Amanda Mayes
Faculty, Department of Biological & Physical Sciences
Pueblo Community College
Higher Education Teaching & Leadership
Amanda Mayes is a faculty member in the Department of Biological & Physical Sciences at Pueblo Community College, where she teaches biology and chemistry courses in both in-person and online formats. She also serves as the college’s Assessment Chair, a lead on PCC’s future research laboratory, and faculty advisor to the PCC STEAM Club (formerly STEM Club). With more than a decade of experience in teaching, tutoring, and laboratory work, she emphasizes project-based and STEAM-based instructional design that engages students through hands-on, applied learning experiences.
As a faculty member, she collaborates across disciplines to create STEAM curriculum units that apply the concepts of science and mathematics through engineering or artistic intradisciplinary approaches. More recent student projects include an Arduino-based device engineered to collect sensor data along the Arkansas River and design-based projects embedded directly into her curriculum that fosters student agency. In her role as assessment chair, she helps oversee campus- and division-leads, collaborates with her team to implement effective assessment practices, presents at regional conferences, helps promote local AI conferences, and promotes recognition of her colleagues.
In her role as a lead on the future research laboratory she helped contribute to major grant-funded initiatives, including the HSI Title III STEM project and the Colorado Revitalization Grant. She helped with the design planning of the future lab and selected the instrumentation that will be utilized to further promote student learning. Within the STEAM club faculty advisor role, she has helped oversee projects ranging from adaptive toy design using soldering and 3D-printed components as well as the Orman Avenue Audubon Society grant-funded perennial planting project.
Higher Educational Research Background
Her higher educational research background spans both applied and educational STEM. She previously developed a program to analyze ethanol biofuel from bacteria using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, has plans to investigate microplastics effects and remediation, and is also interested in other environmental and energy-based projects. Her current scholarly focus centers on student retention and content knowledge development in STEM through STEAM instructional design. With unique expertise in both scientific and educational research, she supports innovation and collaborative partnerships within various fields.