MCB 520
Teaching College Biology

This course is designed for life science graduate students who are interested in learning more about science teaching and student learning at the undergraduate level. In particular, students will read articles and book chapters, engage in class discussions, participate in class activities, and complete a variety of out-of-class assignments focused on science teaching and learning. The course is not a "bag of tricks" for effective teaching, although, a variety of teaching stategies will certainly be discussed. Rather, the course is designed to educate you about what is known about student learning in science and to use that information to make sound teaching decisions. Hence, the course is structured around three topic areas: (1) What we know about student learning, (2) Assessing student learning, and (3) Teaching that facilitates student learning.

Below is a sample of the questions that will be explored in the course:

What We Know About Student Learning.
How do students learn scientific concepts? What is involved with the development of understanding vs remembering? What learning conditions support students' abilities to transfer knowledge in order to solve novel problems? How does expertise develop?

Assessing Student Learning.
Why is assessment so important? What forms oes assessment take? How can assessment inform our teaching decisions? How can assessmen help students learn? What are good assessment practices?

Teaching that Facilitates Student Learning.
What teaching approaches align with that we know about how students leanr? What must we consider as we plan instruction that facilitates student learning? How can lectures enhanve student learning? How can student-to-student interactions enhance student learning? If we adopt a teaching for understanding philosophy, how should classrooms be different from many typical undergraduate science classes?

3 units
Grading: Letter grading: A B C D E
Usually offered: Every other Spring.
Next offering TBA