This study explored how the interdisciplinary nature of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) promot... more This study explored how the interdisciplinary nature of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) promoted the professional development of participants’ teaching. Participants reported gaining new insights into implementing active learning and mitigating student resistance to learning (the FLC topic). FLC members experienced a connection and affinity with instructors outside their discipline due to the interdisciplinary nature of the FLC. The confidential and collaborative environment of the FLC was promoted by the absence of hierarchy across participants. Key roles that facilitated and leveraged the faculty development within the FLC are discussed. Introduction
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, Dec 31, 2021
Shorter lectures punctuated with activities to engage students in the learning process can increa... more Shorter lectures punctuated with activities to engage students in the learning process can increase student understanding, critical thinking, and overall learning. However, some students have negative responses to active teaching strategies. Here we explore the topic of student resistance to active learning, including reasons for resistance and strategies to avoid or respond to resistance. Recognizing factors that lead to students’ resistance to active learning is important to mitigating resistance. But eEqually critical to mitigating student resistance is the promotiong of student resilience. Structuring classrooms to promote resilience includes community building, structured activities, and policies that recognize student diversity, and the complexity of learning processes.
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, Dec 1, 2012
Abstract: A complete understanding of life involves how organisms are able to function in their e... more Abstract: A complete understanding of life involves how organisms are able to function in their environment and how they arise. Understanding how organisms arise involves both their evolution and development. Thus to completely comprehend living things, biology must study their function, development and evolution. Previous proposals for standardized post-secondary biology curricula have relied upon surveys of current practice, producing a curriculum that omits development and conflates evolution with ecology. To produce undergraduate biology programs that focus on the core essence of biology, curricula must address these three pillars undergirding biology: function, development, and evolution. Focusing the curriculum in this way may ease the difficulty of squeezing the burgeoning growth of biological knowledge into biology degree programs. A number of different approaches are possible, ranging from ensuring that these three principles are woven into the core biology courses to havin...
Bioscene: The Journal Of College Biology Teaching, Dec 1, 2015
Capstone experiences have high educational impact with various approaches available for biology. ... more Capstone experiences have high educational impact with various approaches available for biology. However, no information exists regarding the pervasiveness of capstone courses in Canadian and American biology programs. This study surveyed the prevalence and character of biology capstone courses in the USA and Canada. The survey included a majority of public institutions offering primarily undergraduate programs. Seventy percent of American biology degree programs required a capstone course vs 27% of Canadian schools. Large and graduate institutions were less likely to require a capstone course. Medium-sized institutions were more likely to deliver their biology capstone course as a seminar, whereas small institutions were more likely to include an undergraduate research experience. Sixty percent provided some review of biology’s conceptual foundations, but most capstone courses devote little time considering the history or philosophy of biology. Most schools included the development...
The National Teaching and Learning Forum, May 14, 2014
This paper discusses the merits of TBL as an active learning instructional strategy that employs ... more This paper discusses the merits of TBL as an active learning instructional strategy that employs social pedagogy. The author discusses the challenge of developing in-class team assignments that apply the course material and enable resulting class discussion.
Bioscene: The Journal Of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2019
Midterm exams are a multi-use tool, providing evaluation of students for professors but also acti... more Midterm exams are a multi-use tool, providing evaluation of students for professors but also acting as a learning tool for students. Midterms may improve learning outcomes by contributing to the testing effect: the phenomenon in which retrieval of learned material (i.e., testing) produces improvements in long-term retention beyond those produced through additional rehearsal or re-exposure (i.e., studying or re-reading). Additionally, increased frequency of testing may impact student behaviors and attitudes (e.g., spaced practice, self-efficacy), increase the testing effect, or impact both, which ultimately improves learning outcomes. This study considered the differential impact of one versus two midterm exams on students’ exam difference scores (final exam score minus first midterm exam score). We also considered whether two midterm exams differentially impacted low- and high-achieving students. Results suggest that two midterm exams benefit freshmen but not junior students.
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 17, 2013
Undergraduate research is one of several high impact educational practices used by educational in... more Undergraduate research is one of several high impact educational practices used by educational institutions to increase student engagement and success (Kuh, 2008). Many studies on the impact of undergraduate research have surveyed students or faculty on their personal experience and its influence on students’ subsequent degrees and employment (Brownell & Swaner, 2010). These studies have documented the ability of high impact educational practices to have the greatest influence on those students who self-identify as belonging to a minority or disadvantaged group. Few studies, however, have documented the impact on students with lower grades. The privilege of being admitted to an undergraduate research experience (e.g., an independent studies course) is typically reserved for upper-year students who have proven themselves academically. This paper presents correlational data from our campus showing that academically weaker students have a greater increase in academic performance between prior grade point average (GPA) and final grade in an independent studies course than academically stronger students. In addition, student annual GPA data shows that the impact of undergraduate research serves to raise student GPA in the year of an independent studies course. Although the findings are based on data from one small campus, they do raise the question that if undergraduate research has the greatest impact on academically weaker students and accelerates academic maturity, is limiting registration into these courses on the basis of superior GPA and years of study placing inappropriate boundaries on student learning?
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2016
E-portfolios have the potential to transform students' learning experiences. They promote ref... more E-portfolios have the potential to transform students' learning experiences. They promote reflection on the significance of what and how students have learned. Such reflective practices enhance students' ability to articulate their knowledge and skills to their peers, teachers, and future employers. In addition, e-portfolios can help assess the ability of teachers and institutions to inculcate students with their core learning objectives and skills. In 2012/13, I piloted the use of an e-portfolio assignment in a sophomore molecular cell biology course to determine whether it could enhance student learning. My pilot assignment found: 1. The e-portfolio rescued students from a poorer final exam result relative to their midterm exam - students who did not complete the e-portfolio assignment had a greater probability of performing more poorly on the final relative to the midterm exam (p = 0.004); 2. E- portfolios can enhance student engagement; 3. Google Sites works well as an e...
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2017
Capstone experiences have high educational impact with a number of approaches for biology. In mos... more Capstone experiences have high educational impact with a number of approaches for biology. In most capstones, students produce a major project, typically as an undergraduate research experience, with a primary goal to integrate students’ learning. At Augustana, our senior biology capstone uses history and philosophy to frame students’ reflections and to integrate their biological education within our liberal arts and sciences curriculum. In a flipped classroom approach, students write a response to the assigned reading before class, when the paper is discussed through student-led seminars. Assigned papers consider the philosophy and historical development of biology focusing on its three conceptual pillars: function, development, and evolution, allowing students to examine how biologists arrived at their current understanding of life. Assessment of ten years of course offerings indicates students’ ability to write and speak are being successfully developed, but that thinking shows n...
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 19, 2012
This essay synthesizes our roundtable discussion about how to develop a campus culture of undergr... more This essay synthesizes our roundtable discussion about how to develop a campus culture of undergraduate research. Our discussion began with descriptions of the University of Alberta, Augustana’s initiatives: Independent Studies courses, the Student Academic Conference, and summer research assistantships. Common concerns from roundtable participants included whether or not student access to undergraduate research should be limited by grade point average, how to implement undergraduate research from first to final year of student degree programs, how to fund undergraduate research, and finally how to approach undergraduate research across the academy.
For the past couple of years I have been using Whiteboard by Splashtop to control the digital pro... more For the past couple of years I have been using Whiteboard by Splashtop to control the digital projection of my lecture material via my iPad. In this Tech Byte, I will demonstrate how it may be used to control a PowerPoint slideshow and annotate any other digital projection (e.g. webpage, PDF, Word doc). I thoroughly enjoy using this to lecture because it frees me to walk among my students while still controlling what I project using my iPad. In addition, the ability to annotate my projections provides a better classroom interaction between myself, my lecture materials and my students.
Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2020
As key components of self-regulated learning, metacognition and goal orientation have been tied t... more As key components of self-regulated learning, metacognition and goal orientation have been tied to improvements in academic achievement. Some research supports a bidirectional relationship between metacognition and goal orientation in which they promote each other as well as learning outcomes. We created a learning philosophy assignment (LP) to encourage students’ consideration of their learning strategies and goals resulting in a record of students’ metacognition. Research suggests that low-achieving students may have different metacognitive capabilities and learning goals and as such may be differentially impacted by the assignment. This paper considers the content of the LPs. Students were split into achievement quartiles to explore any patterns in metacognition or learning goals distinct to achievement level. Our content analysis confirms that the LP was successful in documenting metacognition and learning goals in all students. There were some differences related to achievement level.
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 25, 2018
This study analyzed the effect of a learning philosophy assignment on students' intellectual deve... more This study analyzed the effect of a learning philosophy assignment on students' intellectual development and mastery of first-year biology and second-year biochemistry course content. We used pre-and post-surveys to assess students' cognitive complexity, and compared students' midterm and final exam marks to assess mastery of course content. The learning philosophy assignment rescued students in the biology course from a decrease in cognitive complexity. Additionally, second-year students were rescued from performing poorly on the biochemistry final exam relative to the midterm, and also showed increases in cognitive complexity. These results suggest that a learning philosophy assignment may be an effective way of engaging students in metacognition of their learning to promote their intellectual development and mastery of course material. Cette étude consiste en l'analyse de l'effet d'un devoir portant sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage sur le développement intellectuel des étudiants et sur leur maîtrise de la matière des cours de biologie de première année et de biochimie de deuxième année. Nous avons utilise des sondages avant et après le devoir afin d'évaluer la complexité cognitive des étudiants. Nous avons également comparé les résultats des étudiants aux examens de mi-session et de fin de session afin d'évaluer leur maîtrise de la matière du cours. Grâce au devoir sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage, les étudiants du cours de biologie n'ont pas vu leur complexité cognitive diminuer. De plus, les étudiants de deuxième année ont ainsi pu éviter d'obtenir, dans leur examen final de biochimie, des résultats inférieurs à ceux de leur examen de mi-session, tout en montrant les signes d'un accroissement de la complexité cognitive. Les résultats de l'étude suggèrent qu'un devoir sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage peut aider les étudiants à participer à un processus de métacognition de leur apprentissage, ce qui favoriserait leur développement intellectuel et leur maîtrise de la matière du cours.buy-in. any universities and colleges enable students to track the completion of their degree program. At Augustana, we provide students with a Program Planning Form that organizes their courses into the different requirements for graduation. Many of our students, however, seem to use this as the frame for viewing their education: a list of boxes to be checked. Many students do not understand the overarching coherence in their major and general education requirements. Curricular coherence is present but Augustana has not always explicitly explained this to our students. As a result, many students collect a pile of courses without assembling them into an education (Smith, 1998). Augustana's current core curriculum is a general education that meets the breadth needs of our students and inculcates in students the particular values held by the Augustana professoriate,
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 12, 2017
The editorial for volume 10 of Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching discusses the need to ap... more The editorial for volume 10 of Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching discusses the need to apply the same rigour to assessing teaching as we do to research and not simply rely on student evaluations of teaching.
This short article discusses the cultural shift that instructors must make when transitioning to ... more This short article discusses the cultural shift that instructors must make when transitioning to active learning.
The philosophies of Kuhn, Hull and Pickering consider the nature of science from different vantag... more The philosophies of Kuhn, Hull and Pickering consider the nature of science from different vantage points. Kuhn viewed science as operating for periods of time in which scientists worked within a paradigm–an accepted norm of practice–that were punctuated by revolutions in which old paradigms are entirely replaced by new paradigms. In contrast, David Hull considered science to progress in an evolutionary manner where conceptual lineages can be traced from communities of practice through their students and are dependent upon the establishment of professional relationships. What sets both Kuhn and Hull apart from more traditional understandings of the nature of science which considered only rational factors, is that they both acknowledge the role of human behaviour admitting that science can, at times, have irrational influences. Pickering’s philosophy of science also considers the role of theory and social influence, but adds the technical component asserting that the interplay that o...
This study explored how the interdisciplinary nature of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) promot... more This study explored how the interdisciplinary nature of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) promoted the professional development of participants’ teaching. Participants reported gaining new insights into implementing active learning and mitigating student resistance to learning (the FLC topic). FLC members experienced a connection and affinity with instructors outside their discipline due to the interdisciplinary nature of the FLC. The confidential and collaborative environment of the FLC was promoted by the absence of hierarchy across participants. Key roles that facilitated and leveraged the faculty development within the FLC are discussed. Introduction
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, Dec 31, 2021
Shorter lectures punctuated with activities to engage students in the learning process can increa... more Shorter lectures punctuated with activities to engage students in the learning process can increase student understanding, critical thinking, and overall learning. However, some students have negative responses to active teaching strategies. Here we explore the topic of student resistance to active learning, including reasons for resistance and strategies to avoid or respond to resistance. Recognizing factors that lead to students’ resistance to active learning is important to mitigating resistance. But eEqually critical to mitigating student resistance is the promotiong of student resilience. Structuring classrooms to promote resilience includes community building, structured activities, and policies that recognize student diversity, and the complexity of learning processes.
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, Dec 1, 2012
Abstract: A complete understanding of life involves how organisms are able to function in their e... more Abstract: A complete understanding of life involves how organisms are able to function in their environment and how they arise. Understanding how organisms arise involves both their evolution and development. Thus to completely comprehend living things, biology must study their function, development and evolution. Previous proposals for standardized post-secondary biology curricula have relied upon surveys of current practice, producing a curriculum that omits development and conflates evolution with ecology. To produce undergraduate biology programs that focus on the core essence of biology, curricula must address these three pillars undergirding biology: function, development, and evolution. Focusing the curriculum in this way may ease the difficulty of squeezing the burgeoning growth of biological knowledge into biology degree programs. A number of different approaches are possible, ranging from ensuring that these three principles are woven into the core biology courses to havin...
Bioscene: The Journal Of College Biology Teaching, Dec 1, 2015
Capstone experiences have high educational impact with various approaches available for biology. ... more Capstone experiences have high educational impact with various approaches available for biology. However, no information exists regarding the pervasiveness of capstone courses in Canadian and American biology programs. This study surveyed the prevalence and character of biology capstone courses in the USA and Canada. The survey included a majority of public institutions offering primarily undergraduate programs. Seventy percent of American biology degree programs required a capstone course vs 27% of Canadian schools. Large and graduate institutions were less likely to require a capstone course. Medium-sized institutions were more likely to deliver their biology capstone course as a seminar, whereas small institutions were more likely to include an undergraduate research experience. Sixty percent provided some review of biology’s conceptual foundations, but most capstone courses devote little time considering the history or philosophy of biology. Most schools included the development...
The National Teaching and Learning Forum, May 14, 2014
This paper discusses the merits of TBL as an active learning instructional strategy that employs ... more This paper discusses the merits of TBL as an active learning instructional strategy that employs social pedagogy. The author discusses the challenge of developing in-class team assignments that apply the course material and enable resulting class discussion.
Bioscene: The Journal Of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2019
Midterm exams are a multi-use tool, providing evaluation of students for professors but also acti... more Midterm exams are a multi-use tool, providing evaluation of students for professors but also acting as a learning tool for students. Midterms may improve learning outcomes by contributing to the testing effect: the phenomenon in which retrieval of learned material (i.e., testing) produces improvements in long-term retention beyond those produced through additional rehearsal or re-exposure (i.e., studying or re-reading). Additionally, increased frequency of testing may impact student behaviors and attitudes (e.g., spaced practice, self-efficacy), increase the testing effect, or impact both, which ultimately improves learning outcomes. This study considered the differential impact of one versus two midterm exams on students’ exam difference scores (final exam score minus first midterm exam score). We also considered whether two midterm exams differentially impacted low- and high-achieving students. Results suggest that two midterm exams benefit freshmen but not junior students.
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 17, 2013
Undergraduate research is one of several high impact educational practices used by educational in... more Undergraduate research is one of several high impact educational practices used by educational institutions to increase student engagement and success (Kuh, 2008). Many studies on the impact of undergraduate research have surveyed students or faculty on their personal experience and its influence on students’ subsequent degrees and employment (Brownell & Swaner, 2010). These studies have documented the ability of high impact educational practices to have the greatest influence on those students who self-identify as belonging to a minority or disadvantaged group. Few studies, however, have documented the impact on students with lower grades. The privilege of being admitted to an undergraduate research experience (e.g., an independent studies course) is typically reserved for upper-year students who have proven themselves academically. This paper presents correlational data from our campus showing that academically weaker students have a greater increase in academic performance between prior grade point average (GPA) and final grade in an independent studies course than academically stronger students. In addition, student annual GPA data shows that the impact of undergraduate research serves to raise student GPA in the year of an independent studies course. Although the findings are based on data from one small campus, they do raise the question that if undergraduate research has the greatest impact on academically weaker students and accelerates academic maturity, is limiting registration into these courses on the basis of superior GPA and years of study placing inappropriate boundaries on student learning?
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2016
E-portfolios have the potential to transform students' learning experiences. They promote ref... more E-portfolios have the potential to transform students' learning experiences. They promote reflection on the significance of what and how students have learned. Such reflective practices enhance students' ability to articulate their knowledge and skills to their peers, teachers, and future employers. In addition, e-portfolios can help assess the ability of teachers and institutions to inculcate students with their core learning objectives and skills. In 2012/13, I piloted the use of an e-portfolio assignment in a sophomore molecular cell biology course to determine whether it could enhance student learning. My pilot assignment found: 1. The e-portfolio rescued students from a poorer final exam result relative to their midterm exam - students who did not complete the e-portfolio assignment had a greater probability of performing more poorly on the final relative to the midterm exam (p = 0.004); 2. E- portfolios can enhance student engagement; 3. Google Sites works well as an e...
Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, May 1, 2017
Capstone experiences have high educational impact with a number of approaches for biology. In mos... more Capstone experiences have high educational impact with a number of approaches for biology. In most capstones, students produce a major project, typically as an undergraduate research experience, with a primary goal to integrate students’ learning. At Augustana, our senior biology capstone uses history and philosophy to frame students’ reflections and to integrate their biological education within our liberal arts and sciences curriculum. In a flipped classroom approach, students write a response to the assigned reading before class, when the paper is discussed through student-led seminars. Assigned papers consider the philosophy and historical development of biology focusing on its three conceptual pillars: function, development, and evolution, allowing students to examine how biologists arrived at their current understanding of life. Assessment of ten years of course offerings indicates students’ ability to write and speak are being successfully developed, but that thinking shows n...
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 19, 2012
This essay synthesizes our roundtable discussion about how to develop a campus culture of undergr... more This essay synthesizes our roundtable discussion about how to develop a campus culture of undergraduate research. Our discussion began with descriptions of the University of Alberta, Augustana’s initiatives: Independent Studies courses, the Student Academic Conference, and summer research assistantships. Common concerns from roundtable participants included whether or not student access to undergraduate research should be limited by grade point average, how to implement undergraduate research from first to final year of student degree programs, how to fund undergraduate research, and finally how to approach undergraduate research across the academy.
For the past couple of years I have been using Whiteboard by Splashtop to control the digital pro... more For the past couple of years I have been using Whiteboard by Splashtop to control the digital projection of my lecture material via my iPad. In this Tech Byte, I will demonstrate how it may be used to control a PowerPoint slideshow and annotate any other digital projection (e.g. webpage, PDF, Word doc). I thoroughly enjoy using this to lecture because it frees me to walk among my students while still controlling what I project using my iPad. In addition, the ability to annotate my projections provides a better classroom interaction between myself, my lecture materials and my students.
Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2020
As key components of self-regulated learning, metacognition and goal orientation have been tied t... more As key components of self-regulated learning, metacognition and goal orientation have been tied to improvements in academic achievement. Some research supports a bidirectional relationship between metacognition and goal orientation in which they promote each other as well as learning outcomes. We created a learning philosophy assignment (LP) to encourage students’ consideration of their learning strategies and goals resulting in a record of students’ metacognition. Research suggests that low-achieving students may have different metacognitive capabilities and learning goals and as such may be differentially impacted by the assignment. This paper considers the content of the LPs. Students were split into achievement quartiles to explore any patterns in metacognition or learning goals distinct to achievement level. Our content analysis confirms that the LP was successful in documenting metacognition and learning goals in all students. There were some differences related to achievement level.
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 25, 2018
This study analyzed the effect of a learning philosophy assignment on students' intellectual deve... more This study analyzed the effect of a learning philosophy assignment on students' intellectual development and mastery of first-year biology and second-year biochemistry course content. We used pre-and post-surveys to assess students' cognitive complexity, and compared students' midterm and final exam marks to assess mastery of course content. The learning philosophy assignment rescued students in the biology course from a decrease in cognitive complexity. Additionally, second-year students were rescued from performing poorly on the biochemistry final exam relative to the midterm, and also showed increases in cognitive complexity. These results suggest that a learning philosophy assignment may be an effective way of engaging students in metacognition of their learning to promote their intellectual development and mastery of course material. Cette étude consiste en l'analyse de l'effet d'un devoir portant sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage sur le développement intellectuel des étudiants et sur leur maîtrise de la matière des cours de biologie de première année et de biochimie de deuxième année. Nous avons utilise des sondages avant et après le devoir afin d'évaluer la complexité cognitive des étudiants. Nous avons également comparé les résultats des étudiants aux examens de mi-session et de fin de session afin d'évaluer leur maîtrise de la matière du cours. Grâce au devoir sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage, les étudiants du cours de biologie n'ont pas vu leur complexité cognitive diminuer. De plus, les étudiants de deuxième année ont ainsi pu éviter d'obtenir, dans leur examen final de biochimie, des résultats inférieurs à ceux de leur examen de mi-session, tout en montrant les signes d'un accroissement de la complexité cognitive. Les résultats de l'étude suggèrent qu'un devoir sur la philosophie de l'apprentissage peut aider les étudiants à participer à un processus de métacognition de leur apprentissage, ce qui favoriserait leur développement intellectuel et leur maîtrise de la matière du cours.buy-in. any universities and colleges enable students to track the completion of their degree program. At Augustana, we provide students with a Program Planning Form that organizes their courses into the different requirements for graduation. Many of our students, however, seem to use this as the frame for viewing their education: a list of boxes to be checked. Many students do not understand the overarching coherence in their major and general education requirements. Curricular coherence is present but Augustana has not always explicitly explained this to our students. As a result, many students collect a pile of courses without assembling them into an education (Smith, 1998). Augustana's current core curriculum is a general education that meets the breadth needs of our students and inculcates in students the particular values held by the Augustana professoriate,
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, Jun 12, 2017
The editorial for volume 10 of Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching discusses the need to ap... more The editorial for volume 10 of Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching discusses the need to apply the same rigour to assessing teaching as we do to research and not simply rely on student evaluations of teaching.
This short article discusses the cultural shift that instructors must make when transitioning to ... more This short article discusses the cultural shift that instructors must make when transitioning to active learning.
The philosophies of Kuhn, Hull and Pickering consider the nature of science from different vantag... more The philosophies of Kuhn, Hull and Pickering consider the nature of science from different vantage points. Kuhn viewed science as operating for periods of time in which scientists worked within a paradigm–an accepted norm of practice–that were punctuated by revolutions in which old paradigms are entirely replaced by new paradigms. In contrast, David Hull considered science to progress in an evolutionary manner where conceptual lineages can be traced from communities of practice through their students and are dependent upon the establishment of professional relationships. What sets both Kuhn and Hull apart from more traditional understandings of the nature of science which considered only rational factors, is that they both acknowledge the role of human behaviour admitting that science can, at times, have irrational influences. Pickering’s philosophy of science also considers the role of theory and social influence, but adds the technical component asserting that the interplay that o...
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