U of M, HHMI, Ann Arbor, MICC Faculty Workshop, Aug 10-14, 2009Active Learning Models for Teaching

Introductory Science Courses

Karen Sirum

Asst. Professor, Biology Education R & D

Dept. of Biological Sciences

Bowling Green State University, Ohio

ksirum@bgsu.edu

Follow up from Monday

1. Google doc now has a heading for you to add cool things you find, includes links for A&P specifically, and has the book list.

http://tiny.cc/mpovh

2. Keep in mind that AL is not necessarily always hands on, but rather minds on—that is what we mean by active

Eg. “languaging”—from Robert Leamnson book

3. “We remember what we think about.”—from “Why students don’t like school”

Recall Dan Klionsky’s class format

4. Dan K.

50% grade based on reading facts=RQs

50% on USING facts=CQs

Why using? So facts will be remembered!!

Differences between topics and learning goals: List of topics were “covered” by Dan K’s Reading Quizzes

Work towards learning goals came from the in-class problems and Concept Quizzes

Think about it:

5. The textbook has the answers. What are the questions?

Integrated Learning Environment

How to decide on topics/concepts?

You are not alone!

Our science professional societies are working in this, trying to pare it down and articulate the key concepts in biology. Physics and chemistry are ahead in this respect.

Teachable Unit TeamsBrian and Clay: action potential

Nick and Stephanie: nerves & disrupting signals

Jacob, Susan, Jo Ann: A&P, pathophysiology

Lu Anne and Toni: microbes, environment

Evan and Matt: cell division, inheritance

Gabriele and Lauren: cells, macromolecules

Peter and Jonathan: heart

Masood, and Sonja: evolution

Robert, Bruce, Cheryl: cellular energetics

Shenshen, Layla, Kanzoni: chemistry

More about the Teachable Unit

ID course/discipline

Specific topic/concept

Learning goal

3 components of TU:

Learning goal-In what way will students be “changed” upon completion of the unit?

Activity-How will they learn? What will they do?

Assessment-How will both you and the student know if learning is occurring?

Dan M.

Integrated course and Teachable Unit Design

Examples of Activities--Karen

Sample Learning Outcomes for Intro Biology

Learning Outcomes

Students in the Biology 104 course will:

Develop skills in scientific reasoning by learning how to use scientific ideas to think critically about choices made in everyday life.

 

Learn how to learn, how to ask questions, design strategies to investigate possible answers, and do the interpretation that leads to the answers.

 

Develop an ability to collaborate and work in groups.

 

Biology is the study of life. Students will develop an appreciation for the complexity and beauty of natural processes. In this course students will be introduced to and gain foundational knowledge regarding the molecules and cell structures that compose all living organisms, how organisms get their energy, the information mechanisms they use to guide their activities, and how these instructions for cellular activities are carried out in the cell.

Types of activities

Active learning for the College Classroom—Paulson and Faust

Peer Instruction

From Questions to Concepts: Interactive Teaching in Physics

Eric Mazur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBYrKPoVFwg

Activities to try--Handouts

case method/debate: mars case

concept mapping: mutation study guide

group problem solving: science vs pseudo science

Concept mapping: from the simple…

…to the complex

http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/

Webs not strings

https://www.msu.edu/~luckie/ctools/

Activities to try--Handouts

case method/debate: mars case

concept mapping: mutation study guide

group problem solving: science vs pseudo science

More examples of activities

jigsaw-energy drinks

skits-organelle plus 6 word novel

short group problem-Harvard cell animation

long group problem-bioinfo web based activity

Coming up….Assessment

Give ersatz handout—very brief to skim before next session

Note—in some examples the activity is the assessment (CATs)!

Traxoline Test

handout

Ersatz Learningvs

Authentic Assessment

You get what you assess

so

you must assess what you value.

--McClymer and Knoles, 1992

Formative and Summative

A need for both.

Which do students learn more from? Hint: Do they come to pick up their final exams at the end of the semester?

Should a midterm exam be the first time they find out how they are learning in the course?

Authentic Assessment—what does this mean?

The issue of Relevance

Pseudo-authentic and pseudo-relevant vs authentic and relevant.

eg. from my class: homeopathy vs athletic performance enhancing drugs and ADHD drugs

On relevance….

Can’t be personally relevant to all, but assessment is purposeful, goal oriented, helps students.

Tests/quizzes are learning experiences. Need to make them positive.

Scientific Teaching:How Do We Know There is Learning?

"I taught my dog to whistle!" "I don't hear him whistle!" "I said I taught him, I didn't say he learned it.”

Classroom Assessment of Scientific and Critical Thinking Skills

Science News Analysis

Science vs Pseudo Science

Bioethics Position Essays

Concept Quizzes

Open-ended Experimental Design Problems

Student Designed Labs

Lab Reports

What is a Rubric?A rubric is a set of scoring guidelines for

evaluating student work.

Rubrics answer the questions:

1. By what criteria should performance be judged?

2. Where should we look and what should we look for to judge performance success?

3. What does the range in the quality of performance look like?

4. How do we determine validly, reliably, and fairly what score should be given and what that score means?

5. How should the different levels of quality be described and distinguished from one another?

Teaching Rubrics

Helping students to understand what we are asking of them

teaching with rubrics, both formative and summative

handouts

PreLab Questionsadapted from LabWrite: http://www.ncsu.edu/labwrite/

Rubric for Lab Report, 1-2 pages

Presentation Rubric

Rubistar at: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric&section_id=9&PHPSESSID=af07143cc4f5144de562526cc5f09ad8#04

SOME MORE EXAMPLES

Important elements of good rubrics

Rely on descriptive language—what quality, or its absence, looks like—as opposed to relying heavily on mere comparatives or value language (e.g. “not as thorough as,” or “excellent product”) to make the discrimination.

Use descriptors that are sufficiently rich to enable student performers to verify their score, accurately self-assess, and self correct.

Design and redesign

5 minute break then…Dan M. and Motivation