Novel Course
Creation & Design
The MERCK-AAAS
Interdisciplinary Model
With the help of the Merck-AAAS Undergraduate
Science Research Program, Claflin’s Departments of Biology and
Chemistry has established the Merck-AAAS Research Program in
Interdisciplinary Learning (MARPIL). The MARPIL program
institutionalizes a number of novel interdisciplinary instructional
strategies that creates a unique program designed to recruit, inspire,
and retain minority and female students who are trained in the use of
interdisciplinary approaches to biological and chemical problems in
research. This initiative provides a significant and positive
interdisciplinary research experience that blends hands-on research
and conceptual ideas in the fields of chemistry and biology for over
100 minority and female students by incorporating cutting edge
research into the classroom environments of three courses; Organic
Chemistry Lab, Biochemistry Lab, and Environmental Ecology Lab, and
across two departments; Biology & Chemistry. It also provides 18
students with stipend supported summer research experiences to
encourage pursuit of advanced degrees, and teaching valuable critical
thinking skills that merge multiple scientific disciplines to promote
success in future interdisciplinary careers.
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Leveraging Student Effort for Broader
Outcomes A course running concurrently with
the graduate student’s first classroom teaching assignment called
Teaching & Leadership, is designed to not only familiarize
students with student-centered active learning teaching techniques and
collaborative styles of leadership, but also serves to improve improve
the undergraduate curriculum. Graduate students design additions to the
Blackboard cartridge for their course, design new assessment tools, and
design new student-centered classroom activities that faculty may choose
to incorporate into their course. As part of the design of the course,
three Post Doctoral Fellows participate and provide another level of
professional mentorship to these graduate students.
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Learning Through Teaching. Sometimes
when we teach a subject we learn a subject better. Being able to
verbalize an important concept to others is a crucial part to the
process of internalizing and retaining knowledge. At various points
within a course, students are tasked with teaching a particular concept
to another. They have one week to find some person outside the course to
explain the concept to. The explanation must be complete and they must
include explanations of as many supporting concepts as is necessary to
teach the subject. The assignment is recorded using an audio recording
device and submitted to the instructor as a .wav or .mp3 file.
Assignments are returned in the form of an audio file where instructor
comments have been edited into your recording.
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Problems Based, Research Driven Design
Courses which incorporate real and current cutting edge research
questions are far more likely to interest students pursuing a career in
science. Teaching a discipline by engaging students to solve an
overarching problem - allowing them to participate in experimental
design and apply principles they are learning by problem solving is an
effective technique that promises to increase retention.
The Panasik lab looks at the same biochemical problems of protein
folding and design by incorporating these research questions into
several core courses. Examples of this can be seen in the
Merck-AAAS MARPIL program and Dr. Panasik's
Biochemistry Lab II course
Curricula Design Through Biology
Brainstorming sessions, the faculty at Claflin University are
continually trying to reassess the effectiveness of their curricula and
are engaged heavily in the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning and
Faculty Development.
Horizontal and Vertical Assessment Strategies
Dr Panasik has proposed both vertical and horizontal curricula
assessment strategies where specific program learning outcomes are
measured in individual courses and tracked at a departmental level.
Student outcomes are tracked on individual learning objectives
established by the department. Critical concepts from one course are
reinforced and reassessed in upper level courses.
Persuasive Writing in Contemporary Science
Issues
In
this course students
begin by creating an internet blog on such contemporary topics in science as stem cell
research, global warming, genetic modification of food, medical
genetics, and/or other important issues. The course would meet as a
T/R course. One day a week would be facilitated by the biology
professor who will teach students on the principles behind the most
up-to-date relevant science. The other class period will be taught by
the English faculty on argument based writing and composition. This
course would exist as a 2 credit course in biology listed with a 2
credit course in English (4 credits overall to the student; 2 cr hours
for each of two faculty members). Assignments will involve writing
blogs where students take positions on contemporary issues in science
and must support their ideas with the best up-to-date research and
science in that area and do so in a persuasive, well written and
finely articulated, manner. Critical thinking and critical evaluation
skills will be fostered as the instructors use other relevant blog
articles as examples to evaluate for science content and writing
effectiveness and then students write their own responses. By virtue
of its presence in the blogosphere, the potential audience of the
students work extends far beyond classroom peers and the faculty
members. It represents a novel way to create enthusiasm in students
and attract both science and humanities majors.
This course provides a strategy to
specifically address a learning outcome that graduates would be
familiar with contemporary issues in science which an estimated 75% of
universities has listed as a specific learning outcome for their
graduate and undergraduate programs.
This course also introduces a NEW PARADIGM that can be used in several
other disciplines. It specifically addresses development of writing
skills while at the same time prepares undergraduate students for
discourse heavily rooted in the concepts of their chosen field.
It can provide a form for almost any discipline to develop critical
thinking skills as well as discipline specific knowledge. If proposed
in partnering with other universities it can not only increase
intercollegiate discussion but could create a new model for
peer-to-peer discussions between sister institutions in various
disciplines. More...
Multi-Tiered Participant Structure Graduate
students and IRACDA Post Docs participate at different hierarchical
levels within the same Teaching & leadership course providing a unique
environment for peer mentorship in professional development and a
setting to test drive new pedagogical strategies and classroom
activities.
Non Traditional Grading Strategies
Dr. Panasik has recently instituted a new grading
strategy, similar to Peer Review in composition courses, where
students participate in scoring the work of other students based on
answer keys provided. With Peer Review
Scoring, students benefit by exposure to the rubrics their
own assignments are graded on and the critical concepts important to the
answer for each question/assignment are reinforced.
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Involving Students in The Pedagogy Process
Students in all of Dr. Panasik's courses take
Learning
Style assessments and help determine some of the assessment
strategies by which they will be evaluated.
