Finis Origine Pendet

Where (and how) does one begin? 

Here I offer my philosophy regarding the assessment of student work, as well as an outline of our guided research course. 

Assessment

Students begin this experiential course with quite varied backgrounds. Many have never stepped into a laboratory before, while others have spent an entire summer (or more) working in a professional lab. That said, it’s essential to grade them based on demonstrations of scholarship and academic growth rather than achievement alone. As they are each presented with an open-ended opportunity to develop themselves as scholars, beyond the limits of a normal classroom, I assess both their

SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT as well as their GROWTH MINDSET.

Teacher Assessment: I determine growth mindset through evidence they demonstrate, assessing their personal investment (degree to which they assume “ownership” of their project and active agency in their learning), fearlessness (how willing they are to grapple with difficult puzzles) and resilience (how well they respond to practical setbacks in the lab). 

Student Assessment: Students engage in two structured reflections throughout the year. In a mid-winter reflection, they pause to consider their behaviors and growth during fall term. Then, as they are wrapping up their year and preparing to present their findings at our annual student research symposium, they continue the dialogue with this spring reflection on their growth as experimentalists, problem-solvers, and scholars.

*We are now creating a novel, content-independent assessment instrument for measuring science literacy and disposition outcomes across our biology curriculum, including this specialized research experience for high school seniors.

In this selective honors program, students typically earn one of the following grades:

A+

Highest achievement + Strongest growth mindset

A

Highest achievement + Strong growth mindset

or

High achievement + Strongest growth mindset

B        

Highest achievement + Weak growth mindset                                                           

or

High achievement + Moderate growth mindset                                     

C                

Moderate achievement + Moderate growth mindset                     

Course Design

Three 10-week “terms” are roughly organized around the acquisition of the following skills:

FALL

Reading scientific literature

Learning basic lab skills

Understanding common biotechniques

Selecting model systems for experimentation

Designing a research proposal

Forming collaborations with professional scientists

Writing a formal scientific paper

WINTER

Planning weekly schedules for experiments

Troubleshooting experiments

Taking useful notes

Collecting data

Writing original scientific paper 

SPRING

Analyzing data

Drawing conclusions

Proposing future directions

Finalizing formal scientific paper

Presenting study in poster format

The end depends on the beginning, so...back to the first weeks of Fall!

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #1

Assigned on the first day of class, this offers a baseline of sorts, augmenting my understanding of where each student “is” in terms of their familiarity with primary scientific literature and experimentation. I assign two very different articles and ask students to write a brief essay on each, in which they summarize the following:

· The overall questions addressed by the research group.

· The experimental approaches taken to gain information.

· Information learned through the study.

LAB EXERCISE #1  

While they work on their first writing assignment as homework, we begin an experiment during class time. Spanning the first few weeks of the term, this experiment is designed to teach specific lab skills as well as the basics of scientific reporting. Students transfect mammalian cells with a GFP expression plasmid and determine transfection efficiency.

Introduction to Molecular Biology

· Transform bacteria with GFP plasmid

· Amplify & isolate DNA plasmid

· Determine DNA concentration

(photo creds: Sean Burkitt, PA'14)

Introduction to Tissue Culture

· Plate cells for experiment

· Transfect cells

· Fluorescent microscopy and digital image capture 

Experimental Design

After considering the factory-recommended protocol, students craft their own experiment in which they manipulate one variable (DNA concentration, amount of transfection reagent or cell density), with the intention of making an inference regarding its potential impact on transfection efficiency.

Formal Scientific Reporting

As a mechanism for learning how to write a formal scientific paper, students report their findings (in light of the various data collected by their classmates), revise multiple drafts and fine tune specific features included within each section, citations, style, etc. 

Biotechniques

While working on this first lengthy experiment, students write a couple of short biotechniques essays as homework assignments. One of the essays, outlining the molecular basis of transformation & transfection, is incorporated into the introduction section of their lab report.

Next post….skills in hand, students propose research of their own!