“四部曲式”趣味课堂提高生物化学教学质量

生物化学是很多高校的专业基础课程,具有概念多、代谢途径复杂等特点。传统的灌输式教学模式下,学生的学习难度很大,容易产生畏学情绪,导致学习效果不佳。通过开展课堂教学改革,构建问题导入、趣味讲解、技巧记忆、前沿拓展"四部曲式"趣味生化课堂:通过问题导入充分调动学生的好奇心和求知欲,通过趣味讲解和技巧记忆降低学习难度,通过前沿拓展加深对知识的理解,并锻炼学生的逻辑思维和应用知识解决问题的能力。在此基础上利用超星学习通等移动教学软件,通过签到、随机选人、讨论词云等活动活跃课堂气氛。以上举措可以将沉闷的生化课堂变得生动有趣,从而提高教学效果。     

Introduction and evaluation of case-based learning in the first foundational course of an undergraduate medical curriculum

Case-based learning (CBL) has been proposed as an effective method to promote student knowledge and motivation. The timing and methods for implementation have varied among schools, and data regarding the effectiveness of this pedagogy compared to other learning modalities are inconclusive. We introduced five different cases in the first course of our medical school as part of small-group CBL, and monitored student satisfaction and performance in summative evaluations. We observed that (1) students were very satisfied with the CBL sessions; (2) performance in essay examinations was significantly higher in CBL topics, compared to non-CBL topics, as evaluated at the end of the course, and three months after course conclusion; and (3) there was a trend of higher performance in multiple-choice questions about CBL topics, but this was not statistically significant. Our results indicate that CBL is an acceptable pedagogy to be incorporated from the beginning of undergraduate medical education to promote acquisition and retention of knowledge, students’ interest in foundational sciences, and integration of basic science disciplines and clinical medicine. When evaluating knowledge acquired using the CBL method, integrative essays represent a valuable tool to assess the depth of comprehension and application of information.     

Supporting upper-level undergraduate students in building a systems perspective in a botany course

Undergraduate biology majors require biological literacy about the critical and dynamic relationships between plants and ecosystems and the effect human-made processes have on these systems. To support students in understanding systems relationships, we redesigned an undergraduate botany course using an ecological framework and embedded systems modelling to support students in understanding the criticality of plant processes to the global carbon cycle. The class meetings included lectures, opportunities to develop systems models identifying the relationships between plant processes and other systems, reflections on their systems understanding and open-floor discussions about assigned primary and secondary readings that explored the relationships between plant systems, abiotic and biotic processes and global carbon cycling in their systems models. We used the systems models students developed at the beginning and end of the course to examine how their systems understanding grew. Our results suggest that at the beginning of term, students’ ideas about plants were egocentric identifying the purpose of plants was to support human life and they did not consider relationships between plants and global carbon systems. By the end of the term, their models and reflections identified elements of a systems perspective and the students considered human impact on this delicate balance.     

全英文“环境工程微生物学”的国家线下一流本科课程成长之路

国家一流本科课程的评审认定是教育部全面深化教育教学改革的重要举措,也是提升本科教学质量的重要一环,极大地促进了任课教师对标评价量规进行教研教改。为促进环境工程专业核心基础课的教改,“环境工程微生物学”全英课程组在先进的教育思想、方法和教育心理学的指导下,对教学理念、课程内容、教学组织和实施等多方面进行了大胆的改革和创新,注重课程思政和因材施教,增加课堂教学的师生互动和生生互动;针对工科类学生的培养目标,引入实际工程的应用案例,在课内外补充环境微生物工程领域研究的最新进展和教师的科研成果,注重提升课程的高阶性、创新性和挑战度,从多方面强化知识、能力、素质的有机融合,学生学习效果明显提高。申报并获认定为首批国家线下一流本科课程和广东省一流本科课程。     

高等院校环境科学专业实验课程体系的建设与思考

实验教学效果直接影响本科生实践能力的培养,建立一套科学合理的适合环境科学专业本科生的实验课程体系意义重大。文中主要介绍了厦门大学环境科学专业以系统性、综合性、模块化的方式建立了一套“基础→专业→综合”的实验课程体系。在加大实验室建设投入,加强实验室管理等软硬件设施配套的情况下,实验课程体系不断完善,培养的学生能够满足人才培养的目标和社会需求。本文通过阐述该实验课程体系的建立、完善及成效,以期为相关院校提供借鉴。     

《动物生物学》教学对生命科学发展和人才培养的作用

动物生物学是揭示动物生命活动规律的科学。作为生命科学专业本科学生最早接触到的主干课程之一,动物生物学的教学对于学生了解生物学的基本概念和基础知识、构建生命科学的知识体系和思维方式、培养和巩固专业兴趣十分重要。系统回顾和总结了动物生物学研究对生命学科发展的贡献,阐明了动物生物学教学对生命科学人才培养与学科建设的作用,引起广大的生物学教学工作者和管理者对动物生物学教学的重视,促进传统重要基础课程的建设与发展。     

Industrial Ecology Education at Tsinghua University

As a leading university in engineering education in China, Tsinghua University implemented industrial ecology (IE) education in the 1990s. This article describes the evolution of IE education at Tsinghua. Tsinghua mainstreams IE education into green education and engineering education not only by establishing independent courses of IE for both undergraduate and graduate students, but also by incorporating IE principles and knowledge modules into an increasing number of courses. During 2002–2015, a total of 1,023 undergraduates from 33 schools and departments participated in an IE course. To cope with the diversity of participants, four knowledge modules were customized for an undergraduate course: concepts and history; methods and tools; topics and applications; and policy and perspectives. Meanwhile, an interdisciplinary teaching method was adopted by inviting experts from diverse disciplines and organizing group discussions. Though the course has received strong positive feedback, four challenges still remain in IE education: defining the knowledge boundary, presenting an integrated view, utilizing an interdisciplinary methodology, and cultivating a class culture.     

“线上线下混合式”微生物学课程教学改革与实践

为更好地响应教育部“金课建设”的号召,我们将“以学生为中心”作为教学改革的根本目标,将全面落实培养学生能力素质作为教学改革的根本任务,结合现代教育教学理念和方法,采用线上线下混合式教学模式对微生物学课程教学进行改革。线上：（1）依托超星泛雅网络教学平台提供课程教学相关的全部资源。主要有课程基本资源、辅助资源和拓展资源,供学生课外自学;章节教学设计,包括自学提纲、名师慕课、教学互动和作业练习等,供学生课前自学、课内互动和课后复习;阶段性调查问卷和意见建议,供学生进行教学评价和教师教学反思。（2）依托“学习通”手机APP实现教师和学生课内外实时互动交流,包括任务布置、学习检测、答疑质疑、教学互动、课程反馈等。线下：主要以课堂教学为载体,根据学生线上学习情况和教学设计,针对不同类型的知识进行分类教学,采用多种教学互动方法,巩固自学效果、加强重点、解析难点,在夯实基础的同时注重对学生多方面能力素质的培养。改革结果显示,学生对教学改革的方法和效果都非常认可,认为教学改革的目标明确、重点突出、手段优化,能够启发思维、激发兴趣,能够有效提高课堂参与度,提升主观能动性,使自身能力素质得到综合提升。     

Introductory biology courses: a framework to support active learning in large enrollment introductory science courses

Active learning and research-oriented activities have been increasingly used in smaller, specialized science courses. Application of this type of scientific teaching to large enrollment introductory courses has been, however, a major challenge. The general microbiology lecture/laboratory course described has been designed to incorporate published active-learning methods. Three major case studies are used as platforms for active learning. Themes from case studies are integrated into lectures and laboratory experiments, and in class and online discussions and assignments. Students are stimulated to apply facts to problem-solving and to learn research skills such as data analysis, writing, and working in teams. This course is feasible only because of its organizational framework that makes use of teaching teams (made up of faculty, graduate assistants, and undergraduate assistants) and Web-based technology. Technology is a mode of communication, but also a system of course management. The relevance of this model to other biology courses led to assessment and evaluation, including an analysis of student responses to the new course, class performance, a university course evaluation, and retention of course learning. The results are indicative of an increase in student engagement in research-oriented activities and an appreciation of real-world context by students.     

An online tutorial for helping nonscience majors read primary research literature in biology

Using primary literature is an effective tool for promoting active learning and critical thinking in science classes. However, it can be challenging to use primary literature in large classes and in classes for nonscience majors. We describe the development and implementation of an online tutorial for helping nonscience majors learn to read primary literature in biology. The tutorial includes content about the scientific process and the structure of scientific papers and provides opportunities for students to practice reading primary literature. We describe the use of the tutorial in Biology of Exercise, a course for nonscience majors. Students used the tutorial outside of class to learn the basic principles involved in reading scientific papers, enabling class sessions to focus on active-learning activities and substantive class discussions.     

Teaching cardiovascular physiology with equivalent electronic circuits in a practically oriented teaching module

Here, we report on a new tool for teaching cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology that promotes qualitative as well as quantitative thinking about time-dependent physiological phenomena. Quantification of steady and presteady-state (transient) cardiovascular phenomena is traditionally done by differential equations, but this is time consuming and unsuitable for most undergraduate medical students. As a result, quantitative thinking about time-dependent physiological phenomena is often not extensively dealt with in an undergraduate physiological course. However, basic concepts of steady and presteady state can be explained with relative simplicity, without the introduction of differential equation, with equivalent electronic circuits (EECs). We introduced undergraduate medical students to the concept of simulating cardiovascular phenomena with EECs. EEC simulations facilitate the understanding of simple or complex time-dependent cardiovascular physiological phenomena by stressing the analogies between EECs and physiological processes. Student perceptions on using EEC to simulate, study, and understand cardiovascular phenomena were documented over a 9-yr period, and the impact of the course on the students' knowledge of selected basic facts and concepts in cardiovascular physiology was evaluated over a 3-yr period. We conclude that EECs are a valuable tool for teaching cardiovascular physiology concepts and that EECs promote active learning.     

微生物学课程创新实践教学模式探索

为激发本科生对微生物学的学习兴趣、训练实验技能、拓展创新思维、促进素质教育,我们探索了"课堂讲授—实验课程—课题研究"三位一体、"理论—技能—创新实践"同步训练的微生物学教学模式,首次将研究生引入本科生素质教育中,并在教学方法、手段、考核等方面进行了改革试验,实践证明这一教学模式对主动掌握理论知识、激发创新精神、提高学生素质都有积极的推动作用。     

“观赏渔业”课程教学的实践与探索

《观赏渔业》是新兴"水族科学与技术"本科专业学生的专业核心课程,也是水产养殖学专业课程体系中的重要组成。结合作者多年在《观赏渔业》课程教学中的实践和探索,以培养学生对观赏水族的兴趣为本,通过对教学方法的创新、实践教学的注重,极大地激发了学生对该课程的兴趣,充分调动了学生学习和实践的积极性与主动性,增强该课程实践功能促进了教学效果的提高。同时,这对培养水族专业人才,满足中国现代水族产业发展对高素质人才的需要亦具有重要的作用。     

Teaching critical thinking in a developmental biology course at an American liberal arts college

We all expect our students to learn facts and concepts, but more importantly, we want them to learn how to evaluate new information from an educated and skeptical perspective; that is, we want them to become critical thinkers. For many of us who are scientists and teachers, critical thought is either intuitive or we learned it so long ago that it is not at all obvious how to pass on the skills to our students. Explicitly discussing the logic that underlies the experimental basis of developmental biology is an easy and very successful way to teach critical thinking skills. Here, I describe some simple changes to a lecture course that turn the practice of critical thinking into the centerpiece of the learning process. My starting point is the "Evidence and Antibodies" sidelight in Gilbert's Developmental Biology (2000), which I use as an introduction to the ideas of correlation, necessity and sufficiency, and to the kinds of experiments required to gather each type of evidence: observation ("show it"), loss of function ("block it") and gain of function ("move it"). Thereafter, every experiment can be understood quickly by the class and discussed intelligently with a common vocabulary. Both verbal and written reinforcement of these ideas dramatically improve the students' ability to evaluate new information. In particular, they are able to evaluate claims about cause and effect; they become experts at distinguishing between correlation and causation. Because the intellectual techniques are so powerful and the logic so satisfying, the students come to view the critical assessment of knowledge as a fun puzzle and the rigorous thinking behind formulating a question as an exciting challenge.     

Teaching cell biology to nonscience majors through forensics, or how to design a killer course

Nonscience majors often do not respond to traditional lecture-only biology courses. However, these students still need exposure to basic biological concepts. To accomplish this goal, forensic science was paired with compatible cell biology subjects. Several topics such as human development and molecular biology were found to fulfill this purpose. Another goal was to maximize the hands-on experience of the nonscience major students. This objective was fulfilled by specific activities such as fingerprinting and DNA typing. One particularly effective teaching tool was a mock murder mystery complete with a Grand Jury trial. Another objective was to improve students' attitudes toward science. This was successful in that students felt more confident in their own scientific abilities after taking the course. In pre/post tests, students answered four questions about their ability to conduct science. All four statements showed a positive shift after the course (p values ranging from.001 to.036, df = 23; n = 24). The emphasis on experiential pedagogy was also shown to increase critical thinking skills. In pre/post testing, students in this course significantly increased their performance on critical thinking assessment tests from 33.3% correct to 45.3% (p =.008, df = 4; n = 24).     

利用文献精读教学新模式优化遗传学教学

《遗传学》是生命科学相关专业本科阶段最重要的课程之一。近年来,随着生命科学领域研究的不断深入,新知识与新技术也在不断更新。但遗传学的教学模式目前仍以理论讲授为主,这使得抽象的原理难以被学生理解接受,直接影响了教学效果。因此探索新的教学模式尤为必要。2010年以来我校在生物技术专业《微生物遗传学》教学中开展了新教学模式——文献精读,文章从文献精读的前期课程基础,如何选择专业文献,怎样组织教学过程,开展文献精读对学生和教师的意义等方面全面分析了实施情况和应用价值,指出该教学模式体现了“前沿”和“经典”的结合,使书本的知识在实践中具体化,既提高学生的学习效果,激发学习兴趣,又开拓了学生的思路,锻炼其能力。这种教学模式为《遗传学》教学授课不断探索新的模式、在“精准医疗”时代下如何培养兼具临床与科研能力的医疗人才提供新思路。     

Preaching to the choir or composing new verses? Toward a writerly climate literacy in introductory undergraduate biology

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing society today, yet a wide range of misconceptions exist in society about whether or why climate change is happening, what its consequences are, and what can be done to address it. Large introductory biology courses present an opportunity to teach a large number of students—some of whom may never take another course focused on climate, ecology, or the environment—about climate change. However, content knowledge alone may not be enough to prepare students to transform their knowledge into action. To begin understanding how content knowledge interacts with student constructions of climate change solutions, we administered and quantitatively analyzed a survey that examined student views of climate change and how they shifted with instruction during an undergraduate introductory biology course at a large Midwestern university. Almost all participants entered the course agreeing that climate change is occurring, and their certainty about the science of climate change increased after instruction. After taking the course, more participants described climate change as having more immediate impacts, reporting that climate change is already harming people and that climate change will harm them personally. However, both at the beginning and end of the course, participants tended to think that humans would either be unable or unwilling to reduce climate change. They were also more worried about climate change at the end of the course than they were before. Increased concern might result from students becoming more certain of the science and severity of climate change, while remaining pessimistic that humans will effectively act on climate change. This pattern suggests instructors have opportunities to modify curricula in ways that leave students with a greater sense of empowerment and efficacy; we suggest questions that instructors can ask themselves in order to modify their courses with this goal in mind.     

“环境污染的生物修复”课程教学改革探索与实践

“环境污染的生物修复(Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution)”是环境科学、环境工程、农业资源与环境等专业的专业选修课,在专业人才培养体系中具有重要地位。针对课程前期教学中存在的问题,任课教师结合高质量人才培养需求,从课程教学目标优化、课程教学内容重构与知识整合、教学方法改革与创新等环节对课程教学进行了改革探索。实践结果表明,改革后的课程教学不仅显著提升了课程教学目标的达成度,还有效提高了学生自主学习能力、思维能力和知识综合运用能力,取得了较好的教学效果。     

高等农业院校动物学课程教学方法改进与体会

在高等农业院校的生科类和动科类等专业,动物学是大学生入学后首次接触到的专业基础课。随着高校扩招、课程小型化和学分制教学改革的逐步推进和实施,新生的专业思想不稳定、师资力量不足、学时数锐减、学习方法待改进等问题较为突出,提出了＂双管齐下、温故知新、层层递进、系统内化＂的十六字教学方法的改进建议。     

Protistological science dissemination

It is rare to meet protistologists who are not passionate about their study subject. The vast majority of people, however, never get the chance to hear about the work of these researchers. Although every researcher working on protists is likely to be aware of this situation, efforts made and tools employed for dissemination of knowledge are rarely documented. Following a proposal by the Italian Society of Protistology, a workshop at the 2019 VIII European Congress of Protistology in Rome, Italy, was dedicated to protistological knowledge dissemination. Through the many interventions, we discovered the diversity of efforts to reveal the protistan world to the general public, including museum exhibitions and activities, public understanding of science events, citizen science projects, specific book publications, the use of protists in teaching at all levels from primary school children to university undergraduate students, and to a global audience via social media. The participation of the workshop delegates in the discussions indicated that presentations on the wonderful world of protists to the public not only increase the visibility and accessibility of protistology research but are also very important for the scientific community. Here we report on some of the key aspects of the presentations given in the dissemination workshop.