Connecting Problem-Based Learning and Scientific Inquiry
PI - John S. Peters, College of Charleston, Department of Biology
Co-PI - Brian Scholtens, College of Charleston, Department of Biology
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Civic
Engagement in Non-majors Introductory Biology Connecting Problem-Based Learning and Scientific Inquiry PI - John S. Peters, College of Charleston, Department of Biology Co-PI - Brian Scholtens, College of Charleston, Department of Biology |
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| Project Abstract |
Announcements Universities
Begin to Rethink First Year Biology Courses, Science, 31 July 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5940, p. 527 - Introductory biology courses are often the
last academic exposure nonscience majors at U.S. colleges have to
science. Unfortunately, say science educators, the courses too often
leave a bad taste in the mouths of students who spend more time in
lectures than on experiential learning and in regurgitating facts
rather than understanding the concepts behind them. This month, 500
researchers, educators, and policymakers met in Washington, D.C., at a
conference sponsored by NSF and AAAS (which publishes Science) to
assess how far they have come. The consensus: There's still a long way
to go.
A Vision of Students Today (by Students!) - Created by the Cutural Anthropology Class (Spring 2007) at Kansas State University (Prof. Michael Wesch). NABT PBL Workshop Presentation |
| What and Why of
PBL |
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| PBL Instructor Resources | |
| Inquiry-based
Learning |
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| Collaborative Learning |
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| Evaluate your Teaching Approach |
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| Project Evaluation & Research |
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| Teaching Journals and Conferences |
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| Science Education Research |
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| Journal of Undergraduate Biological Investigations (JUBI) | |
| General Education Goals |
PBL
Instructor Resources Addlestone Library |
Instructor PBL/Case Studies Resource Library - The intent of the resource library is to facilitate the teaching of introductory biology from the perspective of relevant, and real world issues that are likely to confront students in their personal, professional and civic lives. This Instructor Library Index does this by organizing teaching resources by both biological content area and by issue. Choose a topic/content area and get a brief list of issues which are relevant to that topic area. Click on an issue and get a detailed summary of available teaching resources (case studies, problems, videos, articles, activities, and other resources). Many of the resources are internet links or downloads, others are available in the resource file cabinet outside Rm. 207 SCIC. Contact John Peters for passwords and/or a key to this cabinet. State University of New York at Buffalo’s National Center for Case Study Teaching - This site contains case studies and other resources for assisting with implementation in the classroom. University of Delaware's Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education. The PBL Clearinghouse has PBL problems, and teaching suggestions and resources for problems in many areas of science. This site requires free registration. Pennsylvania State University IST Learning Initiatives - Problem Based Learning - This is a fabulous web site which explores the theory and practice behind PBL and offers best tools and practices for teaching and learning, based on what is known about how learners learn. Biology: Concepts and Applications by Cecie Starr, 7th Ed. - On-line Textbook Resources - This site gives you access to all of the instructor & student resources available with the textbook. Instructor resources are organized in a matrix form by chapter to help you easily find instructional support materials. Addressing Faculty Questions about Student-Centered Learning - Assembled by Jeff Froyd and Nancy Simpson - Texas A&M University MERLOT Biology Portal - A clearinghouse for a wealth of resources for teaching biology. Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE) - a peer reviewed publication of ecological educational materials by the Ecological Society of America RubiStar - A neat little web site which helps teachers create grading rubrics for writing assignments. Rubrics are a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of student work. A good rubric will list the things the student must have included to receive a certain score or rating. Rubrics help the student figure out how their project will be evaluated, and provide a way for teachers to standardize grading practice. I've also found that good rubrics make the process of grading writing assignments easier and faster. |
Inquiry-based
Learning |
Discovering Biological Science - Laboratories for Introductory Non-science Majors' Biology by John S. Peters, Ph.D., College of Charleston Department of Biology This lab manual was written and adapted to a Problem-Based Learning curriculum which explores complex, relevant and real‐world issues to engage students in the learning process, and motivate them to acquire knowledge necessary to fully understand science‐related civic issues. This laboratory experience teaches students both about key biological processes and how we know about these processes. An associated instructor guide for each lab educates instructors in relevant learning theory and provides teaching tips to help instructors effectively facilitate student‐centered inquiry‐based and collaborative learning. The student Team Lab Notebooks (TLN) provide students with the structure needed to engage in student‐directed inquiry. The lab curriculum gradually gives students practice with various aspects of doing science, culminating in a multi‐week team project in which students are engaged in the entire process of proposing, designing, conducting, writing, and presenting a scientific research project of their own design. Proposal and project article peer-review engage students in the process by which the scientific community establishes validity of knowledge generated through science. In this way students experience not only the power that science has to reveal the workings of the natural world but also the dynamic and tentative nature of this knowledge. These aspects of science literacy are essential if students are to use and evaluate scientific knowledge wisely as they make decisions in their civic lives. The primary audience for this lab manual is undergraduate, non‐science majors, although there is evidence that undergraduate science majors also benefit from this pedagogical approach. Click on the name of the lab for a brief description of the lab. if you think you may be interested in adopting any of these labs, contact John Peters (petersj@cofc.edu) and I will provide you with the passwords to access a preview copy of the lab manual.
Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST II) - This site contains numerous resources for using collaborative and inquiry based techniques for teaching biology! |
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Groups in Action - Video vignettes for triggering group discussion. From the University of Delaware's - Problem Based Learning University of Oklahoma – Team-based Learning - This site has several articles and references that will assist you with effective implementation of collaborative learning in the classroom. Getting started with Collaborative Learning? Check out this article - Building Learning Teams: The Key to Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education by Larry Michaelsen, University of Oklahoma Building Learning Teams: The Key to Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education by Larry Michaelsen, University of Oklahoma Sample Peer Evaluation form and instructions. Hold individual members of teams accountable to their team by using peer evaluation forms after each problem or case study in which team-work is involved. Using class passports to form diverse teams Concept Mapping! - Instruction and facilitator notes (word file);and Powerpoint slides for introducing concept maps IClicker - This is a student response system (each student receives a response device known as a "clicker") which interfaces with the teaching computer in your classroom. The system allows you get anonymous feedback from your students about their learning. We have a classroom set of ~85 clickers and 2 base receiver units. Contact John Peters (petersj@cofc.edu), if you would like to reserve the use of these clickers for your class. Debating in class -guidelines for structuring a class debate - coming soon! |
Teaching
Evaluation Resources |
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) - The newly revised version allows instructors to gather learning-focused feedback from students. The SALG survey asks students to rate how each component of a course (e.g., textbook, collaborative work, labs) helped them to learn, and to rate their gains toward achieving the course goals. The SALG survey can be customized to fit any college-level course, and can be administered multiple times per course. A baseline instrument allows faculty to compare gains relative to incoming student characteristics. Access to the old version of SALG will be available to June 30, 2008. Once registered on the new SALG site, you can:
College of Charleston General Education goals and the Natural Sciences or the AACU's General Education Goals - How well does your non-majors biology course meet these goals? |
Teaching Journals
and Conferences |
Journals International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Go to http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/email_notification.htm to receive email notification of new issues! Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning. Go to http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ijpbl/announcements.html to receive email notification of new issues! Southern Illinois University's Problem Based Learning Initiative - this site has an extensive bibliography on PBL research. Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE) - a peer reviewed publication of ecological educational materials by the Ecological Society of America Upcoming Conferences |
Science Ed. Research |
Evidence
for the Efficacy of Student-Active Pedagogies
- Assembled by Jeffrey E. Froyd Research Professor Director
of Faculty and Organizational Development Texas A&M University
(froyd@tamu.edu) Version: 5 August 2008 At MIT, Large Lecturres are Going the Way of the Blackboard. by Sara Rimer. A recent article in the New York Times regarding MIT's switch to small, collaborative and inquiry-based introductory physics classes. Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions. Science 2 January 2009:Vol. 323. no. 5910, pp. 122 - 124. - Research into the effect of peer-discussion on students' understanding of concepts. |
| Project Evaluation |
SENCER Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SENCER SALG) - This web-based instrument is one of the instruments being used to assess students' views about how the course impacted their learning and and personal and civic engagement with science. Views on Science Technology and Society -(VOSTS) - A web-based and modified multiple response version of (VOSTS) - This instrument is also being used to assess students' views about the relationships between science and technology, the impact of science and technology on society, the nature of science, media vs.school presentations, and scientists' vs. the publics' role in socio-scientific decision making. |
College
of Charleston. Last updated 2 Feb 2009. Questions and comments,
email John S. Peters, Ph.D, petersj@cofc.edu