UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jennelle L. Malcos, lecturer in biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, has received the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, named for University's seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level across all Penn State colleges and campuses. Malcos is one of six awardees for 2015.
Malcos teaches introductory courses in physiology, mammalian anatomy, and cell biology. She uses an innovative approach to ensure that students are actively engaged in learning despite the large size of these classes — often several hundred students. One innovation she has implemented is the use of learning assistants in her large lecture courses. The learning assistants, many of whom are former students, lead small-group discussions and problem-solving activities during the class. She also has helped to create — and is the faculty associate for — the Biology Home (BIOME), a special housing option at Penn State dedicated to creating a strong academic community for first-year biology students.
Malcos was honored with the Penn State Eberly College of Science Climate and Diversity Award in 2011. She was inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary as a faculty member by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls in 2012 for her work with BIOME. She also has been recognized with the First-Year-Experience Faculty Appreciation Award in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
In addition to being a lecturer, Malcos is also an academic advisor in biology at Penn State. Malcos earned a doctoral degree in biology at Penn State in 2009 and a bachelor's degree in biology at Canisius College in 2003.
Joining Malcos as recipients of the 2015 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching are: Lisa Reeves Bertin, senior instructor of information sciences and technology and business at Penn State Shenango; Demi LuAnn, senior instructor in the occupational therapy assistant program at Penn State DuBois; Michael Krajsa, instructor of marketing and management at Penn State Lehigh Valley; Irene Petrick, senior lecturer in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; and Felisa Preciado, clinical associate professor in the Smeal College of Business.