31 January 2024

The POGIL Project Names Two Educators to Three-Year Terms on Steering Committee

LANCASTER, Pa. — The POGIL Project, a national not-for-profit organization that disseminates its unique student-centered pedagogy at the secondary and college levels and provides professional development opportunities for instructors, has named two educators to three-year terms on its Steering Committee.  The seven-member POGIL Project Steering Committee provides definition and direction to the goals of The Project.

The two educators are Dr. Teresa Bixby (Lewis University, Romeoville, IL) and Dr. Craig Teague (Cornell College. Mount Vernon, IA).  They will officially begin their terms at the 2024 POGIL National Meeting in June.

“We are truly honored to have these two experienced, and enthusiastic practitioners join our Steering Committee,” said Project Executive Director Rick Moog. “They bring rich experiences to this leadership team and will be key in helping us to achieve the goals in our newly launched five-year strategic plan.”

Bixby received a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from Susquehanna University in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2009. After a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Bixby began a tenure-track position in the Chemistry Department at Lewis University in 2012. In her time at Lewis, she shifted from experimental physical chemistry research to chemical education research. She was a member of the primary collaboration team for the ELIPSS Project, directs research for an NSF S-STEM grant Project Synergy, and is co-PI on an NSF Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship grant. Over the years, she has deepened her engagement with university assessment and will transition to an administrative position for academic effectiveness in the Provost’s office in 2024. For the past several years, Bixby has chaired The POGIL Project’s Learning Communities Project and has served as a facilitator at several Project workshops.

“The POGIL Project has been a transformative community in my personal and professional life for the past 11 years,” said Bixby. “I am excited to help support, strengthen, and expand our community as we launch the third strategic plan.”

Teague obtained a B.S. with physics and chemistry majors (1998) from Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in chemistry (2003) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA, where he has taught physical chemistry, general chemistry, other chemistry courses, and the college-wide common First-Year Seminar.  He is currently Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, where he oversees the college’s core curriculum and is involved in student success, retention, assessment, and other initiatives.  His twin professional interests include understanding materials for new energy applications such as redox flow batteries and working to implement evidence-based learning and teaching strategies at Cornell College and beyond, which includes consulting work.  He has used POGIL in some form since 2006, and since 2012, he has been involved in various POGIL Project activities such as workshop facilitation, writing and testing lab activities, the POGIL Activity Clearinghouse, and other efforts.

“POGIL can be transformative for students and instructors alike,” said Teague. “In particular, POGIL can help develop robust communities in a classroom, lab, professional development space, or professional network. The work of The POGIL Project is critical for maintaining and developing these communities of transformation, and I am interested in ensuring the long-term success of The POGIL Project’s efforts in these spaces.”

For more information on The POGIL Project, please visit www.pogil.org.

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