UCATT: University Center for Assessment, Teaching & Technology

Dr. Melody Buckner and Dr. Lisa Elfring discuss some of the amazing resources offered at the University Center for Assessment, Teaching, and Technology at the University of Arizona. 

UCATT site

Melody Buckner, PhD, is the Associate Vice Provost of Digital Learning Initiatives and Online Education. She joined the University of Arizona six years ago as an Instructional Designer to help faculty create online courses that reach out and engage students in an online UA experience. Before coming to the University of Arizona, she served as an Instructional Designer in Professional Development and as an adjunct faculty for Pima Community College.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Architecture from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University. Melody earned her PhD in Learning and Sociocultural Studies from the University of Arizona in 2015. Her informal education consists of living in over 40 different places, including several countries in Europe.

Lisa Elfring is a Specialist in the Molecular and Cellular Biology department, where she focuses her efforts on improving teaching and learning of biology and other science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. Since 2016, she has served administratively as the Associate Vice Provost for Instruction and Assessment, leading the Office of Instruction and Assessment (and now, co-leading the University Center for Assessment, Teaching, and Technology. She has been at the University of Arizona since 1998 and has taught nearly ten thousand biology majors, biology graduate students, secondary biology teachers-in-training, and working biology teachers, as well as, occasionally, medical students. Away from work, she is a parent of three daughters and three rescue dogs. Between the job, the family, and the dogs, her hobbies are mostly restricted to reading and cooking.