Adapting geoscience materials for introductory biology courses using a Faculty Mentoring Network J. Hanselman, H. Scherer, S. Donovan, A. Hale

QUBES Consortium QUBES Hub QUBES Metrics Implementation Research QUBES Faculty Mentoring Networks QUBES: Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis QUBEShub.org

InTeGrate: Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future Developing teaching materials Implementation programs Professional development Assessment and Project Evaluation

The beginning: National Association of Biology Teachers Meeting, November 2015 Pre-workshop "assignments" on the QUBES Hub Pre-workshop "assignments" on the QUBES Hub Workshop Agenda Workshop Agenda

Partnership activities: Expectations for participating faculty Use one (or more) InTeGrate modules Adapt activities for an introductory biology course Meet regularly on Google Hangout Contribute to the QUBES Collections and Discussions Write an instructor story Participate in evaluation activities

InTeGrate FMN Evaluation How did FMN participants adapt InTeGrate materials during cross-disciplinary implementation? Survey 1 QUBES Hub posts Instructor Stories What were outcomes for FMN participants? What aspects of the FMN did participants view as effective? Survey 2* Google Hangout recordings *5 out of 6 participants took Survey 2

Theoretical framework Situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) “learning is an integral part of generative social practice in the lived-in world” (p. 35) through legitimate peripheral participation Community of Practice (Wenger, 1998) Social theory of learning – “learning…changes who we are by changing our ability to participate, to belong, to negotiate meaning” (p. 266) CoP: Mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire

InTeGrate FMN Components What aspects of this faculty mentoring network experience were most beneficial? Choose all that apply.

InTeGrate FMN Influences In what ways has your experience with the QUBES InTeGrate FMN influenced the… Top responses (based on median Likert score of 4, representing “true for me to a great extent”): manner in which I design/develop courses content I use in my courses way in which I collaborate with others related to my teaching

Outcomes for participants Overall benefits of participating in FMN “This is very empowering going forward as I keep improving and modifying my class activities.” “motivated my teaching” “I found the entire experience worthwhile and I'm very much looking forward to see how these and other InTeGrate materials can be used in other courses I teach.”

Outcomes for participants Learning from experience “The two things that I really took home and am going to keep emphasizing is how well the students respond to place- based teaching, to student-led teaching models. I will work to incorporate activities and modules to that effect more fully in the class.” “As the exercise was unfolding, I thought most students understood the intent of the activity; however, grading the assessments revealed some confusion. I took another lecture session to resolve this confusion before our exam. Without this formative assessment, student performance on the exam would have suffered.” “In many regards, the FMN helped me to break through concerns about the limited scope of student capabilities to undertake the large scale analysis required of systems thinking … Part of these limitations was my own lack of learning activities that guided students to these goals…the student learning resources modules are both elegant and highly effective.”

Beneficial FMN Characteristics Group dynamics and mentor approach “informal, friendly style of our gatherings” “I was very comfortable, no judgment, just honest valuable sharing.” “not top-down but collaborators and mentors on the project”

Beneficial FMN Characteristics Support in planning process “The feedback I received improved my lesson plans greatly.” Support Assessment planning Timeline and logistics Role of mentor: help and guidance

Beneficial FMN Characteristics Learning from others “hear others’ experiences” peer contributions “It really helped to see how we were adapting the modules to our classes and students needs”

Beneficial FMN Characteristics Joint enterprise “It was really great to collaborate around teaching” “I think it was great to see we were all experimenting together, it makes the whole process less scary.” “It was really great to have a group to do this with. I do not think I would have been able to do this on my own”

Superb experience, every faculty member should have this experience!! My advice to colleagues would be to really sit down with the materials and see where they fit best in the class … It may take some rethinking/planning of the course but it is worth it. Feel free to choose materials and assessments that best fit the goals of your class and leave plenty of class time for any in-class activities, more than they think they will need!

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. References Participants of the FMN! This material is based upon work supported by QUBES and InTeGrate. QUBES is partially supported by the National Science Foundation under DBI , DUE , DUE , and DUE InTeGrate is supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) collaboration between the Directorates for Education and Human Resources (EHR) and Geociences (GEO) under grant DUE Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Acknowledgements