Learning Biology Through Relevant Questions

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Biological Science (61)The need to know drives people to learn much more than they think possible. This is why a relevant question, a question that fits within a student's frame of reference, is a powerful tool for learning. The goal is for students, science as well as non-science majors, to have just such a learning experience in science through which they will gain the research skills and confidence needed for lifelong learning. S.U.N.Y. Binghamton is creating a Biology course where upper-level science and non-science majors team up to find answers to questions posed by high school students. Answering a question such as "Why are my eyebrow hairs short while the hair on my head can grow long?" engages students in fascinating research into genetics, cell cycles and hormonal control. As in daily life where academic boundaries do not exist students will cross over into relevant topics such as gender differences and cultural concepts of beauty. The work is calling for careful distinction between fact and inference, effective communication and creativity. This is a workshop course where students develop screens on the computer for an actual CDROM that the department is producing. Students' abilities to carry out research, communicate effectively, and apply computer technologies, are being evaluated. It is being determined whether students gained confidence in learning science through this course. It is intended that this is only the first in a series of courses in Biology and the other sciences that uses relevant questions and computer technologies in science education. The premise for the course is based on and is an adaptation of "best practices" advocated by the Boyer Commission Reinventing Undergraduate Education [Learning based on discovery guided by mentoring rather than transmission of information], literature on constructivist education, and on literature on the value of service-learning. This constitutes a significant step in Science across the Curriculum, our program of Institution-wide reform that started with an NSF grant, S.U.N.Y. Binghamton's answer to our national need for scientifically sophisticated citizens and leaders.