CHEM 601
(Section 10) and BISC 667 (Section 10)
INTRODUCTION TO LABORATORY INSTRUCTION
Syllabus - Fall 2011
|
|
Graduate teaching assistants
have a unique and significant impact on undergraduate science education
at the University of Delaware. Thus, it is essential that new teaching
assistants be prepared and supported so that they can fulfill their
responsibilities fully. Introduction to Laboratory Instruction
is part of that mission. This syllabus has several parts. Read each
carefully.
Instructors: Prof. Hal White
(Chemistry and
Biochemistry)
Office:
203
Brown Laboratory
Phone:
831-2908
e-mail:
halwhite at udel.edu
|
Prof. Seung Hong (Biological Sciences)
028 McKinly Laoratory
831-2898
smhong at udel.edu |
Course Description: Being a new Teaching
Assistant (TA) in a biology or chemistry laboratory of 20
undergraduates requires preparation not only in the subject matter but
also in methods of instruction. Introduction to Laboratory
Instruction is not a course devoted to biology or chemistry
content. Rather, it focuses on teaching and especially learning.
It is dedicated to preparing first-time TAs to fulfill their
roles in undergraduate teaching laboratories. Issues relating to
specific laboratory exercises and course content are the responsibility
of the various course instructors. Among
the topics and issues addressed are:
- learning
styles and learning theory,
- personality
types of students and teachers,
- biological and
chemical hazards and laboratory
safety,
- intellectual
development in the college years,
- dealing with misconceptions,
- ethics and academic dishonesty,
- asking
good
questions and constructing good quizzes,
- being
fair in
grading and in the laboratory,
- problem-based
learning and other
cooperative learning strategies,
- recognizing
problems and resolving
conflict,
- time
management in and out of the laboratory,
- being a learning
facilitator rather than an information dispenser,
- leading
managing pre-laboratory
discussions,
- library
resources for science education.
Time & Place:
The class meets Tuesdays
from
8:00 to 9:15 A.M. in 205 Brown Laboratory. In addition, the course is
coupled
to the annual TA
Conference sponsored by the Center
for Teaching and Learning and departmental TA Orientation sessions
during the week before classes start. The tentative course
schedule is posted.
Who should take this course:
All new Chemistry and
Biology graduate
students who are first-time teaching assistants must take Introduction
to Laboratory Instruction. Because this course has a
significant in-service
component, new graduate students who are not teaching, should defer
taking the course to when they become a TA.
Text:
There
is no text for this course. However, there will be many handouts and
material you will need to photocopy or print from the Internet. In
order to keep
these documents organized, you should put them in a three-ring binder.
Background:
Financial support and
incentives for iniutiating this course came from the Howard Hughes
Medical
Institute (HHMI) and their four-year
Undergraduate
Science Education Grant to the University of Delaware That began in
September
2002. The HHMI
Undergraduate Program at the University of Delaware is dedicated to
"stimulating
attitudes of inquiry" in the classroom and in the laboratory, and among
students
and faculty at all levels. Traditional methods of instruction (e. g.
"cookbook laboratories") often focus on transmission of information
rather than cultivating curiosity and conceptual understanding. One of
the goals of this course is to catalyze a shift in the perception of a
teacher's role from the being source
of all knowledge to being a facilitator of student learning.
Grading and Assignments:
Introduction to Laboratory
Instruction is a pass-fail
course. The main purpose of the course is to
help new teaching assistants succeed. For this course, We expect
registrants to:
- Come prepared
and on time to all classes. Excused
absence for
legitimate
reason requires advance notice to the instructor, if
possible.
- Participate
fully in
class activities and exercises.
- Complete and turn in
assignments on time. These will build on the normal and expected
preparation for laboratory instruction.
- Provide and accept feedback
(to and from peers and instructor).
- Participate fully in evaluations
of course sessions and of entire course.
- Maintain a course
notebook that contains handouts and other course-related
material.
- Keep a journal of
your reflections/experiences as a teaching assistant throughout the
semester. This
journal won’t be read by anyone but you, but you will need to review it
periodically
as the basis for class discussions. There are no absolute rules about
the
nature and/or length of your entries, but you will get a good
impression
of whether your journal meets the intended purpose during sessions in
which
you look back over what you have written. A general rule of thumb is to
focus
most on "critical events"- those experiences as a TA that really
captured
your attention in some positive or negative way.
- (Optional) Begin a teaching
portfolio, which documents teaching experiences with carefully
selected items that display progress and accomplishments. Students who
successfully complete this course and are interested in careers in
Academia may wish to apply
for higher education teaching
certification through the Center for Teaching Effectiveness.
- Items 1-7 above are
expected of all registered TAs to receive a passing grade. If a TA has more than two unexcused
absences, then he or she must write a ~3-page paper on
the topic of one of the classes missed and using the handouts and
internet links as sources. The paper must be submitted within 2 weeks
of the third missed class. Students not completing this assignment
will receive a failing grade for the course.
Chemistry-Biology Synergy:
Much of modern biology is
molecular. Thus, knowledge of chemistry is needed to understand much of
modern biology. Most students dislike chemistry; however, biology can
be used to make chemistry relevant. About 60% of students taking
introductory chemistry laboratories have majors in the life
sciences. By mixing teaching assistants from Biology and
Chemistry together in one class, each group will learn from the other,
gain insight into their own discipline, and enrich their effectiveness
as teachers. The course instructor is a biochemist--actually a
biologist who
was trained in chemistry. He sees the world with an evolutionary
perspective, likes genetics, studies proteins, and really digs
intermediary metabolism. In his spare time, he moonlights as an
entomologist. He is devoted to education and eager to facilitate
interdisciplinary communication among students, teaching assistants,
and instructors. He once said, "Nothing in chemistry interests me
except as it relates to biology; however, I've discovered that there is
little in chemistry that doesn't relate to biology."
Groups and Class Conduct:
Each student will be
assigned
to a heterogeneous group of four or five students. These groups will
not
change during the semester. Every class period will involve group and
whole
class discussion with occasional individual presentations. Experienced
teaching assistants and other guests will contribute to some classes.
Prof. White's Pedagogical Philosophy:
Over
the years, my perception of my role in the class room has changed and
now focuses on student learning. First, I believe that substantive
learning has an emotional component which I view as involvement.
Consequently, I feel comfortable and justified in moving from a
teacher-centered lecture approach to a student-centered, problem-based
learning approach where students work in cooperative groups during
class time. To encourage involvement, I look for complex
real-world problems with a “hook” that relates to the students and to
the concepts I want them to learn.
Second,
learning is not easy. The struggle to understand is
important. It is not my struggle but the students’.
Therefore, I am much less
inclined to answer student questions. Rather, their questions
more
often elicit other questions from me that can be viewed as handholds on
the
mountain they have to climb. With this perspective, I try to
encourage
independence but provide support when needed.
Thirdly,
I view myself as more than a content expert who has to “cover the
material.” I believe it is important for me to evaluate student
writing for composition and grammar, although I am not an
English
professor. I feel it is
important to introduce ethical issues
that relate to the material,
although
I don’t have ready answers. And I am willing to deal with
uncertainties
in the dynamics of the groups I create without credentials in social
psychology. These are all things I think will help students
become more effective biologists and chemists. By dealing with
these issues in science classes, I hope to convey their importance for
being a
responsible citizen.
General responsibilities in the course
in which you are a TA:
- Arrive ahead of time
and be prepared for every laboratory
session you "teach".
- Attend the class
lectures that your laboratory serves.
- Work towards
improving the thinking
and problem-solving skills of the students in
your laboratory sections, and on promoting a positive atmosphere for
learning.
- Be available to
the
instructor and students via e-mail.
- Meet once a week (or
as often as required) with the instructor or laboratory coordinator to
go over the plans for the laboratory sessions, and review successes and
disappointments.
- Read the assignments
in preparation for each class and planning session.
Other responsibilities, as
negotiated with the instructor of the course and addressed in the
assignment
due 11 September.
Return to
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Department Home Page, Biol;ogical
Sciences Home Page, Course Syllabus,
Course
Schedule, or Hal White's
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Page
Created 6 August 2002,
Last
updated 9 August 2011 by Hal White [halwhite at udel.edu]
Copyright 2011, Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716