Biology for Life

Dr. Melanie Peffer is a teaching assistant professor and research scientist Level II at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Peffer received her B.S. and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her postdoctoral appointment in Learning Sciences from Georgia State University. Her research focuses on how people learn, understand and engage with biology content. She's particularly interested in how educational technology like simulations and serious games can assess what people know and believe about the nature of science knowledge. Dr. Peffer is an accomplished writer and science communicator. Her book Biology Everywhere:How the Science of Life Matters to Everyday life won gold in the 2022 Colorado Independent Publisher Awards for educational texts. Thousands of learners from across the world have enrolled in her highly rated massive open online courses, including Biology Everywhere and Designing Effective Science Communication. She also developed a TED-ED lesson, The Artist who won a Nobel Prize...in medicine and gave a TED talk based on her book, How rethinking biology and positively change your life. Dr. Peffer's approach to teaching biology was shaped based on her experiences teaching non-majors biology, interacting with the public, and her background in the learning sciences. To address pervasive dread, fear, and disillusionment with biology content, she teaches science in a manner conducive to human learning and with deliberate and varied connections to the real world. She believes when students see science as applicable and related to their daily lives and experiences, that the material becomes more accessible.