Course Redesign: The redesign of an introductory biology course

1. Course Redesign: The redesign of an introductory biology course Dr. Donald P. French Professor of Zoology Coordinator, University Faculty Preparation Program Oklahoma State University Workshop on Academic Transformation and Collaboration: Reimagining Higher Education in Missouri 26 October 2010

2. Funding for various portions of this work was provided in part by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and OSU

3. Disclaimer • Ph.D. in Ethology @ Indiana University studied behavior and ecology of fish @ U. Maryland studied behavior and ecology of crabs @ OSU study behavior and ecology of students • Learned education like science • From literature • From colleagues • From experimenting

4. Setting • Land Grant Institution • Research Primary Focus • Introductory Biology for Majors and Non-majors • Six – Seven Faculty teach 6-7 lecture sections • Approximately 1600 students/yr • Admission Requirements • ACT 21 is minimum score for regular admission (officially) OR • Top 1/3 of graduating classes (officially) • Graduating class could be 500 or 7!!

5. SCST Position Statement The major goals of introductory college science courses are • “to contribute to the scientific literacy and critical thinking capability of all college students and… • to provide a conceptual base for subsequent courses taken in the disciplines.” www.scst.org

6. Why do we teach the way we do? • It is the way we were taught. • We find that style most comfortable. • We think it is the most efficient. • We are constrained by time, space, money. • It’s easy for us.

7. But are those good reasons? What is good for the students is not always what is good for the professors. -- Bob Tallitsch, Augustana College

9. Why do instructors think lectures work? If we throw “bricks” of knowledge at the heads of students, why are we surprised when the students duck? --Jeff Weld, University of Northern Iowa

10. How People Learn People are not blank slates or empty vessels to be filled

11. They don’t retain isolated information They must organized it But how does this organization arise?

12. Concept Concept Organization reflects connections

13. Experts… • notice features and meaningful patterns of information • have considerable content knowledge organized to reflect a deep understanding of the concepts. (Big Ideas) • treat knowledge NOT as set of isolated facts, but as sets of information relevant to particular circumstances or problems that experts know when to use • can quickly retrieve relevant knowledge with little attention. • have varying levels of flexibility in their approach to new situations.

14. Students • should develop competence when they: • have deep foundation of factual knowledge • understand those facts in a conceptual framework • organize knowledge to allow retrieval and application

15. Students • arrive with preconceptions of how things work. • may not grasp new concepts and information, especially for the long term, if their initial understanding of each concept is not engaged.

16. Students • are more successful if they learn to identify their own learning goals and monitor their progress (metacognition; reflection).

17. What should a class look like?

18. We didn’t always teach like this! • Biology 1114-general education (non-majors) covering Ecology, Genetics(Mendelian), Evolution; 4 sections of 140 students (approx.) per semester, common 2hr lab (Zoology/Botany) • Biology 1214-general-education (non-majors) covering Chemistry, Cells, Genetics(Molecular), Plants & Animal systems; 1-2 sections of 100 students (approx.) per semester; common 2hr lab (Microbiology/Botany/Zoology) • Biology 1304-general education (majors) covering, Cells, Chemistry, Ecology, Genetics (Mendelian & Molecular), Evolution; 3 Sections of 100 (approx.) per semester; common 2hr lab (Zoology/Botany/Microbiology)

19. Traditional Course Pedagogy • Expository format - in textbook order • chalkboard/overheads; multimedia-overheads in one non-majors course • Emphasis on recall (facts/min) • Lecture assessment – 3 quarterly exam; cumulative final

20. Faculty Thought Students lack reasoning skills Students perform poorly Students have poor attitude Students Thought Course lacks relevance Faculty can't teach Only memorization boring..... Motivation for change?

21. Impact of courses • Surveyed students “attitude toward biology” before and after each semester • Russell and Hollander (1975) • 14 questions • 5 point Likert scale • Sum scores and subtract pre- from post-course

22. We looked elswhere • Non-majors courses • Gogolin and Swartz (1992) • Sundberg & Dini (1992) • Ebert-May et. al. (1997) • Rogers & Ford (1997) • All found that non-majors were less negatively affected by their courses.

23. Reform begins when Shared vision Skeptics True-believers

24. How did we proceed? • First step • Form a committee! • First step for the committee • Argue about content! Not Surprising

25. Starting Point (typical) • For a course • Individual professor selects topics either • based on the textbook • or on personal preferences • Make up some tests • For a Program • Either • Committee, which then • Argues about content • Leave it to individual professors (specialty/retirement)

26. Starting Point (as it should be) • Identify Learning Outcomes • What should a student know (content) • What should a student be able to do (process, skills) • What should be a student’s habits of mind? • Develop Assessments • Develop Activities and Exercises • This is referred to as Backwards Design Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

27. Characteristics of Curricula • sufficient rigor • (demanding concepts), • focus • (concentration on a few topics to be covered in depth), • coherence • (organization of the topics and identifiable connections among the topics and processes)

28. Consider: How People Learn • Students arrive with knowledge and misconceptions • Students need deep factual knowledge and a means of organizing that knowledge • Students need to develop metacognitive practices

29. Consider Cognitive Development Even in college - • 15-25% Concrete Thinkers • 50-60% are in transition between Concrete and Formal (abstract) thinking • 25% are Formal Thinkers

30. Disconnect in Overall Goals • Faculty set them as • Concept Mastery • Critical Thinking • But test • Knowledge Acquisition (Basic) • Communication Skills • Students set them as • Job Preparedness

31. Use the language & concepts of science appropriately, and effectively • Use methods & models of science to select, define, solve & evaluate problems in-dependently & collaboratively. • Design, conduct, communicate, and evaluate.… meaningful experiments. • Make scientifically based decisions and solve problems • Evaluate critically evidence, interpretations, results and solutions in a real life context. • Explain scientifically related knowledge • Ask meaningful questions diagnose and attend to student's learning styles…, prior knowledge and alternative conceptions. foster the nature of the thinking required to acquire and integrate both procedural and declarative knowledge. Promote critical thinking, higher order cognitive skills, and a capacity for problem solving and decision making. work collaboratively on meaningful tasks, requires intellectual rigor based on an in depth understanding of essential content and its relevant contextual framework. Guidelines

32. Selecting Content • Biology may be a set of disciplines – • Fragmented fields and departments • Nature of the discipline results in few guiding principles • Could it be Evolution? • Emergent Properties? • Much of biology might still be considered descriptive in nature

33. Our simple approach • Provide Stories or Situations for Context • About topics to which students can relate • using concepts faculty used in their research • introduced on a Need-to-Know Basis • to solve problems • that indicated that Science is Fun!

34. More Recent & Sophisticated • Hierarchical Framework (Khodor, Halme & Walker 2004) • 1. Enduring Understanding • 2-3. Important • 4. Familiar • Learning-Goals-Driven Design (Krajcik, Mcneil Reiser 2008) • Unpack components from standards • Develop Learning Performances (Content X Practice) • Align Goals, Activities, Assessment • Attention to Sequence (Crow & Harless 2006)

35. Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action NATIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION July 2009 http://visionandchange.org/

36. Vision and Change: Core Concepts General agreement: • Evolution • Pathways and transformations of energy and matter • Information flow, exchange, and storage • Structure and function • Systems http://visionandchange.org/files/2010/03/VC_report.pdf

37. Vision and Change: Beyond Content • Nature of Science • the process of science • the interdisciplinary nature of biology • how science is closely integrated within society • Interpersonal Skills • communication • collaboration • Analytical Skills • a certain level of quantitative competency • a basic ability to understand and interpret data • experience with modeling, simulation, and computational and systems-level approaches to biological discovery and analysis, as well as with using large databases. http://visionandchange.org/files/2010/03/VC_report.pdf

38. New Course New BIOL 1114: • A single, one-semester, general-education class suitable for majors • (that doesn't scare the non-majors)

39. BIOL 1114 • Introductory Biology • For any major (science or non-science) • 4-7 Sections of 60-220 students • 1900 students/year • 50 or 75 minute periods • 4-7 Lecture Professors • 24 Teaching Assistants

40. Provide context for learning • 10 Scenarios • Stories or Situations • Provide meaningful context for concepts • Emphasize application • Facts/Concepts on a need to know basis • Integrated topics • Discuss topics at multiple levels: • Biochemical…cellular…sub-cellular …community…organismal….ecosystem

42. Concepts applied in various situations • Surface Area – to – Volume Ratio • Thermoregulation • Osmoregulation • Cell size and structure • Photosynthesis • Transpiration

43. Integrate-Connect Information Tundra (Biome) Thermoregulation Respiration Cellular Respiration from different levels

44. Promote Teacher-Student & Peer Interactions • Students collaborate in groups of 3-4 • 35-63 groups/lecture section • Same groups throughout semester in lecture and lab • Students regularly given opportunity to discuss materials during lecture • Students perform in-class group exercises

45. Active learning and formative evaluation • Intersperse lectures and in-class exercises • Duration: • 5 Minutes • 30 seconds • Longer periods • Media • Cards • Clickers

46. If the vacationing slug family's internal fluid salt concentration was 0.9% and that of the great salt lake was 5%, what affect would swimming have on their cells? • They would shrink • They would expand • There would be no change

47. Exercises to promote higher order thinking • Solve problem • Sample test questions • Offer Opinions • Observe - Generalize • Observe and Propose Hypotheses • Design Experiment

48. Laboratory • Provide Question & Background in story form • Students propose hypotheses before lab • Students work in groups to design and conduct experiment

49. Provide Support • LRC • WWW • Tutorials • Facilitators • Organizers • Self-analysis

50. Assessment of Students • “should be matched … to anticipated student outcomes” • “cognitive and process gains, particularly those associated with higher order cognitive skills should be appropriately appraised” • “Alternative … assessment should be … used for … outcomes that cannot be evaluated by traditional means.”