We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in biology courses are faced with a plethora of scientific jargon that are often composed of Greek and Latin roots that hint at their definitions. Students often struggle to understand and apply these terms due to a lack of familiarity with these roots. With this scaffolded activity we attempt to alleviate these concerns by first having students define biological terms by looking up the roots that the word is composed of. We then provide examples of real species and their binomial names with Greek and Latin roots to give examples of how species characteristics are used to create their scientific names. Lastly the students work in groups to group Pokémon™ into genera and give each Pokémon™ a binomial name. Students were engaged in the activity and reported that it helped improve their understanding of Greek and Latin roots for future projects and exams. This activity can enrich introductory and advanced biology courses of any size.
{"title":"Who’s That Speci-Mon? Using PokémonTM to Understand Biological Terminology Using Greek and Latin Roots","authors":"Jason G. Randall, Peggy L Brady, S. Kubica","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.15","url":null,"abstract":"We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in biology courses are faced with a plethora of scientific jargon that are often composed of Greek and Latin roots that hint at their definitions. Students often struggle to understand and apply these terms due to a lack of familiarity with these roots. With this scaffolded activity we attempt to alleviate these concerns by first having students define biological terms by looking up the roots that the word is composed of. We then provide examples of real species and their binomial names with Greek and Latin roots to give examples of how species characteristics are used to create their scientific names. Lastly the students work in groups to group Pokémon™ into genera and give each Pokémon™ a binomial name. Students were engaged in the activity and reported that it helped improve their understanding of Greek and Latin roots for future projects and exams. This activity can enrich introductory and advanced biology courses of any size.","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"536 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69329445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Students can have difficulty recognizing examples of course concepts in the real-world. They particularly struggle with phenomena that are ambiguously defined, have mimics, or are hard to distinguish from other phenomena. Students can better explore and understand these phenomena in situ . Unfortunately, short class periods, students’ full schedules, and limited resources hinder classic fieldtrips. So, I created Walkabout, which gives students experiences observing and analyzing in situ phenomenon in the surrounding environment during class periods. Walkabout aligns with elements of active learning, experiential learning, and adventure education. In Walkabout, students learn about and discuss the key characteristics of a concept or phenomenon using pre-class readings, reading responses, and class discussion of classic examples. Then, students leave the learning space to walk outside, identify, and photograph examples of the phenomenon. They return to the classroom or online learning space having selected their best example, which they present to the class and engage in a discussion of how well it represents the phenomenon. This activity can be applied to any course topic that discusses real-world phenomena that are easily observable in the environment surrounding the learners but are difficult to identify or define. Instructors can use it with in-person or online classes, synchronously or asynchronously, and in high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech learning environments. Walkabout helps to scaffold student learning, allows students to practice applying difficult concepts, and creates a more inclusive learning environment. It energizes students, helps them learn from each other, and keeps them engaged and focused in a way they enjoy.
{"title":"Walkabout: An Easy to Use, Experiential Learning Activity for Applying Abstract Concepts to the Real-World","authors":"Lekelia D. Jenkins","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.25","url":null,"abstract":"Students can have difficulty recognizing examples of course concepts in the real-world. They particularly struggle with phenomena that are ambiguously defined, have mimics, or are hard to distinguish from other phenomena. Students can better explore and understand these phenomena in situ . Unfortunately, short class periods, students’ full schedules, and limited resources hinder classic fieldtrips. So, I created Walkabout, which gives students experiences observing and analyzing in situ phenomenon in the surrounding environment during class periods. Walkabout aligns with elements of active learning, experiential learning, and adventure education. In Walkabout, students learn about and discuss the key characteristics of a concept or phenomenon using pre-class readings, reading responses, and class discussion of classic examples. Then, students leave the learning space to walk outside, identify, and photograph examples of the phenomenon. They return to the classroom or online learning space having selected their best example, which they present to the class and engage in a discussion of how well it represents the phenomenon. This activity can be applied to any course topic that discusses real-world phenomena that are easily observable in the environment surrounding the learners but are difficult to identify or define. Instructors can use it with in-person or online classes, synchronously or asynchronously, and in high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech learning environments. Walkabout helps to scaffold student learning, allows students to practice applying difficult concepts, and creates a more inclusive learning environment. It energizes students, helps them learn from each other, and keeps them engaged and focused in a way they enjoy.","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69329711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ah Rume Julie Park, M. Upadhyay, William J. Anderson, A. Holmes
A strong understanding of distinct gene components and the ability to retrieve relevant information from gene databases are necessary to answer a diverse set of biological questions. However, often there is a considerable gap between students’ theoretical understanding of gene structure and applying that knowledge to design laboratory experiments. In order to bridge that gap, our lesson focuses on how to take advantage of readily available gene databases, after providing students with a strong foundation in the central dogma and gene structure. Our instructor-led group activity aids students in navigating the gene databases on their own, which enables them to design experiments and predict their outcomes. While our class focuses on cardiomyocyte differentiation, classes with a different focus can easily adapt our lesson, which can be conducted within a single class period. Our lesson elicits high engagement and learning outcomes from students, who gain a deeper understanding of the central dogma and apply that knowledge to studying gene functions
{"title":"How to Find a Gene: Retrieving Information From Gene Databases","authors":"Ah Rume Julie Park, M. Upadhyay, William J. Anderson, A. Holmes","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.8","url":null,"abstract":"A strong understanding of distinct gene components and the ability to retrieve relevant information from gene databases are necessary to answer a diverse set of biological questions. However, often there is a considerable gap between students’ theoretical understanding of gene structure and applying that knowledge to design laboratory experiments. In order to bridge that gap, our lesson focuses on how to take advantage of readily available gene databases, after providing students with a strong foundation in the central dogma and gene structure. Our instructor-led group activity aids students in navigating the gene databases on their own, which enables them to design experiments and predict their outcomes. While our class focuses on cardiomyocyte differentiation, classes with a different focus can easily adapt our lesson, which can be conducted within a single class period. Our lesson elicits high engagement and learning outcomes from students, who gain a deeper understanding of the central dogma and apply that knowledge to studying gene functions","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69330060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Multicellular biofilms constructed by microbes are key aspects of microbiology with significant implications in various fields, including medicine, environmental science, and biotechnology. While bacteria spend nearly all their lives in biofilms, many students do not study them in detail in a course setting. Consequentially, students have misperceptions that microbes exist as free-living single-cell organisms and cannot understand the biofilm lifestyle accurately. Here, I present a comprehensive and engaging lab lesson plan designed for students to explore the concepts of biofilm lifestyle and compare biofilms to cities using a think-group-share strategy. Students are asked to individually define biofilms and relate them to living in a city, followed by forming small groups, and then discussing them as an entire class. The class will understand the different aspects of biofilms in each step of the life cycle from colonization to dispersal. Subsequently, the students will put their knowledge into practice by completing an activity where they must sort different functional activities into the following steps in the biofilm life cycle: colonization, formation, maturation, and dispersal. This analogy-based activity encourages comparative analysis and fosters long-term learning. I observed that students actively participated in the learning activity, which also cultivated a sense of class community during the sharing session. An end-of-module review activity six weeks later showed that the students could still recall the knowledge learned during the lesson. This lesson activity has several advantages: it is easy for the teacher to implement within 20–30 minutes and convenient for the students to engage with biofilm biology. Primary Image: Comparison of a biofilm to a city. The biofilm has similar analogies to a city.
{"title":"Exploring the City of Biofilms: An Engaging Analogy-Based Activity for Students to Learn Biofilms","authors":"Song Lin Chua","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.42","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.42","url":null,"abstract":"Multicellular biofilms constructed by microbes are key aspects of microbiology with significant implications in various fields, including medicine, environmental science, and biotechnology. While bacteria spend nearly all their lives in biofilms, many students do not study them in detail in a course setting. Consequentially, students have misperceptions that microbes exist as free-living single-cell organisms and cannot understand the biofilm lifestyle accurately. Here, I present a comprehensive and engaging lab lesson plan designed for students to explore the concepts of biofilm lifestyle and compare biofilms to cities using a think-group-share strategy. Students are asked to individually define biofilms and relate them to living in a city, followed by forming small groups, and then discussing them as an entire class. The class will understand the different aspects of biofilms in each step of the life cycle from colonization to dispersal. Subsequently, the students will put their knowledge into practice by completing an activity where they must sort different functional activities into the following steps in the biofilm life cycle: colonization, formation, maturation, and dispersal. This analogy-based activity encourages comparative analysis and fosters long-term learning. I observed that students actively participated in the learning activity, which also cultivated a sense of class community during the sharing session. An end-of-module review activity six weeks later showed that the students could still recall the knowledge learned during the lesson. This lesson activity has several advantages: it is easy for the teacher to implement within 20–30 minutes and convenient for the students to engage with biofilm biology. <em>Primary Image:</em> Comparison of a biofilm to a city. The biofilm has similar analogies to a city. ","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"411 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136208260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This active learning activity introduces students to the second part of the nitrogen cycle, nitrification. In terrestrial and aquatic environments, bacteria from the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter genera oxidize ammonia first to nitrite (via a hydroxylamine intermediate) and then to nitrate, which is less toxic to animals such as the fish in a fish tank. Nitrification has many practical implications, for example in waste water treatment, but also for those wanting to set up their own fish tank. The activity consists of a pre-class reading, a 50-minute class session, and a home assignment. The class session covers two exercises, each consisting of a group discussion, followed by student reporting, and a compilation of information by the instructor. Students will identify animal nitrogen waste products and fish skin bacteria that are involved in nitrification. Students will also identify the metabolic reactions of the nitrogen cycle, the oxidative state of nitrogen in four metabolic compounds, and the number of electrons transferred through each reaction. The third and final exercise is the take-home assignment, where students write about how they would set up their own fish tank and take care of their fish based on knowledge gained from the in-class exercise. Primary Image: Nitrification is one of three parts of the nitrogen cycle in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Nitrification consists of two reactions that first convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. In the fish tank, this serves to detoxify the water that the fish live in.
{"title":"My Fish Tank: An Active Learning Activity for Bacterial Nitrogen Metabolism","authors":"Birgit M. Prüß","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.36","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.36","url":null,"abstract":"This active learning activity introduces students to the second part of the nitrogen cycle, nitrification. In terrestrial and aquatic environments, bacteria from the <em>Nitrosomonas</em> and <em>Nitrobacter</em> genera oxidize ammonia first to nitrite (via a hydroxylamine intermediate) and then to nitrate, which is less toxic to animals such as the fish in a fish tank. Nitrification has many practical implications, for example in waste water treatment, but also for those wanting to set up their own fish tank. The activity consists of a pre-class reading, a 50-minute class session, and a home assignment. The class session covers two exercises, each consisting of a group discussion, followed by student reporting, and a compilation of information by the instructor. Students will identify animal nitrogen waste products and fish skin bacteria that are involved in nitrification. Students will also identify the metabolic reactions of the nitrogen cycle, the oxidative state of nitrogen in four metabolic compounds, and the number of electrons transferred through each reaction. The third and final exercise is the take-home assignment, where students write about how they would set up their own fish tank and take care of their fish based on knowledge gained from the in-class exercise. <em>Primary Image:</em> Nitrification is one of three parts of the nitrogen cycle in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Nitrification consists of two reactions that first convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. In the fish tank, this serves to detoxify the water that the fish live in.","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135439906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Reading primary scientific literature enhances students’ understanding of material, increases their self-efficacy, and critical thinking skills. However, scientific articles often present multiple challenges to the students, the first among them is the unfamiliar nature of scientific texts: their high information density, formal language
{"title":"Helping Students to Metacognitively Read Scientific Literature With Talking to the Text","authors":"Heather Mcgray, Ella Tour, Tin Ki Tsang","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.28","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.28","url":null,"abstract":"Reading primary scientific literature enhances students’ understanding of material, increases their self-efficacy, and critical thinking skills. However, scientific articles often present multiple challenges to the students, the first among them is the unfamiliar nature of scientific texts: their high information density, formal language","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69329923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lawrence R. Chen, K. Breana Downey, Erin L. Whitteck
Faculty learning communities (FLCs) provide opportunities for professional development for faculty, teaching staff, and educational developers in a collaborative and open environment. In this essay, we describe our experience organizing, facilitating
{"title":"A Multi-Institutional Alternative Assessment Faculty Learning Community: Supporting Teaching in Higher Education","authors":"Lawrence R. Chen, K. Breana Downey, Erin L. Whitteck","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.35","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.35","url":null,"abstract":"Faculty learning communities (FLCs) provide opportunities for professional development for faculty, teaching staff, and educational developers in a collaborative and open environment. In this essay, we describe our experience organizing, facilitating","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135401594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natasha Flores, Jessica M. Theodor, Mindi M. Summers
Drawing has been advocated as a technique to develop visual literacy and observational skills in biology students. To increase student motivation and confidence to draw in our course, we developed an introductory active-learning lesson with a series of icebreaker activities that promote student creativity and discussion. These activities include a clicker question, group discussions, drawing activities, and a worksheet. During the lesson, student responses generated more than 18 categories of how visuals can be used as a professional practice and as a learning tool in biology, with 14 of these categories overlapping. Students demonstrated interest in using a variety of drawings and visuals to represent various scientific scenarios. In a survey completed after the lesson, students reported that this activity increased their understanding of how drawings are used in the profession of biology and as a learning technique. Students also indicated that while they experienced some discomfort with the exercises, they enjoyed the drawing activities and found them useful. The examples in this lesson can be adapted to fit courses that emphasize drawing, observation, or visual literacy. Primary Image: “Octo-pine.” To increase student motivation to draw in zoology, the last activity in this lesson asks to students to draw an invertebrate-food combination (e.g., “octopine” = octopus + pineapple; “BEErito” = bee + burrito).
{"title":"Drawing “Octo-Pines”: Ice-Breaker Active-Learning Activities to Introduce Drawing-to-Learn in Biology","authors":"Natasha Flores, Jessica M. Theodor, Mindi M. Summers","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.29","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.29","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing has been advocated as a technique to develop visual literacy and observational skills in biology students. To increase student motivation and confidence to draw in our course, we developed an introductory active-learning lesson with a series of icebreaker activities that promote student creativity and discussion. These activities include a clicker question, group discussions, drawing activities, and a worksheet. During the lesson, student responses generated more than 18 categories of how visuals can be used as a professional practice and as a learning tool in biology, with 14 of these categories overlapping. Students demonstrated interest in using a variety of drawings and visuals to represent various scientific scenarios. In a survey completed after the lesson, students reported that this activity increased their understanding of how drawings are used in the profession of biology and as a learning technique. Students also indicated that while they experienced some discomfort with the exercises, they enjoyed the drawing activities and found them useful. The examples in this lesson can be adapted to fit courses that emphasize drawing, observation, or visual literacy. <em>Primary Image:</em> “Octo-pine.” To increase student motivation to draw in zoology, the last activity in this lesson asks to students to draw an invertebrate-food combination (<em>e.g.,</em> “octopine” = octopus + pineapple; “BEErito” = bee + burrito).","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135496155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kimberly A. Wodzanowski, Madison V. Anonick, Lauren A. Genova, April M. Kloxin, C. Grimes
This hands-on, student-centered biochemistry lesson introduces beginner biochemistry students to the techniques of effectively reading and discussing primary literature, identifying fundamental biological concepts, and applying that knowledge to design their own experiments. Students begin by reading Louis Pasteur’s article on the discovery of fermentation, a key biochemical concept in metabolism. Using guided questions while they read the primary literature, students dissect the key biochemical concepts of fermentation in student-led discussion groups. Following the group discussion, students “act like Pasteur” by designing their own lab experiment to collect similar data to that in the paper. For the lab activity, students utilize standard home-kitchen techniques and food-grade reagents to grow yeast in different microenvironmental conditions, such as temperature, pH, presence of oxygen, and substrate concentration in water. Here, students apply key laboratory skills such as designing experiments with proper controls, keeping a lab notebook, and communicating results. Students are given the opportunity to pursue variables they find interesting by performing experiments in their own home. Student understanding is assessed through group discussion, completion of learning issue questions, multiple choice quiz questions, midterm questions, and a lab report. This lesson features a diverse array of activities: reading and understanding the primary literature, participating in scientific discussion in small groups, and designing and performing experiments, all essential skills for any future biochemist.
{"title":"Bringing Pasteur Back to Life: Studying the Biochemistry of Yeast Fermentation Through Discussion Groups and an At-Home Lab","authors":"Kimberly A. Wodzanowski, Madison V. Anonick, Lauren A. Genova, April M. Kloxin, C. Grimes","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.11","url":null,"abstract":"This hands-on, student-centered biochemistry lesson introduces beginner biochemistry students to the techniques of effectively reading and discussing primary literature, identifying fundamental biological concepts, and applying that knowledge to design their own experiments. Students begin by reading Louis Pasteur’s article on the discovery of fermentation, a key biochemical concept in metabolism. Using guided questions while they read the primary literature, students dissect the key biochemical concepts of fermentation in student-led discussion groups. Following the group discussion, students “act like Pasteur” by designing their own lab experiment to collect similar data to that in the paper. For the lab activity, students utilize standard home-kitchen techniques and food-grade reagents to grow yeast in different microenvironmental conditions, such as temperature, pH, presence of oxygen, and substrate concentration in water. Here, students apply key laboratory skills such as designing experiments with proper controls, keeping a lab notebook, and communicating results. Students are given the opportunity to pursue variables they find interesting by performing experiments in their own home. Student understanding is assessed through group discussion, completion of learning issue questions, multiple choice quiz questions, midterm questions, and a lab report. This lesson features a diverse array of activities: reading and understanding the primary literature, participating in scientific discussion in small groups, and designing and performing experiments, all essential skills for any future biochemist.","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69329880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Strubbe, Deborah Good, Jielai Zhang, Heidi White, Kelly Lepo, W. Code, S. Abotsi‐Masters
Astronomy evokes deep curiosity for many people, making it a beautiful topic for supporting students to learn scientific practices and develop as scientists. We present an inquiry-based lab sequence about distances in the Universe, which we have taught in a first-year astronomy course in Canada and in a summer program for upper-year students in West Africa. Students begin with two warm-up labs where they discover the methods of parallax and the inverse-square law for light to measure distances in their everyday lives. Then they engage in a mini research project in which they ask their own questions about astronomical images, then break down their big questions into smaller questions related to measuring astronomical distances. Students work together in teams to investigate their questions, and finally present their findings to their classmates. Students developing their own questions to investigate is a key scientific practice that is not included in many other inquiry lab curricula. We show evidence that students learned astronomical concepts, had positive feelings about the labs, appreciated the freedom to come up with their own approaches in the labs, and built their self-efficacy as scientists. Since facilitating inquiry is quite different from other kinds of teaching, we describe key features of our facilitation including how we teach new instructors. We describe our curriculum in both Canada and West Africa and offer suggestions for future implementations. We encourage other astronomy instructors to try an inquiry approach to help students develop as scientists while exploring topics they
{"title":"Distances in the Universe: An Inquiry Lab Sequence Taught in West Africa and North America","authors":"L. Strubbe, Deborah Good, Jielai Zhang, Heidi White, Kelly Lepo, W. Code, S. Abotsi‐Masters","doi":"10.24918/cs.2023.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.3","url":null,"abstract":"Astronomy evokes deep curiosity for many people, making it a beautiful topic for supporting students to learn scientific practices and develop as scientists. We present an inquiry-based lab sequence about distances in the Universe, which we have taught in a first-year astronomy course in Canada and in a summer program for upper-year students in West Africa. Students begin with two warm-up labs where they discover the methods of parallax and the inverse-square law for light to measure distances in their everyday lives. Then they engage in a mini research project in which they ask their own questions about astronomical images, then break down their big questions into smaller questions related to measuring astronomical distances. Students work together in teams to investigate their questions, and finally present their findings to their classmates. Students developing their own questions to investigate is a key scientific practice that is not included in many other inquiry lab curricula. We show evidence that students learned astronomical concepts, had positive feelings about the labs, appreciated the freedom to come up with their own approaches in the labs, and built their self-efficacy as scientists. Since facilitating inquiry is quite different from other kinds of teaching, we describe key features of our facilitation including how we teach new instructors. We describe our curriculum in both Canada and West Africa and offer suggestions for future implementations. We encourage other astronomy instructors to try an inquiry approach to help students develop as scientists while exploring topics they","PeriodicalId":72713,"journal":{"name":"CourseSource","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69329935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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