The Discipline-Based Science Education Research Center (dB-SERC) has awarded three Course Transformation Awards for 2021.
Since 2014, dB-SERC has supported natural science faculty members in developing projects that bring innovation to teaching and learning in the natural sciences.
Recipients receive funds for equipment, student support or summer salary for faculty members to work on their course transformation. dB-SERC also awarded one mentor-mentee award to support projects conducted by students and faculty working together.
The projects awarded are:
Mastery-based grading in Chem 0110, General Chemistry 1: Sean Garrett-Roe, Department of Chemistry, will design and develop learning objectives and course assessments aligned with a mastery-based grading scheme. This involves curating of frequent, low-stakes assessments that center student learning.
Transforming undergraduate physiology laboratory by using web-based data acquisition and analyses setup to run lab instruments: Burhan Gharaibeh, Department of Biological Sciences will transform the physiology laboratory to use a web-based platform, LabChart. This transformation will increase student engagement in the labs, initiate more interaction among group members, and increase the depth of learning of physiological concepts.
Stop and drop a definition: Using dual-process theory to improve student performance on essay-type questions: Kirill Kiselyov, Department of Biological Sciences, is developing improved essay-style questions for his upper level cell biology lecture course that will allow students to fully show their knowledge during the essay-type formative assessment tasks to improve student engagement and performance in the course.
Mentor/Mentee Award
Increasing student belonging and self-efficacy while leveraging a virtual learning environment via primary literature and author interactions: Mentor, Jessica Stephonson; mentees, Rachel Kramp and Faith Rovenolt, Department of Biological Sciences. This project aims to engage students in an upper-level animal behavior course to analyze primary literature and discuss the concepts with the articles author via videoconferencing. The goal is to improve student belonging and self-efficacy while helping them develop a good grasp of foundational concepts.