Introductory Biology I and II
General Description: Two-semester integrated introductory biology lecture and laboratory sequence for biology majors and other majors that require it.
Official description: BISC207 - Molecular basis of life. Structure and function of cells, including signal transduction pathways. Energy transformations. Classical Mendelian genetics and the flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins. Laboratory focuses on the testing of hypotheses, data analysis and scientific writing; BISC208 - Mechanisms of evolution. Physiology of multicellular plants and animals. Principles of ecology with emphasis on the biology of populations. Laboratory focuses on testing of hypotheses, data analysis and scientific writing. Animal and plant anatomy also studied.
Introductory Biology I enrolls roughly 1000 students and Introductory Biology II 500 students per academic year and it is taught by several faculty. This application is based only on the sections taught by myself.
Dee Baer (Instructor, University of Delaware, University Writing Center) – development of procedures and rubric for training students to think critically and write better laboratory reports, and for training graduate laboratory instructors to assist in student training and to evaluate student writing. Prof.
Linda Dion (Faculty, University of Delaware, Department of Biological Sciences) - development of procedures and rubric for training students to think critically and write better laboratory reports, and for training graduate laboratory instructors to assist in student training and to evaluate student writing, and consultant on options for active learning. Prof. Dion uses Problem-Based Learning (PBL).
Prof. Todd Nickle (Faculty, Mount Royal University, Department of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Sciences, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB) – consultant on active learning and use of technology in teaching including Calibrated Peer Review (CPR), Just in Time Teaching (JiTT), Wink, and Adobe Presenter. These technologies are explained in the narrative below.
Lecture
Over a 40-year span my teaching has evolved from standard lectures to an active learning format modeled on Just in Time Teaching (jittdl.physics.iupui.edu/jitt/) and employing questions for classroom discussion submitted by students in advance. A description of the step-by-step progression over time, too lengthy for this section, can be found in Attachment 1.
Today the discussion question format is continued, supported by improved electronic communication (Attachment 2). Students become teachers; this is the most important course innovation. The rationale for the submitted question is not specified – it could seek clarification, more information, or a review – although that may change. I add some questions to fill major gaps and some items for enrichment, and organize textbook diagrams to support discussions. Graded quizzes are given every week. They provide self assessment and help maintain a steady learning pace.
Laboratory
The introductory biology laboratory has been upgraded with computers and electronic probes purchased with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant. With improved data acquisition and quality, more emphasis is placed on communicating results and interpretations using laboratory reports modeled after original research papers. We struggled with training students to write, teaching assistants (TAs) to evaluate student writing, and finding enough time to read student work. I tried an online writing program, Calibrated Peer Review (CPR, cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/) supported with an institutional grant. The project was unsuccessful. There was no statistical difference in writing between CPR-trained and untrained students. In addition it was very difficult for students to include data in the form of tables and figures with text because of CPR server restrictions. In the process of training report evaluators, Dee Baer, Prof. Dion and I developed a “norming” process that was quite successful and is in place today. TAs read sample student papers of different quality and evaluate them using our custom rubric. The rubric and sample reports are shared with students, TAs explain their scoring, and a first report rough draft receives helpful comments from the TAs.
Lecture
Discussion questions are submitted via the Sakai Tests and Quizzes tool (see Attachment 2). The deadline is 3 hours before class begins. In the interval, the questions are exported to an Excel spreadsheet, parsed into columns for course section/student name/student question, pasted into a Word document, and arranged in a logical order. I add some questions, links to supplemental information, video clips, selections from my image collection, and other enrichments.
Some homework is submitted via the Sakai Assignments tool. This has included genetics problems (Classical Genetics Simulator, www.cgslab.com/) and summaries of genetics research (Scitable, www.nature.com/scitable).
A Sakai Chat Room is opened before exams, and Sakai Grade Book allows students to track their performance.
Laboratory
Upgrading with HHMI support added computers and electronic probes for simulations (ecology, evolution) and data acquisition (photosynthesis, animal respiration, plant transpiration). Currently 35 computers need frequent attention. I remotely maintain the computer operating systems and software with a combination of Windows Remote Desktop Connection, NetSupport School’s Tutor software www.netsupportschool.com/), and Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.5. Student data are saved locally on their computer desktop, collected by the Teaching Assistant to their computer desktop, and uploaded to the Sakai Resources area. Students download their data for use in reports which are submitted to the Sakai Assignments tool for evaluation. When I can not be in the laboratory with students, such as in the evening, I can spot check student progress by briefly viewing their computer monitors with NetSupport School’s Tutor application and sometimes use its messaging function to send encouragement or advice.
I use Dimdim web meeting software (www.dimdim.com) for interactive instruction on computer-based activities such as creating a graph with Excel. It also provides a way for student groups to plan laboratory projects with or without faculty participation. I use Wink software www.debugmode.com/wink/) to produce self-guided instruction for a similar purpose.
I maintain a domain controller and server (Windows Server 2003) for student and TA computer security and management and this allows easy file transfers for TAs and faculty.
Lecture
Student questions, which are submitted electronically before class (Tests and Quizzes tool) and presented in class, invite peer-based teaching. An online genetics assignment, submitted individually (Assignments tool) allows problem-solving collaboration. Students are encouraged to contribute news items of general interest and these are made available to all (Sakai Resources tool). In one instance, a news item has lead to the student inviting a local scientist (Univ. Pennsylvania) to participate in the department seminar program next fall.
Collaborative study (Chat Room tool) is available for exam review, and online collaborative planning for laboratory projects is available (Chat Room tool, Dimdim or Skype web meeting). I arrange to be available at announced times for online consultation. Most students reside on campus in close proximity and gather in person so the use of online collaboration is limited.
Laboratory
Students work in teams of 2-3. All team data are made available online (Sakai Resources tool). Each student writes an individual report. It is usually based on their team’s data but sometimes must incorporate all team data to include more replicates or different experiment variables. In any case they can see output of other teams and with permission may use other team data if theirs is inadequate.
Lecture
A syllabus and lecture schedule is online in PDF format. They are open to the Internet and can be accessed either directly via the campus network or through the Sakai course site. The schedule is updated regularly. Special assignments are posted online (Assignments tool). A variety of information sources are made available (Resources tool) and include Wikipedia, Scitable (Nature Education), and articles from Science, Nature, Science News and Discover magazines. When students ask questions that can not be answered immediately, they and I work together at finding a satisfactory answer to share to the class.
Laboratory
A laboratory schedule is online in PDF format. I also describe in lecture an upcoming laboratory session and sometimes, after the laboratory meeting, show in lecture a sample of data and question students about analysis and interpretation. Data files are collected via the campus network. I maintain a domain controller and server (Windows Server 2003) for student and TA computer security and management and this facilitates file transfers.
Principle 1 – Contact between students and instructor in and out of class is encouraged and implemented with online tools.
Principle 2 – Students work in small teams in the laboratory. Some study for exams in physical groups and online in a chat room.
Principle 3 – Active learning is encouraged through student-generated questions discussed in lecture, i.e. peer teaching in the classroom.
Principle 4 – Prompt feedback on student work occurs when graded lecture exams are returned usually at the next class meeting, and the network (Sakai Assignments) is used for laboratory report submission and graded report return. The turnaround time is less than the usual one week, i.e. the transfer does not have to wait for the next meeting period.
Principle 5 – The task of writing laboratory reports is shortened by providing immediate access to data outside laboratory meetings via Sakai. Regular assignments set the pace for the course. Consistent and increased time on task is encouraged by weekly discussion questions, reading assignments, and assessment in quizzes.
Principle 6 – The course has high standards for laboratory report writing (see attachment 3). The lecture format requires reading the textbook before class for understanding, and students are expected to participate at least occasionally in classroom discussion.
Principle 7 – The course uses different learning and collaborative environments in lecture and laboratory. In lecture students are expected to discuss but are not forced to do so. In the laboratory students take turns leading their group, collecting data and using computer skills, and reporting observations to their peers. We observe that initial differences in these three areas even out as the semester progresses.
Accessibility is addressed on an individual case basis. The university informs all faculty of students who have special learning and testing disabilities and requirements. For example, students who are certified with LD and ADHD are allowed to request a special testing place and timing. A blind or deaf student can successfully complete a laboratory by being provided with a custom Braille version of the manual and an assistant. Students are encouraged to inform me about special needs, and they are referred to the Office of Disabilities Support Services as needed.
Course materials are created on the fly to support learning. In-class format allows instructor to offer verbal support and students to ask for support
Lecture.
The main innovation is the use of student-generated questions for developing lecture framework and content. Students become teachers to some extent. My contributions are arranged around those topics that students tell me they would like to entertain. However I do not assume that their questions cover all the topics that should be considered and therefore I add questions or short discourses, show diagrams and images from the textbook and outside sources, and do some searching for additional information both online and in hard copy publications. Students report this is an effective teaching strategy (Attachment 4).
One way students demonstrate transformation is to show more self confidence and less anxiety about speaking up in a group. They are also more likely to volunteer and share course-relevant information they obtain from outside sources than in the past.
Laboratory.
Several years ago, in connection with the upgrade to computer and electronic probe-based investigations and the danger of computer virus infections, I developed a way for students to save collected data files on my university network sub-domain controller. This was unique to all the basic science courses (chemistry, physics, other biology courses) at this university. However IT persons feared that if my “rogue” domain controller, now also functioning as a server, should crash or become infected students might lose essential data and therefore be harmed educationally. I was advised to consider data transfers via WebCT. I developed the process and it worked quite well. Currently the Sakai server has taken over the same process which goes as follows. Students save data files to their workstation desktop. Laboratory instructors (TAs) download the files to their workstation using shared folders on different computers. Running all teaching computers on my sub-domain (the same building sub-net) makes this possible. TAs then transfer files to the Sakai server Resources area using the WebDAV protocol. Students download data for use in their laboratory reports. All report submissions and graded report returns also use the Sakai server, a paperless process.
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