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7.391 | Spring 2006 | Undergraduate

# Concept-Centered Teaching

SES # | TOPICS | OVERVIEWS | READINGS
--- | --- | --- | ---
1 | Introduction - The Importance of Scientific Teaching and Mentoring | We will begin by introducing ourselves and talking about what each of us hopes to get out of the class, our backgrounds and sources of interest in the subject of the seminar. We will discuss the importance of being a good teacher/mentor in the biological sciences and will read the “Scientific Teaching” article. By doing so we will set out the overall goals of the class. We will go over the discussion class options between 7.014 or 7.02. You will be required to choose one of the two classes by Friday, two days after Ses #1 and email the instructor your decision. | Handelsman, J., D. Ebert-May, R. Beichner, P. Bruns, A. Chang, R. Dehaan, J. Gentile, S. Lauffer, J. Stewart, S. M. Tilghman, and W. B. Wood. “Scientific Teaching.” Science 304 (2004): 521-522.
2 | Reforming Undergraduate Biology Education | It is widely recognized that current undergraduate curricula do not adequately prepare our students for successful research careers in the biomedical sciences. The National Academy of Sciences issued a report in 2003 that called for major reform in the overall training and preparation of our students. We talk about the recommendations of the reform committee and how they may be implemented in the college classroom. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Morgan, Elisa. Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. National Academy of Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780309085359.
3 | Confronting Student Misconceptions | Whether it is our every day experience with falling objects, or our intuitive knowledge of heredity (“it’s in his blood”), we all enter classroom with pre-conceived notions of the concepts at the core of the subject. Some of these pre-conceived notions are in fact misconceptions. Students who learn “over” the misconceptions tend to revert to their original, wrong, ideas after the course is over. It is increasingly becoming an accepted notion that effective teaching identifies and confronts student misconceptions. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Alparslan, C., C. Tekkaya, and O. Geban. “Using the conceptual change instruction to improve learning.” Journal of Biological Education 37 (2003): 133-7. Tanner, K. and D. Allen. “Approached to Biology Teaching and Learning: Understanding the Wrong Answers-Teaching Towards Conceptual Change.” Cell Biology Education 4 (2005): 112-117.
4 | Teaching Complex Material as a Series of Basic Concepts | As experts, we often lose site of the fact that we only understand a complex fact because we truly understand the multiple concepts behind it. We will perform an exercise that will demonstrate just how complex biology can be and we will look at a paper that works to break-down MIT introductory biology into smaller concepts. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Khodor, J., D. G. Halme, and G. C. Walker. “A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework.” Cell Biology Education 3 (2004): 111-112.
5 | Multiple Intelligences | In 1983 Howard Gardner formulated his theory of Multiple Intelligences. Since then, many books and articles have been written on the subject of MI itself and, more recently, on how it applies to the educational endeavor. Our discussion will focus on how to apply the principles of MI in the college environment, where large lecture-based courses are the norm. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Mbuva, James. “Implementation of the Multiple Intelligences Theory in the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Environments: A New Tool for Effective Teaching and Learning in All Levels.” Report (2003).
6 | Usability Testing |  |
7 | Cooperative Learning | One of the buzz words in education today cooperative or group learning. Many flavors of this type of learning exist, most with an emphasis on creating an environment where students accomplish more in a group format than any individual can accomplish by his- or herself. Some models, like the guild model discussed in today’s paper, explicitly encourage the group to capitalize on each individual member’s strengths to accomplish the overall goal. We will discuss applicability of various forms of group work to a number of educational environments. We will also discuss the balance between covering content and developing skills students need to acquire content on their own. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Wright, R., and J. Boggs. “Learning Cell Biology as a Team: A Project-Based Approach to Upper-Division Cell Biology.” Cell Biology Education 1 (2002): 145-53.
8 | Case Studies | Case method is a method of instruction that focuses on using real-world or made-up cases (case studies) as the main vehicle for learning. The goal is for students to learn through practice. Ideally, the cases are complex and even controversial, such that the students are engaged and motivated to explore the subject. We will discuss the use of cases as a tool, as well as the difference between pure case method and sporadic use of cases in the curriculum. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Richmond, G., and B. Neureither. “Making a Case for Cases.” American Biology Teacher 60, no. 5 (1998): 335-42. Additional Readings Smith, R. A., and S. K. Murphy. “Using Case Studies to Increase Learning and Interest in Biology.” American Biology Teacher 60, no. 4 (1998): 265-8.
9 | Concept Mapping | Concept mapping is a technique that asks individual learners to plot the concepts and facts together with their interrelationships in an organizational network that is meaningful to each learner. Based on the assimilation theory of cognitive learning, concept maps have the potential to illuminate student misconceptions and to present a coherent picture of student’s knowledge base. We will discuss pluses and minuses of using concept maps in the context of a large lecture course or a smaller course. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Brown, D. S. “High School Biology: A Group Approach to Concept Mapping.” The American Biology Teacher. 65, no. 3 (2003): 192-7.
10 | Concept-based Laboratories and Lecture Connections | One of the recommendations defined by Bio2010 was to increase the amount of inquiry-based learning in the biological sciences. This is extremely difficult considering most students find themselves learning biology in large lecture environments with only a few hours of lab time. This week, we will look at an example of how small laboratories may be incorporated into large lecture classes to facilitate understanding and concept continuity. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Howard, D. R. and J. A. Miskowski. “Using a Module-based Laboratory to Incorporate Inquiry into a Large Cell Biology Course.” Cell Biology Education 4 (2005): 249-260.
11 | Predictors of Success in College Science | One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is watching students who by all rights should succeed in your class fail miserably. What factors predicts student success in college level science? And what can be done to improve the chances of the students who do not come from the backgrounds likely to produce success in college science? Today’s paper is focused on college level physics, but some conclusions likely transfer across the spectrum of college science. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Sadler, Philip M., and Robert H. Tai. “Success in Introductory College Physics: The Role of High School Preparation.” Science Education 85, no. 2 (2001): 111-36.
12 | Assessment | With all the new techniques and theories circulating in the educational world, we need to be able to assess whether or not our pedagogical changes are having any effect on student understanding and retention. This week we will discuss how we can evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching approaches and styles to subject matter comprehension. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Sundberg, M. D. “Assessing student learning.” Cell Biology Education 1 (2002): 11-15.
13 | Student Self-assessment | In addition to subject-matter assessment, it is often important to understand how the course affects students’ self-perception. Did the student gain confidence in their ability to approach the subject matter or another related field? Are they more likely to pay attention when the subject matter of the course shows up in the media? Are they interested in applying what they learned in their everyday lives? SALG is an instrument that was developed to assess just such questions. We will discuss the instrument itself, as well as the benefits and limitations of using self-assessment. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Seymour E., D. J. Wiese, A. B. Hunter, and S. M. Daffinrud. “Creating a better mousetrap: On-line student assessment of their learning gains.” Paper presented to the National meetings of the American Chemical Society Symposium, Using Real-World Questions to Promote Active Learning. San Francisco, CA. March 27, 2000.
14 | Teaching Evolution | Evolution is one of the fundamental subjects of modern science. It is supported by evidence from a diverse set of disciplines. And yet, somehow, the teaching of evolution in the United States remains controversial. We will discuss what it means to teach evolution to the students who graduate from American high schools. Class Discussion Notes (PDF) | Rutledge, M. L., and M. A. Mitchell. “High School Biology Teachers’ Knowledge Structure, Acceptance & Teaching of Evolution.” The American Biology Teacher 64 (2002): 21-8. Alters, B. J., and C. E. Nelson. “Perspective: Teaching Evolution in Higher Education.” Evolution 56 (2002): 1891-1901.
15 | Wrap-up | We will talk about what we learned, how teaching discussion groups affected your view of biology and of teaching, and about how to improve this course. |

## Course Info

##### Instructor

- Dr. Melissa Kosinski-Collins

##### Departments

- Biology

##### As Taught In

Spring 2006

##### Level

Undergraduate

##### Topics

- Science
  - Biology
- Teaching and Education
  - Curriculum and Teaching

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