I am starting to watch ASMCUE 2022 sessions I missed. Michelle Korir from Aurora University spoke about activities they do on the first day of the semester. Korir explained what they used to do: introductions, syllabus, and an icebreaker. Korir reflected how this was very instructor-centered and students seemed bored. Nevertheless, Korir acknowledged that the learning management system (LMS) and course schedule & policies are important. Korir decided to shift the focus to address the question: what is the one thing I want students to take away from my course? Now, Korir’s typical day one schedule starts with introductions and also getting to know the students in the course using Mentimeter. Then they do a class activity with Mentimeter questions related to “What is microbiology?” Korir uses QR codes and a menti.com questionnaire. Korir learns about the participants by asking about their majors, year in school, and how much microbiology they know. I appreciate how Korir explained that not knowing much at the beginning is a good way to show to students that they will all learn together. Korir provided a demonstration of Mentimeter question types. I didn’t realize that the paid Mentimeter version had more question types! Menti polls can be shared via QR code and menti.com codes. In groups of three or four students, Korir asks: what would happen in a world without microbes? This activity, Korir explains, helps participants learn about the important roles of microbes. At the end of the session, students do an exit ticket. As Korir concluded: the purpose of the session is to be interactive on the first day. I agree and appreciate the combination of getting to know other participants as a class and in groups, and the opportunity to think about tough thought questions such as a world without microbes.
Next, I watched Carrie Spratford and Casey Shapiro present a ten-minute recorded session entitled “Adapting Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) to the Virtual World. I had watched this one before and now had a chance to focus on the details. The course is a Biomedical Research class that is “discovery-based learning.” The previous instructors, Spratford explained, published a study highlighting gains in the discovery-based course, citing Olson et al. 2019. Spratford had the challenging task of teaching this course for the first time in a virtual format. They decided to continue using fruit flies and produced the data for students. The virtual course was modified to have smaller cohorts of five. Spratford used a document camera to show students how to sort flies and a camera to explore the live larval dissections. Students were provided “workshop time” to analyze raw microscopy data with ImageJ. Spratford collected data to assess the effectiveness of the virtual cure using pre/post surveys, student course evaluations, and an unbiased writing assessment in a grant style format. Thirty two students participated in two semesters, and Spratford compared the in-person to the virtual course-based research experience. Students mentioned learning data analyses. Students improved writing skills regardless of level of previous experience over the course of drafts submitted. I love how they had the opportunity to submit and obtain feedback for several drafts. Spratford is at UCLA and was supported by Shapiro and the campus teaching excellence services. I wonder if the virtual format allowed a deeper dive into proposal writing?
