Download Workshop Presentation - Saint Joseph`s University

Preconceived notions about taking a particular topic
Telling the same story differently….
- The course will just be watered down & will just cover the basics.
- The teacher wont go into details.
- I will not need this information once the class is over.
Best practices for teaching a non-majors course
Portnoy et al. (2002) JCB
“Faculty members outside of the natural sciences believed that all natural science
majors were headed for medical or graduate school”
Brian M. Forster, Ph.D.
General Education Program Lab Coordinator – Natural Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Joseph’s University
[email protected]
“Can an amateur steeped in a foreign intellectual tradition – in my case, social
science -possibly comprehend or appreciate the elegance and power of the
scientific method employed?”
The Economist as Biologist
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 7, 2005
Acknowledgements
•
Grouping: Having majors work with non-majors
•
Grouping: Having non-majors work with other non-majors
•
Answering the “Infamous Question”
•
Role Playing
•
Play to the strengths of other majors
Catalina Arango Pinedo, Ph.D.
Shantanu Bhatt, Ph.D.
Darine El-Naccache, MA ‘13
Jasmine Ramirez, MS ‘15
Emily Bilyk, BS ‘16
Joanna Huxster, Ph.D.
Sarah Moss, MS ‘15
Grouping: Having majors work with non-majors
Observation Question
What causes the change?
Procedure:
Test for the presence of bacteria.
Grouping: Having non-majors work with non-majors
in a related, but different class
Students taking ENV 106: Learn about water quality and how to detect the presence
of organisms in water.
BIO 165: Learn how to identify and classify organisms.
What happens when the two are put together?
Identify what bacteria are present in
Winogradsky Columns:
Is there any
bacteria
present in the
water?
Non-majors: Identify the pigments.
If so, what?
Majors: Sequence the DNA
Collaborative Wiki Site
Detection of bacteria in water
Answering the infamous question
“Why do I need to know this?”
Chimney
Membrane
Catchment
Want to see
“BIG PICTURE”
Answering the infamous question
“Why do I need to know this?”
Role Play Concepts
MAKE IT PERSONAL
Selection in the
Environment
Susan Jackson,
Adjunct Professor, Biology
Play to the strength of other majors
A “mathematical” approach to looking at evolution
Bio Hazards, Oddities and Pluses of the week
Richard Lunt: Michigan State
Solar concentrator: Light IR Usable Energy
Sydney Australia - Alien Eggs?
Scott McRobert,
Professor, Biology
Enzymes
Looking for Enzymes in a cell using Electrophoresis
Enzymes speed up chemical reactions.
A+B
Enzyme
#1
C
#2
#3
#4
#5
Electrophoresis
Uses an electrical current to
separate molecules with
different charges
Binding site
(-)
Power
Source
OFF
ON
(+)
THE FINAL STRUCTURE CAN INFLUENCE
THE FUNCTION OF AN ENZYME
Product
Substrate
Proper Shape
Enzyme
Enzyme
Substrate
No product
Improper Shape
Enzyme
Enzyme
Use of Twitter