Introducing BioLiteracy into Introductory Biology at UWO

1. Alberta Introductory Biology Association 2010 Introducing BioLiteracy into Introductory Biology at UWO Tom Haffie 3M Teaching Fellow; Learning Development Coordinator, Faculty of Science; Lecturer, Biology Dept. University of Western Ontario, London, ON Theory Theory Ken Meadows, Linda Dunn, Roger Graves, Johnston Miller

2. HEQCO HEQCO Presentation Title Goes in Here

3. NSSE: National Survey of Student Engagement NSSE (CLASSE) “Benchmarks” Level of Academic Challenge Active and Collaborative Learning Student Interaction with Faculty Enriching Educational Experiences Supportive Campus Environment Presentation Title Goes in Here

4. BioLiteracy Project Objectives and Overview • Introduce a tutorial curriculum “intervention”, based on writing-to-learn principles, designed to improve BioLiteracy • Test the ability of NSSE, CLASSE and other instruments to detect differences Presentation Title Goes in Here

5. First Year Bio at Western • two “intake” courses, depending on high school background • 1800 students • Full year courses, 2 or 3 lecture hours, alternating lab and tutorial • Team taught in series Presentation Title Goes in Here

6. BioLiteracy Nominal Functional Structural Multi-dimensional Presentation Title Goes in Here

7. BioLiteracy (Uno & Bybee, 1994)

8. The Intervention Pre-Intervention Optional tutorials run as “review” sessions by TAs who attended lecturesIntervention New curriculum of 10 tutorials (best 8 give 5% of grade plus Final Exam question, 5%)Run by TA who facilitates but is not a lecture content expert Presentation Title Goes in Here

9. Tutorial 1 Outcomes Autobiographical Writing • Identify components of Biological Literacy and explain how they will be addressed in tutorial. • Reflect on your previous experience of learning biological ideas. • Write 200 to 400 words of connected prose in response to a prompt (in class). • Collaborate in a spontaneous semi-structured group to identify common themes in the writing of peers. • Deliver a brief public oral report (one person per group). Presentation Title Goes in Here

10. Tutorial 2 Outcomes Summarizing and Linking Lectures

11. Tutorial 3 Outcomes Scientific Method Presentation Title Goes in Here

12. Tutorial 4 Outcomes Explain a Concept to Non-Specialists Presentation Title Goes in Here

13. Tutorial 5 Outcomes The Scientific Literature Presentation Title Goes in Here

14. Tutorial 6 Outcomes Peer Review and Evaluation of Resources Presentation Title Goes in Here

15. Tutorial 7 Outcomes Journal Club: Presentations, Citations and Annotations Presentation Title Goes in Here

16. Tutorial 8 Outcomes Plagiarism: Using the Scientific Literature Presentation Title Goes in Here

17. Tutorial 9 Outcomes Microthemes and Rubrics Presentation Title Goes in Here

18. Tutorial 10 Outcomes Mock Final Exam Case Study Presentation Title Goes in Here

19. Final Exam Question Written answer to a Case Study (40 min.) 5% of Final Grade Graded by faculty and TAs on a 6 point rubric as used in Tutorial Presentation Title Goes in Here

20. Study Design 07/08 Pre-Intervention Post-Intervention 08/09 Year 2 Prep? DE NSSE CLASSE+ Skills

21. Pre vs. Post Intervention Significance at the individual item level . . . Presentation Title Goes in Here

22. Pre vs. Post Intervention Principal Components Analysis Presentation Title Goes in Here

23. Pre vs. Post Intervention Principal Components Analysis Presentation Title Goes in Here

24. Pre vs. Post Intervention NSSE Benchmarks Presentation Title Goes in Here

25. Pre vs. Post Intervention Literacy Skills Assessment

26. Pre vs. Post Intervention Preparation for Year 2 Biology

27. Summary • NSSE did not detect a pre/post change in the first year Bio class. • CLASSE did detect an increase in “collaboration”. • Non-CLASSE questions exposed an improvement in self-reported information literacy skills. • Skills Assessment revealed an improvement in literacy skills. • “Preparation for Year 2” survey identified improvement. Presentation Title Goes in Here

28. Remaining questions . . . • On-line search skills? • paraphrasing and summarizing skills? • ongoing enhancement of tutorial curriculum Presentation Title Goes in Here

29. Discovery Café • First year students join posted groups (25/) • Meet weekly with faculty member and peer mentor • Extracurricular, no agenda, no grades • Broad outcomes to enhance experience of academic community; improve academic skills, increase awareness of University organization, access to scientific literature etc.

30. Discovery Café Hi Tom, You asked us a couple questions at the cafe wrap up meeting, and now that I’ve had a bit more time to marinate, I think I want to add/edit a few comments for you to share at your conference in Alberta. In Norm’s group we always encouraged an atmosphere that promoted asking questions, whether it was about the science program at Western, the way governments were structured, the state of our economy and environment, or most of all, what we as students should be learning from all this. Presentation Title Goes in Here

31. Discovery Café Additionally, our cafe group promoted getting the most of our undergraduate experience. We talked about Grad school, research possibilities, the student’s summer plans, tips on school life etc. We arranged guided tours of the Biotron, nano-fab lab, avian facility and surface science so that the students could get to know the possibilities at Western better. This connects with the elimination of tunnel vision at University that I talked about at cafe wrap. Overall, Celina, Norm and I tried to make the students feel welcome; we wanted to make sure that these four years of undergrad would change them in the best ways possible. The students in my café group are so bright, and genuinely keen on learning. Hopefully we made a difference. Phyllis Sin, mentor Presentation Title Goes in Here

32. Western Conference Western Conference on Science Education “Pulling Together” July 6 - 8, 2011 Dr. Peter Mahaffy, King’s University“Climate Change Education” Dr. Carl Wieman/Dr. Sarah Gilbert, CWSEI, UBC “Five Year Showcase from CWSEI” Dr. Brian Alters, Tomlinson Project, McGill“Evolution of evolution education” Dr. Brent Davis, U of Calgary,“Complexity Science and science education”