Dr. Deborah Allen

Associate Professor

Contact

Allen

Office: 240 Wolf Hall
Lab: 243 Wolf Hall

Mailing address:
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Wolf Hall
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716

Phone: (302) 831-8958
Fax: (302) 831-2281
E-mail: deallen@udel.edu

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Education

A.B.: Lafayette College
Ph.D.: University of Delaware
Postdoctoral: Dartmouth Medical School

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Research Interests

In 1992 I joined a multidisciplinary group of science faculty at UD (Harold White, Barbara Duch, Susan Groh, Sheella Mierson, and Barbara Williams) who shared a common concern about the outcomes of the traditional methods of science instruction we had been using. I worked with this group to develop courses, write problems, assess the effectiveness of the courses and curriculum materials, and perform a larger analysis of our students' perceptions and attitudes about their learning of science. My current interests continue to include the design, implementation, and assessment of courses/curricula using active, collaborative learning strategies, and the creation of problem-based learning (PBL) problems and materials. I also am involved in the development of a support and education program for use of supervised undergraduates as peer group facilitators in problem-based learning classrooms. This project is being conducted in collaboration with Harold White from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. We currently are producing a manual and accompanying trigger tapes (about group dynamics) for in-house use and national distribution. A related project has been the development of a program for involving undergraduates in inquiry-based instructional activities in both the college and K-12 classroom (the Science Fellows Program). I also am a founding leader of UD's Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (along with George Watson, Barbara Duch, Susan Groh, Harry Shipman, and Harold White), the winner of a 1999 certificate of excellence, TIAA-CREF Theodore Hesburgh award.

Laboratory science: My earlier research interests were in the interaction of cardiovascular, neural and endocrine mechanisms for preservation of salt and water balance, including underlying cell signaling mechanisms.

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Current Projects

• PBL for Elementary Teacher Education majors - Design of multidisciplinary problem-based learning problems and strategies for basic science courses.
• PBL and Technology - Will integration of IT support into PBL courses enhance the experience for students in large enrollment, nonmajors courses?
• PBL peer group facilitators - Currently producing a videotape and accompanying manual designed for diagnosing and troubleshooting problems with groups. Intended for use in preparing undergraduates (and faculty) to be facilitators of collaborative learning groups.
• Teaching Workshops - Design and implementation of workshops on problem-based learning, collaborative learning, and peer group facilitators at the University of Delaware's Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education and on other campuses.

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Teaching

• BISC 100* - Freshman Seminar
• BISC 103 - General biology for elementary teacher education majors.
• BISC 104* - Principles of Biology with Lab
• BISC 207* - Introductory Biology I
• BISC 208 - Introductory Biology II. Taught using problem-based learning strategies, since 1993.
• BISC 306* - General Physiology
• BISC 326* - General Physiology Discussion
• BISC 422 - Teaching Experience: Tutorial Methods of Instruction. In-service course for undergraduates who serve as peer group facilitators in problem-based learning classrooms.
• BISC 567 - Molecular Biology Through Inquiry. A course for in-service high school teachers that centers on use of exemplary curriculum materials and methods for teaching molecular biology and genetics.

*Course web site available through MyCourses

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Selected Publications

Tanner, K. and D. Allen. 2007. Cultural competence in the college biology classroom. CBE - Life Sciences Education 6(4): 251-258.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2007. Putting the horse back in front of the cart: Using visions and decisions about high-quality learning experiences to drive course design. CBE - Life Sciences Education 6(2): 85-89.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2006. Rubrics: Tools for making learning goals and evaluation criteria explicit for both teachers and learners. CBE - Life Sciences Education 5(3): 197-203.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2005. Infusing active learning into the large-enrollment biology class: Seven strategies, from the simple to complex. Cell Biology Education 4(4): 262-268.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2005. From a scholarly approach to teaching to the scholarship of teaching. Cell Biology Education 4(1): 1-6.

Allen, D., R. Donham and K. Tanner. 2004. Lesson study - Building communities of learning among educators. Cell Biology Education 3(1):1-7.

Allen, D. and R. Hodson. 2004. Crops of the future: A problem-based learning exercise for the laboratory. Chapter in, Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching Vol. 25, Michael O'Donnell, ed. Toronto, Canada: Association for Biology Laboratory Education.

Allen, D.E., Duch, B.J., Groh, S.E., Watson, G. 2004. Scaling up research-based education for undergraduates: problem-based learning. Chapter in, Reinvigorating the Undergraduate Experience: Successful Models Supported by NSF's AIRE/RAIRE Program. Kauffman, Linda R, and Janet E. Stocks, eds. Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research.

Tanner, K., L. Chatman, and D. Allen. 2003. Science teaching and learning across the school-university divide-Cultivating conversations through scientist-teacher partnerships. Cell Biology Education 2(4): 195-201.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2003. Mapping the journey - concept maps as signposts of developing knowledge structures. Cell Biology Education 2(3): 133-136.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2003. Learning content in context--Problem-based learning. Cell Biology Education 2(2): 73-81.

Allen, D.E. 2002. Who owns the Geritol solution? Problem-Based Learning Clearinghouse.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2002. Answers worth waiting for: one second is hardly enough. Cell Biology Education 1(1): 3-5.

Allen, D. and K. Tanner. 2002. Questions about questions. Cell Biology Education 1(3): 63-67.

Allen, D.E., B.J. Duch and S.E. Groh. 2001. "Faculty development workshops: A challenge of PBL? Chapter in, Problem-Based Learning: Case Studies, Experience and Practice. P. Schwartz, S. Mennin, and G. Webb, eds. London: Kogan Page.

Allen, D.E. and H.B. White. 2001. "Peer facilitators of in-class groups: adapting problem-based learning to the undergraduate setting." Chapter in, Student Assisted Teaching: A Guide to Faculty-Student Teamwork. J. E. Miller, J. E. Groccia, M. S. Miller, eds. Bolton, MA: Anker Publications.

Allen, D.E. and H.B. White, III. 2001. Undergraduate group facilitators to meet the challenges of multiple classroom groups. Chapter in, The Power of Problem-Based Learning: A Practical 'How To' for Teaching Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline. B. J. Duch, S. E. Groh, and D. E. Allen, eds. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications.

Allen, D.E., B.J. Duch, and S.E. Groh. 2001. Strategies for using groups. Chapter in, The Power of Problem-Based Learning: A Practical 'How To' for Teaching Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline. B.J. Duch, S.E. Groh, and D.E. Allen, eds. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications.

Donham, R.S., F.I. Schmieg, and D.E. Allen. 2001. The large and the small of it: A case study of introductory biology courses. Chapter in, The Power of Problem-Based Learning: A Practical 'How To' for Teaching Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline. B.J. Duch, S.E. Groh, and D.E. Allen, eds. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications.

Allen, D.E. and H.B. White, III. 1999. A few steps ahead on the same path: using peer tutors in the cooperative learning classroom - A multilayered approach to teaching. J. College Science Teaching 28: 299-302.

Allen, D. and B. Duch. 1998. Thinking Toward Solutions: Problem-Based Learning Activities for General Biology. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing.

Allen, D.E. 1997. Adapting problem-based learning strategies to the introductory biology classroom. In, Student-active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching. C. D'Avanzo and A. P. McNeal, eds. Phila.: Saunders.

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