The Science Teaching Journal Club is a partnership of the Science Literacy Program and the Teaching Engagement Program. Each week we read, discuss, and consider how to implement ideas from an article or book that explores issues relevant to teaching and learning in college science classrooms. We invite participants from all ranks and disciplines to join us for these sessions, which we use to model evidence-based teaching practices.
This spring the journal club will meet Thursdays at 9 a.m. via Zoom
Meeting URL: https://uoregon.zoom.us/j/369256082│Meeting ID: 369 256 082
Fall 2020 Journal Club Readings:
As the overwhelming urgency of last spring’s pivot to remote and online teaching fades, dipping into the science teaching literature can provide ideas for developing and revising our courses. This term in the journal club we will explore various active learning strategies and activities and discuss how to apply them to remote and online courses. We will concentrate for several weeks on assessment, as developing fair, probing assessments that maintain academic integrity continues to be a sticking point for many science faculty.
Making time to talk about teaching has become more important than ever as our opportunities for spontaneous conversations in hallways are temporarily on hold. The Science Teaching Journal Club provides a friendly, collegial gathering place for participants from all ranks and disciplines; we invite you to join us at our weekly meetings, which feature lively, structured discussions of the readings. Feel free to participate in the whole series or just drop in for a specific conversation.
Week One (10/1):
We begin the term with a paper that presents a framework for understanding attention and considers how to design course activities to leverage student attention in order to maximize learning. To prepare for our meeting, please read:
Keller, A. S., Davidesco, I., & Tanner, K. D. (2020). Attention Matters: How Orchestrating Attention May Relate to Classroom Learning. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(3), fe5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.20-05-0106
Week Two (10/8):
This week we begin a mini-concentration on assessment in the remote and online classroom with a communication outlining a variety of strategies employed in a chemistry department last spring. To prepare for our meeting, please read:
Nguyen, J. G., Keuseman, K. J., & Humston, J. J. (2020). Minimize Online Cheating for Online Assessments During COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(9), 3429-3435. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00790
Week Three (10/15):
This week we continue our mini-concentration on assessment by taking a closer look at online exam proctoring, which is seen by many faculty as a reliable way to preserve academic integrity in online exams. But services such as ProctorU, the company with which the University of Oregon has a contract, have come under criticism for being invasive and discriminating based on race, disability, and other factors. Our (short) readings begin with two pages from the ProctorU website that outline the mechanics of the student’s experience in a proctored exam. The other articles present some of the criticisms that have emerged.
Rankin, J. E. (2020). Exam Day: What to Expect. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://support.proctoru.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043565051#h_8a507c06-d5ca-4453-b288-242770607b6f
Rankin, J. E. (2020). What am I allowed and not allowed to do during my exam? Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://support.proctoru.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043127892
Patil, A., & Bromwich, J. E. (2020, September 29). How It Feels When Software Watches You Take Tests. The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/style/testing-schools-proctorio.html
Eyler, J. (2020, October 2). The Science of Learning vs. Proctoring Software. The Science of Learning. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://josheyler.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/the-science-of-learning-vs-proctoring-software/
Week Four (10/22):
This week we continue our mini-concentration on assessment with a look at an alternative form of assessment, structured oral exams. To prepare, please read:
Wang, L., Khalaf, A. T., Lei, D., Gale, M., Li, J., Jiang, P., … & Wei, Y. (2020). Structured oral examination as an effective assessment tool in lab-based physiology learning sessions. Advances in Physiology Education, 44(3), 453-458. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/advan.00059.2020
Week Five (10/29):
Week Six (11/5):
Week Seven (11/12):
Week Eight (11/19):
Week Nine (11/26): Thanksgiving – No journal club
Week Ten (12/3):
