Transcript Teaching for Understanding in Science: Active Learning and Assessment

Teaching for Understanding in Science:
Active Learning and Assessment
Case Study Teaching in Science
University at Buffalo, SUNY
25-26 September 2009
Diane Ebert-May
Plant Biology Department
Michigan State University
[email protected]
Area ofPhD
your Subject
inquiry
Hometown
Name Folders
NAME
(the one you want to be called)
One positive word your
Greatest
friends
wouldPersonal
use to
describeAttribute
you?
Comfort
food
Career
Goal
Last, First
Chapter 1: Ebert-May and Hodder (2008) Pathways to Scientific Teaching
The Learning Pyramid
(National Training Laboratories, Bethel, ME)
Average
Retention Rate
Lecture
5%
Reading
10%
Audio-Visual
20%
Demonstration
30%
Discussion
50%
Practice by doing
75%
Teach/Use
90%
Backward
Design
Identify desired
outcomes
Determine acceptable
evidence
Design learning
experiences and
instruction
Wiggins and McTighe 2005
Assessments are KEY:
Link them to Goals
Goals articulated with outcomes that are
measurable or observable (actions).
Identify desired
outcomes
ASSESSMENT
Determine
acceptable evidence
Design learning
experiences and
instruction
What is assessment?
Data collected to
inform instructor
and student about
learning
• Quantitative and qualitative
• Formative and summative
• Formal and informal
Examples of assessment tools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Quizzes and exams
Homework assignments
Written papers/ reports
Oral presentations
In-class activities
Surveys
Observations
Interviews
Assessment Gradient
High
Oral
Interview
Essays,
Research papers, Potential for
Assessment of
reports
Learning
Models, Concept maps,
Quantitative responses
Short answer
Multiple Choice, T/F
Low
Attributes of Meaningful Assessment
 Engages students in their learning
 Relevant and aligned with learning goals
 Elicits prior knowledge and
misconceptions
 Teaches students to evaluate what they
know (and what they don’t know)
 Provides feedback about learning to
instructor and students
Radish Problem
Experimental setup:
Weighed out 3 batches of radish seeds
each weighing 1.5 g.
Experimental treatments:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Seeds placed on DRY paper towels in LIGHT
Seeds placed on DRY paper towels in DARK
Seeds placed on WET paper towels in LIGHT
Seeds placed on WET paper towels in DARK
in Ebert-May D, Batzli J, Lim H. 2003. Bioscience 53:1221-1228.
Problem (cont)
After 1 week, all plant material was dried in an
oven overnight (no water left) and plant biomass
was measured in grams. Note: radishes produce
biomass in a week.
Predict the biomass of the plant material in the
various treatments.
No water, dark
No water, light
Water, light
Water dark
Results- Biomass of Radish
1.46 g
1.63 g
1.20 g
Write an explanation about the results.
Think individually.
Explain the results to your neighbor.
Describe the results on your
carbonless paper
Task: in Pairs
Develop a learning objective to
use with for the Radish problem.
Report out:
Selected individuals from any pair.
Our findings indicate
• Faculty create syllabi for comprehension and
higher-level cognition (application, analysis,
synthesis & evaluation), but test for
knowledge
• Further, introductory biology courses are not
meeting the learning goals set forth by their
institutions
• Faculty are not preparing students for upperlevel courses, graduate & professional school
& careers in biology.
But…
• Introductory classes and AP should focus on
lower-level cognition (facts first!).
– No evidence to support this claim (Zheng et al
2008).
– Data indicate students need practice and
iteration (Krathwohl et al 1964).
– Students succeed when they know what’s
expected of them (Crowe et al 2008).
• Introductory classes are large. Multiplechoice questions are the only feasible
assessment.
BioSci 110: Case Study Final Exam
We briefly detailed:
1. The wolves – and the vertebrae deformity
2. The moose
3. The project
We then asked questions on the genetics, ecology
& evolution of the moose and wolf community.
The wolves of Isle Royale
Isle Royale is an island in Lake
Superior located off the northern
shore of Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula. Very rarely, freezing
creates ice bridges connecting
islands to the main land. In 1950,
several wolves crossed an ice
bridge from Canada to Isle
Royale, Michigan. Their arrival
changed the lives of the resident
moose forever (no wolves lived
on Isle Royale before 1950).
Jigsaw
Count of 1, 2, 3…..7
Write a learning goal / objective for
each question.
Design the active learning activity to
help students achieve the objectives.
What is a scientific model?
Cnidarian life cycle
How do you describe a model?
S
B
F
Models have:
1. Structure
2. Behaviors
3. Function
Teaching and learning through models
A box-and-arrow model has a FUNCTION,
emerging from its elements (STRUCTURES) and
the relationships among them (BEHAVIORS).
Behavior 3
Structure
1
Behavior
1
Structure
2
Function
Behavior
2
Structure
3
Teaching and learning through models
A box-and-arrow model has a FUNCTION,
emerging from its elements (STRUCTURES) and
the relationships among them (BEHAVIORS).
On Isle Royale, the remains of a dead wolf were buried under the
litter in a forest.
Create a model (drawing, or box-and-arrow) to explain how a
carbon atom from the body of the wolf could become part of a cell
in a moose.
Note: moose do not eat wolves, dead or alive.
Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation
(simplified)
Toulmin, SE. 1958. The Uses of Argument.
Evidence
Claim
(data or facts)
Warrant
(links evidence
to claim)
Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation
(simplified)
Toulmin, SE. 1958. The Uses of Argument.
Evidence
Claim
Non-tenured faculty
RTOP scores are
higher than tenured
faculty
Younger faculty are
more likely to change
their classroom
practice following PD
Stepwise regression
shows significant
difference between
the 2 groups
Warrant
What is a scientific argument?
CLAIM:
- How do you know?
What is a scientific argument?
CLAIM:
- How do you know?
EVIDENCE:
- How can you explain?
What is a scientific argument?
CLAIM:
How do you know?
EVIDENCE:
How can you explain?
WARRANT/BACKING: