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 STEM 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 is the Founder of Recombinant Education, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, and a Teaching Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering and in Quantitative Biosciences and Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Justin has been a university STEM professor, discipline-based education researcher, and faculty and student mentor since 2012. Over the past 12+ years, Justin has taught ~9000 students using evidence-based pedagogies at a variety of institutions in several disciplines and formats and has worked with faculty to add evidence-based practices to their courses via workshops and 1:1 consulting.

STEM teaching

  • Introductory biology
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Chemical engineering
  • Biomedical engineering
  • Non-majors STEM courses
  • Multiple award winner for effective teaching
  • Four different types of institutions

course formats

  • Large and small classes (10 to 440 students)
  • Face-to-face, hybrid, and online
  • Synchronous and asynchronous online
  • Lab courses

professional development

  • Given workshops to faculty and future faculty on course design, active learning, assessment, and education research
  • Worked with many faculty one-on-one to implement evidence-based practices into their courses

education research