Trends

 in  Science  Education  

and  Learning  Spaces  

UNIVERSITY  OF  LA  VERNE

FEBRUARY  4,  2011  

Susan  Elrod,  PhD

Executive  Director,  Project  Kaleidoscope  @  AAC&U
http://www.aacu.org/pkal            elrod@aacu.org

Friday, February 4, 2011

 AAAS  V ISION  A ND  C HANGE   I N   B IOLOGY  
EDUCATION   ( 2009)  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT
LEARNING
 Learning  builds  on  exis0ng  knowledge;  is  
built  progressively
 Learning  requires  ac0ve  cogni0ve  
challenges;  transi0ons  novices  toward  
expert  thinking  &  frameworks  
 Knowledge  and  understanding  are  
constructed  by  the  learner
 Learning  occurs  best  in  context  &  when  it  is  
relevant  to  the  learner    
 Reflec0on  (metacogni0on)  is  a  cri0cal  
process  for  promo0ng  learning
National Research Council. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.
L., & Cocking, R. R. eds (2000). How People Learn:
 Learning  is  an  ac0ve,  social  process     Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded
Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 !"#$%"&'()(*+",(-"./$"012."3$4.5-+6"
74.$-8'29':)'4;-'.+"

Friday, February 4, 2011

 GLOBAL  HEALTH
CLIMATE  CHANGE

These  kinds  of  problems  necessitate  graduates  from  different  

disciplinary  backgrounds  who  are  scientifically  literate  -­‐  adept  
consumers  of  scientific  information  -­‐  as  well  as  socially  responsible,  
culturally  responsive  and  globally  aware.    
ENERGY
FOOD  SECURITY

GENETICS  &  DIVERSITY

Science  Magazine  Covers  -­‐  BIG  GLOBAL  ISSUES  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 In  2009,  34.1%  of  URM  
(underrepresented  racial  minority)  
students  and  34.3%  of  White  and  Asian  
American  students  indicated  on  the  2009  
CIRP  Freshman  Survey  that  they  planned  
to  pursue  a  STEM  major.

However,  there  are  sUll  dispariUes  in  

compleUon  rates  among  the  groups  for  
STEM  majors;  students  interested  in  
STEM  majors  across  all  groups  have  
lower  compleUon  rates  than  non-­‐STEM  
counterparts.  

h"p://www.heri.ucla.edu/nih/HERI_ResearchBrief_OL_2010_STEM.pdf

Higher  EducaUon  Research  InsUtute  (HERI)    STEM  Study

Friday, February 4, 2011

 ##$%&"'()("*+,-./01"23140/5""
*+,-./016’"*7,089:;.<6"
% who agree with each statement
Our company is asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to
use a broader set of skills than in the past
91%

Employees are expected to work harder to coordinate with other

departments than in the past
90%

The challenges employees face within our company are more complex
today than they were in the past
88%
To succeed in our company, employees need higher levels of learning
and knowledge today than they did in the past

88%

!"
http://www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research.cfm

Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011
 What   I s  G oing  O n   I n  C ollege?  
1.“Gains  in  critical  thinking,  complex  reasoning,  and  
writing  skills  (i.e.,  general  collegiate  skills)  are  either  
exceedingly  small  or  empirically  non-­‐existent  for  a  large  
proportion  of  students.”

2.  36  percent  of  students  experienced  no  significant  

improvement  in  learning  (as  measured  by  the  CLA)  over  
four  years  of  schooling.

3.  “Students…majoring  in  traditional  liberal-­‐arts  fields…

demonstrated  significantly  higher  gains  in  critical  
thinking,  complex  reasoning  and  writing  skills  over  time  
than  students  in  other  fields  of  study.  Students  majoring  
in  business,  education,  social  work  ,  and  communications  
had  the  lowest  measurable  gains.”

From:  http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/academically-­‐adrift-­‐a-­‐must-­‐read/28423

Friday, February 4, 2011

 PROJECT   K ALEIDOSCOPE   ( PKAL)
Building  higher  education’s  capacity  to  create  scientifically  capable  
citizens  since  1989  
PKAL’s  mission  is  to  catalyze  the  efforts  of  people,  institutions,  
organizations  and  networks  in  the  service  of  improving  undergraduate  
student  learning  and  achievement  in  science  and  mathematics  
Extensive  national  network  of  >5000  STEM  faculty  and  leaders  at  over  
750  colleges  and  universities  in  the  U.S.  and  Canada

Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 PKAL’S   P HILOSOPHY  
...  Science  and  mathema-cs  educa-on  works  wherever  it  takes  
place  within  an  ac-ve  community  of  learners,  where  learning  is  
ac:ve,  hands-­‐on,  inves:ga:ve,  and  experien:al,  and  where  the  
curriculum  is  rich  in  laboratory  experiences,  steeped  in  the  
methods  of  scien-fic  research  as  it  is  prac-ced  by  professional  
scien-sts.  This  approach  works  for  women,  for  minori-es,  for  all  
students.  

-­‐-­‐  Dan  Sullivan,  1991,  PKAL  Volume  I:  Building  Natural  Science  Communi@es  

Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 PKAL’S  C URRENT   P ROJECTS

ACS DISCIPLINARY  
NAGT SOCIETY  COLLABORATIONS
AIBS
AAPT
MAA
REGIONAL   ...
NETWORKS

LEADERSHIP   INTERDISCIPLINARY  
DEVELOPMENT LEARNING
Plus  -­‐  Community,  Conferences  and  Resources  in  STEM
Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Join  Project  Kaleidoscope:  
✦ PKAL  SoCal  Network:  Sat,  February  5  -­‐  University  of  La  Verne,  La  
Verne,  CA,  9  am  -­‐  1  pm
✦ PKAL  Learning  Spaces  Collaboratory  (LSC)  Regional  Workshop:  
March  19,  2011,  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  PA  
✦ PKAL-­‐AAC&U  Engaged  STEM  Learning:  From  Pervasive  to  
Promising  Practices  Conference:  March  24-­‐26,  2010  -­‐  Miami,  
Florida  
✦ PKAL  Summer  Leadership  Institutes:  July  12-­‐17;  19-­‐24  -­‐  Crestone,  
Colorado.  Applications  DUE  March  11,  2011  
✦ Join  the  PKAL  conversation  on  STEM  higher  education:    
Email  news/updates,  Twitter,  Blog,  Facebook  page  

More  at  h)p://www.aacu.org/pkal    

Friday, February 4, 2011

 EFFECTIVE  T EACHING

Friday, February 4, 2011

 What  We   N eed  To   D o  

“The  largest  gain  in  learning  

produc-vity  in  STEM  will  come  
from  convincing  the  large  
majority  of  STEM  faculty  that  
currently  teaches  by  lecturing  
to  use  any  form  of  ac-ve  or  
collabora-ve  instruc-on.”

-­‐-­‐  James  Fairweather  (2009)  

Report  to  the  Na@onal  
Academies  Board  on  Science  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Dr.  Young  has  diligently  created  an  visually  appealing  
PowerPoint  lecture,  complete  with  anima-ons,  images  from  
the  textbook  and  even  some  primary  data.  She  provides  a  PDF  
of  the  slides  to  students  on  the  class  website  in  advance  so  
they  don’t  have  to  copy  it  all  down  and  can  focus  on  learning.  
They  seem  happy  and  engaged  during.  
However,  when  she  gives  them  an  exam  ques-on  where  she  
asks  them  to  draw  conclusions  from  provided  data,  only  one  
student  can  do  it.  She  shrugs  and  says,  “They  never  get  that  
ques-on  right.”  
 Analyze  this  situa-on  from  a  learning  perspec-ve.

CASE  STUDY  TO  SET  THE  STAGE

Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Pedagogies  O f   E ngagement
Coopera5ve/Collabora5ve  Learning  involves  students  
working  in  groups  to  accomplish  learning  goals  
(jigsaw).
Interac5ve  Lectures  engage  students  with  course  
material  through  short  individual,  pair,  or  small-­‐group  
acUviUes  (think-­‐pair-­‐share).  
Inves5ga5ve  Case-­‐Based  Learning  involves  students  in  
addressing  real  world  problems  and  data.
Just-­‐in-­‐Time  Teaching  (JiTT)  students  read  assigned  
material  outside  of  class,  respond  to  quesUons  online,  
parUcipate  in  discussion/collaboraUve  exercises.
Peer-­‐Led  Team  Learning  (PLTL)  teams  of  6-­‐8  students  
are  guided  by  a  peer  leader  in  Learning,  problem-­‐
solving..
Process-­‐Oriented  Guided  Inquiry  Learning  (POGIL)  
students  are  acUvely  engaged  by  working  in  self-­‐
managed  teams  on  guided  inquiry  acUviUes.
ACTIVE  
SCALE-­‐UP  is  a  Student-­‐Centered  AcUve  Learning   LEARNING  
Environment  for  Undergraduate  Programs.
 Pedagogies  of  Engagement:  h"p://serc.carleton.edu/sp/pkal/index.html  
Friday, February 4, 2011
 W.  Wood,    Annu.  Rev.  Cell  Dev.  Biol.  2009.  25:5.1–5.20

Friday, February 4, 2011

 An   E xample  C lass  S tructure

Miller  et  al.  (2008)  Science  322:1329

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Hoellwarth,  et  al.,  American  Journal  of  Physics  (2011)

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Studio   P hysics   M ethods

1. Pre-­‐class  reading  assignment  &  short  pre-­‐class  

quiz  (online)  

2. In  class  acTve  learning  -­‐  quesTons,  tasks,  

experiments  

3. FormaTve  quesTon(s)  -­‐  perhaps  using  PRS  

4. Peer  discussion,  professor  listens  &  guides  

5. Repeat  quesTon,  class  discussion  

6. Reveal  answer  and  mini  lecture  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 LIGHT, NO LIGHT, WATER NO LIGHT,
WATER WATER

1 2 33
Three  idenTcal  plates  of  radish  seeds  are  incubated  under  three  different  
condiTons,  with  results  as  shown.    How  will  the  dry  weights  of  the  three  
plates  compare  at  the  end  of  the  experiment?
 A)    1  <  2  <  3        
 B)    1  <  3  <  2      
 C)    1  =  3  <  2    
 D)    3  <  1  <  2    
 E)    1  =  2  =  3  

EBERT-­‐MAY,  ET  AL.  2003,  BIOSCIENCE

Friday, February 4, 2011

 LIGHT, NO LIGHT, WATER NO LIGHT,
WATER WATER

1 1.46 G 2 1.63 G 33 1.20 G

Three  idenTcal  plates  of  radish  seeds  are  incubated  under  three  different  
condiTons,  with  results  as  shown.    How  will  the  dry  weights  of  the  three  
plates  compare  at  the  end  of  the  experiment?
 A)    1  <  2  <  3        
 B)    1  <  3  <  2      
 C)    1  =  3  <  2    
 D)    3  <  1  <  2    
 E)    1  =  2  =  3  

EBERT-­‐MAY,  ET  AL.  2003,  BIOSCIENCE

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Textbook Figures vs. Real Data

Figure 12.3 from Pierce, Benjamin, 2005, Genetics: A Meselson, M. and F.W. Stahl, 1958, The Replication of
Conceptual Approach, WH Freeman, New York. DNA in Escherichia coli, Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 44: 671-682.

PASSIVE  LEARNING   ACTIVE  LEARNING  

CASE  STUDIES  USING  PRIMARY  DATA

Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 W.  Wood,    Annu.  Rev.  Cell  Dev.  Biol.  2009.  25:5.1–5.20

Experiential  
Learning
Cycle

Friday, February 4, 2011

 CURRICULUM   D ESIGN  
STUDENTS INSTRUCTORS

What  do  they   What  should  they    

know?   know?
How  will  they   How  will  we  
know?   know?  
 How  will  they   How  shall  we  
learn? teach?
Goal:  IntenTonal  and  Deliberate  Teaching
Copyright  2011  by  Susan  Elrod.  All  rights  Reserved  

Friday, February 4, 2011

 LEARNING  S PACES

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Some  Q uestions  To  C onsider
From  T he   P KAL   L SC  
1. When was the last time we revisited, revised, or reaffirmed our institutional
vision, in the context of our institutional mission and circumstances?

2. What are our institutional priorities in regard to student learning in STEM

fields? How have those priorities have been determined?

3. Do we have a current academic plan? Does it visibly reflect our mission? Is it

compatible with our understanding of the future in which our students will live
and work?

4. Do the changes we envision for the sciences fit within our mission and our
current academic plan? Do they reflect a common understanding of findings
from cognitive science about how people learn and how those findings can
influence how we shape programs, pedagogies, and spaces?

5. Does our thinking about the future of the sciences for our community
represent several independent visions or does it capture the sense of the
community?

Friday, February 4, 2011

 Resources  
Allen  and  Tanner  (2009)  Transformations:  Approaches  to  College  Teaching.  New  York:  W.H.  
Freeman  &  Co.
Bransford,  J.  et  al.,  (eds)  (2000)  How  People  Learn.  Washington,  DC:  National  Academy  Press.    
Concept  Inventories:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_inventory  
Ebert-­‐May,  D.  et  al.,  (2003)  Disciplinary  Research  Strategies  for  Assessment  of  Learning.  
BioScience  53  (12):  1221-­‐1228.  
Handelsman,  Miller  and  Pfund  (2007)  Scientific  Teaching.  New  York:  W.H.  Freeman  &  Co.  
Hoellwarth,  C.  et  al.,  2011  Am  J.  Phys,  in  press.  
Miller,  et  al.  (2008)  Science  322:1329
Momsen,  et  al.  (2010)  CBE-­‐  Life  Sciences  Education  9  (4):  435-­‐440.
Pedagogies  of  Engagement:  http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/pkal/index.html
Project  Kaleidoscope:  http://www.aacu.org/pkal  
Wieman,  C.  et  al.,  2010  Transforming  Science  Education  at  Large  Research  Universities,  Change  
magazine,  March/April.  
Wood,  W.  2009  Annual  Reviews  of  Cell  and  Dev  Biology    25:5.1–5.20
Zheng,  et  al.,  (2008)  Science  319:  414-­‐415.  

Friday, February 4, 2011