Kenyon College HHMI Program
Science Curricula: Web Support
Plenary Session I: Science Curricula for the 21st Century Student
Joan Slonczewski, Kenyon College

CAP structure, Schultz et al, Protein Data Bank
If you can't see the molecule, download Chime.

Lectures on line: Students expect access 24/7
Classroom support: Animations, tutorials, 3-D structures
Interactive quizzes go beyond textbook problems
Students create their own Web projects
Do we still need human teachers?

Lectures on line
  • "The new vampires" -- Student lifestyles assume access 24/7.
  • Diverse modes of learning -- Tailor instruction to the individual.
  • Complexity of modern science.  If students "miss something" in their notes, where can they find it?
Biochemistry I at CMU

Chemistry 110 at Wellesley

Biology 114 at Kenyon

Mathematical Modeling of Biology at Kenyon

Science Fiction Biology at Kenyon

Classroom support

  • Animations and 3-D images convey information not possible otherwise.
  • Chalkboard reinforcement--sketching on the board what appears on screen--teaches more effectively than either mode alone.
  • On-line demos are available to students later, studying on their own.
Biochemistry at Carnegie Mellon

Translation animations from U. Conn.

Molecular tutorials, Kenyon College

Cat Anatomy tutorial, Kenyon College

Flowers and Plasmid tutorials, download here.   Authored by Dyann Schmidel.

Interactive quizzes

  • Quizzes on-line drill material outside class, providing instant feedback.
  • Interactive questions test understanding more effectively than a paper test.
  • Instructors write their own quizzes easily with free software.
  • Set up quizzes to report back to instructor.
Quizzes at Carnegie Mellon

Quizzes at Kenyon College
written with Hot Potatoes free software:

Lac operon
Transcription
Quia Quiz site--create and post your own
quizzes and games

Student Web Projects

  • Web publication is the future of science and public discourse--a necessary skill for science majors and non-majors.
  • Students author Web reports instead of term papers.
  • Authoring teaches 3D visualization even better than manipulating models.
Projects by Kenyon students:
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(These used  Chime Authoring by Eric Martz)

Artificial Intelligence -- for Biology in Science Fiction
Introduction to Knot Theory -- for Biological Modeling

Do we still need human teachers?

According to Orville Chapman, maybe not.
Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™ is a computer-based method of teaching that can replace the classroom teacher.
 

Then again, there may be things only a human teacher can do.
 

Kenyon students discuss biological modeling with  mathematics professor Keith Howard

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