Patricia Baynham
St. Edward’s University, Austin, TX
1) Describe your teaching responsibilities and the type of student you teach
I teach at an undergraduate liberal arts Hispanic serving institution in Austin, TX: St. Edward's University. My students (and the classes that I teach) include both biology majors (freshman biology, microbiology with lab, research methods, senior seminar) and non-science majors.
2) Describe what you would like to take home as a result of attending the institute
In attending the SoTL Institute I hope to learn to analyze the effectiveness of my teaching approaches. There is much emphasis at SEU on student evaluations as a source of information regarding how courses should develop. However, I believe that a more objective source of information will be helpful in determining what most positively impacts student learning.
3) Tell us about your interests outside of the classroom and a book that you've read recently
Personally, I love orchids, enjoy yoga and am involved in the trap-neuter-and-release of feral cats in my neighborhood. I am married to a wonderful man (no children). A book I very much enjoyed reading is "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.