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Huckabay Teaching Fellowship Proposal
Applicant: Sonya Remington
Mentors: Dr. Kalyn Owens and Dr. Ann Murkowski,
North Seattle Community College

Interdisciplinary, inquiry-based science at the introductory level

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it is connected to everything else in the universe.”
A. H. Whitehead

 “It is neither possible nor necessary for the general population to have detailed scientific knowledge across a range of disciplines. Instead, what is important is scientific awareness...When I say that all adults should be scientifically aware, I mean that they should base their opinions on fact and observable evidence rather than on prejudice or assumptions; be willing to change their opinions based on new evidence; understand cause-and-effect relationships; and appreciate how science is done. My long experience as a college educator has shown me that, despite the near ubiquity of science-and-mathematics requirements for a bachelor’s degrees, not all college graduates meet these standards for scientific awareness.”  K. Devlin, Chronicle of Higher Education, 1998

 Instructional Problem and Project Description

 The National Research Council recently concluded that the urgently needed improvement of undergraduate science education in the U.S. will begin with post-secondary institutions providing “diverse opportunities for all undergraduates to study science, mathematics, engineering and technology as practiced by scientists and engineers, and as early in their academic careers as possible” [1]. This requires the restructuring of introductory and lower-level courses and programs. Currently, the primary purpose of introductory science courses is to give students a solid foundation in basic scientific concepts. During these lecture-based and discipline-specific courses, students passively absorb scientific theories and are presented with a litany of facts. More interdisciplinary, inquiry-based courses that promote the transfer of knowledge and allow students to take part in the scientific process, explore connections with other disciplines and learn real-world applications are saved for upper-level courses. Consequently, students are not given the opportunity to develop “real” scientific awareness until then.

                  This science curriculum structure results in two major problems related to the types of students that take introductory courses. First, students that arrive at post-secondary institutions with the intent of pursuing a science major often leave the science track and cite disinterest during introductory courses as their primary reason [2]. Hence, retention of students in the sciences is lower than it should be. Second, introductory courses are likely the only formal exposure to science that non-science majors will ever have. Yet many of these students will go on to become leaders in politics and economics, where they will influence important decisions about science and technology. In addition, an important sub-group of non-science majors are students studying to become K-12 teachers. With the recent proclamation of national and state K-12 science standards [3], teachers need to have a deeper, broader understanding of science concepts.  

 During the tenure of this project, Sonya will focus on science curriculum development at the introductory level. Dr. Owens (Chemistry) and Dr. Murkowski (Biology) are working on strengthening the science integrated studies program at North Seattle Community College by developing the curriculum for a year long introductory chemistry and biology sequence. Sonya will participate in this curriculum development by designing and implementing a two-week lab-based biogeochemistry unit focused on the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. The purpose of this unit will be to introduce students to basic biological and chemical concepts through inquiry-based learning, while making explicit connections between these disciplines. This unit will include a web-based biogeochemistry unit that serves to introduce students to interdisciplinary, global scientific and social problems—specifically, the effects of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and nitrogen loading on global ecosystems. This introductory unit will be followed by an inquiry-based lab unit where students explore basic chemical (gas laws, thermodynamics, equilibrium, kinetics) and biological (energy and metabolism, photosynthesis, respiration, role of enzymes) concepts, and the connections between them. The two-week, integrated curriculum will end with a one-day field trip where Sonya will demonstrate real-world application of concepts learned over the past two-weeks. The field trip will be followed by a day of in-class discussion of data collected during the trip.

 Project Implementation and Assessment

 Sonya will work with Dr. Owens and Dr. Murkowski during the Summer 2005 quarter to design the web-based introductory component, the lab unit and to plan the final field trip. While she will focus on developing her two-week unit, she will also be deeply involved in the overall development of the integrated studies program at NSCC and will learn how her unit fits into the overall science curriculum design. She will have weekly meetings with her mentors to discuss topics such as science curriculum design, integrated learning versus traditional learning, inquiry-based learning, new learning technologies, and assessment of student learning. The two-week unit will be implemented during the Winter 2006 quarter. Sonya will be the lead instructor for the two-week unit, but Dr. Owens and Dr. Murkowski will be present to offer suggestions and insights on her overall teaching. She will keep a reflective journal during all phases of the project.  

 Project success will be assessed with written statements of teaching philosophy and a formal assessment of student learning. Before undertaking the curriculum development project with her mentors, Sonya will teach Chemistry 101 in the Spring of 2005 as a part-time faculty at NSCC. This opportunity will give her a chance to teach a traditional, introductory-level science course before participating in the design of integrated, introductory courses with her mentors. After teaching the traditional course, she will write a teaching philosophy statement. After designing and implementing the two-week units during the fellowship, she will write another teaching philosophy statement. The statements will be compared to assess the growth of Sonya’s ideas about teaching science at the introductory level. Undergraduate student learning will be assessed with pre- and post-tests.

 Sonya will benefit from this project in many ways. Working with faculty from a teaching-focused institution, such as a community college, will provide Sonya with the opportunity to work with mentors that frequently reflect on teaching practices. She will also gain exposure to a different group of college students. More than one-half of all college students in Washington state attend community colleges [4] and many will move on to attend 4-year colleges and universities, such as the University of Washington. Learning about curriculum design and integrated learning will allow her to be a positive force in course development as a future faculty at an institute of higher education. With the expectation by present-day students that interactive course websites be available, Sonya will gain valuable skills by designing the web-based unit. She can use these skills in the future to create her own course websites. Exposure to student learning assessment will be a valuable tool to ensure effective teaching in the future.

  References

[1] National Research Council, Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996.

[2] Seymour, E and NM Hewitt, Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1997.

[3] National Research Council, National Science Education Standards, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996.

[4] Cohen, AM and FB Brawer, The American Community College, 4^th Edition, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

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