Basics

Hello! I am a tenured instructor in the Department of Life Sciences at Everett Community College (north of Seattle), where I teach human anatomy & physiology. I also have an affiliate appointment in the Division of Biological Sciences at UW-Bothell.

Within the science education community, I am known best (if at all) for my work on educational music and Test Question Templates (TQTs).

My degrees include a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Washington (2002), a M.A. in Science Education from Western Governors University (2018), and a B.A. in Biology from Williams College (1995).

It is easiest to reach me by email (gcrowther AT everettcc DOT edu), but go ahead and view my complete contact information if you must.

News

12/6/24	I revised my human anatomy and physiology Test Question Templates (TQTs) throughout the fall and have now posted the latest sets in my Google Drive folder. For this batch, enhancements include improved LO clarity and more helpful "strategies" notes for students.
11/15/24	Our new NSF-funded project now has a (simple but informative) website! Thanks to Robert Berg of Shoreline CC for his great work on the embedded videos.
10/7/24	Shoreline Community College has issued a press release on the just-funded NSF project led by Ben Wiggins (SCC) and me.
9/24/24	Today I make another guest appearance on Stephen Heard's "Scientist Sees Squirrel" blog to muse about whether I have any business chairing the EvCC Assessment Committee.
8/27/24	My NSF proposal with Ben Wiggins on his Public Exams and my TQTs has been funded! This award was one of 35 given by NSF as part of its new program on Innovation in Two-Year Colleges in STEM Education.
8/16/24	Just published: my essay with Ben Wiggins in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education: Exam reform: an opportunity for the redistribution of academic power.
8/15/24	Today Advances in Physiology Education has published (in preprint form) our paper on making Human Anatomy class something more than a memorization-fest.
8/12/24	Today my five-minute video on Outcomes Assessment was released as one (small) component of the New Faculty Institute set up by the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (WSBCTC).
6/30/24	Kevin Patton's The A&P Professor (TAPP Radio) podcast has just released Episode 149: Examining the A&P Exam. In this episode Ben Wiggins and I offer thoughts about the challenges of creating exams that are simultaneously fair, equitable, and rigorous.
6/4/24	Just posted: a JMBE Live! episode about our recent JMBE paper, supplemented with the Elton John-adjacent tune "I'm Still Grading" (which begins about 17:30 into the webinar).
6/3/24	If you've been waiting for the day when Dr. Crowther would provide a musical explanation of how the statistical phenomenon of Berkson's Paradox may relate to kidney disease research, you're in luck!
5/22/24	Do you teach anatomy and/or physiology? If so, I'd LOVE it if you could complete a survey on A&P instuctors' current exam methods, which will be open until mid-June. It takes 10-15 minutes, but you'll be entered into a drawing for a $250 gift card! We aim to publish our results in a future issue of HAPS Educator.
2/2/24	Published today: an American Physiological Society podcast episode featuring my long-time collaborator Kiki Jenkins and me chatting about our recent paper on using Universal Design in Learning (UDL) to teach science with music.

(Older news items can be found in the news archive.)