Course within a Course: Learning to Teach through Teaching ... · • Cognitive Science minor •...
Transcript of Course within a Course: Learning to Teach through Teaching ... · • Cognitive Science minor •...
Prior Teaching Experience
Prior teaching experience has increased over the past 4 semesters.
Class Year of Instructor
Class years have become equally represented among lecturers.
Students in the following programs take our course for credit:
• Cognitive Science minor
• Psychology (BA)
• Biology, Neurobiology (BS)
• Physiology (MS)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine (MS)
• Biochemistry (MS)
• Pharmacology (MS, PhD)
Demographics of Lecturers
Course within a Course: Learning to Teach through Teaching Neuroscience Lauren Ullrich1,2, Patrick Forcelli1,3, Elizabeth West1,3, Karen Gale1,3
1Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, 2 Dept of Neurology, 3 Dept of Pharmacology, Georgetown University, Washington DC
Introduction
Course design
The design is twofold:
1. To expose undergraduate and master’s students to broad
areas of the neurosciences
2. To provide pedagogical experience for Ph.D. students in
the IPN
In this class, students explore normal and altered nervous
system function, with a focus on different sets of disorders
each semester.
IPN Predoctoral Students
Class demographics
Challenges of a team-taught class
Ways in which we ensure continuity throughout the year
(within a team-taught class) and across years (across
changing instructors and directors):
• “Key neuroscience concept” for each lecture
• “Key neuroscience techniques” for each module
• Course directors attend all lectures
• Staggered directorship
• Repeated guest lectures
• Slides from previous years’ lectures available
• Standardized grading rubrics
• Faculty steering committee
Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior is an interdisciplinary two-
semester upper-level course at Georgetown University. The
class is team-taught by Ph.D. candidates in the
Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN). IPN faculty
provide mentorship in the form of a steering committee.
Funding: T32DA007291, T32NS041231, T32NS041218, NIH/NINDS
F31NS066822, Epilepsy Foundation Fellowship 123098
Pedagogy
Fall Semester
Psychiatric disorders
Spring Semester
Neurological disorders
Regulatory Systems,
Mood Regulation,
Executive Function,
Development (Psychological),
Biological Rhythms
Development (Neurological),
Neural Injury and Recovery,
Sensation and Perception,
Basal Ganglia,
Learning and Memory
2nd 25%
3rd 42%
4th 33%
Fall 2009
2nd 39%
3rd 22%
4th 33%
5th 6%
Spring 2010
2nd 34%
3rd 13%
4th 33%
5th 20%
Fall 2010
2nd 31%
3rd 25%
4th 25%
5th 19%
Spring 2011
Q1 I am intimidated by research language and terminology.
Q2 I feel that I can identify the problem statements in a journal article
and understand the purpose of the paper.
Q3 I feel that I can read a journal article and understand the basic
methods.
Q4 I am able to describe the concepts being studied in a journal article
and their relationship to each other.
Q5 I feel comfortable presenting a journal article to my peers.
Q6 I feel comfortable weighing the value and validity of different animal
models.
Q7 I feel comfortable weighing the pros and cons of competing theories.
Q8 I am familiar with a variety of methods used in neuroscience
research and the specific questions they are applied to.
Q9 I have an understanding of pharmacology as both a tool to explore
and a therapy to treat brain dysfunction.
1
2
3
4
5
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9
Like
rt S
cale
(1
-5)
Fall 2010 Student self-evaluations
Before class
After midterm
* * * * * * *
Technology
This class has been a leader at Georgetown University Medical
Center in incorporating technological advancements in course
design and execution. In addition to the widely used Blackboard
software, we have incorporated :
• iclicker© (classroom response system)
• Sharestream © (streaming video of classes)
• SMART board © (interactive whiteboard with save function)
Primary literature is employed in multiple ways:
• As representative data in didactic lectures
• In student paper presentations to the class
• Synthesis of data in a term paper
End of class questions ensure that students continue to engage
with classroom material outside of class.
Participation is emphasized through questions and discussion.
IPN students participate at many levels:
1. Guest lecture on single or multiple topics
• Select readings, develop learning objectives, prepare
lecture, and elicit student participation.
2. Teaching tutorial for credit
• Attend classes, provide written critiques of lectures, guest
lecture in the course, and write an exam question.
3. Course co-director
• Design the syllabi, select readings and lecture topics, and
prepare and grade student assessments.
• As peer mentors, they train and coach student lecturers in
the course.
Feedback Instructors at all levels receive feedback from:
• Students taking the class
• Course directors
• Faculty steering committee
These evaluations become part of the student’s teaching portfolio.
• Prof. Karen Gale (Pharmacology; PI NINDS-sponsored
training program in Neuroscience)
• Prof. Barry Wolfe (Pharmacology; Director, Pharmacology
MS)
• Prof. G. William Rebeck (Neuroscience; Director, IPN)
• Prof. Maria Donoghue (Biology; Co-director, Neurobiology
BS)
• Prof. Darlene Howard (Psychology, Co-director Graduate
Program in Developmental Science)
• Prof. David Lightfoot (Linguistics; Director, Cognitive
Science minor)
Achievement of Learning Objectives
History of the course
Since the start of the course in 2000, 20 IPN students have
acted as co-directors. In the 11 semesters of the course for
which we have data (2 semesters are missing), 80 IPN
students have lectured in the course. Thus, more than 60%
of students who have entered the IPN program have taught
in the course.
This course is unique at Georgetown University in bridging:
1) multiple disciplines (psychology, biology, cognitive
science, etc.), 2) levels of study (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and
Ph.D. students), and 3) the medical center and main
campus.
From a teaching perspective, this course poses a special
challenge and benefit in that course directors and lecturers
get experience with both the "Main Campus" and "Medical
Center" teaching atmosphere and style.
Steering Committee
In Fall 2010, The majority of classroom
hours (68%) were taught by students
with two or more semesters of previous
experience teaching in the course.
0 5 10
0
1
2+
0 5 10
0
1
2+
0 5 10
0
1
2+
0 5 10
0
1
2+
# o
f se
me
ste
rs ta
ug
ht
# of lecturing students
Fall 2009 Spring 2010 Fall 2010 Spring 2011 agree
disagree 0 19%
1 13%
2 13%
3 28%
4 4%
5 23%
1
2
3
4
5
Like
rt s
cale
(1
-5)
Student ratings of course over time
Fall 2007
Fall 2008
Spring 2009
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Ho
urs