ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Roadmap to Implementing POGIL in a General Biology CourseBeatriz Y. Gonzalez, Ph.D.

Santa Fe College

BACKGROUND

ROADMAPDESTINATION:

POGIL

LITERATURE CITED

One day the author of this poster realized she was dizzy just from hearing herself talk. “There must be other ways to help my students learn without me doing all the talking”, she thought. Even though the author consistently received high evaluations from her students, she wanted to involve her students more in the learning process. After reading about collaborative learning, she decided to try a simple group exercise in class. The students’ response was so overwhelmingly positive that she decided she needed to learn how to produce more of those exercises, how to manage her classes, and meet other like-minded professors. After attending a POGIL workshop, the author obtained many of the tools needed to make guided inquiry a part of her course. Even though the author has not abandoned lecturing entirely, she has “pogilized” most of her course. A pictorial roadmap will guide the reader on the author’s journey of transforming her course. A list of suggested topics amenable to transformation will be presented with ideas on how to carry out the transformation to a POGIL classroom. In addition, roadblocks on the road to transforming a course will be mentioned along with suggestions on how to overcome those roadblocks.

Studies have shown that strictly lecture-based science education may not be the optimal way to learn science (Lord 2001; NRC 2003). Currently there are several projects advocating a shift in higher science education toward a more collaborative and cooperative approach . One notable project is the NSF-funded POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) project (www.pogil.org). A variety of activities and literature are available for the instruction of chemistry; however, resources for teaching biology are scarce. Here are some suggestions that might help biology professors in the implementation of POGIL followed by a list of topics that lend themselves well for guided-inquiry exercises: Try not to introduce more than one concept per activity. Questions in the guided inquiry report must be challenging. You may

start with a few simple questions, but they must be followed by questions which answers cannot be found in the book or googled, they must be reasoned.

Correct common mistakes or misconceptions next time you meet with your students (and return them their papers), but resist the temptation to lecture.

They must be tested later on the material they were supposed to have learned.

Barkley, E.F. et al. 2005. Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Gonzalez, B.Y. and J. H. van Oostrom 2009. Using Dice to Explore the Consequences of DNA Mutations, Journal of College Science Teaching 38 (5): 56-59 Lord, T. 2001. 101 Reasons for using cooperative learning in biology teaching. The American Biology Teacher 63 (1): 30-38. National Research Council (NRC) 2003. BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. POGIL Project. www.pogil.org

→ 1. When I lectured my students seemed to pay attention 2. In reality, they had zoned out

↓

←

4. I decided to take a leap of faith and try 3. One day I saw the questions they were some collaborative exercises asking in the MCAT exam. I was floored!

↓

→ 5. The students loved it! 6. They started asking really intelligent questions.

↓

←

8. There were roadblocks along the way 7. In order to change my classes, I studied and attended a POGIL workshop.

↓

→

9. Obstacles can be overcome 10. It helps to share your experience with others.

↓

Now I am happy and my students too!

TopicSyllabus This exercise will set the tone for the semester. Ask them about things you would want them

to be aware of such as grading group work, reporting in class, interacting with each other. (Barkley et. al. 2005 has suggestions for the first day of classes)

Scientific process

Have them design an experiment to test if collaborative learning is more effective than traditional lecture. How will they set up the experiment? Variables? Controls? Predictions?

Organelles Identification, structure, and function. Ask “breakdown scenario” questions: what if an organelle malfunctions or is missing, etc.?

Diffusion and Osmosis

Define hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic. Predict water movement based on intra and extracellular concentrations of water and/or solutes; guide them to predict the existence of contractile vacuoles and excretory systems

Transport Provide raw data and have students graph the translocation of compounds entering or exiting the cell by different mechanisms; have them discuss how to identify each type of transport

Cell cycle Provide data and have them graph (or provide graph) of DNA vs. time and protein vs. time and have them answer questions about what is happening in when

Genetics Provide each student with one of two different genetics problems. Have them solve their problem individually and then ask them to exchange papers with a class mate that solved the other problem. Have them grade the classmate’s solution.

Molecular biology

Provide figures of gel patterns and ask questions about what the bands mean (paternity, crime scene, restriction enzymes digests). Then provide them with a verbal scenario and ask them to draw a gel that will conform to the description.

Evolution Present male and female gorilla skulls; have students compare and contrast those skulls with other herbivores, with other primates who are omnivores. Questions to ask: what is a gorilla’s diet? Do male and females have the same diet? How would you explain the difference between males and females? If these were fossilized skulls, would you have thought that they belonged to members of the same species?

Situation Suggestions on how to overcome roadblocks to POGIL implementation

Students do not understand why teach differently

Show students MCAT exam preparation books with sample MCAT (or PCAT, VCAT, etc.) questions – less than 15% of those questions are at the recollection level. Guided-inquiry helps them answer those questions better than traditional lecture, you’re-on-your-own, format.

Students complain that grading methods are “unfair”

Explain the rationale behind your grading scale; do not curve grades. Try this: Give students a challenging written quiz to be taken individually. After they're all done, let them consult with each other. Ask them to draw a line and answer the quiz again on the bottom half of the page. Count the highest quiz grade.

Student opinion surveys are not good

Limit the number of guided-inquiry exercises and continue to create awareness in the students; alternate between “fun” and “heavy” exercises (Gonzalez and van Oostrom 2009); give your own surveys

You cannot “cover” as much material

Ask students to read and prepare beforehand; reduce the amount of content covered – concentrate on concepts; rewrite learning objectives for the course; provide lectures or podcasts online

Student success and retention are not improved after using POGIL

Make sure you are assessing what you are teaching – multiple choice questions at the recollection level will probably not show enhanced scores; small classes might give confusing results. If student and teacher enjoyment increases, and student performance does not decrease, then that is a net gain

Administration and/or colleagues are not supportive

Try to make them realize that using POGIL diversifies the learning environment; invite them to your class; volunteer to serve on a scholarly committee (such as Curriculum or for accreditation visits)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis work was funded in part by a Santa Fe College Provost’s Research as Teaching Grant award.