Alvarez submitted her article entitled, “Using virtual simulations in online laboratory instruction and active learning as a response to instructional challenges during Covid-19”, for publication in the upcoming Teaching in a Time of Crisis themed issue. Copyediting of the manuscript will begin in the spring of 2021 and Alvarez’s work will be published soon.
Alvarez shared her thoughts on the paper by stating “Teaching during a pandemic caused science educators to seek virtual lab simulations that provide students a realistic experience. As I was doing my research, I found many resources but they were all scattered so I decided to create this paper assessing the virtual lab simulations in hopes of providing a comprehensive resource for my peers. The end result provided options of various simulations according to subject as well as my suggestion on how the labs can be used as active learning supplements, even replacing in-person labs.”
The Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education (JMBE) is an online journal that publishes peer reviewed articles with diverse content pertaining to scholarly teaching at all levels of education. Content ranges from research in biology education to curriculum content and includes classroom resources that are highly adoptable.
Alvarez joined the Culver-Stockton faculty in August 2016 and teaches biology courses with topics including but not limited to cell and molecular biology, genetics, evolution, research problems, microbiology and general education. Her research interest includes studying the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in microbial species of the Mississippi River. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest Illinois and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology from the University of California-Riverside in Riverside, California.
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