1. The document reflects on teaching strategies for biology at Gallaudet University for deaf and hard of hearing students. It discusses challenges including lack of student motivation and approaches that have shown success such as hands-on activities, emphasis on big concepts, and use of technology. 2. Future plans are outlined to more fully integrate lecture and lab experiences, use supplemental instruction, adopt a new textbook emphasizing critical thinking, and modify labs to be more relevant to daily life. 3. No single approach works best and a variety of strategies collectively improve student performance. The journey to identify the most effective teaching methods continues.

1. What has worked in the teaching and learning of Biology at Gallaudet University: Progress Report and Future Plans

2. Contributors Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, Ava P. Morrow, Ann L. Powell, Elizabeth Craft, Adebowale E. Ogunjirin, and Daniel E. Hines Biology Department, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC 20002 U.S.A.

3. Objectives To reflect on our collective strategies in teaching Biology for deaf and hard of hearing students at Gallaudet University To describe some of our future teaching plans

4. Roots of the teaching and learning crisis include Lack of motivation in some students Exacerbated by: 1. Teaching style: lecture to students raised as “screenagers” (TV, video games, etc.) http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/images/film/screenagers_2008/Screenagers.jpg

5. Roots of the teaching and learning crisis include Lack of motivation in some students Exacerbated by: 2. Courses in areas that are not part of students’ major (e.g. “Service” courses, such as Introductory Biology for non-science majors) http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/images/film/screenagers_2008/Screenagers.jpg

6. Progress Report Today we emphasize practices that have worked but: The critical issue of motivation is never away from our consciousnesses. What do we need to do as teachers to motivate? http://fileserver.tinker.com/tinker/events/3/3178_main_image_1243532118.jpg

7. Our Goal To rescue innate curiosity through an increased awareness of 1. what motivates people to learn and http://ceicuriosity.tripod.com/curiosity.jpg

8. Our Goal To rescue innate curiosity through an increased awareness of 2. practices that foster learning the best. http://ceicuriosity.tripod.com/curiosity.jpg

9. Our Goal In today’s talk, Unasterisked = generally accepted practices Asterisked, * = apparently, especially important for the deaf and hard of hearing

10. Methods Gathering of contributors’ collective experiences Our experience in higher education ranges from 35 to 3 years (average = approx. 16 years). Not a “scientific” study A reflection on my personal voyage of discovery during my 4+ years in Gallaudet

11. Practices that foster learning the best 1. Use everyday hands-on applications and simulations. Activity: Unsafe sexual practices

12. Practices that foster learning the best 2. Emphasize garnering the “big picture”, making connections, correcting misconceptions, and practicing critical thinking skills. Activity: What is the origin of the mass of this piece of wood (peanuts, amber)?

13. Practices that foster learning the best http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_Baptist_van_Helmont.jpg What fundamental biological process is responsible for the formation of this piece of wood? Jan Baptiste van Helmont (1580-1644 ) http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/img_autumn/photosynthesis3.gif

14. Practices that foster learning the best 3. Wise use of technology. Echo 360 TurningPoint with “clickers” http://www.sandiego.edu/its/images/echo360.png http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Images/TurningPoint_Handset_L.jpg

15. Turning Point Excellent as a review tool. “ Who wants to be a millionaire today?” Keep students alert, it is fun. Provides frequent feedback to faculty member: “did they get it?”

16. Practices that foster learning the best 4. Online courses. Flexibility, given schedule and facilities constraints Increases breadth of education, particularly if courses are not offered regularly http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/c/ce/cell_differentiation.gif http://ksjtracker.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/stomata.jpg

17. Practices that foster learning the best 5. Align learning goals, learning activities, and assessments. No surprises in quizzes and exams. “ Study guides” are the learning goals.

18. Practices that foster learning the best 6. Make lecture and laboratory activities coincide temporally.

19. Practices that foster learning the best * 7. Use images and simplify functional language. Emphasize content. Activity: How could this question be improved? Anatomical similarities between many species give signs of common descent. This is one of the evidence that reinforces the evolutionary view of life called __. a. Biogeography b. Comparative anatomy c. Molecular biology d. Comparative embryology

20. A better example, we hope 10. The lava flows in the Big Island of Hawai’i have created small patches of vegetation. These tiny surviving populations are unlikely to have the same genetic makeup as the original large population. Such a drastic reduction in population size is called _____. a. sexual selection b. gradualism c. gene flow d. effective population size e. bottleneck effect ■ Image, simplified language, critical thinking

21. Practices that foster learning the best * 8. Give frequent assessments, filled with illustrations, and provide rapid, meaningful, and encouraging feedback. average for tests Fall 2008 53 60 --- 76 79 Spring 2009 60 65 63 68 73

22. Practices that foster learning the best 9. Use multiple learning modes (e.g. PPT – visual, laboratory exercises – kinesthetic), not only the visual mode . Activity: kinesthetic learning: protein synthesis or translation http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/Translation.gif

23. Practices that foster learning the best 10. Encourage investment of quality time because “time on task works”.

24. Practices that foster learning the best * 11. Because our students are highly social, if group assignments are used, take advantage of peer-pressure in a positive way. Example: Use of in-class quizzes to emphasize collaborative learning

25. Practices that foster learning the best 12. Refer students to University resources [e.g. office hours, Academic Progress Report (APR), OSWD, Tutoring and Instructional Programs (TIP), English Works, etc.] to support their learning. Example: At Gallaudet, APR will include up to 300-level courses, beginning in Fall 2009

26. Future Plans (ongoing) Fully integrate lecture and laboratory experiences. Fully supported mini-lectures with hands-on activities that are intellectually challenging varied relevant foster critical thinking

27. Future Plans (ongoing) Use supplemental instruction (s.i., such as tutors, study groups, etc.). Experiences of another department suggests that s.i. works if: Department controls logistics (e.g. hiring, setting up rooms, hours, etc.). It is set up from day one.

28. Future Plans (ongoing) Use a new textbook that emphasizes critical thinking through an issues or common threads approach. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511A0PFBD0L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

29. Future Plans (ongoing) Modify existing laboratory exercises and write new exercises to make them more applicable to daily life experiences. Example: Statistics for beginners

30. Conclusions No single “magic bullet” Diverse strategies foster learning Some more than other in different students collectively an overall performance improvement http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ Zgymctrga9I/SWPfkpa6lGI/AAAAAAAAAR4/I5rDIbS5bOA/s400/magic-bullet-blender-lrg.jpg

31. Afterthought My voyage of discovery on how to best teach deaf and hard of hearing students continues… http://www.echo-news.co.uk/resources/images/394060/?type=display