Leaving a Trail a Breadcrumbs

• Stephanie Stockwell and Amanda Biesecker JMU Department of Integrated Science and Technology

• Introduction to TBL• Finding activities• Tips on writing activities• Practice writing an activity question• Our research comparing TBL to traditional lecture

The problem:68% surveyed employers say higher education is

NOT doing an adequate job of preparing 21st century graduates.

“Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views On College Learning In The Wake Of The Economic Downturn” AACU 2010

Employers call for a greater emphasis on…

“Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views On College Learning In The Wake Of The Economic Downturn” AACU 2010

Communication 89%Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 75-81%Collaboration 71%Creativity 70%Information management 68%Statistical skills 63%Community and global civic responsibility and awareness

52%

One Solution: Active Learning

• Encouraged by NRC and NSF to improve science education

• Increases performance on cognitive measures• Benefits disadvantaged or at-risk students• Benefits students with learning disabilities

• Examples: writing, discussion, problem-solving, working in teams, creating, evaluating...

Let’s focus on improving THESE!

One approach: team activities in Team-Based Learning

Team-based learning: How does it compare to lecture?

Team-based learning: What does it look like?

Common student concerns

• “I am a little bit nervous about being able to understand everything I have to teach myself.”

• “I don’t want to let my group down or be let down by my group.”

• “How will I know what’s important if you don’t tell me?”

Preparation for class: Focused readings

1. Assigned reading (textbook, handout, etc.)

2. Focus points3. Pre-class assignments

• Crossword/ simple questions• Muddy points• Optional extra credit homework

The Dilemma• Our situation – wanting to use

active learning to improve critical thinking

• Our problem—finding good active learning activities that...– foster higher order thinking– keep students interested

and on task– promote teamwork and

communication

Where to find ready-made activities

• Med Ed portal (https://www.mededportal.org/)

• National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/)

• Team-Based Learning Collaborative (http://www.teambasedlearning.org)

• But... What if you can’t find an activity suitable for your content, course level, course format…?

Identify learning

objective(s)

Find inspiration

Rough outline(i.e. Part I/II)

Assign team role and

define task

Write starter

questions

Transform questions for data analysis

Edit (challenge questions)

What works for us…

Theme Story Role InspirationNuclear structure & exp. design

Radiocarbon date the Shroud of Turin

Researcher in Zurich, Houston, or Oxford

Student “muddy points”

Isomers Find new indications for the infamous morning sickness drug, thalidomide

Drug developer Old lecture

Membranes & cellular traffic

Find a treatment for an antibiotic resistant “Super Bug”

Doctor at RMH News article

Nucleic acid & virus structure/function

Develop a bacteriophage therapy for antibiotic resistant bioterrorist attack

Scientist at the CDC

Sept. 11th VT vs. JMU football game

Cellular respiration

Investigate a possible diet drug overdose

Medical examiner at RMH

Buffalo case study

Cancer & genetics

Monitor cancer biomarkers in a patient and design a personalized treatment

Valerie’s doctor “Self” magazine article; student request

Your turn…• Select a theme for YOUR activity.• Your story?• What role will the students play?• What will their task be?

Identify learning

objective(s)

Find inspiration

Assign team role and

define task

Identify learning

objective(s)

Find inspiration

Rough outline(i.e. Part I/II)

Assign team role and

define task

Write starter

questions

Transform questions for data analysis

Edit (challenge questions)

Theme Story Role InspirationNuclear structure & exp. design

Radiocarbon date the Shroud of Turin

Researcher in Zurich, Houston, or Oxford

Student “muddy points”

Isomers Find new indications for the infamous morning sickness drug, thalidomide

Drug developer Old lecture

Membranes & cellular traffic

Find a treatment for an antibiotic resistant “Super Bug”

Doctor at RMH News article

Nucleic acid & virus structure/function

Develop a bacteriophage therapy for antibiotic resistant bioterrorist attack

Scientist at the CDC

Sept. 11th VT vs. JMU football game

Cellular respiration

Investigate a possible diet drug overdose

Medical examiner at RMH

Buffalo case study

Cancer & genetics

Monitor cancer biomarkers in a patient and design a personalized treatment

Valerie’s doctor “Self” magazine article; student request

“A Biological Arms Race”

The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Definition of bacteriophages• Pros/cons of antibiotic v. phage

therapies• Viral structure• Structure/function of DNA, RNA,

proteins, and lipids (macromolecules)• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny• Basic mechanisms of transcription &

translation

Identify learning

objective(s)

Find inspiration

Rough outline(i.e. Part I/II)

Assign team role and

define task

The inspiration• Previous week: Super

Bug antibiotic resistance

• Phage therapy as an alternative to antibiotics

• JMU vs. VT football game on September 11th, 2011

Set the sceneSept. 11th, 2010 is a great day for college football—The JMU Dukes defeat their long-time rival and

college football powerhouse Virginia Tech 21-16…

Sad to see the weekend end, students return to their classes as usual on Monday morning. Unfortunately, the true events of the previous weekend are just beginning to unfold…

On Tuesday and Wednesday approximately 50 students come to the University Health Center (UHC) complaining of fever, headache, and general malaise. These students are advised to return to their dorms/apartments to catch up on their rest and drink lots of fluids…

Having an interest in infectious disease, the medical director of the UHC quickly recognizes that these students are all suffering from the pneumonic plague—a lung infection of the bacterial pathogen, Yersinia pestis, resulting from the inhalation of infectious cells…

Given the natural rarity of the disease, it is likely that these outbreaks are a result of a bioterrorist attack at the previous VT-JMU football game…

As the outbreak spreads throughout both campuses, health care workers are advised to prescribe antibiotics to all patients presenting any plague-like symptoms.

You belong to a team of scientists in the Division of Emerging Infections and Surveillance Services (DEISS) at the CDC. Upon receiving the JMU Y. pestis samples, you get reports from both campuses that the antibiotic treatments are not working—the plague is spreading throughout student housing and patients are not improving. Both campus have seen the first of what is likely to be many casualties. This is a biological arms race and you are losing.

Identify learning

objective(s)

Find inspiration

Rough outline(i.e. Part I/II)

Assign team role and

define task

The story• Bioterrorist attack of a VT

vs. JMU football game—antibiotic resistant Yersinia pestis

• Student role: Team of scientists in the Division of Emerging Infections and Surveillance Services (DEISS) at the CDC

• Task: Develop a phage therapy to stop the epidemic

Rough outlineConvince your boss.

1. Isolate a YP phage.

2. Characterize the new phage.– Lytic vs. lysogenic– Molecular make-up– Define host range

Starter questions1. Compare/contrast antibiotic vs. phage

therapies.

2. Where might you find a YP phage?3. What makes a virus a virus?

4. Structure/function of viral particles?5. What are the steps of a viral infection?6. What’s the difference between RNA

and DNA?7. How are new viruses made?8. Is the host-range of a virus narrow or

broad?

Write starter

questions

Transform questions for data analysis

Edit (challenge questions)

Convince your boss.

Part I: Isolate a YP phage.

Part II: Characterize it.– Lifecycle– Molecular make-up– Host range

Rough outline(i.e. Part I/II)

Effective formats• Design an experiment (preferably using new techniques)

• Predict experimental outcomes

• Interpret existing data

• Draw conclusions from multiple pieces of data (e.g. weave new info with that from previous activities)

• Consider social context (e.g., ethics, environmental/economic impact)

• Make decisions and defend choices to other teams after simultaneous report

Compare/contrast antibiotic vs. phage therapies

Suggestions for implementation:1. Specific (reasonable) choices, that need to be ranked,

will help focus students.2. Defending choice to other groups will prompt great

discussion and maximize productivity.

Convince your boss.

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember Why

pha

ge th

erap

y?The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Pros/cons of antibiotic

therapies• Definition of bacteriophages• Viral structure• Structure/function of

macromolecules• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny

Where might you find a YP phage?

Which virus?

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

Sel

ect t

he s

ourc

e

Sel

ect a

viru

s ty

pe

The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Pros/cons of antibiotic

therapies• Definition of bacteriophages• Viral structure• Structure/function of

macromolecules• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny

Why

pha

ge th

erap

y?

Part I: Isolation

What makes a virus a virus?

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

Sel

ect t

he s

ourc

e

Sel

ect a

viru

s ty

pe

The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Pros/cons of antibiotic

therapies• Definition of bacteriophages• Viral structure• Structure/function of

macromolecules• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny

Why

pha

ge th

erap

y?

How

cou

ld y

ou is

olat

e?

Labe

l

Part I: Isolate a virus

Structure/function of viral particles?

Predict the outcome of adding something that

destroys…

DNARNA

ProteinLipids

Structure of nucleic acids?

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

Sel

ect t

he s

ourc

e

Sel

ect a

viru

s ty

pe

The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Pros/cons of antibiotic

therapies• Definition of bacteriophages• Viral structure• Structure/function of

macromolecules• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny

Why

pha

ge th

erap

y?

How

cou

ld y

ou is

olat

e?

Labe

l

Out

com

e of

deg

radi

ng…

Gen

ome

anal

ysis

Part II: Characterize

Mechanism of infection?

Support or refute?

Change, and predict…

Host range?

Pulling from the tools/assays shown previously, design a controlled experiment

to test the virus’s host range.

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

The facts• DNA vs. RNA structure• Ubiquity of viruses• Pros/cons of antibiotic

therapies• Definition of bacteriophages• Viral structure• Structure/function of

macromolecules• Viral lifecycles• Viral host range• Basic bacterial phylogeny

Gen

ome

anal

ysis

Infe

ctio

n pr

edic

tions

Hos

t ran

ge—

desi

gn e

xp.

Part II: Characterize

Out

com

e of

deg

radi

ng…

Bloom’s level

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

Step backWrite starter

questions

Transform questions for data analysis

Edit (challenge questions)

Editing:• Trim to the appropriate length

• Get the most bang for your buck

• Review the complexity• Levels should vary• Sprinkle in lower-level questions• Add challenge questions

• Introduce simultaneous report

Effective formats• Design an experiment (preferably using new techniques)

• Predict experimental outcomes

• Interpret existing data

• Draw conclusions from multiple pieces of data

• Consider social context (e.g., ethics, environmental/economic impact)

• Make decisions and defend choices to other teams after simultaneous report

Your content…Overuse of antibiotics leads to

resistance in bacteria.• Design an experiment (preferably using new techniques)

• Predict experimental outcomes

• Interpret existing data

• Draw conclusions from multiple pieces of data

• Consider social context (e.g., ethics, environmental/economic impact)

• Make decisions and defend choices to other teams after simultaneous report

Course• Mixed majors

– First course in ISAT major– General Education course in

life sciences• 2 x 50min classroom time• 100-minute lab component

• TBL n =46 (2 sections)• Lecture n=38 (2 sections)• Honors TBL n=12 (1 section)

Experimental Question• Does TBL work as well as

traditional lecture?1. Do students perform as

well on tests and exams?

2. Does their confidence increase?

3. Will majors respond differently to TBL than non-majors?

Comparing TBL to Lecture: Mixed-Majors Introductory Biotechnology Course

Comparing TBL to Lecture: Experimental Design

Lecture: iRAT TBL: iRAT TBL: tRAT0

102030405060708090

100

62.7 59.8

87

Weekly Test Scores: Mean of 8 Tests

Regular lecture and TBL mean student performance on iRATs and tRATs

Regular lecture and TBL mean student performance on iRATs and tRATs

Non-cognitive Assessment: 17 Items on Likert Scale

Mastery of Content Items

I am comfortable discussing the basic biology of:

…antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

…production of a protein from a gene.

I am confident that I can read and understand news articles about:

…genetically modified organisms.

…genetic testing and/or counseling

Non-cognitive assessment: 17 Items

* denotes significantly different (p<0.005) values within pedagogical groups. ˄ denotes significantly different (p<0.05) values of pre- and post-test values between major categories within a given pedagogical grouping.

Conclusions

• No differences in...– Weekly test performance– Midterm/final exam performance– Change in confidence– Change in attitude (d.n.s.)– Any measure according to gender

… and here’s what former students have to say…

• “I studied because I don’t want to look like an idiot in front of my team!”

• “Are there lecture sections of this class? That must suck.”

• “Time goes really fast in this class. In most classes I just watch the clock.”

• “The alternative teaching method, while incredibly frustrating, was somewhat effective. I learned a lot more biology than I ever have before.”

• “Class was very fun-- I WANTED to go even though attendance was not required.”

• “I barely studied for the final. I remembered everything from class.”

• “This was my favorite class– I never knew what we were going to be doing.”

• “It was challenging, but this is the first time a science course really stuck with me.”

Overall, evaluation comments are positive