welcome to the mountain west summer institute! directors: jenny knight and bill wood program...

WELCOME TO THE MOUNTAIN WESTSUMMER INSTITUTE!

DIRECTORS: Jenny Knight and Bill WoodPROGRAM ASSISTANTS: Katie Southard and Tyler Wince FACILITATORS and INVITED SPEAKERS:

Erika Abel, Baylor UniversityMaría Florencia (Flor) Breitman, University of BrasíliaBrian Couch, University of Nebraska, LincolnRenee Dawson, University of UtahLisa Elfring, University of ArizonaLianna Etchberger, Utah State UniversityMays Imad, Pima Community CollegePaul Laybourn, Colorado State UniversityStanley Lo, University of California, San DiegoKatie Mouzakis, Fort Lewis CollegeMartina Rosenberg, University of New Mexico

Kate Semsar, University of Colorado, Boulder Katie Southard, University of Arizona

Institutions of participating teams

Adams State UniversityBaylor UniversityColorado School of MinesColorado State UniversityPima Community CollegeRegis UniversityU.S. Air Force AcademyUniversity of ArizonaUniversity of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, Santa CruzUniversity of Colorado, BoulderUniversity of Colorado, DenverUniversity of Texas, AustinWestern State Colorado University

What will happen this week:

You will be working in groups, in workshop sessions and on your own.

We will be modeling what we are promoting; i.e. scientific teaching and active learning

We hope you will • Become familiar with scientific teaching approaches• Learn new teaching/assessment techniques• Become acquainted with some education research• Develop novel teaching materials (“teachable tidbits”)• Develop action plans for institutional change• Make new friends and colleagues• Work very hard!

The “Nitty Gritties”:

Katie Southardand

Tyler Wince

Participant Materials

• Please be sure that you have picked up: – Your nametag– A copy of Scientific Teaching– Your binder (please right your name on front page)– A mug and water bottle (please write you name: tape

provided)

(Restrooms are located down the front hall and through the back doors)

A Tour through your Packet:• Detailed agenda for each day

– Please take careful note of your group’s daily breakout room assignment

• List of attendees, facilitators, and follow-up alumni – Group information and emails can be found here

• Daily readings– Please be sure to do the assigned reading each night

• Use a large pen to write your first name BIG on provided paper. Place it in front of you or in the cover of your notebook!

DropboxNotes:

– DO NOT move a file out of Dropbox! DO NOT click and drag a file out of Dropbox.

– You must copy it and paste it elsewhere.

– Please find your group’s work folders and use those for file sharing and daily task uploads

The Millennium Harvest House Hotel:

• Internet access for our group is free for the week– Accept the charge to your room, the charges will be

waived at end of week• Local participants and commuters

– Free parking for our group in the Millennium parking lot

• Walking up to campus each day– Gather at 8 am to walk up to campus: meetings begin

PROMPTLY at 8:30am

Millennium Hotel

MCD Biology/ Porter Bld.

Meals• Breakfast:

– Light breakfast (coffee, fruit, yogurt, etc.) provided at 8:15 in A152

– More substantial breakfast: on your own• Lunch (provided):

– Walk to the Center for Community (C4C) dining hall: pick up meal cards each day

– Box lunches will be provided on busy days• Snacks (provided):

– Available in the lobby all morning and afternoon• Dinner:

– On your own and around the town each night– Zolo Grill on Friday night 6:30pm

Questions or Concerns?

• Directions, program concerns, or Boulder information: – Katie Southard:

• ksouthard@email.arizona.edu• 970-310-9737

• Materials, printing, or hotel concerns: – Tyler Wince:

• twince@email.arizona.edu• 480-313-5829

Bill WoodDistinguished Professor EmeritusMCD BiologyUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

Background and brief History

Changing the way we teach: why we must In general, we have not done a good job at teaching science to (most) STEM undergraduates, particularly in large courses at the introductory level.

Problems and consequences:• Too much emphasis on factual knowledge • Too little on conceptual understanding, analytical thinking, and the nature of science• Too many talented students drop out of STEM majors (~60% overall, ~80% among African Americans)*• Graduates have low retention, persistent misconceptions, shallow understanding• General lack of ethnic and cultural diversity in STEM professions

* e.g. Seymour & Hewitt (1997), Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences, Westview

At least partly because of the way we have been teaching

PNAS 111(23):8410–8415, May 2014

We know how to do it better!

The Summer Institute was created to make it happen!

NRC Report, 2002

Major conclusion: College level biology instruction must become better!

A brief history of the Summer InstituteA brief history of the Summer Institute

Bio2010: Transforming biology education for future research biologists

One recommendation: Create an intensive nationally available workshop in pedagogy

for university faculty.

Pilot workshop, 2003

First Summer Institute, 2004, in Madison, WI Jo Handelsman and BW, co-directors Funded by HHMI, sponsored by NAS

We are no longer the only game in townWe are no longer the only game in town

Other reform efforts:

AAU STEM Education InitiativeAAAS, NSF (Vision & Change, Pulse Rubrics)ASMPCASTVanderbilt MOOC, Coursera (Derek Bruff)

Other reform efforts:

AAU STEM Education InitiativeAAAS, NSF (Vision & Change, Pulse Rubrics)ASMPCASTVanderbilt MOOC, Coursera (Derek Bruff)

2004

2015 Starting 2nd decade!

From the start, built around the ideas of “Scientific Teaching”

J. Handelsman, S. Miller, and C. Pfund, 2007

• Inclusivity

• Assessment

• Active learning

Three “pillars” of scientific teaching

A fourth pillar:

• Backward design

2011 – Additional funding from HHMI allowed expansion to six regional SIs, directed by SI alumns

Northeast (Movable: Harvard, Yale, Stony Brook, . . . )Southeast (UGA)Midwest (UMN)Gulf Coast (LSU)Mountain West (CU Boulder)Northwest (Moveable: UW, Evergreen State, U. of Hawaii, . . .)

2004-2015: There are now about 1200 SI graduates

SI participating U.S. institutions, 2004-2014(also Peking U., China, Univ. of Pune, India)

Summer Institutes

CourseSource – a repository of teaching materials

Institutional Change Resources

Communications: Website, Newsletter

Collaboration with other national STEM education organizations, professional societies

Director: Michelle Withers

Summer Institutes

CourseSource – a repository of teaching materials

Institutional Change Resources

Communications: Website, Newsletter

Collaboration with other national STEM education organizations, professional societies

Director: Michelle Withers

Summer Institute long range goals

• To enhance the quality of science education

• To create a more diverse scientific community

• To promote a national transformation of science education at the college and university levels

Disseminate evidence-based teaching practices, and use them:

Participants pledge to disseminate new teaching approaches at their home campuses

Follow-up Meeting

•One representative from each participant team

•Reconvene to report successes, discuss challenges, and plan future activities

Past participants are now facilitators and leaders helping advance the SI mission

Recognition!Recognition!

Upon successful completion of the Summer Institute you will be named aNATIONAL ACADEMIES EDUCATION FELLOW IN THE LIFE SCIENCES

Break for dinner

Introducing Scientific Teaching

Jenny KnightAssociate Professor, MCD BiologyUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

Learning objectivesBe able to…..

• Describe scientific teaching and its core elements

• Explain the evidence-based rationale for each component of scientific teaching

• Distinguish between learning objectives and syllabus items

• Defend the advantages of backward design over standard course planning

• Use “Bloom’s Level” in a sentence

• Reflect analytically on your own process of teaching

What is Scientific Teaching?

Based on your reading, how would you define Scientific Teaching in your own words?

Please write your definition in the notes section of your binder; save this to refer to later.

What is Scientific Teaching?Handelsman et al., 2004 Science 304:521-522.

Approach teaching as a scientist: the classroom should reflect the process of science – evidence and discovery based, and iterative

Instructors should be able to• glean good ideas from education literature• set specific learning objectives for their courses• measure the results of interventions• improve course design based on outcomes results

Major elements of Scientific Teaching:the Summer Institute themes

• Inclusivity• Assessment• Active learning

Additional important elements:• How People Learn• Institutional Transformation and Dissemination• Scientific Teaching in Practice

How can we make our classroom activities inclusive of all students, regardless of backgrounds, to benefit maximally from the richness of student diversity?

Inclusivity (session 1, tomorrow)

Assessment(session 2, tomorrow)

How can we measure how well our teaching is working?(NOT what’s in the picture!)

Active Learning(session 3,

Wednesday)

How can we get our students actively engaged with the content and process of science?

1. Work together with the people at your table

1. Write terms on the sticky notes provided

1. Use the sticky notes to create a “visual map” (also called a “concept map”) on a piece of paper that shows the relationship between the terms.

Can you diagram how the components of scientific teaching fit together?

RNA Polymerase

Transcription

Promoterinitiated at

binds to the

catalyzes

Concept map of transcription

Concept mapping

Concept map terms1. Active learning2. Assessment3. Inclusivity4. Teachable Tidbit5. Teachable Unit6. Learning Goals7. Learning Outcomes/Objectives8. Scientific Teaching

See Section C, page 4 of your binder for some definitions if you are not sure!

• When you are finished, go look at another group’s map and see how it is different/similar from your own group’s

Clicker Question

What just happened?

Most of us are inherently comfortable with a certain role in group work. What role did you play just now in building the concept map?A.Leader/FacilitatorB.Doer/WriterC.Process checker/Skeptic D.Consensus builder/PeacemakerE.Observer

Clicker Question

Were you happy with your role?A.YesB.NoC.Not sure—still processing

Think-Pair-Share

• Think: What kinds of behaviors are positive and negative in a group? How can you interact to increase group productivity and decrease group anxiety?

• Pair: Discuss your thoughts with the person next to you.

• Share: Share your ideas with others at your table

Group work is inherently challenging for most people•Thus, group work is likely to be challenging for your students as well.•How can scientific teaching help them?

Communicating to students

At the beginning of a course, how do we (traditionally) communicate with students about the content of the course?

• Shout it out!

How have you typically prepared for teaching a class in the past?

Backward Design – The Scientific Teaching ApproachBackward Design – The Scientific Teaching Approach

Adapted from Wiggins and McTighe (1998)

GoalsGoals AssessmentAssessment InstructionInstruction

What should students know, be able to do?

What evidence will we accept?

How can we best prepare students?

Communication Data Experiment

Backward Design: PlanningBackward Design: Planning

Backwards Design: ImplementationBackwards Design: Implementation

GoalsGoals AssessmentAssessment InstructionInstruction

GoalsGoals InstructionInstruction AssessmentAssessment

FeedbackFeedbackAssessments communicate to

students priorities for their learning.Assessments communicate to

students priorities for their learning.

Genetics Syllabus (part)

-DNA replication and the Central Dogma (Review)DNA replicationTranscriptionTranslation

-Principles of heredity: how traits are transmittedAllelesDominant and recessive traits

-The chromosome theory of inheritanceMeiosis

-Linkage and recombination

Etc.

What is accomplished in this mode of communication?

Syllabus Transcription

Learning Objectives - be able to:

•Define transcription.•Name the enzyme that catalyzes it.•Distinguish between transcription and translation.•Compare transcription in bacteria and eukaryotes.•Diagram a DNA duplex in the process of transcription showing base-pairing and strand polarity for all polynucleotides.

Learning Goal: Broad description of what students will understand and learn: not necessarily assessable with single question.

Learning Objective/Outcome: Specific, action-oriented description of what students will be able to do: assessable.

Definitions

How do we communicate our intent meaningfully?

A tool for classification: Bloom’s taxonomy

What is it?a. How a flower blooms?b. I just read about it before I arrivedc. I have heard about it but never used itd. I have used it some e. My teaching depends on it

Bloom’s TaxonomyBloom’s Taxonomy

Anderson, L. W. and David R. Krathwohl, D. R., et al (Eds..) (2001)

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

1. Remember: define, list, memorize, name, order, recognize

2. Comprehend: classify, describe, discuss, explain

3. Apply: demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, solve, use

4. Analyze: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, discriminate, distinguish, experiment, question, test.

5 Evaluate: argue, assess, defend, estimate, judge, predict, evaluate.

6 Create: compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

(also see handout in your packet)

Higher Order

Words like “understand” and “appreciate” are ok for Learning Goals, but not for Objectives!

What do you think might be key elements of getting students to work at higher Bloom’s

levels? • Brainstorm with your groups• Sum up and report out

SI Big PictureBy the end of the week, you will have:

• Worked as a team to share knowledge, build new skills, and cultivate partnerships in teaching and learning

• Explored and tested multiple teaching methods that engage and assess diverse students

• Created and peer-reviewed instructional materials in the spirit of Scientific Teaching

• Developed skills and tactics to promote reform on your own campus

• Identified strategies that prioritize learning in your own teaching practices

Your main product:•An experience we hope will be transformative!

process of scientific teaching and collaborationbest practices and implementation

Teachable Unit: e.g. Evolution (1-2 weeks)

Teachable Tidbit:e.g. Co-evolution (1 or 2

days)

Course: e.g. Introductory

Biology

Your official product: a teachable tidbit and the framework/context around it

Marching Orders• Do the readings for tomorrow

– 2 articles on Inclusive Teaching in the Readings folder in Dropbox

– Chapter 3 on Assessment and Chapter 4 on inclusivity in Scientific Teaching

• Upload biosketches AND exams and syllabi if you have not done so already

• Enjoy a good night’s sleep!• Be back here at 8:30 AM for the Inclusive Teaching and Active

Learning Sessions

Any questions or concerns, please see Katie, Tyler or Jenny