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| Vol. 18, No. 19 | Feb. 18, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 19 | Feb. 18, 1999 |
Susan E. Groh, chemistry and biochemistry, manages to keep 24 biology and engineering students energized in her mandatory Honors chemistry course by "constantly presenting them with concrete problems to help them grasp the abstract theories," she said.
Groh's students aren't likely to become chemists. Yet, they must master basic chemical concepts to understand reactions and molecular events common to a variety of technical professions. And, all students need problem-solving skills, whether or not they pursue a career in science. So, Groh turns her students into amateur consultants, assigned to tackle scientific mysteries based on real-world problems.
Her approach, using a technique known as problem-based learning (PBL), is gaining widespread acceptance among a diverse group of UD faculty who teach both small and large courses.
Described by Groh as "a shift toward student-focused, active learning," this effort earned national recognition Feb. 15, when TIAA-CREF (the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund) announced the awarding of a Theodore M. Hesburgh Award Certificate of Excellence to UD.
Groh prepared the proposal for the award, with help from George Watson, physics and astronomy; Harold White, chemistry and biochemistry; Barbara Duch, Mathematics & Science Education Resource Center; and Deborah Allen, biological sciences.
The Hesburgh Certificate recognizes faculty development opportunities to enhance undergraduate teaching and learning, Groh said. In particular, she added, TIAA-CREF focused on faculty support services designed to bring PBL and other active-learning methods into classrooms across campus.
A graduate of Douglass College at Rutgers University, Groh earned her Ph.D. from Stanford before completing postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She began reevaluating her teaching methods around 1990, when she found herself routinely camped at her dining-room table, surrounded by textbooks, preparing lectures for each class.
"I learned a lot by doing that," she said. "But, at some point, I realized that my students weren't having the same experience. And, my lectures too often assumed that students already had a particular knowledge."
Unfortunately, she said, students listening to a lecture might passively write notes, without absorbing the information. One of Groh's colleagues, former UD educator Patricia A. Metz described such passive learning this way: "At times," Metz said, "I felt the professor's notes became my notes without passing through either of our minds."
Eager to improve her skills, Groh completed a workshop offered by the Center for Teaching Effectiveness (CTE). In no time, she had applied for a CTE grant. She also teamed up with other UD educators interested in PBL methods.
Then, in 1996, "all these PBL activities drove the development of the UD Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (ITUE), which was a real grassroots effort by faculty," she explained. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the institute drew 55 participants-roughly 6 percent of the UD faculty-to its first weeklong workshop. A comparable number participated in a 1998 event. (This year's summer program will take place June 14-18. For other ITUE events, see <http://www.udel. edu/inst/ calendar.html>.)
Now, Groh's lectures are minimal. Her students are more likely to spend their class time working in small groups, where they encounter new concepts, within the context of a problem to be solved, before discussing the theory in class. Investigating environmental problems in the fictitious town of Riverside, for example, prompts them to deal with the basic issues of acid-base balance.
Students are told that a corporation wants to open a metal refinery, a paper processing center and a chemical processing factory in Riverside. Acting as town consultants, they study the chemical byproducts of each process, thereby learning about the quantifiable behavior of strong and weak acids and bases.
"They have to ask themselves, 'What would it mean if this metal refinery releases two grams of sulfuric acid per liter of river water per day?'" she said.
Finding answers means Groh's students are prompted to "learn to do the math, by modeling the problem," she said. They also master laboratory techniques such as measuring the acidity of a fluid. Throughout the process, she urges them to use all available written resources, particularly their textbooks. And, the students are encouraged to share their ideas with one another, using each other as resources.
"The group work helps them see how others approach problems," Groh said, "and that helps them expand their own repertoire of skills." Such basic problem-solving skills benefit students throughout their lives, Groh added.
UD's efforts to promote active learning have received a string of awards over the past several years. In addition to the Hesburgh Certificate, the University earned two major grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts. George Watson, physics and astronomy, was named 1998 Delaware Professor of the Year, an honor bestowed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement of Science and Education.
-Ginger Pinholster
