Life Cycle of a Biology Teacher

HutchCC biology teachers create a team to deliver curriculum to students

Biology Instructor Kimberly Dolphin

Kaitlyn Seiwert

“Most challenging part is getting the things that make sense in my brain, make sense in 40 other brains,” said Kimberly Dolphin, HutchCC Biology Professor.

HutchCC students have the ability to take biology classes from several different professors on campus. When discussing homework assignments and lab exams with their peers, students have found some instructors explain things differently. The individual professors keep the content in the different classes aligned so they all teach the same thing, just in their own unique way.

“The most important part of my job probably is hiring good teachers. And making sure that we have good people in the classroom,” Tricia Paramore said.

As the head of the Natural Science, Social Science & Mathematics Department Chair and Professor, Paramore aims to serve HutchCC students. The team of teachers under Paramore must work together to build class curriculum for biology students.

“How we approach the material might be a little different from teacher to teacher, but we’re all covering this list of bones and this list of muscles, so everybody’s learning the same thing,” said Biology Professor Michelle Carey, “so we collaborate on stuff like that.”

The team of instructors not only talk among themselves, but also with other instructors in the department, such as chemistry.

“The idea is to make things as consistent between classes so then that [students] kind of click and see how ‘this is connected to that’ and help students make those connections,” said Dolphin.

Due to different teachers teaching the same classes, students are given the ability to pick from a variety of teaching styles.

“I try to relate it to real life,” said Biology Assistant Professor Ryan Pinkall, “[students’] experiences, my experiences, because that’s how I learn.”

“I really try to emphasize bringing out these really awesome components that you don’t necessarily see,” said Dolphin. “Like the idea of being a multicellular organism means that there are billions of tiny little living things that make us up and then explaining that kind of stuff.”

Each of Paramore’s team members have a different background in science that allows them to focus on certain pieces. Because biology is an ever changing field, the instructors must continue learning and adapting their ways of teaching material.

HutchCC’s biology professors enjoy using their science knowledge outside of the classroom in their everyday lives.

Biology Assistant Professor Ryan Pinkall; Biology Instructor Kimberly Dolphin; Biology Professor Michelle Carey; and Natural Science, Social Science & Mathematics Department Chair and Professor Tricia Paramore

Kaitlyn Seiwert