1. Science Case Network GAPS IN REACHING DIVERSE AUDIENCES Aditi Pai Networking Conference August 6-7, 2012 RCN-UBE Project #1062049 1062049

3. Q1. Who do YOU think of when you think of diversity in your classroom? http://www.si.edu/oeema/DivInitiatives.htm

4. Diversity Race Ethnicity Gender Sexual orientation Age Religious background Cultural background

5. Q2. What challenges do your students have in your/traditional classes?

6. Challenges faced by students Engagement Social dynamics Presence/absence

7. Q3. What is done to reach diverse students in your institution? Department? Classrooms?

8. My quick answer to those questions…

9. How things look from where I am..

10. Diversity : What is the problem?

12.  Who? Women of color  Challenges? Disengagement Retention  What am I/my department doing? Wait for it……

13. Diversity : What is the solution? Customize Active learning Relevant Engaging

14. Customizing http://www.psfk.com/2010/05/using-rfids- to-take-student-attendance.html Wants to be a doctor Wants to be a lawyer

15. A ctive learning

16. r eal life/ r elevant examples

17. E ngaging?

18. In short..  My favorite solution is CASE STUDY METHOD

19. Q4. How can we make it work for diverse audiences? 1. Create customized cases 2. Pick existing cases that are of special interest to your audience 3. Adapt existing cases by tweaking them

20. But…Aditi you may ask me..

21. Q5. Does it work?

22. And I know ready for the answer...

23. Case study method in an introductory Biology class  Three main questions: 1) Did the case study method work?  what are the students’ responses to case study activities and assignments, 2) Did the students learn Biology from this class?  what is the students’ gain in conceptual knowledge, and 3) How does CBL Intro class compare to the previous introductory biology course?  how does student perception of their learning in this class compare to the previous introductory Biology class?

24. Did students like case study work? 1. Survey of student response to all elements of course (instructors, textbook, exams, case studies, labs, field trip) in 2006, 2007 Score from 0-10, 0 worst, 10 best for whether something was interesting and/or useful  Overall: yes,  2006: average 7.3 ± 0.85  2007: average 8.11 ± 1.88 www2.warwick.ac.uk/.../students/edriab/teaching/

25. Did students gain conceptual knowledge over the semester? 1. Pre-and post-class test 20 questions, very basic concepts  Yes  Pre- class test 52.5% and post -class test 63%

26. How does CBL approach compare to traditional lecture approach? 1. College administered student evaluation 22 questions on instructors, course quality and course management  Used scores of students evaluation of their learning experience for 8 questions on college administered survey for Bio 110 (new class) and 112 (old class)  Controls:  Same instructor  Same year (2006)  Student experience (freshmen)

27. Questions relating to learning experience in the survey Bio112 mean (SD) Bio110 mean (SD) Result of t- test The course improves my understanding of concepts and principles in this field 3.04(1.36)4.5(0.65)T 53 =19.35 P <0.005 Course activities and assignments assist with learning the course content 3.31(1.49)4.56(0.70)T 53 =13.70 P <0.005 Exams and assignments accurately reflect the course objectives 3.80(0.87)4.39(1.40)T 53 =5.17 P <0.005 The course is intellectually challenging 3.68(0.92)4.54(0.71)T 53 =17.71 P <0.005 I can apply information and skills learned in this course 3.5(0.96)4.21(0.92)T 53 =10.59 P <0.005 The course encourages me to think critically 3.86(0.83)4.48(0.61)T 53 =16.19 P <0.005 The course motivates me to do further exploration in this area 3.59(1.05)4.24(0.54)T 53 =13.88 P <0.005 I learned a great deal from this class 3.40(1.05)4.34(0.65)T 53 =17.34 P <0.005 Comparison of Bio 112 and Bio 110

28. Did it work? 1) Did the case study method work?  YES 2) Did the students learn Biology from this class?  YES 3) How does Bio 110 compare to the previous introductory biology course?  Students liked Bio 110 better

29. Yes..it works!  Introductory courses Ecology, evolution, Biodiversity (Pai et al JCST 2010)  Advanced electives Evolution (Pai 2009, JET)  Capstone Wait for it..

30. So --what now? Q6.What the biggest opportunities for research on case study method and MSIs? Q7. What should the next steps be for maximizing impact of case study teaching in retention of minority students?

31. Thank You!