Learning Science by Reading Science Facilitating In-class Discussion of Scientific Literature

1. Learning Science by Reading Science Facilitating In-class Discussion of Scientific Literature Dr. David Lieske Department of Geography and Environment http://arcgis.mta.ca dlieske@mta.ca

2. OVERVIEW • A confession; • Two challenges; • Strategies for overcoming those challenges; • Final thoughts, observations, etc.; • Open discussion (please!)

3. A Confession • Early in my teaching career… • …I thought students would eagerly read papers I recommended based solely on their: • Inherent “coolness” • Novelty • Historical importance

4. A Confession • I was wrong. • But you may be one of the lucky ones with a chronically zealous group of students. • If so, I give you permission to grab your PDA and start checking email. • Engaging students in paper discussions is not easy.

5. If it’s so difficult, why bother? • Introductory classes tend to rely on textbooks to digest core concepts. • Textbooks have the advantages of being: • Carefully edited; • Augmented with explanatory figures and tables; • Written in such a way as to maximize clarity and interpretibility;

6. Why bother? 1 Reece et al. 2010. Campbell Biology, 9th Ed. Pearson,

7. Why bother? 1 Reece et al. 2010. Campbell Biology, 9th Ed. Pearson.

8. Why Bother? • The primary literature is the current (or historical record) of the “bleeding edge” of inquiry. • It’s where science actually happens. • I think we would all agree that the best way to understand the “discussion” going on a discipline is to read its literature. • It’s a necessary part of the training of research students.

9. 1 Heikkinen et al. 2007. Biotic interactions improve prediction of boreal bird distributions at macro-scales. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 754-763.

10. Challenges • Challenge #1: how do we get students to read papers? • Challenge #2: how do we get students to talk about papers?

11. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Reading is difficult; reading scientific papers is really, really difficult. • The writing is terse, dry and the methods can appear (to the uninitiated) to be totally impenetrable. • Many students will “duck out” and avoid reading papers at every opportunity.

12. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • I find the only successful strategy for encouraging reading is accountability and evaluation. • I ask students to submit typewritten notes on the readings, which must be prepared in advance and brought to lecture. • I don’t collect the summary notes right away; I collect them at the end of lecture.

13. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Another thing I learned a while ago: students complete assignments with an enthusiasm proportional to their grade value. enthusiasm Grade value • I use a simple 3 or 5-point grading system – but I don’t grade every assignment!

14. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • I’m not correcting grammar. • I am primarily looking for evidence of careful reading. • Even with a quick assessment system, this approach is probably limited to < 30 students. • I’ve found that structured questions help to get them started.

15. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Structured questions: • What questions did the author(s) pose? • What methods did they use? • What were their main findings? • What gaps or problems remain unaddressed?

16. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • My findings? • Students seem to respond most immediately to papers with a direct, experimental-type of structure: • Introduction • Methodology (experimental design, data collection framework) • Analysis / Results • Discussion / Conclusions

17. Challenge #1: Reading Papers

18. Challenge #1: Reading Papers

19. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Other findings? • Students tend to dislike conceptual, theoretical or review papers (e.g., TREE).

20. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Other findings? • Choice of papers – should they be the most readily accessible, or the most relevant? • I try to use papers that satisfy both criteria, but this is not always possible to do.

21. Challenge #1: Reading Papers • Watch out for: • Subversion #1: students come to class unprepared, jot down notes during the discussion, and attempt to submit their notes for grading purposes at the end of class. • Subversion #2: the hurried regurgitation of the paper’s abstract.

22. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • The “cone of silence”. • It’s difficult to get undergraduate students to “speak up” and volunteer an opinion. • Wading into the literature takes students a long way from their comfort zones. • Response: how do you make the lecture hall a safe space to be “wrong”?

23. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • I’ve gone through a few iterations of having students participate in in-class paper discussions. • I would describe my approach as a variant on the note sharing and think-pair-share types of active learning strategies.

24. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • This is what I do: • Start the class by asking them to share their notes with the person next to them (~10 min). • Then I take the lead on the discussion and normally start by asking them to pick out their favourite paper and discuss why.

25. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • This is what I do: • I then probe the class about the structured questions presented in the original reading assignment. • Whenever necessary or appropriate, I will comment on particular aspects of each paper.

26. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • This is what I do: • I usually maintain a “participation” check list; when students contribute to the discussion I check their name off. • As an aside: I feel I need to increase the participation portion of the course grade.

27. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • Even with (1) prepared notes, and (2) “pair and share” efforts, there is a persistent group of ~ 30% who I will not participate. • Perhaps increasing the percentage allocated to participation from 5% to 10%-15% will help?

28. Challenge #2: Talking About Papers • You also have to contend with individual personalities, e.g., loners, the chronically shy.

29. Some final thoughts • If we are going to ask students to read papers, we need to be willing to teach them how. • Reading the literature is really the process of observing the scientific method in action. • What we’re trying to do is create a particular type of “culture”. • Success = “buy in”.

30. Some final thoughts • Students really enjoy hearing about your preferences, as well as your stumbling blocks and points of confusion. • It builds solidarity and lets them know that they aren’t alone in being confused. • An unanticipated side effect: opportunity to discuss good and bad science writing.

31. Some final thoughts • Students confess to me that they feel really overwhelmed by the methodological details. • To which I reply: the literature is like jumping into a conversation; at first you’re lost and disoriented, but once you have your bearings you will get the “gist” of it. • Students are dubious, but many admit that they learn a lot during the process.

32. Some final thoughts • Caveat: • In-class discussions exert wear-and-tear on the students and lead to burn out. • I don’t assign readings every single week (maybe 6-7 sessions throughout the term), and try to keep the number of papers manageable (1-2, 3 exceptionally).

33. Open Discussion • Your experiences?? • e.g., does anyone rely on student-directed presentations?