{"id":497712,"date":"2021-10-26T10:08:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=497712"},"modified":"2024-09-08T10:39:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T14:39:53","slug":"elaine-sia-teaching-the-how-as-well-as-the-what-in-science-497712","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/elaine-sia-teaching-the-how-as-well-as-the-what-in-science-497712\/","title":{"rendered":"Elaine Sia: Teaching the \u2018how\u2019 as well as the \u2018what\u2019 in science"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Elaine<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying<\/h2>\n

\u201cWithin weeks of my Principles of Genetics course in 2018, Dr. Sia\u2019s passions for genetics and teaching were evident. She taught difficult subjects with clarity, confidence, and excitement. She always took the time to answer any of my questions and always had her office door open. To this day I credit this class for solidifying my interest in genetics and introducing me to Dr. Sia, a much-needed strong female role model for me in the field of genetics. Months later, I declared myself as a molecular genetics major and gained Dr. Sia as an advisor. She not only helped map out the rest of my college courses, but also encouraged me to act on my passion for genetics through research and motivated me to become a teaching assistant for three different biology courses.\u201d
\n\u2014Mairead Bresnahan \u201921 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTime and again I ask students why they choose to declare the molecular genetics major, the BS track that Elaine advises. The answers have been invariably, \u2018Dr. Sia got me interested in genetics and she is very helpful\u2014she is always available.\u2019 I see these effective teaching\/mentoring results when these majors later take the upper-level courses that I teach.
\n\u2014Cheeptip Benyajati, associate professor of biology and codirector, with Sia, of the Undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Sia has had a profound impact on me and countless other students through her passion for genetics, teaching, and her inspirational dedication to inclusion and equity inside and\u00a0outside of the classroom. I can confidently say that I would not be the driven scientist, academic, or person I am today without Dr. Sia. She is the perfect person to receive the Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.\u201d
\n\u2014Jacob Squicciarini \u201919<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The biology professor has taught nearly 4,000 undergraduates since joining the University in 2000.<\/h2>\n

Elaine Sia\u2019s first experience teaching came as a graduate student at the Columbia University Medical Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI began to get a sense for the diverse strategies students used to learn material,\u201d she says. \u201cIt became clear that simply taking good notes and memorizing them is not enough to achieve proficiency in the sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n

From those experiences working in small groups and one-on-one with students, Sia developed a teaching philosophy that still guides her today as a professor in the Department of Biology<\/a>\u00a0at the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a>. \u201cGood teaching is about building relationships,\u201d she says. \u201cStudents must be encouraged, supported, and provided with the tools to be active participants in the learning process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sia, who is also codirector of the Undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine, stresses that knowing the answer isn\u2019t enough. \u201cI try to help them understand that \u2018how\u2019 we know is just as important as \u2018what\u2019 we know. I want them to ask by the end of the course: \u2018How do we know this? What experiments support this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sia has taught nearly 4,000 undergraduates since coming to the University in 2000. One of her milestone achievements came as chair of the biology curriculum committee, when she helped create a system where the biology department had the capacity, support, and staff to add laboratory sections to introductory courses. \u201cOur students needed more time at the bench,\u201d she says. \u201cThey need strength in the theory and strength in the practice, so by the time they go into research labs, they have some of the basic lab skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Welte, chair of the biology department, says Sia is \u201cable to square the circle that teachers are all striving for: maintaining academic rigor while being kind, approachable, and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sia has taught a variety of courses at Rochester, but perhaps the most important is the 100-level Genetics, the only course required of all biology majors, and the first demanding course in that major.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore Elaine\u2019s arrival, no faculty seemed able to teach this large course in a manner that students could appreciate,\u201d says Thomas Eickbush, former chair of the biology department. \u201cElaine designed a comprehensive course that brought in exciting new topics in molecular genetics while retaining the relevant classic topics in genetics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, in the midst of a pandemic and with the biology department shorthanded because of a retirement, Sia offered to teach courses in molecular biology (a class she last taught 15 years ago) and cell biology. She developed her courses using a flipped classroom model, creating prerecorded lectures but appearing live in the classroom for discussions with students. That approach helped students feel a sense of normalcy in the most abnormal of years.<\/p>\n

The Michigan native says engaging in dialogue with students has always been a crucial component of her teaching. \u201cI have to feel I\u2019m talking with the students and not at them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to achieve with a really large class.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she finds a way, waiting patiently when her class of upwards of 200 students is reticent to engage in dialogue. \u201cI\u2019ve learned to be comfortable with uncomfortable silence,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause then, they\u2019ll answer. They don\u2019t like it either.\u201d<\/p>\n

While her role as a professor requires her to evaluate and assign grades to students\u2019 work, she nonetheless views students as partners. \u201cI tell them, \u2018We\u2019re all on the same team, working toward the same goal.\u2019 After all, these are the scientists of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biology professor has taught nearly 4,000 undergraduates since joining the University in 2000, including students in the 100-level Genetics, the first demanding course in that major.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":497912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[486,18722,38232,33872,16072],"class_list":["post-497712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-awards","tag-department-of-biology","tag-elaine-sia","tag-goergen-award-for-excellence-in-undergraduate-teaching","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nElaine Sia: Teaching the \u2018how\u2019 as well as the \u2018what\u2019 in science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ biology professor Elaine Sia has taught nearly 4,000 undergraduates since joining the 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