• Title Director of Instructional Labs; Director of the Learning Assistant Program; Master Lecturer in Biology
  • Education PhD, Cornell University
  • Office SCI 301A
  • Phone 617-358-1958
  • Area of Interest Science education, entomology
  • CV

The Learning Assistant Program

During the fall 2011 semester, I started the Learning Assistant Program within our Introductory Biology course. This program runs in conjunction with the Departments of Chemistry and Physics. The LA program is an initiative to improve undergraduate STEM education that was developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder with National Science Foundation funding. I employ high-performing undergraduate students to help with teaching Introductory Biology labs after they have successfully completed the course. LAs assist course staff in teaching the lab sections, while being trained how to teach by School of Education Faculty. More information about the LA program can be found here.

Selected Publications

  • Spilios KE, Kieswetter CM, and Sekor M, eds (2023). Principles of Biology II. Hayden-McNeil. Plymouth, MI.

  • Hill CJ, Barrasso AP and Spilios KE (2023). A mixed methods analysis of perspectives towards LA-faculty relationships. Journal of College Science Teaching. Journal of College Science Teaching, 52(3).

  • Spilios KE and Kieswetter CM, eds (2022). Principles of Biology I. Hayden-McNeil. Plymouth, MI.

  • Thompson M, Barrasso AP, Tutwiler MS, Garik P, and Spilios KE (2022). Context Matters: Influence of undergraduates’ approaches, experiences, and expectations on the LA model in large enrollment science courses. Educational Innovations and Emerging Technologies, 2(1), https://doi.org/10.35745/eiet2022v02.01.0003.

  • Barrasso AP and Spilios KE (2021). A Scoping Review of Literature Assessing the Impact of the Learning Assistant Model, International Journal of STEM Education, 8(12), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00267-8.

  • Spilios KE, ed. (2018) Principles of Biology II. Hayden-McNeil. Plymouth, MI.
  • Williams LM, Fuess LE, Brennan JJ, Mansfield KM, Salas-Rodriguez E, Welsh J, Awtry J, Banic S, Chacko C, Chezian A, Dowers D, Estrada F, Hsieh Y-H,Kang J, Li W, Malchiodi Z, Malinowski J, Matuszak S, McTigue T IV, Mueller D, Nguyen B, Nguyen M, Nguyen P, Nguyen S, Njoku N, Patel K, Pellegrini W, Pliakas T, Qadir D, Ryan E, Schiffer A, Thiel A, Yunes SA, Spilios KE, Pinzón C JH, Mydlarz LD, Gilmore TD (2018) A conserved Toll-like receptor-to-NF-κB signaling pathway in the endangered coral Orbicella faveolata. Developmental & Comparative Immunology 79: 128-136.
  • Spilios, KE, ed. (2017) Principles of Biology I. Hayden-McNeil. Plymouth, MI.

Courses Taught:

  • BI107: Principles of Biology I
  • BI108: Principles of Biology II
  • BB522: Techniques in Cell and Molecular Techniques (Co-Taught with Prof Tom Gilmore)
  • BI697: A Bridge to Knowledge, Seminar in Pedagogy for New Teaching Fellows in Biology

View all profiles