First class entered in 2002, current enrollment 334 Programs: Undergraduate Electrical, Computer, Mechanical and Biological Engineering Hands-on/project/team focused curriculum All students receive half-tuition scholarship Partner/cross-registration with Babson College and Wellesley College

What happens when students make and answer their own questions (instead of answering our questions)? Principles of Modern Biology with laboratory – a core course (required) for all undergraduate engineers at Olin College (Needham, MA) - 30 students/class, classes contain first years through seniors Problem: Students do not spend quality time with biology textbooks Importance: It is important for students to see biology not as a set of facts, but as material rich for inquiry. One of my course goals is to encourage engineering students to understand, work with, and be curious about concepts in biology. Research Questions: If students are asked to make questions vs. take a quiz for homework, will students read differently? What works: Are there gains when students ask questions vs. taking a quiz for homework? When students ask and answer their own question vs. taking a quiz for homework, do they: - have greater motivation to learn? - have increased confidence in their knowledge of the material? - develop deeper understanding of material? What is: Are there changes in how students learn and use textbook material when students ask questions over time of the course? Do students read and assimilate information differently in preparation to ask questions?

HW: Read a textbook chapter HW: -Develop 2 original questions based on the reading (at least Blooms level 2) - Answer the questions In class: Discuss/improve Q & A with a buddy Turn in Q &A at the end of the day In-class activities HW: Read a textbook chapter HW: - Take a quiz on-line In class: Discuss quiz In-class activities Ask questions Be asked questions Tried a study in Spring 2011: gave the same survey to the two classes for 9 chapters Survey My class Colleague’s class

Survey that I used Thank you for your participation in this study. Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability. 1. Were you able to complete the reading of Chapter 3 of the textbook Life, 9 th Edition? __ yes __ no __partially: please estimate the amount completed: 2. Were you able to complete the assignment that was associated with the reading of Chapter 3? __yes __no __partially: please estimate the amount completed: Please rate how you feel about the following statements by circling a number on the scale: 3. How confident do you feel to explain the concepts presented in Chapter 3 to a friend? Not so confidentVery confident 4. How motivated do you feel to explore the information from Chapter 3 in greater detail? Not so motivated Very motivated Please provide short answers to the best of your ability (complete sentences are not necessary): 5. What classes of macromolecules are present in the cell? What are the monomer subunits that compose these macromolecules? 6. Please explain how interactions such as polarity and hydrophobicity influence macromolecule structure and function: Did they read/ Do the HW? Questions about motivation confidence Content retention from reading at Bloom’s 1, 2

Student written feedback They were annoying but they forced me to think more deeply about the topic. These were nice in that they caused me to try to sort out what I thought was the most important parts of the reading Useful emphasis on not-factual-recollection encouraged understanding in order to generate good questions I think that CGQs are a good way to learn the material because I found that looking through the chapter for a good question to ask helped me read more actively. However, I didn’t really like having the CGQs on the quizzes because I never knew if the questions chosen would cover the main concepts or small details. I thought CGQs were helpful as they allowed us to ask ourselves if we really understood the material or not. It made me read a textbook at least one time before the class. I tried to find the most important concept in a chapter. It was very good for understanding the major concept for each chapter. These were the most helpful to increase my learning. Forced a critical look at chapters. Very helpful (actually made me do the readings and synthesize some of the content PRIOR to the day before the quiz) Sometimes a fun thought exercise (“how can I ask this in a cool way?”), but usually more of a chore. A little helpful. Making the questions just made me pay attention more while reading for interesting subjects. Helpful for studying – force you to understand basic principles. More useful for me to read other CGQs then making my own.

HW: Read a textbook chapter HW: -Develop 2 original questions based on the reading (at least Blooms level 2) - Answer the questions In class: Discuss/improve Q & A with a buddy Turn in Q &A at the end of the day In-class activities HW: Read a textbook chapter HW: - Take a quiz on-line In class: Discuss quiz In-class activities Ask questions Be asked questions Survey Examine student generated questions over time of the course