College Lesson Study

Lesson Study in Chemistry: Student Understanding of Acid/Base Buffers in a Laboratory Setting

Title: Exploring Students' Understanding of Acid/Base Buffers in a Laboratory Setting
Authors: Friesen, Katherine A; Ghodsian, Roghaieh; Turov, Yevgeniya
Discipline: Chemistry
Submission Date: June 4, 2015

Abstract: After the successful redevelopment of Experiment 5 in a previous lesson study, it gave us the opportunity to revisit the next experiment in this acid/base series and work on improving student understanding of buffers, a challenging topic for most students in CHM 104. Though students are usually able to complete the relevant calculations for buffers in lecture, they generally are lost in a laboratory setting when they need to perform the relevant calculations and actually prepare a buffer on their own. A significant portion of the laboratory period is spent on describing buffer preparation and calculations; however, students still seem confused by the procedure and need quite a bit of assistance with the calculations. For this lesson study, we have prepared pre-lab videos that showcase the preparation of the buffer and also streamlined the experiment to only focus on one type of buffer system, which has helped shorten the pre-lab lecture and  alleviated some confusion about preparation. We also found that a modified data sheet allowed the students to guide themselves through the calculations and also helped them relate their thought process to the material they learned in lecture. We are still working on ways to help students bridge the gap between experiment and calculations. 

Exploring Students' Understanding of Acid/Base Buffers in a Laboratory Setting - Full Report 

Lesson Study in Health Professions: Interprofessional Education

Title: Interprofessional Education Lesson Study for Health Professions Students
Authors: Gronwaldt, Virginia; Johnson, Barbara; Sieck, Sandra; Michelle Thorman, 
Disciplines: Health Professions, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physican's Assistant Studies 
Submission Date: June 6, 2015

Abstract: Health Profession Department students from the OT, PA and PT programs participated in a 2 hour inter-professional education lesson designed to foster team working and decision making skills which are essential for clinical practice. The activity required students to explore the scope of profession, their unique educational backgrounds, clinical specialty areas and professional roles on the patient care team. Through use of a structured lesson plan which included guided questions and a case study, students were challenged to define roles and interventions unique to their respective discipline and areas where their roles blended with other disciplines. Three outcome measures were used to assess students’ perceptions of their roles on an inter-disciplinary team, student engagement in the learning activity and evaluation of the lesson.

Eighty-five physical therapy (PTS), occupational therapy (OTS) and physician assistant (PAS) Health Professions students participated in an Interprofessional Education (IPE) case study learning activity during which they discussed the specific roles and responsibilities of their professions. Several measures were used to assess students’ participation and evaluation of the learning activity and their perceptions regarding the value of interdisciplinary health care teams. Most of the students reported valuing interdisciplinary collaboration and thought it improved health outcomes and resulted in improved patient satisfaction. During the case study learning activity, all the students verbally participated, discussing the roles and responsibilities of their specific professions, and no differences were found across disciplines. PAS were more often (100%), and OTS were least often (19%), identified as exhibiting leadership behavior during the case study learning activity, whereas, PTS were identified as exhibiting this behavior 37% of the time. 97 – 100% of the students reported that the learning activity helped them understand the need for effective communication among health care professionals, the need for interprofessional collaboration, and the roles of PT, OT, and PA.

Students suggested that in the future more information regarding the roles of healthcare providers other than PT, OT, and PA in patient/client care and specific values and ethics necessary for interprofessional practice should be included in the IPE case study learning activity.

Interprofessional Education Lesson Study for Health Professions Students -
Full Report 

Lesson Study in Sociology: Studying the Effectiveness of a Lesson on Regression Analyses

Title: Studying the Effectiveness of a Lesson on Regression Analyses
Authors: Delgado, Enilida; Miller, Carol; McReynolds-Perez, Julia
Discipline: Sociology
Submission Date: May 29, 2015

Abstract: Sociology students enrolled in two sections of a required research methods course were observed while completing a lab assignment. This course is the second course in a three-course research-intensive sequence. The main objective of the assignment was to observe how students decide whether to conduct linear regression analysis or logistic regression analysis based upon the level of measurement of the dependent variable. There are three main findings from the study lesson observations and the completed work from students. First, instructors inconsistently instruct how to write null and research hypotheses. Second, students struggled to interpret the regression coefficients resulting from regression with dichotomous independent variables. Third, it was recognized that students need a lot more time to make decisions about how to complete the lab assignments. Each of these concerns can be addressed with practical changes to our teaching methods throughout the three-course sociology research sequence.

Studying the Effectiveness of a Lesson on Regression Analyses - Full Report

Lesson Study in Sociology: Human Sexuality & Sexual Orientation in an Introductory Sociology Class

Title: Teaching About Human Sexuality & Sexual Orientation in an Introductory Sociology Class
Authors: Driscoll, Adam; Kruse, Lisa
Discipline: Sociology
Submission Dates: April 17 & 20, 2015

Abstract: Our lesson study was to develop a lesson that would help students learn more about the socially constructed elements of human sexuality and how those elements operate within our society. In previous versions of our introduction to sociology courses, we had struggled with this topic and found it one students had trouble with, both conceptually and ideologically. In particular, we wanted to achieve some “deep learning” where students grasped on an experiential level, the degree of sexuality-based discrimination that exists in our society. The lesson we designed was to have two class periods devoted toward the topic: one in which we addressed the concepts and what sociology offers our understanding of human sexuality, and a second in which we stressed how human sexuality can operate as a dimension of inequality in our society. The second lesson revolved around a guided visualization exercise and a discussion about student reactions to it. As a whole, we found that the lesson worked quite well. Students responded well and seemed comfortable discussing the topic. Additionally, the students reported getting quite a bit out of the guided visualization exercise.

Teaching About Human Sexuality & Sexual Orientation in an Introductory Sociology Class - Full Report 

Lesson Study in Biology: Text vs. Images as Tools when Solving Conceptual Problems

Title: Text versus images as tools when solving conceptual problems
Authors: Klein, Barrett Anthony; Baines, Lee
Discipline: Biology
Submission Date: May 11, 2015

Abstract: What tools best aid a student when solving a conceptual problem? We hypothesized that when presented with extra text and an image, each giving information how to solve a problem, undergraduate students would fare better than students given extra text or image alone, and certainly better than a control given neither extra text nor image. The general problem: how does a honey bee communicate to her nest mates the direction from their nest to a food source, given the food source’s position relative to the sun? A class previously exposed to a specific example of this problem did well if given any version of the question (extra text + image, extra text, image, or neither extra text nor image). A naïve class, however, did best with extra text alone and worst with image alone. Unless the image clearly communicates the correct answer, it apparently serves as a distraction from the critical thought process. 

Text versus Images as Tools when Solving Conceptual Problems - Full Report