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Incorporating Habits of Mind into Science and Technology Curricula

Incorporating Habits of Mind into Science and Technology Curricula. 2012 Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy Dr. Robert N. Brent, Dr. Michael L. Deaton, Dr. Jeffrey D. Tang, and Dr. Mary K. Handley. Outline for this session.

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Incorporating Habits of Mind into Science and Technology Curricula

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  1. Incorporating Habits of Mind into Science and Technology Curricula 2012 Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy Dr. Robert N. Brent, Dr. Michael L. Deaton, Dr. Jeffrey D. Tang, and Dr. Mary K. Handley

  2. Outline for this session • Part 1: What are “Disciplinary Habits of Mind?” (Mike Deaton and Jeff Tang) • EXERCISE: What are your discipline’s distinctive habits of mind? • Part 2: The Global Water Course: A pilot effort to use Habits of Mind to design a course sequence(Robert Brent) • EXERCISE: How might you apply Habits of Mind?

  3. Thinking about undergraduate curricula “… [is]the study of [your program] merely the completion of a major, that is, the collection of credit-bearing experiences, or the learning of a discipline, that is, a coherent set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that help us make sense of and fully participate, meaningfully, in human experience?” Gurung, et al Exploring Signature Pedagogies: Approaches to teaching disciplinary habits of mind. Program learning goals “graduation end state” Program Learning objectives Specific skills and knowledge Curriculum design Course portfolio & sequencing Individual course design Course content; pedagogy; activities, etc.

  4. Alternative approachFocus on disciplinary Habits of Mind • Begin by envisioning a practitioner in your field • 5-15 yrs out from graduation • What is unique about their habits of mind ? • The kinds of problems they tackle? • The lens through which they view and understand the problem? • The methods they employ?

  5. Defining Habits of Mind for your Discipline • Content knowledge • Language • Skills • Unifying themes • Ways of thinking • Analytical lens • Values • Problem solving practices

  6. Habits of mind and our pedagogy The pedagogies of the undergrad curriculum Should PREPARE STUDENTS … Our Exploring Signature Pedagogies: Approaches to Teaching Disciplinary Habits of Mind

  7. Using the Habits of Mind to Shape Curriculum Design from Top to Bottom Program learning goals Habits of Mind Habits of Mind Program learning objectives Curriculum design Habits of Mind Habits of Mind Individual course design

  8. Integrated Science and Technology B.S. Degree Program • Real-world problem solving • Eschew theory for its own sake • Teach problems in context • Broad technical foundation with knowledge of the social context of technology and science • Hands-on learning • Team-based learning and team teaching • Practical, flexible degree for the challenges of the 21st century

  9. The ISAT Curriculum Senior Concentration Applied Biotechnology Energy Engineering & Manufacturing Environment Information & Knowledge Mgmt Telecommunications • Sector 1 • Sector 2 • Sector 3 Junior Foundations Analytical Methods Issues in Sci/Tech Social Context Fresh/Soph

  10. What is Integrated Science & Technology? Integration by students or by faculty? Role of social context (secondary or primary) Inter(multi?)disciplinary or a new discipline? Who are our graduates and what do (should) they do? (avoiding the production of “generalists” who are the jack of all trades but the master of none)

  11. One program’s journey toward defining Habits of Mind? The pedagogies of the isat curriculum should Prepare ISAT students … ISAT the ISAT practice Our core character of ISAT practice an ISAT practitioner Exploring Signature Pedagogies: Approaches to Teaching Disciplinary Habits of Mind

  12. Describing ISAT Habits of MindProblem-Centric Analysis • Computer as problem-solving tool • Social context understanding • Basic science concepts • Broad technical competency • Dynamic systems view • Stakeholder inclusion • Human-natural interaction • Socio-technical • Broad in scope • Real-world issues • Social significance

  13. Exercise – Describing the distinctive “habits of mind” for your discipline Habits of Mind Imagine an practitioner in your field…possibly one of your graduates 10-15 (or even 20) years after graduation. Suppose they are working as part of a team of specialists from a variety of disciplines to develop a plan to help solve a problem. What would be distinctive about the way this individual practitioner would engage this problem (as compared to the others specialists on the team), in terms of: • Problem space: Aspects of the problem to which they would be most attentive? • World view: Values, problem solving practices, data gathering methods, and analytical lens that would shape how they work with the problem? • Skills and Knowledge: Distinctive skills, knowledge, or language would they employ?

  14. Incorporating Habits of Mind into the Curriculum Dr. Robert N. Brent The Global Water Course Experiment

  15. Habits of Mind: Basis for Course Design • ISAT Habits of Mind are intrinsically embedded throughout the curriculum, but what would a course look like if it were explicitly designed to teach/instill those habits? • Problem-centric, focusing on understanding and solving complex problems • Process/skill focused, rather than content focused • Integrative, incorporating scientific, technical, social, cultural, and political aspects • Team-based, emphasizing cooperative and complementary contributions

  16. The Global Water Crisis • Organizing theme or problem to be investigated throughout the course • Represents a significant global problem that is highly complex • Involves interaction of science and social context • Easy solutions are not readily available • Represents the type of large complex problem that we need to be training our scientists to face in the future

  17. Course Placement Within the Program • Course was inserted as an optional sector in the Junior year Freshman/Sophomore Junior Senior Foundations Math Chemistry Physics Biology Social Context Sectors(3of6) Applied Biotechnology Energy Engineering and Manufacturing Environment Information Management Telecommunications Concentration(1of6) Applied Biotechnology Energy Engineering and Manufacturing Environment Information Management Telecommunications Fall 2011 ISAT 380E – The Global Water Crisis: Issues and Dynamics (3 Credits) ISAT 381E – The Global Water Crisis: Solutions (3 Credits) Spring 2012 ISAT 308E – The Global Water Crisis Lab (1 Credit)

  18. Team Development • Teaching Team • Brent – expertise in hydrology, water pollution, toxicology • Deaton – expertise in systems dynamics, modeling, data analysis • Tang – expertise in history, sociology, economics • Student Teams • 6, 4-person teams • Heterogeneously assigned according to: • Sex • GPA • Meyers-Briggs personality test • ISAT sector interests

  19. Regional Case Study Approach • Student teams assigned to regional case studies • Southwest US • Nile Basin • Bangladesh • China • Danube Basin • Tigris/Euphrates Basin • Case studies represent mixture of: • Climates • Socio-economic development • Spatial scales • Political systems

  20. Course Assignment • Your team has been appointed by a United Nations Commission to: • Analyze and define the water resources problem within your region • Propose viable solutions to the problem • Post your teams findings on an internet WIKI site http://globalwater.pbworks.com/w/page/40537679/FrontPage

  21. Key Course Elements • Problem-centric analysis • WIKI development • System dynamics modeling • Interactions • Dynamics • Unintended consequences • Future scenarios

  22. Key Course Elements • “Boots on the Ground” guest speakers • Ample instructor and peer feedback • Expert Review Panel feedback • Panel of 8 professionals provided end-of-semester review of WIKI • Professionals from academia, government, private sector, non-profit, international agencies • Very “real-world” experience

  23. Assessment • Course • Assessment rubrics for WIKI and presentations • Pre/Post assessment of teamwork skills • Pre/post problem solving assessment • Program • Problem-solving Analysis Protocol (P-SAP) • Developed by psychologists Pamela Steinke (Meredith College) and Peggy Fitch (Central College) • ~100 ISAT juniors assessed at beginning and end of junior year • 23 of these participated in Global Water Crisis course sequence

  24. Lessons Learned • Successful in: • Demonstrating a problem-centric approach to problem solving • Producing a real world experience • Encouraging integration of scientific, technical, social, cultural, and political aspects • Students were uncomfortable and challenged by: • Iterative nature of feedback and revision vs. traditional grading schemes • Teaching of process vs. content • Complexity and scope of the problem • Time and effort involved in producing professional quality

  25. References and contact info • Robert Brent – brentrn@jmu.edu • Michael Deaton – deatonml@jmu.edu • Jeffrey Tang – tangjd@jmu.edu • Mary Handley – handlemk@jmu.edu • References • Allen, W. & C. Allen. (2003). Habits of Mind: Fostering Access and Excellence in Higher Education. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ. • Costa, A. & B. Kallick. (2000). Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA. • Costa, A. & B. Kallick. (2009). Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum: Practical and Creative Strategies for Teachers. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA. • Handelsman, J., Ebert-May, D., Beichner, R., Bruns, P., Chang, A., DeHaan, R., Gentile, J., Lauffer, S., Stewart, J., Tilghman, S., & Wood, W. (2004). Scientific teaching. Science, 304, 521-522. • National Academy of Sciences. (2007). Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. The National Academies Press. • Gurung, N & Hayne, A., editors (2009). Exploring Signature Pedagogies: Approaches to Teaching Discplinary Habits of Mind. Stylus Publishing, Sterling, V

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