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Profile for Megan Litster

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Megan Litster

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Associate Professor
Health Professions - PT
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

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Megan Litster Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Associate Professor

Health Professions - PT

Specialty area(s)

Anatomy Education

Brief biography

Teaching to me is a collaborative effort.  Not just between faculty, but between faculty and the students in their classes. Learning doesn't occur in isolation.  If you think about all the things you have learned throughout you life (learning to walk, learning to talk, learning to play a video game, or a musical instrument, etc...) the vast majority of them have occurred with others.  It is for this reason I consider myself a social constructivist.  This theory of learning really takes the philosophy that we are smarter as a group than we are as an individual. I embed this into the learning environment in my classroom.

Current courses at UWL

Spring 2024 Classes

OT 524 - Human Anatomy (Lecture and Lab)

PTS 535 - Functional Neuroanatomy

PTS 536 - Applied Functional Neuroanatomy

 

Education

Ph D, University of Northern Colorado, 2005.
Major: Biology
Supporting Areas of Emphasis: Biology Education

MS, Colorado State University, 1999.
Major: Anatomy and Neurobiology

BS, Colorado State University, 1996.
Major: Biology
Supporting Areas of Emphasis: Anatomy & Physiology

Career

Professional history

Associate Professor in Health Professions UWL 2024 - present
CATL Faculty Fellow UWL 2020 - presentAssociate Professor in Biology UWL 2019 - 2023

Associate Chair - Biology July 2022 - December 2023
Assistant Professor UW-L 2012 - 2019
Assistant Professor in Residence UNLV 2005 - 2012
Science Teacher Peak to Peak Charter School 2002 - 2005

Research and publishing

Dewsbury, Bryan et al. (2021). Chronicling the journey of the Society for the Advancement in Biology Education Research (SABER) in its effort to become antiracist: from acknowledgement to action. Frontiers in Education- STEM Education. 

King-Heiden, T., Litster, M. (2018). Using case-study based modules to promote a better understanding of evolution in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course. Journal of Biology Education

Bussey, T., Litster, M., Ho, W., Wood, S., Orgill, M. (2014). Using a Field in Flux to Discuss Nature of Science in the Classroom: The Case of Defining Self-Assembly. Journal of Nano Education, 6, 157 - 168. 

Gradie, P. R., Litster, M., Thomas, R., Schiller, M. M. (2011). SciReader enables reading of medical content with instantaneous definitions. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 11(4). 

Orgill, M., Thomas, M. E. (2007). Analogies and the 5E Model. The Science Teacher, 74, 40-45.

Kudos

presented

Megan Litster, Biology; Kristin Koepke, CATL; Lindsay Steiner, English; and Nicole Gullekson and Christa Kiersch, both Management; presented "Transforming Forced Virtual Learning into Opportunities to Develop Virtual Teamwork Competencies in Management Students" at Western Academy of Management on April 22 online.

Submitted on: April 23, 2021

presented

Sierra Rooney, Art; Megan Litster, Biology; Katherine Lavelle, Communication Studies; Sarah Pember, Health Education & Health Promotion; and Jennifer Kosiak, Mathematics & Statistics; presented "Where Do We Go From Here?" at OPID Spring Conference on Teaching on Friday, April 16 online. Invited to be featured roundtable presentation.

Submitted on: April 16, 2021