Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Can you trust your online quiz scores? We found that many students were honest about using the internet or notes when taking an online assessment and that their online scores often didn't match with their scores on in-class exams. doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00145-26 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Looking for ways to build "better" biology exams this semester? I've got some ideas for you! Join me on 9/18 for tips and tools for crafting questions that target critical-thinking skills. If you're not a SABER member, no worries! This free event is open to everyone. saberbio.org/event-6806537 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 06/08/2026I am wrapping up my first year as an Assistant Professor with news of NSF funding! We got the notification this morning that our IUSE proposal was funded! 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 08/07/2026I love scoping out bookstores when I visit new cities. While traveling for the SABER biology education research conference, I found a copy of this charming biology textbook that is a few years shy of a century old! This “New Biology” isn’t quite so new anymore! 100
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Turnip is helping me with my poster for SABER. You can see by the look on his face that he is also alarmed at how confusing the arrows in ecology diagrams can be! If you’re at SABER, stop by my poster on Thursday in room STEM 2004! 040
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 01/06/2026What does Jeff Goldblum have to do with DBER? Admittedly, not a lot! But his expressions were a fun way to help me quickly communicate about challenges faced by DBER faculty when I only had 3 minutes for a "Shark Tank" style presentation at SABER East! 021
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 01/05/2026🐹🌱👽 Animals, plants, and aliens can provide novel ways to engage students' critical thinking about physiology core concepts, yet these non-human examples remain an underutilized tool in human physiology textbooks. Read more in our new paper: doi.org/10.1152/adva... 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 30/04/2026I had great conversations with folks across campus during Towson's AI Teaching and Research Symposium! It was fun to hear how faculty from different disciplines found value in the idea of using AI errors as teaching tools. Read more about this research: doi.org/10.1128/jmbe... 020
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 29/04/2026AI biology diagrams can be comically "bad", but they can be quite good as teaching tools! Understanding what makes a diagram wrong is as important as understanding what makes it right. Read about how to teach with "bad" AI biology diagrams in my new publication! doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00321-25 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 20/04/2026When you are going to an entomology conference, you need to dress the part! 🪲 130
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 17/04/2026When I travel for work, I try to see one thing unique to the city I’m visiting. I’ve been invited to Harrisonburg, Virginia to share my research at the James Madison University Biology seminar and I fit in a tour of a nearby cave while I’m here! 160
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 09/04/2026🐛 One of my favorite things about being a scientist is that you never quite know where your research will take you — I'm headed to my first entomology conference next week! I'm excited to be part of this great line up of talks and I'm super curious to learn more about bugs while I'm there! 🪲 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 30/03/2026My undergraduate research advisor, David Bowne, brought me to a Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting for my very first research presentation. A decade later, I've reignited a collaboration with David and I'm back at Mid-Atlantic ESA sharing my research as an assistant professor! 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Ecologists love arrows. Ecology textbooks contain thousands of them. ➡️↔️🔄 If you're attending the Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting in Towson this weekend, stop by my poster to chat about why we should be thinking carefully about the ways we use arrows to teach ecology. 021
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 25/02/2026I'm doing some tactile teaching today! 🧬 I'm using 3D-printed DNA, along with some more traditional textbook diagrams, to help my students compare and contrast between different representations of DNA and understand the strengths and limitations of each type of model. 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 11/02/2026Are we assessing biology knowledge or the ability to search the internet for biology facts? We found that nearly half of students who took an assessment outside of class reported using a resource (like the internet) and those who used a resource often had higher scores. doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00198-25 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Is music taste inherited? My Dad gave me a box of records he found in the attic and I couldn’t believe how many I already had in my own collection! 030
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 18/11/2025🧬 New publication! 🧬 The apparent simplicity of common visual models in biology can mask deep conceptual challenges for learners. We summarize empirical evidence for this ‘illusion of clarity’ and describe resources that may help instructors dispel this illusion. www.cell.com/trends/genet... 040
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 14/11/2025A home is a little happier with Jeff Goldblum in the room 020
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 12/11/2025How do we know what biology students know? I'll be sharing a bit about how biology education research gives us insights into what students learn and remember from introductory biology courses during this Friday's Biological Sciences Seminar at Towson University. 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 01/11/2025A colleague told me I’m the “Elton John of DBER” and I can’t think of a higher compliment 030
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 31/10/2025Celebrating Halloween at a biology teacher conference with some spooky scary skeletons 💀 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 31/10/2025I’m in a new city for NABT, so that means new opportunities to color coordinate! My conference outfit matched the hotel hallway! 000
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 15/10/2025Check out some cool science (and great science communication) happening at @towsonu.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ9C... Josh's video is part of a sci-comm competition sponsored by @galacticpolymath.com. If you learned something new by watching, please "Like" the video on YouTube!youtube.comMarine Biologists come from Iowa too!—#MySciJourney with Sea AnemonesYouTube video by Galactic Polymath 011
Reposted by Crystal UminskiJocelyn Bosley @scitalker.bsky.social · 01/10/2025DEADLINE EXTENDED to Oct. 12!✨ I don't need to tell you that public support is crucial to sustaining science. #SciComm has never been more important, so don’t miss this chance to give the public a window into how science really works—and why it works so well. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge! 064
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 04/10/2025I’m delighted to be back on the Elizabethtown campus to receive the Honors Outstanding Young Alumni Award! 050
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 24/09/2025Turnip is getting a lesson about neuroplasticity from David Byrne 🧠 041
Reposted by Crystal UminskiJocelyn Bosley @scitalker.bsky.social · 16/09/2025To appreciate the power & promise of science, people need a deeper understanding of the _processes_ of science. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge to show the world what “doing science” looks like for you! Scientists at all stages are invited to submit their short videos by September 30. 043
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 22/09/2025I'm teaching about the structure of DNA, genes, and chromosomes. If you're in the same boat, consider bringing the DNA Landscape into your class! It can be tricky to "see" how representations of DNA are related, so we created animations to make it more visible! sites.google.com/view/dnaland... 141
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 11/09/2025A new office on campus means new places to hang up David Byrne art 050
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 06/09/2025Turnip has some opinions about the new David Byrne album 1112
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 18/08/2025Dreams walking in broad daylight! These Talking Heads lyrics best capture what I’m feeling as I’m starting as a tenure-track professor at Towson University! @towsonu.bsky.social 240
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 08/08/2025I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Poodle Club 🐩 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 26/07/2025Tonight’s painting: Turnip in the David Byrne Big Suit 🎨 010
Crystal Uminski @crystaluminski.bsky.social · 24/07/2025I perused published figures and found misshaped chromosomes, mismatched chromatids, and missized genes! Yikes! Representing chromosomes and genes can be a tricky task, so I published ideas for easy edits to figures that can mitigate misconceptions. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... 020