduced to a Project Lab model with collaborative research, science communication, and generative AI to support student learning. AI can bridge student skill gaps in project-based experiences while maintaining authentic learning and student ownership. Students used museum-curated resources to investigate the history and science of influenza while developing resources for public health communication. AI was a tool throughout the project, script development, revision, and animation. Students remained responsible for providing peer feedback, maintaining scientific accuracy, and making editorial decisions. Attendees will leave with a framework for using AI to bridge student skill gaps while developing community-engaged projects.
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is developing a process to recognize exemplary general microbiology courses in various institutions. This initiative highlights courses that align with the 2024 ASM Curriculum Guidelines and demonstrate student centered active learning, varied engagement strategies, and multiple forms of assessment. We have draft rubrics and an initial review workflow and seeks input from microbiology educators to refine and strengthen the endorsement process. Beginning in the spring, course applications will be evaluated across four categories: • Course Architecture — alignment with ASM curriculum guidelines and backwards design principles • Instructional Practices —student-centered, active learning, accessibility, and inclusive teaching strategies • Course Infrastructure — institutional support, resources, and sustainability • Reflective Essay — documentation of intentional course design and plans for continuous improvement We invite participants to review the proposed criteria, share perspectives on feasibility and impact, and help shape a process that elevates exemplary courses.
How can we develop students' critical thinking skills in analyzing information, evaluating evidence, and constructing well-reasoned arguments? Highlighting the use of real-world phenomena and authentic data, this session features free HHMI BioInteractive resources that engage students in scientific inquiry and deepen their understanding of core concepts. Grounding student learning in authentic contexts encourages them to ask questions, interpret data, and draw meaningful conclusions. Participants will discuss evidence-based teaching practices and practical approaches to support students’ critical thinking development in their classrooms.
The 2024 release of the updated ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education provides a timely opportunity to re-examine and update the 2018 Microbiology in Nursing and Allied Health (MINAH) Undergraduate Curriculum Guidelines. Historically mapped to the 2012 ASM framework and cross referenced with the 2016 National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX) framework, the MINAH guidelines focus on clinical relevance, infection control, and frontline patient care. Considering there are now updated ASM general undergraduate microbiology curriculum guidelines as well as a 2023 update to the NCLEX framework, it is important to review the MINAH guidelines to ensure alignment of core concepts, and scientific skills. This session will build momentum for the ongoing collaboration of the update effort. We are interested in identifying co-facilitators and volunteers to help advance this work for 2027.
The Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education (JMBE) welcomes scholarship across science education, yet many educators are uncertain about which article types fit their work, what peer review involves, and publication best-practices. This interactive 90-minute workshop, led by JMBE editors, demystifies the entire publishing journey and provides insights for newcomers and frequent JMBE authors alike. Participants will learn JMBE's scope and article sections, publishing ethics (including AI use and text recycling), how peer review works from both sides of the process, and strategies that distinguish successful submissions. Structured activities at each transition ensure attendees leave with practical skills and confidence.
Traditional exams focus on lower-level Bloom's taxonomy (recall and understand), while authentic assessments tie learning to real-world contexts, invite student choice, and reveal how students think. These assessments are also more engaging, meaningful, and (mostly) resistant to answer-sharing and generative AI. This mini-workshop introduces portfolio-based authentic assessment as a practical alternative. This approach was implemented over three semesters in a large pre-health microbiology lecture course, and qualitative data from student feedback will be shared, along with strategies for scaffolding and managing student AI use. Attendees should bring a current assessment they want to reimagine as an authentic task or portfolio.
Today's microbiology educators are increasingly called upon to lead change across classrooms, departments, and institutions. Yet few professional development experiences prepare faculty for the complexity of this work. Drawing on Project Kaleidoscope’s STEM leadership development, this interactive session will introduce an evidence-informed professional development model grounded in systems thinking, organizational change, and reflective practice. Through a facilitated case study presentation and discussion, attendees will learn how to diagnose complex challenges before acting, recognize the visible and invisible forces shaping institutional change, navigate competing perspectives, and lead with greater consciousness, ownership, and resonance.
Undergraduate research experiences significantly impact student success and readiness in STEM. However, community colleges have limited opportunities for authentic research. We discuss the implementation of CURE at Hudson Valley Community College. This course allows students to participate in real scientific discovery through the SEA Phages Genomics program. Students who successfully participate in this course contribute to a national database of bacteriophage biology, learn bioinformatics tools, collaborate with peers to write a manuscript for publication in a peer reviewed journal and present at an international poster session. This presentation will share the motivation behind developing the course, its design, and implementation.
BlackInMicro (BiM) Week is a free conference open to everyone. Occurring every 2 years, it attracts online attendees from 76+ countries to celebrate personal journeys in STEMM. BiM emphasizes career development and connecting everyday scientists to the public. Recordings and published articles are available year-round, with potential to use for undergraduate learning. Session participants will meet #BlackInMicro scientists and brainstorm ways to connect their classrooms to STEMM community members. The roundtable discussion will accomplish two goals. Facilitators will solicit ideas to increase ease of transforming BiM’s open-access materials into classroom tools. Small groups will also work together drafting a classroom activity that encourages students to: 1) view themselves as scientists (increase science identity), 2) explore impacts of science on the wider community, or 3) consider the value of microbiology in their lives. Approaches learned can also be applied to other groups (i.e. 500 women scientists, LatinxInSTEM) for future course design.
Schedule: 4:00 - 4:40 pm Plenary talk by Ann Stevens 4:40 - 4:55 pm Raffle prizes! 4:55 - 5:15 pm Closing Comments by the Planning Committee, led by Kelly Collins
Plenary talk by Ann Stevens Title: Caring about Teaching in the Classroom and Research Lab Description:
Ann Stevens is the 2026 ASM Carski Awardee.There are some common themes that exist between teaching students in a course and in an experimental research lab. Both require an effort to foster good communication skills related to the presentation of findings and scientific discovery. Teaching and mentoring skills evolve in both environments through a willingness to change, whether that change come from a self-desire to improve, a roadblock that must be overcome or an unexpected opportunity that presents itself. Both types of teaching are strengthened by building connections between related pieces of information and through establishing cooperative and collaborative professional relationships. Balancing a career between teaching and research is a challenging, but important and rewarding endeavor. Demonstrating to your students that you careis vital for successful outcomes.
Advanced sign-up is required. Sign-up sheet will be available around Nov. 1. If you want to host an affinity dinner, email [email protected] with your proposed topic.
Saturday November 21, 2026 5:15pm - 7:00pm PST off-site900 Pine St Seattle, Washington 98101 USA
