It takes a Village to Develop a Scientist: Craig Ogilvie

1. It takes a Village to Develop a Scientist: Craig Ogilvie Challenge: Source: University of California Los Angeles, Higher Education Research Institute. cogilvie@iastate.edu

2. Problem and Opportunity • Not new problem • ~ 50% science majors switch to non-science field (Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences. Seymour and Hewitt, 1997) • Reasons • Loss of interest in the subject matter of science • Belief that a non-science major would offer a better education • Poor teaching by science faculty • Losses occur among the best qualified students • Goal of ISU project: “Together Engaging Student Science” • Have students experience the excitement of discovery and see how to use their scientific skills to make a difference in this world. cogilvie@iastate.edu

3. Goals for retreat today • Brainstorm together/gather your input for the next year • Share information across the breadth of the project • Celebrate our initial successes • Goal for this first talk • My sense of where we are and upcoming challenges cogilvie@iastate.edu

4. Large-scale change • Overall vision of the importance of students experiencing science during their first two years at college • Emergent change • Ideas discussed within Faculty Learning Community • Tested/debated within Faculty Learning Community • Multiple faculty working within a department • Brought to fruition: postdoc fellows/graduate students • Soft coordination • Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978) • Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens (faculty) can change the world (university). Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. cogilvie@iastate.edu

5. How to have students work on tasks that are higher in Bloom’s Taxonomy http://cegsa.editme.com/ cogilvie@iastate.edu

6. Case-based teaching in large lectures “You are in charge of drinks at a picnic that will start at 3pm. Place ice inside a cooler at 6am, when temperature outside is 10oC.The day warms up steadily to reach 30oC by 3pm. Estimate how much ice you will need” • Characteristics • Involves more than one principle, concept… • Realistic, places student team at center of problem • Requires students to analyze or frame problem • Range from short (one class) to longer (multiple weeks) • Case-based learning within large lecture courses • Context-rich problems in physics, University of Minnesota • National Center for Case-based Learning, Buffalo • Is this the option people are interested in? cogilvie@iastate.edu

7. ThinkSpace • ThinkSpace delivers real-world cases to students. • Web 2.0 editable shell • Intermediate tasks • Rich media • Production since 9/2010 • >2000 users • >170 cases. • Open-source • JASIG incubator project cogilvie@iastate.edu

8. Feedback to students • Drag-n-drop library of comments • Students immediately see comments cogilvie@iastate.edu

9. Introductory labs: • POGIL labs (Process Guided Inquiry Labs) • Start of lab, students write on board • Most important scientific question they could answer in lab. • E.g. determining the extent to charge is conserved? • Class consensus of which question is most important. • Groups divide into different ways of testing question • End of lab • Each group writes their results up on the board • Whole class comes to joint answer to “question of the day”. • Options, provide question, have students decide on tests • All subject to the constraints of the equipment etc. cogilvie@iastate.edu

10. Research modules into sophomore lab courses • Have students use their growing knowledge of discipline • Ask questions • Design an experiment / field study / observations • Collect and analyze data • Ask what the next set of questions will be • Write / present / poster • ~6 week duration • Imbue with overarching purpose • Students value social relevance of investigation • Questions contribute to active research program • Provide key info for a third party, e.g. conservation group, • Changes dynamic, raises the level of the class cogilvie@iastate.edu

11. Elsewhere • Extended research projects in sophomore/junior level labs • Project REEL, Chemistry, State of Ohio • Project CASPIE, Chemistry + Biology, Purdue • Project ROLE, Biology, University of Puerto Rico, de Mayagüez • Phage Hunters,  National Genomics Research Initiative cogilvie@iastate.edu

12. Possible Framework: Project REEL: Pat Woodward’s visit • Start with standard experiments to learn techniques etc. • 6 labs • Research module: 4 labs • Outcome not known in advance • Not publishable research, but poss. doorway to further work • Pick experiments that can change without changing overall structure, e.g. from chemistry • Combinatorical synthesis • Environmental studies cogilvie@iastate.edu

13. Possible Framework: adapted from Corrine Z’s visit While students learning equipment cogilvie@iastate.edu

14. Village Cases Inquiry lab Research lab cogilvie@iastate.edu

15. Summary • Overall vision of the importance of students experiencing science during their first two years at college • Students take a network of courses • Opportunity for reinforcing experiences • Case-based learning • Higher-level in Bloom’s taxonomy, analysis, judgment • Inquiry introductory labs • Students take responsibility • Several-week research modules in lab courses • potential to raise the level of work cogilvie@iastate.edu