Profile for Megan Litster
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Megan Litster
Associate Professor
Biology
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Specialty area(s)
Biology 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. Depending on which class you take from me, you will see various levels of student centered engagement.
Current courses at UWL
Fall 2022 Courses
BIO 312 - Human Anatomy & Physiology I
EDS 492 - Student Teaching Seminar
Student Teaching Observations
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 UWL 2019 - present
CATL Faculty Fellow UWL 2020 - present
Associate Chair - Biology July 2022 - Present
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
presented