Transforming the General Biology Laboratory for Undergraduate Students

该项目正在罗格斯大学(RU)和拉里坦山谷社区学院(RVCC)实施和评估一种创新的模式，以转换入门普通生物学(GB)序列。新课程结合了Bio2010中建议的教育和研究经验类型，人们如何学习，以及最近AAAS组织的愿景与变革会议，包括(1)增加学生了解科学过程的机会，即如何产生假设、进行实验、如何分析结果，以及通常情况下，科学知识如何进步；(2)帮助学生发展元认知技能和有效学习策略的教学；以及(3)促进主动学习的课堂环境和结构。新课程建立在已建立的授课课程的基础上，为学生提供新的引人入胜的实验室实验、实地体验和同行指导的研讨会。GB课程提供以学生为中心的环境，强调主动学习。在重新设计的实验室里，学生们进行一系列综合实验，涉及DNA序列分析和水生生态学，这些实验是为期一学期的研究项目的一部分，重点是水生植物浮萍。这些实验使学生能够成为知识的生产者，而不仅仅是消费者，从而对科学是如何进行的有了更深的理解。该项目的实验结构提供了通过测试关于两所学校的学生成绩、学习和态度的假设来评估改造后的普通生物学课程的机会。这项评估的结果将为两个参与机构全面整合改造后的课程提供信息和指导，并为其他机构开设非常大型的生物入门课程提供指导。

This project is implementing and assessing an innovative model for transforming the introductory General Biology (GB) sequence at both Rutgers University (RU) and Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC). The new curriculum incorporates the type of educational and research experiences recommended in Bio2010, How People Learn, and the recent AAAS organized Vision and Change conference to include (1) increased opportunities for students to understand the process of science, i.e., how hypotheses are generated, experiments are conducted, how their outcomes are analyzed, and in general, how scientific knowledge advances; (2) instruction enabling students to develop metacognitive skills and effective learning strategies; and (3) class environments and structures that promote active learning. The new courses build upon the established lecture curricula and provide students with new engaging laboratory experiments, field experiences, and a peer-led workshop. The GB courses provide student-centered environments where active learning is emphasized. In the redesigned laboratory, students conduct an integrated series of experiments involving DNA sequence analysis and aquatic ecology that are part of a semester long research project focused on the aquatic plant, duckweed. These experiments enable students to be knowledge producers instead of simply consumers, leading to a deeper understanding of how science is conducted. The experimental structure of the project affords the opportunity to assess the transformed General Biology course by testing hypotheses concerning student achievement, learning, and attitudes at both institutions. Results of this assessment are informing and guiding the full integration of the transformed curriculum at the two participating institutions as well as providing direction to other institutions with very large introductory biology courses.