College Lesson Study

Lesson Study in Biology & Chemistry: 3D Molecular Models

Lesson Study in Biology: Using 3D Molecular Models in Biology and Chemistry Courses

Title: Using 3D Molecular Models in Biology and Chemistry Courses
Authors: Klein, Jennifer; Bhattacharyya, Basudeb; Howard, David  
Disciplines: Biology & Chemistry
Submission Date: June 12, 2015

Abstract: Given the difficulty that many students have understanding the concepts of polarity and hydrogen bonding as they apply to water and biomolecules such as DNA and proteins, 3D models were integrated in units on water, protein and DNA in a variety of 100-, 200-, and 300-level biology and chemistry courses in order to gather preliminary data on the effectiveness of these models for student learning. We found that 100- and 200-level students rated these models as very effective learning tools, but the 300-level students did not. Further studies will focus on assessing the impact of these models on student learning in the introductory levels.

Using 3D Molecular Models in Biology and Chemistry Courses - Partial Report

Lesson Study in Economics: Oligopoly Behavior

Title: Oligopoly Behavior
Authors: Giddings, Lisa; Nunley, John
Discipline: Economics
Submission Date: June 2015

Abstract: Through the study of oligopolies, our learning objective is to improve student ability to compare and contrast the different models that economics use to explain oligopoly behavior and to be able to recognize where these models are applicable in the real world.  These goals follow the broad learning goals of the Department of Economics that include improving critical thinking, and having students be able to apply economics models to the real world. We developed a lesson plan which included pre- and post-assessments and participating in active learning in groups through problem solving. We found after one test of the lesson and one observation that students had a hard time connecting the oligopoly market structure to the other market structures they had learned in class already (perfect competition and monopoly) at least mathematically.  As such, they were unable to evaluate the outcomes of the various market structures from a consumer's perspective. Students got bogged down in learning the mathematics of oligopoly and were subsequently unable to apply what they learned to the real world.

 

Oligopoly Behavior: Full Report

Lesson Study in Spanish: Narrating the Past Tense with "El espantapájaros" in the Intermediate Spanish Classroom

Title: Why were Crows Black? "El espantapájoros"
Authors: Pinzl, Michelle; Brougham, Rose Marie
Discipline: Modern Languages, Spanish Language & Culture
Submission Date: June 12, 2015

Abstract: One of the most difficult hurdles for English speakers to overcome is narrating in the past. Spanish relies on two past tense verb forms: the preterit and the imperfect. Intermediate 1 students have already had exposure and some limited practice with the conjugation and the use of the forms, but because they have the option of two verb forms from which to choose, English speakers have difficulty relating to the cultural perspectives these tenses require. In an attempt to clear this hurdle our program uses a spiral approach, meaning each course level reviews the concept and adds a level of difficulty.

Because the course for this lesson study is the first of two Intermediate Spanish courses, students are introduced to and practice these forms in a very general sense, explicitly leaving out the many nuances they will see in future courses. The objective for students is to be able to conjugate verbs, identify the use of the tenses and begin to use them correctly in structured oral and written narratives. 

To structure our lesson plan we chose to embed the grammar lesson inside the reading and viewing of an authentic text and video. This structure is based on the teaching grammar through reading lesson presented in The Teacher’s Handbook by Judith L. Shrum and Eileen W. Glisan. By giving students an authentic text to read and by using a video to tell the story, we then have a context in which to discuss, analyze, and grammar with students.

Major findings:

1. Positive: students were engaged and stayed on task the entire time.
2. Negative: students do not naturally use the target language to converse unless given very specific instructions. At this level they cannot create with language.

Why were Crows Black? "El espantapájoros" - Full Report

Lesson Study in English: Engaging Students Critically in Stakeholder Analysis

Title: Challenging Students in a Professional Writing Classroom to Engage Critically in Stakeholder Analysis
Authors: Kopp, Bryan; Moeller, Marie; Friesen, Ryan
Discipline: English
Submission Date: June 12, 2015

Abstract: Goals for the Activity: 

1. Offer students an opportunity to engage thoughtfully and critically in a stakeholder analysis activity.
2. Engage in the complexity of responding in writing, post-stakeholder analysis,vis-à-vis dialogue with their group members.
3. Employ varying concepts and theoretical understandings of professional writing in undertaking, analyzing, and responding to a professional writing problem.

Lesson Plan: Prior to this course, students had been discussing the history of the field of professional writing. This moment was where the field was turning both to the
social and the ethical implications of the work of professional writing. Prior to this
particular day, students read a piece by Steven Katz regarding the use of rhetoric in
the German holocaust—the piece articulates how professional writing can be seen
as a commitment of the time in which it is generated, as well as a vehicle that can
drive commitments, as well.

With that background, students were to engage with, negotiate about, and then
find a way to respond to the form in Appendix A, and were grouped in 3 groups to
do so.

Major Findings: Students were able to engage with the form in intellectual ways, and were able to see multiple perspectives in response to the form. As the instructor, Marie was happy to see those things happening. The one major finding we came away with, though, was that it is clearly difficult for students to not identify with the
institutional role they were given, and oriented themselves not to a broader context of ethical implications of this form, but very easily took on the role of the institution, even after having read the article by Katz and talking about how difficult it is to step outside the bounds and consider all aspects of a situation, and their own place and responsibility of perhaps changing the institution rather than the individuals. As an instructor, Marie will be continuing to work on making such implications clear in her writing classes.

Challenging Students in a Professional Writing Classroom to Engage Critically in Stakeholder Analysis - Full Report