Julie Stanton (Submitted photo)
Julie Stanton, associate professor in the department of cellular biology, has received the 2021 Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award for her research focused on the instructional mission of UGA.
“Dr. Stanton’s research advances STEM education here at the University of Georgia and across the nation,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I congratulate her on receiving the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.”
Stanton is a leader in transforming undergraduate teaching in her department, having developed a group of problem sets using “Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning,” a teaching pedagogy that increases students’ critical thinking and collaborative skills in cell biology courses required for six life science majors at UGA. She trained other instructors to adopt the POGIL problem sets, further facilitating students’ development of metacognitive skills.
“We are fortunate to have a faculty member like Dr. Julie Stanton who exemplifies excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning,” said Michelle Momany, associate dean for life sciences.
Beyond UGA, Stanton has published her problem sets and lesson plans in peer-reviewed open access journals, ensuring that other instructors can leverage her work. She regularly serves as a keynote speaker and guest research seminar speaker sharing her STEM education research so that other faculty can incorporate metacognition into their classes.
Stanton has a national reputation as a leader in the scholarship of teaching and learning, securing research funding over the last seven years, including an NSF CAREER Award of more than $1 million to study the development of metacognitive skills in life sciences undergraduates. She is principal investigator on another NSF grant to investigate the unique strengths and assets that Black and African American students bring to science majors, helping to retain students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM.
She is a founding member of the UGA Scientists Engaged in Education Research Center and a current SEER Center executive board member. She also served as the director and principal investigator of an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program on undergraduate biology research. From 2014 to 2019, she led this nine-week summer program designed to engage undergraduates from across the country to research teaching and learning in biology with mentorship from faculty at UGA.
“It has been an absolute joy to collaborate with talented undergraduate and graduate researchers to uncover ways we can better support student learning in the sciences,” Stanton said.
