Best Practices in Undergraduate Biology Education

Transcription

1 Best Practices in Undergraduate Biology Education Promoting Disciplinary Problem Solving with Dynamic E-Science Resources Sam Donovan University of Pittsburgh BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium Claire Hemingway Botanical Society of America

2 1. Setting up the conversation A framework for thinking about e-science resources supporting undergraduate biology education Approaches illustrated from projects we know best 2. Sharing information and ideas Discuss in small groups Report out 3. Making it more than a one-time conversation

3 Premises of our approach 1) Students can learn science by engaging in scientific activities 2) Access to science content is not the limiting factor in understanding science. 3) Rich scientific tools, data and communities are accessible online. 4) It is not trivial (for faculty or students) to learn to take advantage of e-science resources. 5) Professional societies can play an important role in identifying and developing best educational practices for modern undergraduate biology education.

4 Community of practice interacts with Tools & resources of professional science Data, instruments, models, simulations, analysis tools, productivity tools, communication tools, presentation tools, Community of learners Transcends traditional isolated lecture hall/lab environment Transforms teaching and learning experience Provided in ways that are equitable, with appropriate bridging for accessibility Integrated in meaningful studentcentered active learning experiences

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7 Teaching for Understanding Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows. Perkins, 1998

8 Disciplinary Practice... the language used in the scientist s research, the statements about nature that the scientist accepts, the questions that are counted as important, the schemata that are accepted for answering questions, the methodological views that are specific to the research in that field of science, the canons of good observation and experiment, and the standards for assessing the reliability of others Phillip Kitcher, 1993

9 BioQUEST & 3P s Problem Posing Problem Solving Peer Persuasion

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12 Problem Spaces

13 Deme

14 Participant Projects

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16 Plant scientists, teachers, and students together enhance the understanding of the nature and process of science and plant biology

17 Online Collaboration and Mentoring Team Students Team Team Student research webpage Posting research journal and data, Discussing, Explaining, Analyzing Teachers Co-mentoring, scaffolding inquiry Scientists Project provides inquiry guides, pre/post-tests, materials Matches mentors-teams Supports participants Classroom Hands-On Investigations 2+ weeks long

18 Doing Science Learning in collaborative, student-centered, interactive environment Writing and Talking about it Creating common sense of purpose Teaching through social/constructivist context and inquiry approach Hands-on Plant Investigations Online Community Creating knowledge Making meaning Mentoring in a science culture of reflection and discourse

19 Just doing science is not enough! Hands-on projects and apprenticeships in research labs DO NOT ALWAYS lead to improved understanding of nature and process of science. (Bell et al. 2003, Sandoval and Morrison 2003) Reflection is essential for deep understanding. Argumentation is necessary to solve problems and advance knowledge.

20 Online Collaboration and Mentoring Team Students Team Team Student research webpage Posting research journal and data, Discussing, Explaining, Analyzing Teachers Scientists social education networking access to distributed to expertise presentation tools communication tools Critiquing, suggesting, sharing ideas and data---this communication is the heart of science C. Surridge, quoted in Science 2.0, Scientific American, Apr. 2008

21 Example College Student Research Web page

22 Dialog on High School Team Research Web page

23 The Research Gallery: digital legacy of student work

24 What is possible in a single college classroom? Check out also wesch#digital_ethnography

25 The ever-expanding digital universe, and the socio-technology landscape revolution in science / sci ed.

26 Sharing information and ideas Discuss in small groups What are the hardest things ( disciplinary content / skills / learning outcomes) to support? How can e-science resources be used to make progress on those? How can professional societies contribute to these efforts?

27 What next? More information to gather, to synthesize, and to summarize in a position statement Contact Us Sam Donovan University of Pittsburgh BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium sdonovan@pitt.edu Claire Hemingway Botanical Society of America chemingway@botany.org