PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
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Biology team explores ocean acidifcation YVC Instructor Jerred Seveyka’s Biology 223 course provides students the opportunity to develop a research project with a faculty mentor. During the spring of 2018, students Kathy Cousins and Brandon Beskow approached Seveyka with an idea for a joint project. “Kathy and Brandon met with me to discuss a project that I had been working on for many years, the development of a model of ocean -0.12 .I acidifcation using a living calcifying organism,” stated Seveyka. “One of A diagram showing current ocean surface pH the major problems associated with climate change is the acidifcation of compared to pre-industrial surface levels the ocean that is occurring due to elevated atmospheric CO2 levels.” The team used a calcifying alga and grew it under diferent pH conditions to see if it would calcify at diferent rates. The students found success on an early version of this lab by adding drops of acids or bases to the solution that the algae were growing in. Cousins continued to work on the project through a summer research project before transferring to Washington State University. “For the next couple of years we continued to collaborate, modify and test the lab using diferent equipment and solutions. Ultimately, we developed a simple setup for teachers and wrote a manuscript to guide teachers on how to use this living organism to explore ocean acidifcation,” continued Seveyka. This year the team submitted the completed manuscript to the American Biology Teacher journal for review and it was accepted for publication. The work, titled “Hands-On Exploration of Ocean Acidifcation with a Living Calcifer,” is expected to be published in early January 2021.
YVC continues to adapt during global pandemic Faculty and staf have continued to make adjustments and modifcations to oferings to help students be successful while facing the COVID-19 pandemic. With limitations on group gatherings still in efect, YVC along with other community and technical colleges continue to ofer most courses online with a handful of in-person labs for a small portion of students enrolled in workforce education programs. Some of YVC’s eforts are highlighted below.
STEM Academic Intervention Coordinator Cristy Rasmussen is helping make sure STEM students move toward successful, prepared matriculation. To help identify interventions for students who are at-risk of attrition, Rasmussen Student Derek Bryant meets with Cristy Rasmussen looks at contributing factors that lead to poor academic performance. Rasmussen has moved what were previously face-to-face conversations with students to individual online meetings and check-ins with students from various STEM disciplines. She has also worked to provide online coordination of the Finish Strong program, as well as STEM advising and new student orientation. Biology Instructor Amanda Gall has worked to improve her students’ online learning experience. “I really wanted to create a supportive learning environment for the students,” states Gall. “To help my students feel like they get to engage with an instructor, I have recorded all of my lectures using Panopto so that the students can listen to me lecturing on the topics and follow along on slides that I have made accessible to print out.” In addition, every Friday she runs a Q&A session via Zoom so that students can ask any questions before their homework and quizzes are due. She’s also created a variety of learning tools such as lecture worksheets, practice problems and quizzes, links to helpful YouTube videos and lab kits that students pick up from campus and experience at home.
Technology Services In addition to equipping faculty, staf and students with technology to work and learn remotely, YVC’s Technology Services department worked to improve automation and remote support over the summer. They accomplished this by upgrading the college’s management systems to securely manage laptops remotely over the internet, while also improving the VPN. 7 Yakima Valley College
