SDSUBio100 : Introductory Biology for NonScience Majors

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SDSU-Bio100 Introductory Biology for
Non-Science Majors

• Dr. Robert Pozos (lead instructor)
• 10 IRACDA fellows (specific topic lectures)
• Lisette Acevedo, Edgar Gutierrez, Kelly Hester,
  Toni Jones, Michelle Juarez, Shauna McGillivray,
  Karen Recendes, Vicente Reyes, Leonel
  Villa-Caballero, and Amanda Wright
• Course taught Fall and Spring semesters, two
  sessions (9am and 10am lecture)
• 250 students per session

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Did you like the Bioespresso Website?
Did you like the E-Modules?
Did you like the E-Tests?
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Do you need the book if everything is on the web?
What did you like about the lectures?
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Did you like having other instructors in class?
If so why or why not?
Why did you come to lecture? If all the
information was on the web, would you still come
to class?
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Did you learn anything new? Or was it a repeat
of material you studied in other classes?
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Improvements for BIO100

• LOMs Learning Objective Models
• Additional, continuous lectures
• Assessment

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Sample LOM(modified from a LOM by Kelly Hester)
Saturated and Unsaturated
Separate inside of cell from outside
Membranes
Energy
Lipids
store
make
Phospholipids
Fats/Oils
Waxes
Noun
verb
cover
Noun
Plants
Waterproofs leaves and stems
Descriptive phrase
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Sample LOM(modified from a LOM by Vicente Reyes)
occurs in chloroplasts
combines with carbon dioxide
Water
Chlorophyll
Photosynthesis
comes from
absorbed by
Oxygen
Light energy
Carbohydrates
Carbon Dioxide
store
produced by
Aerobic Respiration
Energy
uptaken by plants
product of photosynthesis
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Advantages of LOMs for the students

• Learning tool
• Studying tool
• Appreciation of the interconnectedness of biology
• Advantages of LOMs for the educators
• clarification of important points
• uniform terminology
• curriculum decisions made prior to the start of
  class

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Other planned improvements

• Additional, sequential lectures
• provides continuity
• Assessment of teaching
• pre- and post-lecturing evaluations of student
  knowledge

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Teaching Observationsfor Intro Biology Classes

• Class-time ? Study-time
• Too Much Info Think Later
• Moving Blobs Abstract Art
• Creative Strategies
• Tricking into Thinking
• Sacrifice to Entice

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Simplifying the Molecular Picture

• Same groups of molecules doing different things
• Link the tangible with the invisible
• Use the minimum number of molecules to explain
  the process
• Use analogies- Put on a SHOW!
• What tools can we use?
• Animations
• Flow-Diagrams (LOMs)
• Tables

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Macro - to - micro Table
Flow-Diagram/Table Hybrid
Links Physical Actions to Molecular Events
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Assessment

• Students will tend to memorize the table
• Test in the same manner you convey the concept
• Same table with fill-in the blank cells
• Cause and effect (flow arrows)

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My Experience Teaching Death and
Photosynthesis!
When I first lectured on photosynthesis, I
presented it as a chemist. The students were
completely baffled, and I failed to teach them
much that they could understand. I had to ask
myself how I could moderate my love of Chemistry
(and Biology)?
How do I convey my passion for chemistry to
undergraduate biology students?
What an introductory biology student needs to
know about Biology and Chemistry ?
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The most reactive element in the earths
atmosphere is oxygen, within which all living
matter is bathed.
The spontaneous direction of
chemical reactions on earth is towards
oxidation to go the reverse (reduction),
energy must be supplied (e.g., ATP).
living world
non-living world
oxidation
O2
reduction
reductases, NADH, NADPH, FADH2, etc.
organic chemistry chemistry of hydrocarbons,
those containing -C-H, i.e., reduced forms of
carbon (carbon compounds asso- ciated with living
matter)
inorganic chemistry study of non-carbon
compounds or oxidized forms of carbon, e.g.,
carbonates, CO2 (chemistry of non-living
matter)
In biosynthesis, living matter is created out
of non-living matter, thus reducing equivalents
(e.g., NADH, NADPH, FADH2, etc.) and energy
(ATP) are required.
Oxidation is the direction of death reduction is
the direction of life.
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The moment of truth Teaching Biology100 at SDSU

• How Can I
• Deliver my message correctly?
• Make our students interested in Biology?
• Attract more minority students in Science?
• Keep them engaged and thinking during and after
  class?
• Accomplish this in front of 150 students in
  45-50 minutes of class!

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I know what you did last class

• Use your personal academic background!
• Clinical case orientation
• Micro to macro (explain mechanisms)
• Clinical correlation (epidemiological info,
  symptoms, medical complications)
• Successful prior experiences
• Diabetes IR receptor/glut 4 vascular
  dysfunction amputations/blindness
• Depression 5-HT receptor serotonin
  pathways bipolar disorder symptoms
  suicidal ideation

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I know what you did last class

• Great level of interest, participation,
  excitement and questions and after-class
  engagement
• Using a powerful tool visual imaging aid
• Association with Real-life cases
• Correlation with students personal experiences
• Connection teacher (lecturer) - Bio student
• Student, lecturer, teaching expert evaluation.
  Program director evaluation-counseling (Dr.
  Pozos)

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Bio100, the Future, and Beyond!

• Introducing Variety into a lecture-based course
• Providing a fresh and reinvigorated perspective
• A positive teaching experience
• Learning that putting a lecture together is not
  the same as a scientific talk
• Thank you!