Dr. Bethann Lavoie, Associate Professor

Degree

• PhD, University of Minnesota

Research Interests

Science Education:

• Professional development
• Assessment
• Diverse cultures
• Problem solving

Students who work with me on undergraduate research and/or master's projects focus on either monarch butterfly larval distribution or biology education. Some students have focused on monitoring milkweed patches for monarch larvae. Afterwards, they analyze the effects of habitat variables on larval distribution with the help of the national database maintained by the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project (www.mlmp.org) at the University of Minnesota. Students interested in biology education have researched various science teaching methods or have developed innovative, research-based biology curriculum. My research extends this student work in biology education by examining the effects of teaching methods designed to promote critical thinking on students' biology achievement.

I teach a combination of introductory and upper-level biology courses including BIOL 100, a general education course for non-majors; BIOL 480, a biology course developed especially for elementary education majors; and BIOL 485/585, a biology teaching methods course. I also advise students who are interested in pursuing biology and general science teaching licensure through the undergraduate Life Science Teaching Program and Master of Arts in Teaching Program.