End-of-Year Event 2009

April 29, 2009

Talks
9am—11am
Overview of CWSEI, Carl Wieman

Adventures in Problem-Based Classroom Learning, Kimberly Voll, Computer Science

Large Scale Measurements of Student Conceptual Learning and Attitudes, Doug Bonn, Physics and Astronomy


Poster Session
11am—1:30pm
Faculty and Science Teaching & Learning Fellows have put together about 40 posters on what’s happening in the Earth & Ocean Sciences, Physics & Astronomy, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Statistics, and Mathematics CWSEI programs. These present ways to implement: teaching strategies that engage students with the material, measuring conceptual understanding, TA development, improving students’ ability to apply learning to novel situations, and many other educational improvements.

Earth & Ocean Science

EOS-SEI Long-Term Plan, Metadata and Faculty Survey - Sara Harris

Service course curriculum in Earth & Ocean Sciences - Francis Jones

Exit Survey of 4th Year Students – Survey Goals and Structure - Josh Caulkins

How does student engagement change with instructional technique? - Erin Lane

Student Attitudes in Earth Science Survey - Erin Lane

Understanding Geological Time: A Proposed Assessment Mechanism for Beginner and Advanced Geology Students at UBC - Jamil Rhajiak

Refining assessments of student learning in an introductory EOS lab course - Sara Harris & Brett Gilley

Climate Science/Oceanography Misconceptions - Erin Lane, Roger Francois, and William Hsieh

Using student feedback surveys in EOSC 114, “Natural Disasters” - Francis Jones & Roland Stull

What we've implemented, student response, and future plans in EOSC 210: Earth Science for Engineers - Brett Gilley, Erik Eberhardt, Uli Mayer, & Stuart Sutherland

Investigation of student perspectives: focus group set up & findings from EOSC 211: Computer Methods in Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences - Josh Caulkins & Rich Pawlowicz

Do You See What I See Pre/Post Assessment - Erin Lane and Greg Dipple

Development of a New Course: EOSC 355, "The Planets" - Francis Jones & Catherine Johnson

Computer Science
Adventures in Problem-Based Learning (CPSC 221: Data Structures & Algorithms) - Kimberly Voll

Revising an Introductory Computer Science Course: Exploratory Labs, Interactive Lectures, and Just-in-Time Teaching - Gwen Echlin, Piam Kiarostami, Elizabeth Patitsas, Steven Wolfman

PeerWise - students sharing and evaluating their multiple choice questions - Paul Denny

Physics & Astronomy
Physics Lab Diagnostic & Teaching by Building from Student Invention - James Day and Doug Bonn

Electricity and Magnetism Concepts: Learning Gains and Retention - Jim Carolan

Making Physics Relevant in Physics 100 - Georg Rieger and Sandy Martinuk

Exploring the Solar System with a Human Orrery - Peter Newbury, Melanie Gendre, Brett Gladman, Laura Kasian, Nicole Meger, & Harvey Richer

A Timeline for Transforming ASTR 310: Exploring the Solar System - Brett Gladman, Harvey Richer, & Peter Newbury

Interactive Tutorial Activities in ASTR 310: Exploring the Solar System - Peter Newbury, Harvey Richer, Brett Gladman, & Melanie Gendre

Life Sciences

Student Satisfaction and Skill Development Study — Harald Yurk & Gülnur Birol

Findings of the Impact of a Non-majors First Year Biology Course on Students’ Attitudes Towards Biological Sciences — Gülnur Birol, Kathy Nomme, Sandra Keerthisinghe, and Jennifer Klenz

Invention and Learning Activities in Biology 112: Developing Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills in First Year Biology Students — Jared Taylor, Karen Smith, & George Spiegelman

Evaluation of the peer tutor program for a first year biology course (BIOL 121) — Stacey Tom‐Yew, Maryam Moussavi, Carol Pollock, & Gülnur Birol

Developmentof a Methodology to Investigate Consistency in Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Biology 121 — Angie O’Neill, Gülnur Birol, & Carol Pollock

Chemistry
Instruments for assessing practical skill development in a first-year chemistry laboratory course — Jennifer Duis, Laurel Schafer, Sophia Nussbaum, Jackie Stewart, Mike Carlson, Yuri Samozvanov

General chemistry students’ beliefs about chemistry and learning chemistry: An international comparison — Jennifer Duis, Carl Wieman, Laurel Schafer

Mathematics
The Basic Skills Test in Mathematics — Costanza Piccolo & Carl Wieman

Statistics
CWSEI Projects in the Department of Statistics — Bruce Dunham, Rebekah Mohr, & Eugenia Yu


Afternoon Workshops & Discussion Session

Using Clickers Effectively1:30 – 3:00pm – Workshop led by Sara Harris, Earth & Ocean Sciences

Curious about clickers? Not sure how to use them most effectively? Clickers can be a useful tool for student learning, but success depends on good implementation. This workshop will give you practical experience to help you (1) articulate why you might choose to use clickers in YOUR class (or not), (2) write thought-provoking clicker questions, and (3) respond to student answers in real time. We will also discuss logistical issues and effective planning.

Invention Activities: Stimulating Students to Transfer Their Learning to Novel Situations

3:00 – 4:30pm – Workshop led by Doug Bonn, Physics & Astronomy, and George Spiegelman, Microbiology & Immunology

Work by researchers at Stanford has suggested a novel model for student exercises that increases the ability of students to transfer their knowledge to new situations. We have adapted the model, in which students are asked to invent mechanisms, or methods of analysis, and tried them out here at UBC. The results are interesting, as are the experiences. We'll explore the background to these activities and demonstrate examples from Physics and Astronomy and from Biology. We will also describe and have the participants work on creating an invention activity.

Improving Learning by Reducing Unnecessary Demands on Working Memory

3:00 – 4:00pm – Discussion led by Carl Wieman

The short term working memory is that portion of the memory that remembers and processes all the new information that is provided in a one hour lecture. This working memory has very limited capacity, and any additional tasks required of it reduces its effectiveness to process material. I will briefly discuss the background research on the working memory and its limits, and some commonly used teaching practices that are known to increase demands upon the working memory. Then there will be an extended discussion as to what techniques can be used in lecture to reduce unnecessary demands on working memory and thereby improve student learning.