Attribution to ynse at Flickr Creative Commons
When Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Sam Flaxman, PhD, plans his General Biology course lessons, he asks himself, 'What can I do in the classroom that makes it worth coming to?' Flaxman says he weighs the value of what he can offer students during his class time in comparison to the extensive amount of information available to students online now. "I think things really happen with people being together in a classroom," he says. Flaxman believes that the real time interaction in class is invaluable: "My goals are to find really effective active classroom activities ... [and] technology helps us get there." To this end, Flaxman incorporates intelligent clicker questions into his lectures to promote more productive discussion of complex concepts. He allows time for students to discuss answers among themselves and with TAs. Flaxman encourages students to explain the material in their own words to other students.
Handing the Microphone to Students
Lately, Flaxman has even experimented with handing the microphone to randomly selected students to respond to clicker questions. He may ask them, "Tell us something something you thought about or discussed with your group during this question." Asking students to respond with their own words, "... leads to a more real experience and better learning for these students," Flaxman says. Students have the option to decline to participate, but Flaxman thinks that the potential ensuing conversation that occurs when students contribute their thoughts is most productive: "It's not about the answer. It's about hearing the students' explanations and the thought processes that got them to a particular answer."
However, going off script can be unnerving for any professor. Flaxman acknowledges this feeling of vulnerability: "It’s scary to turn the classroom over to students. It feels safest to stand at the head of the classroom and talk." In spite of his original apprehensions, students appreciate Flaxman's efforts and nominated him for the ASSETT Oustanding Teaching with Technology Award for the Fall 2013 semester. One student wrote: "[Flaxman] encourages collaboration and effective learning through clicker questions. Flaxman implores us to talk to the TA and our surrounding peers to discuss said questions."
Flaxman also incorporates video clips to help students better understand more complex concepts. He has found videos at the DNA Learning Center website and Pearson's Masteringbiology.com site to be helpful. Flaxman says he collaborates as much as he can with the other professors who teach general biology. He says, "We have seen FCQ [course ratings] go up in recent years. I attribute that to our hard working team, who sees this class as really important. We really enjoy [teaching General Biology], and we care about it." As a member of the CU Science Education Initiative, Flaxman also collaborates with Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science Teaching Fellows. Flaxman expresses gratitude to ASSETT, OIT, and the EBIO Post Doctoral Science Teaching Fellows for help with clicker logistics and crafting better questions to promote better discussion.
