“In the spirit of science, there really is no such thing as a 'failed experiment.' Any test that yields valid data is a valid test.”
-  Adam Savage

One unique dimension of teaching in the sciences and clinical disciplines like nursing and other health-related fields is the key role of students in performing experiments and procedures. It is through engaging in these types of learning experiences that students both engage deeply in the content of their coursework, but also practice and develop competency in disciplinary skills.

Key features of the strategy
Not all experiments or procedures are created equal, however. Nilson (2010) argues that, “The laboratory that typically accompanies large lectures also fails to capture the excitement of getting results from an experiment or making a breakthrough on a problem. All too often, labs are treated like second-class, tacked-on learning experiences at best…” For student experiments or procedures to be effective and engaging learning experiences, they must be guided more from an inquiry mindset. Models like POGIL and SCALE-UP provide insight on the importance of developing labs and procedures that go beyond cookbook style exercises.  The University of Wisconsin Program for Science Teaching offers the “Un-Cooking the Lab” guide to help faculty move beyond this approach. As the following examples demonstrate, learning activities that feature inquiry-based approaches to experiments and procedures can be valuable and effective learning experiences for students.

Examples and Variations
Brownell, et. al, (2012) share results from a study in which they compared two sections of a biology lab – one that employed the cookbook approach to structuring the lab and one that is structured in a more authentic, research-based approach. In the research-based section of the lab, students “focused on learning scientific research methods in an authentic context, and less emphasis was placed on specific content and breadth of lab techniques. Of particular note, students focused on formulating hypotheses, selecting and analyzing data, and communicating results both orally and in writing.” (p. 37) One additional key feature of the research-based lab is that the inquiry focuses on questions without currently-known results – a feature that increases authenticity for students. The results of the study indicate that students in the research-based section derived a number of benefits, including more positive attitudes towards research, higher confidence in their research abilities, and an increased interest in pursuing additional research.

Howard and Miskowski (2005) report on efforts and results of a redesign of cell biology labs in an inquiry-based approach at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. The overarching goal for this upper level course was to engage students in authentic inquiry so that they could build the skills to design and conduct experimental procedures in a lab setting. The lab modules are designed more like case studies than the traditional cookbook approach. Students work through the modules in groups of 4-5 throughout the semester. The modules evolve from guided inquiry to open inquiry as the semester unfolds. The authors report similar results to those of Brownell, et. al, (2012), providing further evidence of the effectiveness of the approach.

The North American Network of Science Labs Online (NANSO) offers a number of online laboratory experiments for students in biology, chemistry and physics courses.  Each lab is offered for free use with a Creative Commons license and includes a Word document with detailed instructions for instructors and students. One innovative aspect to this approach is that students use Web-based software and have remote access to the equipment needed to conduct the experiments online. While a range of labs is currently available, they also offer a faculty “sandbox” “where faculty could become acquainted with remote labs by watching demos or by conducting specific experiments themselves. They could collaborate with colleagues in the development of openly-licensed curriculum for new lab exercises as well as in identifying specifications for new experiments. The sandbox would also provide a testing and faculty training site for newly developed experiments.”

Connections to 21st Century Skills and Technologies
Engaging students in performing experiments and procedures helps students to develop at least two key dimensions of 21st century learning design – knowledge construction and real-world problem solving and innovation. Through active engagement in inquiry-based approaches students construct deep content and competency-based knowledge. When the experiments and procedures are aligned with real-world tasks and applications, they can develop skills in problem solving as well. Through online or technology-assisted activities, students can also leverage the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) for learning.

Experiments and procedures often leverage either physical or virtual technology tools for collecting, analyzing and interacting with data. The NANSO approach described above is a great example of how specialized technology tools can support learning activities. Students can also leverage a virtual, remotely-controlled, robotic telescope or physical digital microscopes that can capture still or video images for further analysis and presentation. Spreadsheet and database software can also help students analyze the data they collect. Finally, presentation software can help students to dynamically present the results of their work.

What strategies do you use to incorporate inquiry in your courses?
Please post your comments below.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
- Aristotle

Similar to participating in fieldwork, service learning positions students to apply their postsecondary coursework in the community. Where fieldwork is focused primarily on student development, service learning places equal emphasis on serving the community. It is in this service that students expand their understanding and commitment to the larger community. Heffernan (2001) writes, “Rather than focusing on preparing students for a particular job, service prepares students for practical community-based problem solving (p. 2).” Service learning provides students with rich opportunities that can take many different forms, including: “pure” service learning courses, discipline-based service learning courses, problem-based service learning courses, capstone courses, service internships, and community-based action research (Heffernan, 2001). 

Key features of the strategy
While service learning can take many forms, several key features of effective service learning experiences help to maximize the learning experience for students. First, Nilson (2010) recommends that service learning experiences should align with course learning outcomes. Those courses with outcomes that emphasize affective, ethical, and social experiences may be the best candidates for a service component. She also cautions that the instructor should be conscious of possible ethical questions and issues related to service. Requiring students to engage in work that runs counter to their political, ethical, and/or moral beliefs may not be appropriate.  Finally, similar to fieldwork, Gross Davis (2009) reminds us that simply engaging in service to the community will not necessarily translate in learning experiences for students. We must build in connections to course content and provide students with reflective experience that help to make these connections explicit.

Examples and Variations
At Carnegie Mellon University, students enrolled in Technology Consulting in the Community provide consulting services to local and distant community organizations as part of their Information Technology program. Students have to apply their IT knowledge as they help their clients to analyze complex situations and solve problems.  In the process of engaging in the service component of the course, students develop leadership and communication skills, contribute valuable service within the community, and provide students with opportunities to explore possible career paths in community agencies. To ensure they develop these understandings and experiences, students are required to submit regular status reports, two project reports, and a professional quality final consulting report.

In her Ending Homelessness in Our Community course at the University of South Florida, Bonnie Beth Greenball designed a course in which students explore ways to support the needs of the homeless in Sarasota by partnering with Resurrection House. Students sign up for various duties within the shelter, regularly rotating so that they have the opportunity to experience all aspects of the day-to-day operations. This close work with the homeless in the field helped students to better understand the public policy issues related to homelessness in America. At the conclusion of the course, students present research papers that explore these issues while providing suggestions for improvement.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, students in Kristin Reed’s Poetry and Social Change course join residents from the city jail (who are also enrolled in the course) to read and respond to texts from diverse authors. The overarching goal of the course is to “explore the ways language impacts us or others, the power we have when we tell stories, our responsibility as storytellers, and the evolving role of poetry in public discourse.” To help students to make the most from the experience, Reed requires them to create portfolios of their work, including six poems and short writing assignments.

Connections to 21st Century Skills and Technologies
Through service learning, students engage in authentic and real-world opportunities to construct knowledge, an important dimension of 21st century learning design. In order to make sense of what they experience, they often must translate and/or apply what they’ve learned from the fieldwork in their academic study – a key skill in the knowledge construction domain. In many cases, service learning experiences are also framed as opportunities to contribute to the solving complex problems in the community, another key aspect of 21st century learning.

Similar to fieldwork, digital technologies can help students both capture elements of their fieldwork and demonstrate their learning. Digital audio and video recorders can help students both collect data and document their experience in the field. Simple word processing tools, note taking applications (e.g., OneNote and Evernote), and blogs can help students to capture their emerging thinking along the way. Students can then share their understanding by developing digital products of their learning, including papers, digital presentations, videos, and physical or virtual exhibits (perhaps using a wiki tool).

How might service learning enrich your courses?
Please post your comments below.

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“All genuine learning comes through experience.”
- John Dewey

We often think of college and higher education as preparation for engagement in different professions or fields of study. There is a long tradition, however, of engaging students in fieldwork as part of the learning process. A range of different disciplines regularly employ fieldwork as a critical component of the program study. Whether out in nature or in community or professional settings, there is much that students can learn as they apply their knowledge in the field.  

Key features of the strategy
Students can be encouraged to participate in fieldwork in a variety of disciplines. These experiences may be designed to provide them with exposure to field-based work, practice skills, shift their understanding from theory to practice, and develop mastery in core competencies. In Tools for Teaching, Davis (2009) reminds us, however, that these field experiences do not necessarily translate into effective learning experiences. She offers a number of key elements for faculty to consider in designing meaningful experiences for their students, including: clarifying the student’s role and expectations prior to work in the field, assessing both the knowledge and skills that students bring to the experience and that they should develop, linking the experiences with academic inquiry suited to the discipline, and requiring students to keep a log or journal. Other strategies, like those noted below, offer alternatives to student logs.

Examples and Variations
In a discussion and study related to a 7-10 day field trip to Scotland, Hope (2009) describes a three-pronged approach he utilized to help students make meaning of the experience. In order to study sustainability practices in the Western Isles, Hope arranged a series of interviews and encounters with key community members during the trip. Students kept a diary or log of interviews they conducted as well as observations in the community. Like many fieldwork projects, he required his students to develop both an academic and reflective essay at the conclusion of the experience. Additionally, however, he asked the students video record interviews with community members in order to develop a video production that explored the people and issues they encountered.

In our teacher preparation program in the School of Education at the College of William & Mary, students engage in more than 450 hours of fieldwork in public school classrooms as part of their training. Beginning with brief practica experiences early in their programs and culminating with a full-time, ten-week internship, our students develop their skills in real classrooms with real students. To help them to reflect on their experience and develop the habits of mind to become reflective practitioners, students develop a digital portfolio (eFolio) of their work throughout these field experiences. By documenting their experiences through structured reflections and demonstrations of their work connected with the major competencies required, students continually and systematically learn from this valuable fieldwork in education.

Across campus in the Business School, Chris Adkins regularly supervises business students during their externships with companies around the country. Rather than relying on end of the semester papers and projects for students to synthesize and share what they’ve learned, he builds an online community through regular video conferences with his students in small groups. Each session is preceded with a reading and/or discussion prompt to guide students in sharing their experiences with each other. In this way, he makes sure to connect the externship experience with the discipline and also provides students with opportunities to learn about the same topic from multiple perspectives.

Connections to 21st Century Skills and Technologies
As students participate in fieldwork, they are provided with authentic and real-world opportunities to construct knowledge, an important dimension of 21st century learning design. In order to make sense of what they experience, they often must translate and/or apply what they’ve learned from the fieldwork in their academic study – a key skill in the knowledge construction domain. In addition, to the extent that they are called on to share their developing understandings with others, they may engage in skilled communication. By drawing on evidence from their experience and using multiple forms of media (e.g., images, video, audio), they can communicate a sophisticated, nuanced view of the topic of study.

As noted in the examples above, digital technologies can help students both capture elements of their fieldwork and to demonstrate their learning. Digital audio and video recorders can help students both collect data and document their experience in the field. Simple word processing tools, note taking applications (e.g., OneNote and Evernote), and blogs can help students to capture their emerging thinking along the way. Students can then share their understanding by developing digital products of their learning, including papers, digital presentations, videos, and physical or virtual exhibits (perhaps using a wiki tool).

What other ways do help students to learn from their experiences in the field?
Please post your comments below.

“The best way of successfully acting a part is to be it.” 
- Arthur Conan Doyle

Students in Mark Carnes’ classroom reenact key moments from historical crises and controversies. In his book Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College (reviewed here), he argues that student engagement and motivation to learn are increased through what he calls “subversive play.” In this approach, the instructor takes on the role of “gamemaster” and controls the action of the experience, forcing students to act and react within the confines of their role in the game. This approach has gained quite a following from other professors hoping to capitalize on students’ interest in the popular online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. This approach has developed into a movement implemented at more than 300 universities. The passion and excitement demonstrated by Carnes can be leveraged through the use of role-play and simulation in the classroom.

Key features of the strategy
When students engage in a role-playing or simulation activity, they have an opportunity to engage with a realistic and/or hypothetical situation connected with a course topic. In many cases, students play particular roles within the scenario to work through the situation either individually or in small groups. These activities can be paper-based or either supported or done completely with digital resources. Medical and business schools have used these types of learning activities for decades. There are many other possibilities for integrating these kinds of experiences in many different disciplines, however. Both Carleton College and the POD Network provide helpful general tips for using role play and simulations in your teaching.

Examples and Variations
Molecular Workbench
The Molecular Workbench is a free, open-source modeling tool developed by the Concord Consortium that allows faculty to develop computational simulations and experiments covering a range of topics in science. The project site includes a number of existing simulations and experiments to use, along with supporting curriculum materials. This provides an easy entry point to creating interactive experiences on topics ranging from gas laws, to states of matter, to chemical reactions. The tool also provides the necessary tools and resources to create your own learning experiences yourself.

TeachLivE
TeachLivE is a Web-based, mixed-reality teaching environment that enables rich, emergent simulations of teaching practice. Developed at the University of Central Florida, TeachLivE is currently being implemented at 42 campuses in the United States alone. TeachLivE connects the student with a virtual “class” of students that she can interact with to practice classroom management and teaching skills in a rich, simulated environment. The student interacts in real-time with a small group of students who respond to their teaching and management techniques. In this safe, virtual environment, students can begin to hone their teaching skills.

Innovation Experiment
Students in Jeffrey Park’s Economics of Science and Technology course at Reed College become virtual entrepreneurs in the technology arena in this rich simulation experience. In the Innovation Experiment, students participate over several weeks, in and out of class, making strategic decisions as they compete with others in developing their virtual widgets. Students track their performance in a spreadsheet over time and adjust a number of variables from week to week to improve their company’s performance. Along the way, students engage in research and development experiences to help them to determine how they can change their approach. Dr. Park offers detailed instructions for the simulation on his course Web site.

Connections to 21st Century Skills and Technologies
Both role play and simulation activities provide excellent opportunities to engage your students in real world problem solving experiences, an important element of 21st century skills. In fact, these kinds of simulated and classroom-based experiences often provide more realistic ways to draw students into problem solving experiences than relying solely on authentic experiences. These kinds of activities are particularly useful in those disciplines where engaging in real field experiences may be either cost-prohibitive or too dangerous for classroom experience. When students work in pairs or small groups, you can also leverage the development of collaboration skills as well.

In some cases the simulations themselves rely on digital technologies. For example, the Molecular Workbench relies on Web-based simulations and modeling opportunities that would not be possible in analog form, thus facilitating more robust collaboration opportunities. The use of a common collaborative word processing tool like Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online can help students develop their written responses to a particular activity together. Even for more media-rich student products like presentations or video, collaborative tools exist as well (e.g., WeVideo and Prezi). For more complex collaboration efforts, a group wiki or Basecamp space can work well.

How have you leveraged role-play or simulation activities in your courses?
Please post your comments below.

In this episode I had the please of speaking with Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Director of Graduate Teaching Programs at North Carolina State University. In this capacity, she leads a team who provides support, training, and resources for graduate students representing all colleges within the university. She is also the founder of Flip It Consulting, leading a team of colleagues facilitating workshops around the country to support educators in creating engaging learning environments. We discuss Barbi's approached to flipped learning - one in which the students are at the center of the design process.

Resources:

• What's the flip? (Barbi's FLIP connected with Bloom's Taxonomy)
  

• Fuller's Stages of Concern: Fuller, F. F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization. American Educational Research Journal, 6, 207-226.
• Using Fuller's model with graduate teaching assistants: Ferzli, M., Morant, T., Honeycutt, B., Egan Warren, S., Fenn, M., & Burns-Williams, B. (May 2012). “Conceptualizing Graduate Teaching Assistant Development Through Stages of Concern.”Working Theories for TA and ITA Development. New Forums Press.
• Engineering study on covering course content with a flipped model: Mason, G., Shuman, T., & Cook, K. Comparing the effectiveness of an inverted classroom to a traditional classroom in an upper-division Engineering course. IEEE Transactions on Education. Vol. 56. No. 4, pp. 430- 435. 
• Flippable moments article

• Actively passive blog post