Engaging students in developing course improvements leads to both faculty and student insights
- Conference
- Location
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Fairfield, Connecticut
- Publication Date
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April 19, 2024
- Start Date
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April 19, 2024
- End Date
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April 20, 2024
- Page Count
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6
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--45763
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/45763
- Download Count
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52
Paper Authors
Susannah GAL Wentworth Institute of Technology
Associate Dean Dr. Susannah Gal has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry and her PhD in Biochemistry. She has held academic positions at in New York, at Penn State, and at the University of The Bahamas in Nassau and served as a program officer for the National Science Foundation before joining Wentworth Institute of Technology in January 2023. Her research has included work in plant enzymes, DNA computing, DNA binding proteins in cancer and in promoting and assessing undergraduate learning. Susannah has taught classes in biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology as well as general biology, human biology and cancer biology for engineering and science students.
Abstract
Sometimes we learn new approaches to teaching from the occasional conversation with colleagues, an article in a journal or attending a conference. In this article, I describe engaging students in reflecting on a past class, then suggesting new approaches to teaching that they feel would improve the class. I gathered this insight as part of a class titled “Teaching of Biology”, BIOL 400 at Penn State Harrisburg, which had 17 upper-level students registered in Spring 2020. For the initial several weeks, we discussed as a class student-centered approaches to teaching as a class including using case studies, peer review of writing, and interactive questions during class. Students picked one past class that they particularly enjoyed and interviewed the faculty member to ask about how they prepared for the class and about their strategies for supporting students’ learning. The students shared the creative strategies with the whole group and later, the new approaches they suggested based on their collective learning in this course. As part of this process, the students gained a much better perspective of their faculty as people, as researchers, and as someone who really cares about their students and their teaching. I learned much more about the creative approaches my colleagues were using, specifically ones that the students felt were helpful. The strategy I used would likely provide insights for others in their desire to improve their teaching of engineering and science classes.
GAL, S. (2024, April), Engaging students in developing course improvements leads to both faculty and student insights Paper presented at 2024 ASEE North East Section, Fairfield, Connecticut. 10.18260/1-2--45763
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