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Learning Science by Reading Science
Facilitating In-class Discussion of Scientific Literature
Dr. David Lieske
Department of Geography and Environment
http://arcgis.mta.ca
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OVERVIEW
A confession;
Two challenges;
Strategies for overcoming those challenges;
Final thoughts, observations, etc.;
Open discussion (please!)
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A Confession
Early in my teaching career…
…I thought students would eagerly read papers I recommended based solely on their:
1. Inherent “coolness”
2. Novelty
3. Historical importance
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A Confession
I was wrong.
But you may be one of the lucky ones with a chronically zealous group of students.
Engaging students in paper discussions is not easy.
If so, I give you permission to grab your PDA and start checking email.
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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;
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Why bother?
1 Reece et al. 2010. Campbell Biology, 9th Ed. Pearson,
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Why bother?
1 Reece et al. 2010. Campbell Biology, 9th Ed. Pearson.
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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.
91 Heikkinen et al. 2007. Biotic interactions improve prediction of boreal bird distributions at macro-scales. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 754-763.
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Challenges
1. Challenge #1: how do we get students to read papers?
2. Challenge #2: how do we get students to talk about papers?
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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.
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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.
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
Another thing I learned a while ago: students complete assignments with an enthusiasm proportional to their grade value.
I use a simple 3 or 5-point grading system – but I don’t grade every assignment!
enthusiasm Grade value
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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.
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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?
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
My findings?
o 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
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
Other findings?o Students tend to dislike conceptual,
theoretical or review papers (e.g., TREE).
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
Other findings?
o Choice of papers – should they be the most readily accessible, or the most relevant?
o I try to use papers that satisfy both criteria, but this is not always possible to do.
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Challenge #1: Reading Papers
Watch out for:
o 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.
o Subversion #2: the hurried regurgitation of the paper’s abstract.
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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”?
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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.
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Challenge #2: Talking About Papers
This is what I do:
1. Start the class by asking them to share their notes with the person next to them (~10 min).
2. Then I take the lead on the discussion and normally start by asking them to pick out their favourite paper and discuss why.
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Challenge #2: Talking About Papers
This is what I do:
3. I then probe the class about the structured questions presented in the original reading assignment.
4. Whenever necessary or appropriate, I will comment on particular aspects of each paper.
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Challenge #2: Talking About Papers
This is what I do:
5. I usually maintain a “participation” check list; when students contribute to the discussion I check their name off.
o As an aside: I feel I need to increase the participation portion of the course grade.
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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?
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Challenge #2: Talking About Papers
You also have to contend with individual personalities, e.g., loners, the chronically shy.
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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”.
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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.
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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.
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Some final thoughts
Caveat:
o In-class discussions exert wear-and-tear on the students and lead to burn out.
o 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).
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Open Discussion
Your experiences?? e.g., does anyone rely on student-directed presentations?
