About

Assessment Builder (AB) is a tool for verified educators who are part of the BioInteractive Online Community.

High-quality assessment items are essential for backward design, but writing items is both challenging and time-consuming. To support educators, AB provides crowdsourced, vetted assessment items that leverage the expertise of the introductory life science teaching community and promote best practices in item writing.

Contributors of the Quarter

Assessment Builder is made possible by contributions from professional educators like you! We are proud to partner with authors from high schools, colleges, and universities who have expertise in writing high-quality assessment items. We would like to introduce you to our Contributors of the Quarter and thank them for submitting or reviewing items for the AB database.

Holly Basta

Rocky Mountain College

Matthew Schumm

Southern Illinois University

April Thompson

Alpine School District

Amy Morris

Benton Schools

Laurie Shannon Meadows

Rowan College

Laura Monti

Riverdale Country School

Meet the Team

Angie Hodgson

Managing Editor

I teach Introductory Biology (both lecture and lab) and Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURES) at North Dakota State University, a mid-sized research university in Fargo, North Dakota. My introductory biology classes are large (135 students) and are taught in an active-learning classroom with students from a diverse mix of majors (agriculture, natural resources management, conservation, bioengineering, pharmacy, pre-health professions, etc.). I use BioInteractive resources because they make the process of science come alive and engage my students in the application of knowledge to current societal questions and issues. What I love most about teaching is seeing students’ aha moment when they first really understand how a biological process works. When I’m not teaching, I enjoy camping, hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing with my husband and two children.

Rebecca Orr

Managing Editor

I teach introductory biology for majors at Collin College, a two-year college in McKinney, Texas. I enjoy focusing on the creation of active learning opportunities that both engage and challenge students. I love using the wide variety of BioInteractive resources that are available to educators, as they reflect attention to detail and can be relied on to be scientifically accurate. I also love that these resources can be modified and expanded to create activities that fit my students’ needs. Teaching biology gives me the opportunity to help my students develop a sense of inquiry, as well as the ability to analyze and evaluate data so that they can apply these skills in their everyday lives. When I’m not teaching, I love to travel with my family.

AB Editorial Team

From left, Angie Hodgson, Teshell Ponteen Greene, Mary Colvard, Stephanie Keep, Laken Vita, Jacqueline Washington, Rebecca Orr, Melissa Csikari, Valerie May
Not pictured: Peggy Brickman, Holly Basta, and Aileen O'Hearn