Try Something New Sessions

Using Microbial Ecology to Teach Experimental Design and Sampling Methods

Mary Allen, Hartwick College

Ruth Gyure, Western Connecticut State University

Microbial ecology is a rapidly expanding field of research and teaching.  An important component of microbial ecology is an appropriate quantitative approach to experimental design and sampling.  Without adequate consideration of these issues, a microbial ecology experiment will do little to represent microbiology in “the real world.”  Consequently, microbiologists trained primarily in laboratory sciences have little experience designing and teaching quantitative issues relevant to microbial ecology.   The proposed session will address ways of teaching these issues to students.  Presenters will describe and demonstrate methods and approaches that microbiologists and ecologists have in common as well as special considerations in the study of microbial ecology (issues of scaling at the cellular and community levels, for example). The activities will be appropriate for inclusion into Introductory Biology and Microbiology courses as well as upper-level biology courses.

The Genomics Era: A Vast Resource for Educators

Dave Baumler, Genome Center of Wisconsin

The number of sequenced microbial genomes is increasing exponentially.  It is believed that 13-15 genomes per species need to be sequenced to represent 95% of a species gene pool.  Therefore microbial genomes will continue to be sequenced at an unprecedented rate, which represents a goldmine for educators to use in their courses.  In this interactive session, the tools for comparative genomics will be introduced.  Participants will walk away from this session with new skills to conduct whole genome alignments using the genome alignment tool Mauve.  The Enteropathogen Resource Integration Center (www.ericbrc.org) will be showcased as a database resource containing all available genomes of Enterobacteria, which includes organisms to which students can relate and get excited about such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Yersinia pestis.  Modules have been developed and will be provided for use in your classroom such as comparisons of E. coli O157:H7 strains from outbreaks of ground beef, radish sprouts, and the 2006 spinach outbreak; annotation of a phage genome; phage genome alignments; and tracking the worldwide dissemination of Yersina pestis strains.  Participants are strongly encouraged to bring wireless-ready laptop computers to this hands-on, interactive session.

Assessment: Rubrics, Surveys, Taxonomies

Spencer Benson, University of Maryland

Alix Darden, The Citadel

Many tools exist for assessing student learning and it can be confusing choosing which assessment tool to use for various class, course, and program projects.  In this session three assessment tools; rubrics, surveys and learning taxonomies, will be discussed.  Attendees will learn how to create and use rubrics to define what is expected in a learning assignment, what is present in students work, how well an assignment, course or program meets expectations.  Self-report surveys are one means to assess students’ percepts of their learning, attitudes and knowledge of the subject matters.  We will focus on how to find and use published on-line surveys.  Bloom’s taxonomy is one of several learning taxonomies we will reacquaint participants with this historical taxonomy and discuss how learning taxonomies can be used to help you to classify your student’ learning.

iLecture:  Make your Own PodCast Lecture for Class

Sandra Burnett, Brigham Young University

Increase your time for active learning in class by providing students a digital mini-lecture to view before class.  During this hands-on, three-session workshop, you will make your own PodCast for class using readily available software.  Session 1: Discuss PodCast formats, timing, effectiveness, and potential uses.  Learn how to format your PowerPoint slides for a digital video.  Edit your slides on computers in preparation for session 2.  Session 2:  Learn how to use software to generate a running video of your slides.  Prepare the video and make voice recordings to accompany the slideshow.  Session 3:  Finish what wasn’t complete in session 2 and learn how to build a web page imbedded with your video.  Make a web page, export it and burn it on a CD.  Your finished product is compatible with any format computer, with or without internet connection.  Students will enjoy downloading and playing videos on an iPod and you will have more in-class time for discussions and activities.  Bring your own slides and script, or use ones that will be provided.  Come to any or all three sessions:  a project at each intermediate step will be available for your participation at any session.

Using Bloom's Taxonomy in the Classroom

Clarissa Dirks, The Evergreen State University

Bloom’s Taxonomy of cognitive domains is a well-defined and accepted tool for categorizing types of thinking into six different levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. When used in a discipline-specific manner, Bloom’s Taxonomy can promote pedagogical transparency, enhance students’ abilities to design and answer questions, and help faculty to better align course activities and testing strategies with learning outcomes. In this session participants will learn about the different ways in which Bloom’s Taxonomy can be implemented in the classroom and gain hands-on experience at ranking and developing questions at appropriate levels. Small group work will focus to create new course materials and homework activities that will help students to achieve greater academic success in the life sciences. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptop computers to this session.

Use and Development of Physical Demonstrations and Cognitive Exercises for Engaging Undergraduates in Large Classes

Diane O'Dowd, University of California, Irvine

The learning of biological concepts is greatly facilitated by active engagement of students in introductory classes. However, there is only a limited amount of time that faculty have to spend finding or developing exercises that are effective in large classroom settings. In this session the audience will participate in two different types of exercises that can be used in large lectures to engage students and promote understanding of basic concepts.  We will discuss the goals, implementation and assessment of these activities. The last half will be spent in small groups to develop new exercises to help students learn concepts of interest to participants. Each group will have the opportunity to test their activity and evaluate effectiveness of different components. Activity outlines will be turned in at the end of the session and posted online for all participants to download.

Writing a News Release as a Way to Learn Genetics

Ricki Lewis, Fellow, Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical Center

Most people have no idea how members of the media get their science/genetics news. As a science journalist, Ricki Lewis is a member of both camps – the scientific community as well as a writer. Her presentation will review how journalists get news and the types of errors that are made. She will explore recent examples of misunderstanding, kneejerk reactions (“cloned beef!”), false assumptions and dichotomies, the Dr. House effect (mixing up theory and hypothesis), and the perpetuation of errors. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of poor or excellent coverage of genetics topics to the workshop. At the session, participants will translate a journal article into a news release, and suggest how the information might be presented in a news or feature article, or other media form. Dissecting the train of genetics communication and writing news releases are activities that translate easily into the classroom.

Clicker-palooza:  Using Clickers Effectively in Different Student Populations

Laura Tuhela-Reuning, Ohio Wesleyan University

Michele Shuster, New Mexico State University

Using clickers can be beneficial for students in both large and small classes and can be utilized for a variety of outcomes.  For instance, clickers can be used in larger classes to encourage student engagement during lecture and in smaller classes to stimulate small group discussions within the classroom.  Regardless of your classroom populations, clickers can be used effectively!  During this hands-on session, we will discuss a variety of ways clickers have been used successfully with diverse student populations and offer the opportunity for participants to evaluate their own classroom needs to begin using clickers effectively. The types of clickers available as well as obtaining the devices (i.e. – does the student buy them or are they loaned out during class?) will be discussed.  We will bring sample questions we have used in our classrooms and allow participants to use clickers during this session to better understand how to implement clicker use in their own classrooms.  Types of clicker questions relating to the desired outcome will be discussed, and participants will have the opportunity to write their own questions and be able to receive feedback on these questions from the group, if desired. 

By the end of the session, participants will be able to make decisions about using clickers in the classroom taking into consideration factors such as 1) class size; 2) desired outcome; 3) type of clicker used (such as infrared or radio frequency, student-purchased or classroom-loaned); 4) using clicker question responses for engagement only or to assign grades/points; and 5) designing questions to effectively address the desired outcome.