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Variety in biology and biochemistry teaching
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Variety in Biology and Biochemistry Teaching DUNCAN REAVEY I and JOHN GARRATT 2
I Department of Biology and 2 Department of Chemistry University of York York YO1 5DD, UK There is an abundance of good practice in biology and biochemistry teaching, but there are few opportunities for university lecturers to share their experiences of these practices. The one day meeting Variety in Biology and Biochemistry Teaching held at the University of York on 24 March 1993 was planned to create just such an opportunity. The meeting attracted 76 participants from 33 institutions and 27 posters were presented. A brief opening session provided an overview of posters dealing with approaches to student-centred learning, ways of dealing with increased class sizes, the place for new technologies, and the Thayer Method. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was devoted to informal discussions of the posters, Abstracts of which are published here. Several of these illustrated the beneficial influence of the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative introduced originally in 1987 by the Manpower Services Commission. In a closing plenary session there was a wide-ranging discussion of ways in which the effectiveness of teaching and learning might be improved. The following six points summarise the discussion. (1) The introduction of Quality Assessment (of teaching) and an increasing emphasis by employers on the need for students to acquire transferable skills means that teaching methods are under scrutiny. Variety in teaching methods can increase the motivation of students and provide more opportunities for them to develop skills. (2) Sharing of experiences is valuable, and can save time. Too many meetings about teaching and learning strategies are cross-disciplinary and become discussions between educational theorists. Discussions between practising teachers are better carried out within subject boundaries. (3) Many examples of good practice, developed and used in particular institutions, are never published and are therefore not available to others. Authors of these examples may be deterred from publishing them by the belief that experiences alone, without formal evaluation of the outcome of the teaching, would not provide an acceptably rigorous publication. However, the meeting felt that the sharing of ideas and experiences was so important that publication should be strongly encouraged. Publication would also enhance the image of teaching and could help the career of the teacher. Journals such as
Biochemical Education, Journal of Biological Education, and Studies in Higher Education would be pleased to publish papers describing this work.
B I O C H E M I C A L E D U C A T I O N 22(1) 1994
(4) Subject-specific meetings at which scientific research is discussed may or may not provide the right venue for sessions dealing with teaching. On the one hand, it is important for teaching to be recognised as an integral part of the advancement of a subject. On the other hand, experience shows that academic scientists tend to give priority to research when at these meetings. (5) A single enthusiast can have a remarkable effect on the approach to teaching in a whole department. Nevertheless the effectiveness of an individual would be very much strengthened if quality in teaching were more clearly used as a reason for promotion. In this respect publication (see 2 and 3) may help. (6) The professional societies should be encouraged to acknowledge that the future of their subject depends on the effectiveness of teaching as well as on the quality of research. The meeting would like to see the professional societies playing a more active role in promoting good teaching practice - - for example by sponsoring future meetings of this sort. The meeting was endorsed by the Education Committee of the Institute of Biology and sponsored by Norsk Hydro (UK) Ltd.
Not Another Bloody Lecture! Colin Mason. Haematology Research Unit, Department of
Biomedical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 IDP, UK Haematology is one of several final year modules available to students in Biomedical Sciences at Bradford University. The delivery of this and most other modules has involved a predominantly traditional emphasis upon lectures but with an involvement of students in presentation of some seminar topics. During the last three years the haematology module has been developed as an active learning and student-centred course unit. The major change has been a shift in the ratio of lectures to student-centred learning from approximately 4:1 to l:l at present, with future plans to reduce this still further. Final year students are involved in setting the syllabus for the module and encouraged to shape some of their own learning, for example, by setting their own essay topics. All of this is carried out under guidance and by the use of explicit aims and student objectives. The methods of delivery and subsequent assessment of student learning are determined by these open and flexible approaches. The active learning strategies used in the course include: problem solving using data analysis and student group presentations to understand the relationships between role of erythropoietin and erythrocyte production in normal and disease states; the use of role-play (thalassemia patient, General Practitioner; Consultant Haematologist, Medical Laboratory Technologist) in an ethical discussion of the use of bone marrow transplantation for this disease; involvement of students as bone marrow stem cells, progenitors and precursors as well as mature blood cells in learning about the haematopoietic growth factor regulation of haematopoiesis. The problems in the transition to a studentcentred approach are dependent on student compliance.
Variety in Biology and Biochemistry Teaching DUNCAN REAVEY I and JOHN GARRATT 2
I Department of Biology and 2 Department of Chemistry University of York York YO1 5DD, UK There is an abundance of good practice in biology and biochemistry teaching, but there are few opportunities for university lecturers to share their experiences of these practices. The one day meeting Variety in Biology and Biochemistry Teaching held at the University of York on 24 March 1993 was planned to create just such an opportunity. The meeting attracted 76 participants from 33 institutions and 27 posters were presented. A brief opening session provided an overview of posters dealing with approaches to student-centred learning, ways of dealing with increased class sizes, the place for new technologies, and the Thayer Method. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was devoted to informal discussions of the posters, Abstracts of which are published here. Several of these illustrated the beneficial influence of the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative introduced originally in 1987 by the Manpower Services Commission. In a closing plenary session there was a wide-ranging discussion of ways in which the effectiveness of teaching and learning might be improved. The following six points summarise the discussion. (1) The introduction of Quality Assessment (of teaching) and an increasing emphasis by employers on the need for students to acquire transferable skills means that teaching methods are under scrutiny. Variety in teaching methods can increase the motivation of students and provide more opportunities for them to develop skills. (2) Sharing of experiences is valuable, and can save time. Too many meetings about teaching and learning strategies are cross-disciplinary and become discussions between educational theorists. Discussions between practising teachers are better carried out within subject boundaries. (3) Many examples of good practice, developed and used in particular institutions, are never published and are therefore not available to others. Authors of these examples may be deterred from publishing them by the belief that experiences alone, without formal evaluation of the outcome of the teaching, would not provide an acceptably rigorous publication. However, the meeting felt that the sharing of ideas and experiences was so important that publication should be strongly encouraged. Publication would also enhance the image of teaching and could help the career of the teacher. Journals such as
Biochemical Education, Journal of Biological Education, and Studies in Higher Education would be pleased to publish papers describing this work.
B I O C H E M I C A L E D U C A T I O N 22(1) 1994
(4) Subject-specific meetings at which scientific research is discussed may or may not provide the right venue for sessions dealing with teaching. On the one hand, it is important for teaching to be recognised as an integral part of the advancement of a subject. On the other hand, experience shows that academic scientists tend to give priority to research when at these meetings. (5) A single enthusiast can have a remarkable effect on the approach to teaching in a whole department. Nevertheless the effectiveness of an individual would be very much strengthened if quality in teaching were more clearly used as a reason for promotion. In this respect publication (see 2 and 3) may help. (6) The professional societies should be encouraged to acknowledge that the future of their subject depends on the effectiveness of teaching as well as on the quality of research. The meeting would like to see the professional societies playing a more active role in promoting good teaching practice - - for example by sponsoring future meetings of this sort. The meeting was endorsed by the Education Committee of the Institute of Biology and sponsored by Norsk Hydro (UK) Ltd.
Not Another Bloody Lecture! Colin Mason. Haematology Research Unit, Department of
Biomedical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 IDP, UK Haematology is one of several final year modules available to students in Biomedical Sciences at Bradford University. The delivery of this and most other modules has involved a predominantly traditional emphasis upon lectures but with an involvement of students in presentation of some seminar topics. During the last three years the haematology module has been developed as an active learning and student-centred course unit. The major change has been a shift in the ratio of lectures to student-centred learning from approximately 4:1 to l:l at present, with future plans to reduce this still further. Final year students are involved in setting the syllabus for the module and encouraged to shape some of their own learning, for example, by setting their own essay topics. All of this is carried out under guidance and by the use of explicit aims and student objectives. The methods of delivery and subsequent assessment of student learning are determined by these open and flexible approaches. The active learning strategies used in the course include: problem solving using data analysis and student group presentations to understand the relationships between role of erythropoietin and erythrocyte production in normal and disease states; the use of role-play (thalassemia patient, General Practitioner; Consultant Haematologist, Medical Laboratory Technologist) in an ethical discussion of the use of bone marrow transplantation for this disease; involvement of students as bone marrow stem cells, progenitors and precursors as well as mature blood cells in learning about the haematopoietic growth factor regulation of haematopoiesis. The problems in the transition to a studentcentred approach are dependent on student compliance.