How I did it! An example from teaching invertebrate zoology
| Dr Allan Jones | |
| Senior Lecturer in Life Sciences Teaching Unit, | |
| University of Dundee | |
| Editor-in-Chief, BEEj |
| 50% reduction in contact time for practical sessions | |
| all students previously did the same tasks, working as individuals to a pre-determined protocol and with no required preparation | |
| Use of interesting organisms proved very expensive so rather mundane but cheaper materials often used |
| Working in pairs and teams both co-operatively (�research�) and as �teachers� to the other group members. | |
| Verbal presentations to group and individual reporting (written) | |
| Using more �exciting� examples and each pairing has their �own problem� that requires preparative activity | |
| Each group of 10 has a demonstrator/facilitator for formative purposes. | |
| Only last 2 of 5 workshops used for summative assessments to allow skills development. | |
| After an initial negative response, students rapidly began to express appreciation for the value of being required to prepare | |
| By the end of the course, students were asking why other staff did not adopt a similar approach | |
| Because others did not adopt this approach, the students rapidly lost the work ethic developed during this course � lack of reinforcement was very negative in the maintenance of the acquired skills | |
| Pass rates were not significantly increased but the level of student satisfaction with the workshops was! |