It takes a village to raise a scientist
Craig Ogilvie, Iowa State University
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant (2010-14)
• Engaging all 1st and 2nd year STEM students @ ISU
in authentic science projects
• General lessons for large scale education reform
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Loss of STEM majors @ ISU
Loss mainly in
1st and 2nd year
Presidential Council (PCAST) Report 7 Feb 2012
“…increasing the retention of STEM majors from 40% to 50% would generate
three-quarters of the targeted 1 million additional STEM degrees over the next decade.
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Confronting reasons that students leave STEM
 Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences. Seymour and Hewitt, 1997
 Loss of interest in the subject matter of science
 Belief that a non-science major would offer a better education
 Losses occur among the best qualified students
 Losses occur also due to math challenges, low-resilience,…
 PCAST recommendations: Engage to excel
 Widespread adoption of empirically validated teaching practices;
 Replace standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research
courses;
 Improving retention will also improve quality STEM education
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Inquiry intro labs: each >1000 students
B
A
 Biology
 A, Cookbook: identification labels and detailed lab instructions
 B, Inquiry: Identify plants 1, 2, 3. What are key phyla differences?
 Physics
 A, Cookbook: measure P, V, T of gas and plot P vs V etc.
 B, Inquiry: Determine if air exhibits properties of an ideal gas.
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July 15, 2013
Class as scientific community
Teaching Assistant training on
using inquiry processes is vital.
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Student research
 Classic model: 1-on-1 mentoring
 Scale?
 Additional model, courses 20-300 students
 5-6 week research project in lab courses
ROLE project, UPR-Mayaguez
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Course-based student research @ISU
 Freshman chemistry major lab (Chem201)
 Design and test CO2 reduction processes and catalysts as part
of a faculty’s chemistry research program.
 In Geology 100, students characterize the local watershed
via high-tech diagnostic wells
12 research-lab courses @ ISU: Over 850 students/year
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Student engagement in large “lectures”:
Flipped classes
Use face-to-face class time for tasks that
require a community
 Wrestle with new concepts via
group discussions
 Scaffold skills, complex problems
Students work on lower-level skills, video
clips, before/after class
In Class
Out of Class
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
From
Robert Talbert
July 15, 2013
Village
Lab 1
Lab 1
Large face-toface meeting
Lab II
Lab II
Inquiry lab
Lab 1
Lab 1
Research lab
Lab II
Upper 1
I
Upper
Upper IIII
Upper
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Lab 1
Lab II
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8500 students impacted/year
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Assessment
 Students’ understanding of Nature of Science after research labs
• Consistent increase
• Encouraging since lack of creativity was one reason for leaving
• Gains also on content knowledge (bio), but no changes in efficacy
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Retention
Uptick post reform, hard to prove cause
Kept 3% c.f. prior 25% loss, changed 1 in 9 students’ decision
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July 15, 2013
Lesson I: Emergent change, learning organization
 Faculty Learning Communities
 Time/space to discuss what
change is needed
 Support during implementation
 80+ faculty involved
 Science educator postdocs
 Bring energy, time, expertise
and short-timescale
 Graduate TA Learning
Communities (GTALC)
 How students learn
 Led by senior TAs and postdocs
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July 15, 2013
Lesson II: Productive Tension
Experiential learning vs calls to lower costs
What skills do graduates need to help solve 21st century challenges?
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2013_
 Innovation
EmployerSurvey.pdf
 Team – work
 Ongoing drive to learn/adapt
 Communication
Experiential learning can help develop these skills
• Research experiences
• Extra-curricular student groups
Considerable concern about costs of higher ed, tuition, debt….
Resolution? Redirect existing activities into experiential learning with
little extra costs, courses, extra-curricular projects,….
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Invest in experiential learning as higher priority
than student admin, dorms, rec centers,…
 Student Innovation Center @ ISU (proposed)
 Out of dark basements into prime real-estate
 Competitive advantage for residential university
Canon
Design
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Invest resources in experiential learning
 Lab-space for course-based research
 Space for extra-curricula organizations, cross-fertilization
Canon
Design
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Conclusions
 Refocused our science labs at ISU
 Inquiry rather than cookbook when ~1000 students
 5-6 week research projects when 20-300 students
 Higher-level cognitive work in large class meetings (flip)
 Lessons
Emergent change
 Faculty learning communities: time/space to plan
 Postdocs bring in energy, expertise
2. Productive tension: experiential learning vs calls to reduce costs
 Impact more students at similar cost
 Projects improve quality: innovation, team-work, communication
1.
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Acknowledgments
 HHMI grant $1.6M 2010-2014
 Cinzia Cervato, Tom Greenbowe, Jo Anne Powell-Coffman, Gene Takle
 Facilitators of Faculty Learning Communities
 Charles Kerton, Stan Harpole, Bill Gallus, Nikki Pohl, Diane Bassham, Jim Colbert,
Tom Greenbowe, Doug Gentile, Paula Siklody, Nancy Boury, David Vleck, Phil
Becraft, Soeren Prell, Tom Holme, Alex Travesset, Jason Chen, Clark Coffman,
Cinzia Cervato
 HHMI Science Teaching Fellows
 Now faculty: Liz Addis, Mike Slade, Glene’ Mynhardt
 Current or Fall 13, Emily Elliot, Carol Chappel, Jenny Brigham
 Deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
 Chem education postdocs
 Kim Linenberger, Jeff Raker
 Community College Leaders
 Jermaine Johnson, Sally Willson, Chris Russell
 CESMEE staff
 Patsey Reilly, Tracie Miller, Stacy Renfro
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July 15, 2013
Backup slides
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July 15, 2013
Iowa State University
 Residential Land Grant university, 32,000 students Fall13
 6000 more students than in 2005
 Rich tradition in agriculture, science, engineering,…
 Learning communities, extra-curricular student groups
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cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Student Reaction Inquiry introductory labs
 "I really enjoyed that we were encouraged to answer our
own experimental questions, even at the cost of finishing a
planned activity for the lab. It enabled us to be interested in
and take an active role in our learning, rather than simply
following step by step the lab activities.”
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SIC
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Analytics
 Use data on who is not being retained as science major at ISU
 1300 new science majors from HS
 70% stay as major after 1-year
 17% leave ISU after 1-year
 13% leave science after 1-year but stay at ISU
 Science-switchers
 Broad range of ACT scores
 Lower math diagnostic scores (rational numbers, radicals)
 Lower self-efficacy, confidence (MAP-works 5 week survey)
 Predictive model of high-risk switchers?
 Advising, bridge programs, pre-calc math…..
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July 15, 2013
Inquiry introductory labs
Dept
Courses
Physics
111,112,115,221,222
Status
POGIL
Implemented
Chemistry 177L, 178L
POGIL/local
First trials Fall 13, spring 14
Biology
211L
Diversity exploration Implemented
Biology
212L
First trial Fall 13
 TA training
 Phys 501, two Graduate TA Learning Communities, Spring 13
 CIRTL www.cirtl.net
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July 15, 2013
Intro bio lectures, bio 212:
 National and ISU concern that courses were sequence of factoids
 FLCs discussed, forged consensus on big-picture outcomes, e.g. 212
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Cellular / molecular basis of life, including an understanding of scale, biological
membranes, and basic cellular structure and function
Transmission and expression of genetic information
Bioenergetics & carbon and nitrogen cycles
Compare and contrast plants, animals, and microbes
Understanding how science is conducted and why it is important.
Assess, teach for these big picture goals
 Active learning in large lectures with undergraduate learning assistants
 First results showed very little gain in student understanding
 Some growth in student efficacy
 Improve active learning materials, more attention to Karplus learning cycle
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July 15, 2013
Research projects in lab courses
Course
Astro 250
Astro 344L
Astro 346
Bio 256L Human physiology
Bio 313L Genetics
Bio 423L Developmental Biology Lab
BIOLOGY 354L ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Chem 201
Chem 334L
Geol 100L
Mteor 301
Psych 440
Psych 102
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Fall 12
Spring 13
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enrollment/
semester
16
12
27
340
180
25
14
50
26
70
22
80
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July 15, 2013
Increasing diversity
 Many under-represented students start at community college
 Challenge is transfer to 4-year + continue as science major
 Potential key is student’s identity as a young scientist
 ~10 students nominated by CC faculty
 8 weeks summer research-work in ISU faculty labs
 Summer after first year of CC, return to CC for sophomore year
 Math/bio coursework + field trips
Summer 2012 scholars
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July 15, 2013
SUSSI
NoS: Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI,
Liang et al, 2005)
• 8 NoS categories
• 4 questions with Likert scale
• 1 short response
• Pre and post test
A.
B.
Scientists use their imagination and creativity when they collect data.
Scientists use their imagination and creativity when they analyze and interpret data.
SD
D
U
A
SA
SD
D
U
A
SA
C.
Scientists do not use their imagination and creativity because these conflict with
their logical reasoning.
SD
D
U
A
SA
D.
Scientists do not use their imagination and creativity because these can interfere
with the need to be unbiased.
SD
D
U
A
SA
Explain why scientists use OR do not use imagination and creativity, and provide examples to support your answer.
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July 15, 2013
Course-based student research (III of III)
 Old organic lab: detailed instructions to make final “product”
 New organic lab: Research of faculty, novel organic dyes
 Student groups responsible for multi-step synthesis
Thinking like a chemist
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July 15, 2013
Lesson I: Large scale educational change
 Research-based instructional strategies (RBIS)
 Widely available, but not adopted
 Develop, test, disseminate (run workshops, provide materials)
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Henderson, C., Dancy, M., & Niewiadomska-Bugaj, M. (submitted) The Use of Research-Based Instructional
Strategies in Introductory Physics: Where do Faculty Leave the Innovation-Decision Process?.
cogilvie@iastate.edu
July 15, 2013
Assessment (II of II)
 Faculty engagement in teaching/learning
 Increase in conversations about teaching within a dept
2009-2010
2011-2012
Roles in network: 1) hubs of sub-groups, 2) connectors between groups
strategically work with these individuals to facilitate change
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July 15, 2013
HHMI 2.0
 RFP HHMI: Persistence in science
 Anchored on PCAST “Engage to excel”
 course-based research labs, active learning lectures,.. …
 Tools to excel: math
 Diversify pathways
 Deadline Oct 1, 35 awards ~$2M each
 Writing over summer
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July 15, 2013
Vision for next proposal (I of II)
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Vision for next proposal (II of II)
Vision 2: Support Faculty, staff, graduate students as they
grow from being good to great educators
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