Education Research
Professional Development
Dr. Holtzman served as the Associate Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Queens College for 5 years (2015-2020). She created workshops focused on teaching large classes, including quantitive reasoning in teaching across the curriculum and supported training for teaching on line during the COVID pandemic. Dr. Holtzman also facilitated the adoption of a new automated grading system and set up a video recording studio for faculty.
Classroom Teaching
Dr. Holtzman has taught many courses over the years at Queens College. A full list can be found here. The course she has spent most of her time working on is Bio105. She has taught this class for more then 10 years. Each year she makes targeted changes to improve student learning. This is a difficult class and many students struggle with the volume of material.
Education Grants
Dr. Holtzman has participated in several education grants supporting learning of students in elementary school up though QC undergraduate students. The Department of Education funded HSI-STEM grant focuses on improving minority students success in STEM. Dr. Holtzman has worked on course redesigns that improve success in gateway biology classes. In addition, she has provided professional development support for faculty participating in an NSF funded Makers Space grant.
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative reasoning (QR) is increasingly identified as a required life and career skill yet many students graduate from college with limited QR skills. Queens College initiated a QR across the curriculum program to work with faculty across the campus to develop QR learning modules that included real life data and writing with numbers in classes ranging from anthropology to german literature. In addition, a QR resource for faculty and students that align with the first year STEM curriculum at QC was created.