What’s in your teaching DNA?
In biology, recombinant DNA involves combining DNA from different sources to achieve a desired outcome. At Recombinant Education, we help combine your unique academic strengths and disciplinary knowledge with evidence-based educational strategies via workshops and consulting services to achieve positive outcomes for yourself, your students, and your institution.
Dr. Justin Shaffer, a STEM faculty member with 10+ years experience in the classroom and with discipline-based education research, offers higher education workshops and consulting services in the following areas.
Contact me to discuss your unique circumstances so that we can plan for a way to work together.
Watch Justin give a workshop on getting started in discipline-based education research at CINVESTAV in Mexico City
Read Justin’s opinion piece on assessing class time costs in order to justify using more evidence-based teaching strategies in class on Inside Higher Ed
Listen to Justin discuss course design and course structure on Derek Bruff’s Intentional Teaching podcast
Testimonials
“Please invite Dr. Shaffer to consult with you or your faculty! He’s invested in continuous improvement and evidence-based methods, skilled at translating research to practice, and will renew your excitement for classroom teaching. He’s a rare-find and a gem; consistently delivering the highest quality work while also tending to his students’ and coworkers’ needs.”
Sarah Bodbyl, Associate Dean, Van Andel Institute Graduate School
“After attending three of his workshops, it is my belief that Dr. Justin Shaffer is a rising star in pedagogy, one of the new generation to come after foundational folks like Drs. Felder & Brent, Wankat, and Stice. Only one unique attribute is his expertise in both chemical engineering and quantitative biology. Justin is revitalizing pedagogical methods with great intellect, energy, and more diversity experience than most others in the field. It has been a pleasure to learn from him.”
E. Dendy Sloan, University Professor Emeritus, Colorado School of Mines
“Justin is a fantastic workshop presenter, instructor, and collaborator. His enthusiasm and knowledge of subjects such as course design and active learning clearly show through in his presentations, in which he makes everyone feel engaged, welcome, and inspired. I highly recommend your department or teaching and learning center to invite Justin so that he can work with and inspire your colleagues too.”
Sami Raut, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Upcoming Events
Nov 2023
Macmillan Biology Majors Workshop
Talk: The impact of high structure course design across courses, disciplines, and universities
Austin, TX
Dec 2023
A&P Teaching and Learning Community
Talk: Student difficulties in learning anatomical organ systems
Virtual
Dec 2023
Brigham Young University
Talk: The impact of high structure course design across courses, disciplines, and universities
Workshop: High structure course design for STEM disciplines
Provo, UT
January 2024
University of Colorado Student Engagement through Technology Symposium
Workshop: Using modern iClicker questions to promote student engagement
Boulder, CO
April 2024
James Madison University
Seminar: High structure course design across universities, students, and disciplines
Virtual
Select Recent Events
October 2023
University of Business and Technology, College of Engineering (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Workshop: High structure design for STEM courses
Virtual
October 2023
University of California, Irvine
Talk: The impact of high structure course design across courses, disciplines, and universities
Workshop: Faculty peer observation protocols to improve student learning and outcomes
Irvine, CA
October 2023
Purdue University Biology Education Seminar Series
Talk: The impact of high structure course design across courses, disciplines, and universities
Virtual
August 2023
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Biology Department
Workshops: High structure course design, active learning, and backwards design for biology curricula
Edinburg, TX
August 2023
College of the Mainland Nursing Program
Webinar: Introduction to iClickers (in partnership with iClicker)
Virtual
July 2023
Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research
Long talk: The impact of high structure course design across courses, disciplines, and universities
Minneapolis, MN
May 2023
American Society for Engineering Education Research Regional Conference
Workshop: Getting started in engineering education research
Golden, CO
Company Info
Recombinant Education LLC
Founded by Justin Shaffer, PhD
Golden, CO
Contact
Let’s work together! Please contact me to discuss your unique circumstances, scheduling, rates, and questions.