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Research

My current research efforts focus on understanding how specific classroom instructional practices and course materials shape student learning, engagement, and retention of science concepts. Effective teaching requires instructors to be reflective practitioners who collect and carefully consider evidence of student learning to improve their actions when modifying course content and structure. This reiterative process requires time and practice that is crucial for improving our own teaching and student learning. Through the incorporation of team-based learning activities such as in-class group quizzes, group review sessions, and problem-based small group work that breaks up lecturing, I am finding that my students are more engaged with the scientific material and perform better on formal assessments. Students also self-report that they perceive these group learning experiences as one of the most valuable parts of class time. 

I am also using these findings to develop training materials for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) working in biology teaching labs. GTAs will be in positions throughout their careers where they formally or informally instruct undergraduate students in the content and application of science, yet they often receive little formal training in pedagogical theory or practice.  One way to provide opportunities for GTAs to develop their instructional abilities is to introduce them to a number of teaching cases of realistic teaching problems during their trainings sessions. Through discussion and problem-solving in the context of these cases, GTAs become active participants in teaching orientation sessions. The effectiveness of these teaching cases in GTAs’ training and development are being evaluated via pre- and post-training assessment administration as well as in-class observation of the GTAs implementation of evidence-based teaching practices.

Courses

Biology 313 - Principles of Genetics

Biology 313L - Principles of Genetics Lab

Publications

• Das Sharma, S., Kraft, J. J., Miller, W. A., and Dixie J. Goss. 2015. Recruitment of 40S ribosome to the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of a viral mRNA, via the eIF4F complex, facilitates cap-independent translation. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 290, 11268-11281.
• Miras, M., Sempere, R. N., Kraft, J. J., Miller, W. A., Aranda, M. A., and V. Truniger. 2015. Determination of the Secondary Structure of an RNA fragment in Solution: Selective 2`-Hydroxyl Acylation Analyzed by Primer Extension Assay (SHAPE). bio-protocol.org/e1386.
• Miras, M., Sempere, R. N., Kraft, J. J., Miller, W. A., Aranda, M. A., and V. Truniger. 2013. Interfamilial recombination between viruses led to acquisition of a novel translation enhancing RNA element that extends viral host range. New Phytologist 202, 233-246.
• Kraft, J. J., Treder, K., Peterson, M., and W. A. Miller. 2013. Cation-dependent folding of 3' cap-independent translation elements facilitates interaction of a 17-nucleotide conserved sequence with eIF4G. Nucleic Acids Research 41, 3398-3413.
• Kraft, J. J., Hoy, J. A., and W. A. Miller. 2011. Crystallization and preliminary X ray diffraction analysis of the barley yellow dwarf virus cap-independent translation element. Acta Crystallographica Section F F67, 561-564.
• Wang, Z., Kraft, J. J., Hui, A. Y., and W. A. Miller. 2010. Structural plasticity of Barley yellow dwarf virus-like cap-independent translation elements in four genera of plant viral RNAs. Virology 402, 177-186.
• Miller, W. A., Kraft, J., Wang, Z., and Q. Fan. 2010. Roles of Cis-acting Elements in Translation of Viral RNAs. In “Recent Advances in Plant Virology”. (C. Caranta, M. A. Aranda, M. Tepfer and J.J. Lopez-Moya eds.) Caister Academic Press.