Karen Bernd
Davidson College
Biology Department
Background:
Providing connections between different scientific concepts and between scientific theory and the everyday activities of a college student can be difficult. Each, however, is a worthy goal as educators endeavor to engage and challenge the minds of their students. Basic scientific concepts provide the foundation for more complex interactions and though them the cumulative nature of scientific discovery unfolds. Connections between ‘book learning’ and life give the science relevance and promote understanding and retention.
During this and last fall I have sought to reach these goals in Cell Biology (Bio308) by using a case study format. The intricacies of cell-cell communication, protein synthesis and targeting and the cell cycle are examined while we discuss Graves’ disease, Bipolar Disorder and Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Disorder. The lab also integrates these topics as students investigate the cascade of events predicating mating in normal and mating mutant yeast. We discuss cell biology by comparing what ‘usually happens’ and what ‘went wrong’ in each condition. The idea of forming a hypothesis, testing a hypothesis and, often, rejecting a hypothesis are intertwined as the students work through the logical guesses involved in determining the molecular basis of a disorder.
Student performance and mid and end of semester evaluations suggest overwhelming support for the case study approach. Evaluations from the classes first incarnation also suggested some valid changes. One change has been made and two others I wish to address through this fellowship. The three areas are: 1) Of the three disorders used the molecular basis is known for only Graves’ disease and students felt that having two of three case studies with that many unanswered questions was too confusing. While in some ways the case study selection reflects our understanding of disease I understood their point and am using Werner’s disease (caused by a mutant DNA helicase) this semester instead of H G Progeria; 2) Students felt unprepared to design experiments in lab and some admitted it became clearer when they were forced to read the lab manual before lab; 3) Since the reading for a class often comes from more than one chapter and the WWWeb, students indicated that more formal introductory and study guide material would aid their organizing and processing the material.
Description:
During the summer of 2002, I propose to develop a web site to enhance the case study approach. The site will include: a) links from the syllabus to specific sections that include introductory material and interactive study questions (using the Blackboard portal system); b) pre- and post- lab quizzes that will reinforce preparation and data analysis skills; c) PDF formatted versions of the study guide material (from a), and d) a list of URLs providing background and current research specific to each case study.
Timeline:
June: Web searches for background and current research materials; Writing of introductory sections in study guide; Basic web page layout planning (create template)
July: Blackboard quiz questions developed for class and lab section; revision of study guide
Early August: Web page compiled, Study questions and quizzes entered into Blackboard, Study guide PDF format compiled and posted, Assessment surveys developed and posted
Late August: Material used in Cell Biology Course
Technology and Other Support:
I am fortunate to have technical support on campus and through personal contacts and do not anticipate requiring additional technical expertise from other ACS institutions or the Technology Center. I have access to my own and other departmental computers and server space. The Blackboard portal system has been introduced this semester and I have used it to a very limited extent in lab. Any difficulties using Blackboard will be overcome with the assistance of Davidson’s Director of the Center for Instructional Technology (Mur Muchane) who is also in charge of maintaining the computers in our building and whose office is located with those of the biology faculty.
While I have developed webpages using Netscape Composer (see http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/kabernd/BerndCV/BerndCV.html ) my main technical hurdle will be learning web design using DreamWeaver. I own the program but have not yet made the transition from Composer. Members of the College’s ITS staff, colleagues who design webpages professionally, and members of the Davidson Biology Department who have used these programs have graciously agreed to assist me. I have also attended a workshop that introduced the basics of DreamWeaver. Besides providing the hardware and software necessary for this project, the Biology Department supports my continuing development of an interactive Cell Biology course and Davidson College enthusiastically supports the implementation of information technology initiatives.
Learning Outcomes:
The web material described incorporates approaches appropriate for students with different learning styles. Introductory text providing connections between cellular mechanism and the disorders caused by malfunctioning machinery will be reinforced by both Web resources that aid visualization and by study questions that allow practice, synthesis and feedback. Posting these materials, and links to other URLs, on the WWWeb allows each student to access it according to their schedule and work at their own pace. The same is true for the on-line study questions with the additional advantage of requiring consistent pre-class/pre-lab preparation and providing timely feedback since Blackboard allows the development of online assignments that are submitted through the WWWeb and graded immediately. Use of this technology will reinforce the importance student preparation and allow me to monitor students’ understanding of key points before class and so that class time can be adapted appropriately.
Curriculum:
As indicated in the timeline, the materials developed during the ACS Mellon Technology Fellowship will be used during the fall 2002 semester. They will be an integral part of the course curriculum and, in fact, act as the course syllabus, reading material and partial means of assessing student understanding and progress.
Assessment:
Effectiveness will be assessed through comparison of post-section quizzes, two anonymous in-semester surveys and end of semester student evaluations and, in the future, surveying ACS faculty that adopt the approach. 1) Post section quizzes: Students taking cell biology this semester (without supplemental materials) and next fall (with additional materials) will be asked to complete an ungraded quiz designed to measure retention of concepts covered in the case studies. While the sample size will be small the results will indicate areas of strength and weakness in the new material. 2) Student evaluations: Since student requests prompted the proposed development of these materials and one of the project’s goals is to strengthen student retention by anchoring the material to relevant case studies, student evaluations will be important to the assessment process. Anonymous evaluations will be sought throughout the semester (through the Blackboard portal system). 3) Due to the case study approach and availability on the WWWeb the materials developed will be highly ‘exportable’ and even easily adapted to other texts if necessary. Other faculty who adopt the approach will be asked to evaluate the material and assess its effectiveness with their students.
Dissemination:
The end product of this project is WWWeb material. The pages designed will be the course material for Cell Biology. The URLs will be linked to from my homepage and listed on the Davidson College Biology Department homepage. Once the material has been class-tested, the format and success of the on-line study questions will be posted on the Blackboard free access learning communities. As indicated the supplemental materials will also be available in PDF format allowing colleagues to easily access and download text as hard copy. Finally the information and URLs will be posted on the ACS technology page as well as the appropriate ACS listservers.