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Dr. Susan Rouse (Biology,
Emory University)
Project Description: I am currently developing
and testing case studies for use in a majors introductory biology
course.
Current State of Development/Updates:I have written several
short cases and am using them now in my class as an extra credit
assignement. I am using this as a pilot study of effectiveness.
If all goes well this semester, I would like to expand them and
use them as a required part of the course.
Dr. Susan Rouse, lecturer in Biology, who teaches
introductory Biology, worked on integrating more visual imagery,
simulations and interactive cases into her Introductory Biology
class. She worked on integrating her LearnLink discussions with
a more formal set of modules using the Blackboard system. She became
intrigued by the availability of interesting cases that permit students
to apply knowledge and tested one or two in the course she was teaching
this semester with great success. Susan plans to continue her module
development this summer and to integrate cases into her courses
in place of quizzes. She plans to place the student's products from
the case studies on-line in order to generate a "digital legacy".
She states, "I thoroughly enjoyed the Integrating
technology in the classroom seminar that you hosted this semester.
I signed up for the seminar because I wanted to learn ways to help
my introductory biology students gain a working knowledge of the
information that I teach them (as opposed to simply giving them
an encyclopedia worth of facts that the forget once they leave the
class). Since today's generation of college student consists of
primarily visual learners, I felt that integrating more computer-based
instructional tools into my class would ultimately benefit the student.
I already use a LearnLink conference as a means for communicating
with my class and as a means for providing them with class notes,
practice questions, etc. While this has been generally effective,
the conference can sometimes get cluttered. During the seminar I
learned about the Blackboard system and was intrigued by its hierarchical
organization. I have decided to make use of the Blackboard system
as a means of presenting learning tools to my students (class notes,
animations, activities and practice questions) in a highly organized
fashion. At the same time, I will retain my LearnLink conference
as the primary line of communication between the students and myself.
In addition, the seminar taught me a lot about technologies
that I did not previously understand (i.e. different audio and video
formats, html, etc.) While I did learn a lot about possible technologies
to use in my classroom, the major pedagogical insight that I gained
during the course of the seminar was the potential of ICBL (interactive
case-based learning). I am excited about using the case study approach
in my classes."
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