Dr. George Cornwall honored at Colorado Mountain College
One of Dr. George Cornwall’s biology classes may involve learning through iPads and iPhones, using “smart” learning software, building Web pages or carting a skeleton onto the lawn of Colorado Mountain College’s campus in Aspen.
For Cornwall, her approach to teaching is centered on her philosophy of learning: Students need to be engaged through as many senses as possible and put into less-than-traditional environments to get more out of their learning experience.
“She has a real willingness to embrace technology that serves all kinds of learners and she is very active in learning new ways to deliver difficult courses,” said Margaret Maxwell, instructional chair at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen. “Students who go through her courses come out saying, ‘Wow, that was the hardest class I took and the one I learned the most from.’”
Cornwall’s innovative approaches to teaching were honored this year when she was selected as the adjunct faculty of the year for the Aspen campus.
Every year, each of Colorado Mountain College’s seven campuses, as well as the college’s department of online learning, can nominate adjunct and full-time instructors for the faculty of the year award.
Cornwall received her doctorate in developmental neurobiology and endocrinology from the University of Colorado – Boulder, and taught there for a year. She then became an assistant professor (on a temporary contract) at Metropolitan State College in Denver and taught for four years before deciding to take a break from teaching and move to Vail in 2006. However, once she started teaching yoga at CMC’s campus in Edwards, it was a natural transition back into the classroom.
“I love teaching. It’s my calling,” she said.
She started at Colorado Mountain College in 2009, and now teaches anatomy, physiology, microbiology and general biology courses online and in classrooms at the Aspen campus.
“It was a really big change to go from teaching 400 to 500 students at CU to having 10-20 students in my class at CMC,” she said. “It allows me to have a bigger impact on lives. It has been such a great opportunity.”
Her passion for teaching also translates into using technology “to create a richer learning environment,” she said.
All of her lectures are done through video podcasts and she regularly teaches utilizing iPads and iPhones, and other mobile devices. Her lessons are designed so students can view lessons on any mobile device and work on the homework anywhere. She uses adaptive or “smart” learning technology that bases follow-up questions on how students answer initial questions. For instance, a student who has fully grasped the material may only get a few additional questions while a student struggling will get more questions until they understand the lesson.
Her approach for teaching has been sought out by other instructors. She often presents at conferences and faculty trainings on the use of technology in the classroom and online.
Cornwall said she wants to engage her students rather than forcing them into discussions – “science topics are not that conversational” – so she uses technology as a way of opening that dialogue.
For example, Cornwall has her students create Wikispaces for a lesson on microbial infections. Building Wikispaces, or simple Web pages, allows her students to integrate Youtube videos, case studies, photos and other interactive elements and encourages classmates to actively discuss the material online.
And on a warm day in Aspen, Cornwall said she’ll often lecture for 30 minutes, and then tell her students to leave their notes and books behind and go outside, with skeleton in tow, for a group discussion.
“The key is to get students into spaces where they can learn more collaboratively,” she said.