| Abstract Detail
Teaching Section Nepal, Madhav P. [1]. Collaborative Reading, Writing & Sharing (CREWS) When Combined with Project-Based Learning & Write Like a Scientist (PBL-WLS) Assignments Improved Student Learning Experience in Evolution Course. Previous studies have suggested that collaborative and problem-based learning can improve student engagement. In this study, two approaches “Reading, Writing & Sharing (CREWS)” and “Project-Based Learning & Write Like a Scientist (PBL-WLS)” were combined in an upper level undergraduate Evolution course to see if the combined approach would improve student learning experience. In CREWS, a class of 22 students was divided into small groups each with 4-5 students and each group was assigned to read specific book chapter every week. Each group read and discussed the book chapter (s), wrote a short summary with what they thought were the top five major concepts and gave a five-minute presentation in class each week. Students were required to submit their writing in advance so that course instructor could use students’ feedback in his mini-lecture that would go between the presentations. Also the class was involved in semester-long PBL-WLS activity, where each group worked on a plant phylogeny project that grew and matured as the semester progressed. Students had to reconstruct plant phylogeny using online data available in GenBank, review at least five major related papers, synthesize concepts, and prepare a technical paper. An increase in student engagement and improvement in learning experience was witnessed in the combined CREWS/PBL-WLS approach. Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data is underway and will be discussed in this presentation.
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1 - South Dakota State University, Biology And Microbiology, Northern Plain Biostress Laboratory, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA
Keywords:
active learning
student learning
CREWS
PBL-WLS
learning experience.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 19
Location: Cottonwoods North/Boise Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 29th, 2014
Time: 10:15 AM
Number: 19009
Abstract ID:85
Candidate for Awards:None |
