Collaborations that facilitate the scholarship of teaching:

Working with education professionals and more!

Ann C. Smith

Jennifer Hayes-Klosteridis

Paulette Robinson

University of Maryland

College Park MD

ASM Division W, Washington D.C. 2003

Knowing what works

How People Learn (2000) Bransford, Brown and Cocking eds

• Active learning strategies– Allowing students to become involved and take

control of their own learning

Showing what works

• What are the best methods to employ?

• What strategies will be required to implement the methods.

• How can success be assessed?

Active learning – our goal

• Variety of strategies– Involve student participation– Give context to content– Discussion– Writing– Group work

• Problem based, Inquiry based, Case based

Challenges:

Large enrollment, diverse backgrounds, complex, content rich subject

Instructor

BSCI223 General Microbiology

• Pre- requisite: One course in General Biology

• Student population: Science students– Including biology, microbiology, soil science,

kinesiology, psychology

• Large Lecture- 250 students

• Laboratory component

Establish a teaching team

•Other Science Faculty

•Education Faculty

•Graduate Teaching Assistants

•Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

Solution:

Enlarge the Instructor Base

Collaborations enlarge the instructor base

Teaching Team – Science Faculty

• Faculty instructors– Ann Smith – Instructor– Patty Shields - Instructor– Richard Stewart & Jon Dinman – Associate Professors– Robert Yuan – Full Professor

• All PhD microbiologists each providing unique perspective to the team – Time spent with students, awareness of needs of our

Undergraduates, Current Research topics, Global perspective of Science,

Teaching Team: Education Professionals

Jennifer Hayes-Klosteridis– Masters degree in Biology– Ph.D candidate Education Policy, Planning and

Leadership, UM College of Education

• Paulette Robinson – Ph.D. Education Policy, Planning and Leadership– Manager, Teaching Learning Support, OIT, UM

• Provide education perspective, knowledge of learning theory, and teaching methods, experience in education research.

Teaching Team: Graduate Assistants

• Life Sciences graduate students– Knowledge of the field– Experiences as a student, – Liaison with students

Teaching Team: UTA

• Undergraduate Teaching Assistants– Alumni of the course– Enroll for elective credit

• Undergraduate Technology Apprentice Program– Trained in technology– Knowledge of behind the scenes

Benefits of Collaboration

We can do more, Learn from each other• Students become teaching “apprentices”• Education professionals can ask questions about

application of education theory to the discipline• OIT professionals can ask questions about the use of

technology by faculty and students.• Science Faculty can ask questions about methods that

facilitate the education of future scientists, or best attract students to the study of science.

Our teaching has evolved to scholarship

Costs of Collaboration

• Costs– No monetary cost

• Lab fees, University and Department grants – technology and travel.

• Goal was to use existing resources

– Faculty/TA’s have to relinquish some control– Need for time to co-ordinate/meet discuss

Communication

• Add technology

Goal: Active Learning in a Large Enrollment Microbiology Class

Approach• Establish a teaching team where members

work collaboratively to design, implement, and assess active learning strategies

• Use technology to establish an on-line learning center to provide a site/time for communication, organization, and active learning options

LABLabs linked to lectures/cases

Presentations

18 students/TA

Lab reports

PAK discussion questions

Lecture outlines and power points

Links to Resources

Lab Review quizzes

Lab Manual -pdf

Virtual poster session

On-line exam

Small group On-line discussion of complex topics Discussion area for general questionsCourse Syllabus/Information/Announcements

Course Surveys

Links to databases

Grades

Case studies

Directed DiscussionsLECTURE

250 students/instructor

Question/AnswerLectures linked to labs/cases

On-line Learning Center

Communication

OrganizationTime Access

Active Learning

Results from UM General Education Course survey

Participate Actively in Learning, Significant increase since 1993 review and All LL reviewed over time

Mea

n R

espo

nse

Qualitative Analysis – Have we engaged students in active learning?

• Constructed surveys– Delivered within WebCT

• Analysis of responses looking at themes

What did you like about the on-line discussion?

What did you learn from Case Study questions?

What did you like about the use of technology?

Comment (350 students) Example Number

Negative response I Don’t like Web Ct 7

Negative response Live off campus, difficult to down load or view pages

2

Positive Responses:    

Access and organization of information

24 hour access to everything! 

152

Convenient, easy to use Convenient to have everything 32

Options to communicate with students and course instructors

A direct link to professors and students if I had a problem

58

On -line quizzes,  

I owe my fabulous lab practical grade to

80

Lecture outlines The best way to learn – allowed me to review

85

Grades Great way to know what my current grade is.

59

Lab manual Saved money in not having to buy a lab manual

25

Teaching Team

Dept of Cell Biology/Molecular Genetics

College of Life Sciences

Undergraduate Studies

Center for Teaching Excellence

Office of Information Technology

Support

Students

ASM

PKAL

NCCS

Questions?

Questions?

350 Students SurveyedWhat do you like about the on-line discussion?

– 79 the opportunity to discuss with students! “so many different ideas and tangents to explore and learn about”

– 30 liked that they learned new information

– Additional comments about the positive aspects about working in a group, meeting new people and being online provided flexibility in space and time