2020 Vision: Using Scientific Teaching to
Address the Challenges of the NRC’s BIO 2010
Organized by:
Justin Hines – Lafayette College
Sarah Miller – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Speakers:
Jennifer Frederick – Yale University
Justin Hines – Lafayette College
Jay Labov – National Research Council
Bill Wood – University of Colorado-Boulder
Event Facilitators:
Briana Burton – Harvard University
Katie Nemeth – University of Minnesota-Duluth
Amy Prunuske – University of Minnesota-Duluth
BIO 2010: TRANSFORMING
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH BIOLOGISTS
NRC: 2003
Special Thanks:
Thea Clarke, Robin Wright, and the ASCB
Education Committee
Susan Winslow – W.H. Freeman Publishing
Case: Frustrated Professor
http://z.about.com/d/learningdisabilities/1/0/x/0/-/-/frustrated_teacher.jpg
Before the semester started, I worked really hard to set
goals for the course. During the semester, I have been
covering the content in clear efficient lectures that I think
are really well-organized, but the students don’t seem to
be learning the material. In fact, 40% of students failed
the first exam.
Students these days don’t know how to take notes and
study. They just don’t get it.
What issues might be contributing to this situation?
Has the professor done his/her job?
Have the students done their jobs? What
challenges might they be facing?
What suggestions do you have for the professor?
Have you faced a similar challenge?
Multiple national reports have called for a rethinking
of how we teach science
NRC Board on Life Sciences (2009).
A New Biology for the 21st Century:
Ensuring the United States Leads the
Coming Biology Revolution
American Association for the
Advancement of Science & National
Science Foundation (2009)
Vision and Change in Undergraduate
Education
Approaching teaching with the creativity and rigor that
we bring to research!
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Associated Verbs (active words)
Predict, assess, evaluate
Formulate, develop, create
Calculate, compare, contrast
Apply, illustrate, use
Classify, explain, describe
Define, label, list
http://blogs.wsd1.org/etr/files/blooms_taxonomy.jpg
Scientific Teaching in Practice
Backward design
Start with the end in mind:
1. Identify learning goals
2. Decide how to measure success
3. Design activities to meet those goals.
Backward Design
/outcomes
Our learning outcomes for the
workshop participants
Define scientific teaching and identify ways
to apply it to your own teaching.
Use active learning exercises to engage
students in the course material.
Apply assessment techniques to their own
teaching.
These reasons become
the learning goals.
Our job is to:
• Help students
accomplish those goals
•
Determine whether
students achieve those
goals
How People Learn (NRC)
Diversity
Active Learning
Assessment
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE &
EXPERIENCES (SCHEMA)
DISSONANCE
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW
KNOWLEDGE
RETENTION and
CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR
Diversity: definitions and dimensions
Diversity = individual differences that can be engaged in the service of learning
(Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2005)
race
age
ethnicity
ability status
socioeconomic status
nationality
gender
parental status
sexual orientation
language
religious beliefs
marital status
political beliefs
educational background (formal/informal)
learning style
geographic location
Inclusion = The intentional ongoing engagement with diversity
Diversity : Benefits and Challenges
Group performance:
Alternative viewpoints about how to
best accomplish work (Ely & Thomas, 2001)
Higher level of critical analysis in
decision-making (Antonio et al., 2004)
Higher quality of solutions (feasibility
and effectiveness) (McLeod, Lobel, & Cox, 1996)
Faculty:
Women and minority faculty report less
satisfaction with their jobs (Sheridan & Winchell,
Individual performance:
Enhanced educational outcomes for
individual students (Milem et al., 2004; Chang et
Students:
Female students may experience
unwelcome climate in class (Salter & Persaud,
al., 2003; Turner, 2002)
Influential in student’s cognitive and
identity development (Alex-Assensoh, 2003)
2006; Harvard Task Force on Women Faculty, 2005;
Trower & Chait, 2002, etc)
Faculty of color experience exclusion,
alienation and racism at PWIs (Turner & Myers,
2000; Turner, 2002)
2003; Crombie et al, 2003; Swim et al, 2003; etc.)
Minority students often feel isolated and
unwelcome in PWIs and may experience
discrimination (Rankin, 2003; Hurtado, Carter, &
Kardia, 1998; Cress & Sax, 1998; etc.)
Practical teaching & learning tools based upon the latest
research on:
the impact of inclusive teaching practices
diversity in the college classroom
classroom climate
demographics of college-bound students
http://cirtl.net/DiversityResources
• Reaching All Students Resource Book
• Literature Review
• Self-guided Workshop
• Inclusive Syllabi Collection
• Case Studies