Inquiry-based undergraduate education
at a large research university
American University of Beirut
Center for Teaching & Learning
October 21, 2008
Patricia J. Pukkila, Professor of Biology &
Director, Office for Undergraduate Research
U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Acknowledgements
• Martha S. Arnold, Associate Director, Office
for Undergraduate Research
• David H. Kiel, Institute for the Arts and
Humanities
Plan for session
• Choosing roles as educators
• Resources for making changes
Something about you
• Above the line, write an adjective or brief
phrase describing an “ideal” class that is going
really well from your perspective
• Below the line, write an adjective or brief
phrase describing “the worst thing that could
happen” from your perspective
Your views
Parker Palmer’s view:
• Truth from authority? Classroom=dictatorship
• Truth from opinion? Classroom = anarchy
• Truth from inquiry? Classroom = community
My view: All educators wish to
witness the progression of
students from novices to experts in
our fields (or at least see a change
from less “novice-like” to more
“expert-like” behaviors…)
Other considerations:
- “Covering” material because of the
curriculum and prerequisites
- Mastery of useful information
- Problem-solving
- Effective communication
- Cross-cultural understanding
- Responsible citizenship
Assumption: “covering material” is
not sufficient for the novice to
expert transition
Imagine if we taught baseball the
way we teach science
• Until they were twelve, children would read about baseball
technique and occasionally hear inspirational stories of the great
baseball players
• They would answer quizzes about baseball rules.
• Conservative coaches would argue that we ought to make children
learn and practice fundamental baseball skills, throwing the ball to
second base twenty times in a row, followed by tagging first base
seventy times.
• Undergraduates might be allowed, under strict supervision, to
reproduce famous historic baseball plays.
• But only in graduate school would they, at last, actually get to play a
game
(Alison Gopnik, 1999 Small Wonders. New York Review of Books, May 6)
Resources
1. Ask a colleague
2. Ask your students
Inquiry in a large class
Elements
• Curiosity
• Experimental design
• Peer feedback
Inquiry in a large class
Elements
• Curiosity
• Experimental design
• Peer feedback
Methods
• Student interests
• Simulators
• “Talk to the person next to
you”
Curiosity
• Diagram your concept of a gene
• A deeper understanding of _____ is important
to me because ______
Experimental design
Flower Breeder
(dyann@schmidel.com)
Since most feedback is from peers,
instructors need to:
• Teach students to value collaborative learning (give and
receive “friendly amendments”)
• Design the class so that student contributions are essential
and valuable
– shift instructor role from “authority” to “architect”
– provide guides for necessary advance preparation by
students, and trust them to embrace their roles
– emphasize boundaries between known and unknown in
discipline
More resources
3. Collaborative design with graduate students
4. Classroom assessment techniques (“CATs”)
5. Get feedback on your experiences
Recitations
• Collaborative design
• Instructor models graduate students, and
graduate students model undergrads
• Collaborative problem-solving, discussion, and
presentation by undergrads
Modes of Inquiry
-Undergrads interview faculty
-Undergrads host seminar
-Faculty discuss “point of entry”
and research accomplishments
-Grads lead comparative
discussions
-1 credit, pass/fail,
multidisciplinary
Introduction to Research in Biology
Classroom Assessment Techniques
• Minute paper: What is the most important thing you
learned today?
• Muddiest point: What remains unclear to you?
• Application card: Choose one idea you heard and
suggest another application for it
• One-sentence summary: Use one sentence to
describe "Who does what to whom, when, where,
how, and why?"
GRC program
• Faculty apply for funds to support a Graduate
Research Consultant (GRC) to transform a
“course project” into a research project
• Undergrads work with “GRCs” who are paid for
30 hours/semester
• Research design, methods, communication
• Class time must be devoted to the products of
student inquiry
• GRCs coach and do not grade
GRC program
GRC Program, con’t.
Student enrollment in GRC courses
03-04
04-05
05-06
06-07
07-08
08-09*
Still more resources
6. Centralized campus program for
undergraduate research and inquiry
7. Undergraduate curriculum
8. Collaborations among universities
9. Professional societies
10. Publications
www.unc.edu/depts/our
QEP
• Resources (>$500,000/yr)
• Data
• 4 Distinguished professorships in
research and undergraduate
education
• Expansion of inquiry-based
education and undergraduate
research
• “Carolina Research Scholar”
transcript designation open to all
students
16/16 have campus liaisons; 13/16 have centralized programs, website links
Research in the Capital
An Undergraduate Research symposium for the
NC legislature
• Purpose (importance of research in education;
benefits to NC)
• Preparation (see Blockus & Renoe’s “One-minute
WOW”; enthusiasm + gratitude; clarity + relevance;
what was known what has changed; peer
instruction)
• Publicity (letters, introduction in chambers by
legislative hosts, office visits)
• Publication (abstract books; Websites; CURQ)
• Persistence (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009...)
2008: part of Research Competitiveness request/ GA funding
Professional Societies
• America Society for Cell Biology
• Genetics Society of America
• Genetics Society of AustralAsia
Genetics Education
The spread of innovations
“[The translators] make things more palatable
for mainstream people. They see what the
[innovators] are doing AND THEY TWEAK IT.
They start doing it themselves, BUT THEY
CHANGE IT A BIT. [Others] look at it and say,
it’s a little off. But there’s a way I can change
it and make it okay. Then [the innovation]
takes off.”
(DeeDee Gordon, quoted in The Tipping Point by
Malcolm Gladwell, p. 200).
10 Resources we discussed
1.
2.
3.
Ask a colleague (PJP, for a start)
Ask your students (…is important to me because…)
Collaborative design with graduate students (facilitates collaborative
learning; give and receive feedback)
4. Classroom assessment techniques -“CATs” (try one!)
5. Get peer feedback on your experiences (faculty recruit others to GRC
program)
6. Centralized campus program for undergraduate research and inquiry (Office
for Undergraduate Research)
7. Revision of Undergraduate curriculum (Quality Enhancement Plan)
8. Collaborations among universities (UNC 16-campus consortium; UNC-AUB!)
9. Professional societies (several)
10. Publications (Genetics Education)
Next steps
• Above the line, record an idea we’ve discussed
that you might modify and implement
• Below the line, record a potential barrier to
implementing the change
Conclusions
• Inquiry-based approaches to course design are
effective and enjoyable for research scientists
• Gradual, incremental changes in roles as
educators can be beneficial and substantial
• Existing resources at every level are also
opportunities to collaborate with others