Upper-division Courses Research Articles

“Oh, my Lolita, I have only words to play with!”: Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita as a Case Study for Critical Approaches to Literature

In this paper, I describe teaching Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita as the only novel in a one-semester upper-division English literature course called Research Methods, a course that combines instruction about both theory and practice. I am not arguing that Lolita is unique for this purpose, but I am arguing that it is a special case of the kind of text that instructors can use. Few novels could endure the focus of an entire semester's attention, and perhaps even fewer could generate such intense discussion session after session. Nabokov's Lolita answers these demands. With its depth, its wealth of secondary material, and its steadfast position in scholarly discourse, Lolita serves as an excellent case study for students studying current critical approaches. First published in 1955, the story of Humbert Humbert's obsession with 12-year-old Dolores Haze was deemed brilliant by some and obscene by others. Even its problematic initial publication suggests its usefulness to studying literary scholarship: rejected by four publishers in the United States, Nabokov's agent was pleased to place the novel with Olympia Press in France. Nabokov did not know that this publisher was known for publishing volumes such as The Sexual Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and France eventually banned the novel; subsequently, it was years before the novel appeared in the United States. Regardless, the novel emerged as an immense success. And then there is the story itself. Not only does Lolita generate power- ful responses from students, both positive and negative, it has the stylistic complexity and the breadth to maintain student interest over the course of a semester. To have students approach the novel from first one angle and then another has clear pedagogical benefits because students face the dif- ficulty of developing a reading of the novel based on one series of critical methods and then having to question that reading when given the new data produced by a different critical method, all the time working with a text with which they are able to develop considerable familiarity. Additionally, that there is a mass of scholarly apparatus related to the novel allows the course instructor to create assignments that introduce students to the vari- ous methods that researchers use in creating publishable material.

Fundamentals of Electronics: Book 1 Electronic Devices and Circuit Applications

This book, Electronic Devices and Circuit Application, is the first of four books of a larger work, Fundamentals of Electronics. It is comprised of four chapters describing the basic operation of each of the four fundamental building blocks of modern electronics: operational amplifiers, semiconductor diodes, bipolar junction transistors, and field effect transistors. Attention is focused on the reader obtaining a clear understanding of each of the devices when it is operated in equilibrium. Ideas fundamental to the study of electronic circuits are also developed in the book at a basic level to lessen the possibility of misunderstandings at a higher level. The difference between linear and non-linear operation is explored through the use of a variety of circuit examples including amplifiers constructed with operational amplifiers as the fundamental component and elementary digital logic gates constructed with various transistor types. Fundamentals of Electronics has been designed primarily for use in an upper division course in electronics for electrical engineering students. Typically such a course spans a full academic years consisting of two semesters or three quarters. As such, Electronic Devices and Circuit Applications, and the following two books, Amplifiers: Analysis and Design and Active Filters and Amplifier Frequency Response, form an appropriate body of material for such a course. Secondary applications include the use in a one-semester electronics course for engineers or as a reference for practicing engineers.

Teaching information literacy skills to sophomore-level biology majors.

Many undergraduate students lack a sound understanding of information literacy. The skills that comprise information literacy are particularly important when combined with scientific writing for biology majors as they are the foundation skills necessary to complete upper-division biology course assignments, better train students for research projects, and prepare students for graduate and professional education. To help undergraduate biology students develop and practice information literacy and scientific writing skills, a series of three one-hour hands-on library sessions, discussions, and homework assignments were developed for Biological Literature, a one-credit, one-hour-per-week, required sophomore-level course. The embedded course librarian developed a learning exercise that reviewed how to conduct database and web searches, the difference between primary and secondary sources, source credibility, and how to access articles through the university’s databases. Students used the skills gained in the library training sessions for later writing assignments including a formal lab report and annotated bibliography. By focusing on improving information literacy skills as well as providing practice in scientific writing, Biological Literature students are better able to meet the rigors of upper-division biology courses and communicate research findings in a more professional manner.

Introducing Undergraduates to Research Using a Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling Organic Chemistry Miniproject

A five-week miniproject is described for an upper-division experimental organic chemistry course. The activities include synthesis of a phenylboronic acid via a Grignard reaction and its use in a Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. Technical skills and concepts normally presented in practical organic chemistry courses are covered, including the use of an inert atmosphere (Schlenk tube technique), separation of mixtures (filtration), melting range determination, infrared (IR) spectrum, stoichiometric calculations and gas chromatography techniques.

Northwest Biosciences Network: Implementation of Vision and Change in Introductory Biology

The Northwest Biosciences Consortium (NWBC) is a diverse community of biology educators who embrace Vision and Change to create student‐centered, integrated, and investigative biology experiences for all students.Our faculty‐led approach aims to create introductory courses that train biologically literate students, while simultaneously aligning with upper division courses to ease transfers and improve retention.The NWBC aims to:· Develop Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) that allow students to gain appreciation for the scientific process· Develop a series of customizable modules that can be incorporated into any introductory biology sequence that reflects our commitment to scientific literacy for all students.· Develop course descriptions aligned with Vision and Change to facilitate curriculum design and student transition, especially from 2‐ to 4‐year institutions· Foster professional development and legitimize need for change at our home institutions.The NWBC supports faculty development and collaborations within and between institutions. We benefit from an excellent working relationship with the NW PULSE Fellows and connections to other groups (i.e. BioQUEST, NABT, etc.) that help shape our efforts. Our learning curve on how to function as a network is leveling off, and we are taking steps to accomplish our goals. We look forward to learning from the experiences of others and share lessons learned with those who have similar aims.Supported by the NSFRCN‐UBE grant (DBI‐1248121).

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Road Maps as Analytical Tools

I. Initial Considerations My experience with road maps began fifteen years ago, when I was teaching an upper-division course on 20th-century music. Sarah Z, a senior, was simultaneously pursuing degrees in violin performance and studio art. She chose to analyze for her final project Arvo Part's Fratres (1977). A week before the project was due, Sarah came to see me during an office hour. She told me that she had spent nearly two months studying Fratres, comparing performances, modeling the small-scale and large-scale form, and learning about Part's musical language, including his use of plainchant and tintinnabuli. (1) Yet she was experiencing (for the first time in her academic life) a debilitating case of writer's block. Frustrated and nearly distraught, she wanted to analyze a different piece for her final project. I said no--it was much too late in the semester to re-start the entire process--and then brainstormed with her until we found a compromise: rather than write an essay, Sarah would submit an annotated score and a painting of some sort. While I wasn't entirely thrilled with this solution--how would a music theorist assess a work of art?--it far better than scrapping the project altogether and beginning anew. One week later, Sarah submitted an annotated score and an exquisite two-foot by three-foot watercolor. Much to my surprise, she also handed in a seven-page analytical essay. She explained that, once she had finished the artwork, her writer's block vanished; the paper seemed to write itself. Her paper was not only musical and insightful, but more compelling than her previous essays. Sarah's epiphany inspired me to investigate the literature on multiple intelligences, left-brain versus right-brain processing, and learning theory. (2) Encouraged by these readings and emboldened by Sarah's breakthrough, I made a conscious decision to have every student do a road map the following semester. I've continued this practice, without regrets, ever since. A road map is a representation or documentation of how one hears a work unfold in time. In its simplest form, a road map can be a time line or flow chart. But it can also be an elaborate landscape of observations, correspondences, and associations, with text descriptions, symbols, staff notation, rhythms, colors, and shapes. A road map can be teleological or non-linear; literal or abstract; monochromatic or multi-colored; sparse or dense; small or large; hand-drawn or created with a music notation program such as Sibelius or Finale. I would argue that a road map--like any piece of writing--is provisional. There is no right or wrong way to create one, although some maps are definitely more compelling, thoughtful, and musical than others. The idea behind a road map is to capture the important characteristics of a work and represent them in some way that makes sense. For this reason I occasionally ask students to re-map the same work later in a semester. The results often reveal (to student and instructor alike) significant refinement in hearing and sophistication in modeling. A map can trace the history of pitches, pitch-classes, set-classes, rhythms, gestures, themes, registers, dynamics, articulations, texture and other parameters; it can highlight phrase structures, structural upbeats and downbeats, and climaxes; and it can model formal organization and energy flow, character, compositional strategies, and narrative. Road maps facilitate deeper engagement with music, foster critical listening skills, and provide a creative outlet for students, especially those who are visual learners. Over the years my students have created road maps of compositions by Ablinger, Ades, Aperghis, Babbitt, Bartok, Berg, Cage, Carter, Cassidy, Chopin, Crumb, Debussy, Eckhart, Feldman, Ferneyhough, Glass, Gubaidulina, Harbison, Harvey, Hurel, Lang, Messiaen, Merzbow, Reich, Riley, Saunders, Schoenberg, Scelsi, Sciarrino, Stravinsky, Xenakis, Webern, Wolpe, and Yi among others. …

Using near-real-time monitoring data from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent at Kīlauea Volcano for training and educational purposes

Training non-scientists in the use of volcano-monitoring data is critical preparation in advance of a volcanic crisis, but it is currently unclear which methods are most effective for improving the content-knowledge of non-scientists to help bridge communications between volcano experts and non-experts. We measured knowledge gains for beginning-(introductory-level students) and novice-level learners (students with a basic understanding of geologic concepts) engaged in the Volcanoes Exploration Program: Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (VEPP) “Monday Morning Meeting at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory” classroom activity that incorporates authentic Global Positioning System (GPS), tilt, seismic, and webcam data from the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptive vent on Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i (NAGT website, 2010), as a means of exploring methods for effectively advancing non-expert understanding of volcano monitoring. Learner groups consisted of students in introductory and upper-division college geology courses at two different institutions. Changes in their content knowledge and confidence in the use of data were assessed before and after the activity using multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Learning assessments demonstrated that students who took part in the exercise increased their understanding of volcano-monitoring practices and implications, with beginners reaching a novice stage, and novices reaching an advanced level (akin to students who have completed an upper-division university volcanology class). Additionally, participants gained stronger confidence in their ability to understand the data. These findings indicate that training modules like the VEPP: Monday Morning Meeting classroom activity that are designed to prepare non-experts for responding to volcanic activity and interacting with volcano scientists should introduce real monitoring data prior to proceeding with role-paying scenarios that are commonly used in such courses. The learning gains from the combined approach will help improve effective communications between volcano experts and non-experts during times of crisis, thereby reducing the potential for confusion and misinterpretation of data.

The molecular biology capstone assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students.

Measuring students' conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in novel scenarios. Targeted at graduating students, the MBCA consists of 18 multiple-true/false (T/F) questions. Each question consists of a narrative stem followed by four T/F statements, which allows a more detailed assessment of student understanding than the traditional multiple-choice format. Questions were iteratively developed with extensive faculty and student feedback, including validation through faculty reviews and response validation through student interviews. The final assessment was taken online by 504 students in upper-division courses at seven institutions. Data from this administration indicate that the MBCA has acceptable levels of internal reliability (α=0.80) and test-retest stability (r=0.93). Students achieved a wide range of scores with a 67% overall average. Performance results suggest that students have an incomplete understanding of many molecular biology concepts and continue to hold incorrect conceptions previously documented among introductory-level students. By pinpointing areas of conceptual difficulty, the MBCA can provide faculty members with guidance for improving undergraduate biology programs.

Using HeLa cell stress response to introduce first year students to the scientific method, laboratory techniques, primary literature, and scientific writing.

Incorporating scientific literacy into inquiry driven research is one of the most effective mechanisms for developing an undergraduate student's strength in writing. Additionally, discovery-based laboratories help develop students who approach science as critical thinkers. Thus, a three-week laboratory module for an introductory cell and molecular biology course that couples inquiry-based experimental design with extensive scientific writing was designed at Westminster College to expose first year students to these concepts early in their undergraduate career. In the module students used scientific literature to design and then implement an experiment on the effect of cellular stress on protein expression in HeLa cells. In parallel the students developed a research paper in the style of the undergraduate journal BIOS to report their results. HeLa cells were used to integrate the research experience with the Westminster College "Next Chapter" first year program, in which the students explored the historical relevance of HeLa cells from a sociological perspective through reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. In this report I detail the design, delivery, student learning outcomes, and assessment of this module, and while this exercise was designed for an introductory course at a small primarily undergraduate institution, suggestions for modifications at larger universities or for upper division courses are included. Finally, based on student outcomes suggestions are provided for improving the module to enhance the link between teaching students skills in experimental design and execution with developing student skills in information literacy and writing.

Creative exercises (CEs) in the biochemistry domain: an analysis of students' linking of chemical and biochemical concepts

Creative exercises (CEs), a specific form of open-ended assessment tools, have been shown to promote students' linking of prior and newly learned concepts within a course. In this study, we examined how often students in an upper-division undergraduate biochemistry course linked prior chemical concepts to biochemical ones in response to CE prompts. Thematic analysis of participant responses showed students making in response to the CEs multiple connections between prior chemical concepts and biomolecule structure, thermodynamics and enzyme kinetics. In the case of thermodynamics and enzyme kinetics CEs, most students tended to rely on contexts and concepts focused on specific materials from their current course whereas responses to biomolecule structure CEs mostly invoked foundational concepts in acid–base and organic chemistry, such as pH/pKa, pI, ionization, stereochemistry, and organic functional groups. Invoking the cognitive resources activation framework in discussing the findings, we highlight the utility and relevance of CEs in upper division courses that rely on the application of prior chemical knowledge to explain new ones as well as the implications of the findings for research and teaching.

Experiences Gained Creating a Biophysics Major at a Predominately Undergraduate Institution

Xavier University, a liberal arts predominately undergraduate institution (PUI) located in Cincinnati, OH, implemented a Biophysics major in the Department of Physics in spring 2012. The program is built upon foundational physics courses and is unique due to the possible selection of upper-division courses that students elect to take towards their undergraduate degree. A capstone course is offered to bring all prior knowledge in the fundamental sciences together to approach complex problems in biology. Due to the flexibility of the program, it serves students well who are interested in pursuing advanced degrees in Biophysics or Biomedical Engineering. It also offers students interested in the health professions an alternate path towards medical school which can be advantageous in the application process. This session will express some of the advantages and challenges to creating such a program at a liberal arts PUI and discuss the capstone course within the major.

Identification and Analysis of Bioactive Components of Fruit and Vegetable Products

Many small-molecule antioxidants found in whole fruits and vegetables are analyzed and identified in this laboratory module for upper-division biochemistry courses. During this experiment, students develop their knowledge of the bioactivity of fruit and vegetable products while learning techniques to identify vitamins and nutritionally derived secondary metabolites. Students first develop skills by analyzing well-studied fruit and vegetable juice products prior to development of a multicomponent fruit and vegetable superjuice displaying maximal antioxidant capacity. Antioxidant capacity is measured using ascorbic acid standardized ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and both aqueous and lipophilic small molecules are identified using reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography. Final analyses include correlation of whole fruit and vegetable products with antioxidant capacity and vitamin content using basic statistical analysis, and identification and characterization of antioxidant c...

Recent research in science teaching and learning.

Recent research in science teaching and learning.

Practice makes pretty good: assessment of primary literature reading abilities across multiple large-enrollment biology laboratory courses.

Primary literature is essential for scientific communication and is commonly utilized in undergraduate biology education. Despite this, there is often little time spent training our students how to critically analyze a paper. To address this, we introduced a primary literature module in multiple upper-division laboratory courses. In this module, instructors conduct classroom discussions that dissect a paper as researchers do. While previous work has identified classroom interventions that improve primary literature comprehension within a single course, our goal was to determine whether including a scientific paper module in our classes could produce long-term benefits. On the basis of performance in an assessment exam, we found that our module resulted in longitudinal gains, including increased comprehension and critical-thinking abilities in subsequent lab courses. These learning gains were specific to courses utilizing our module, as no longitudinal gains were seen in students who had taken other upper-division labs that lacked extensive primary literature discussion. In addition, we assessed whether performance on our assessment correlated with a variety of factors, including grade point average, course performance, research background, and self-reported confidence in understanding of the article. Furthermore, all of the study conclusions are independent of biology disciplines, as we observe similar trends within each course.

Too cool for school?: The effects of gamification in an advanced interdisciplinary course

Gamification is a subject of a great deal of conversations and advocates believe that the familiarity of gaming to the current student population gives it considerable potential to transform teaching and learning. The research literature presents a more ambiguous view and it remains to be seen whether or not gamifying instruction can significantly strengthen student learning outcomes. This question forms the basis of the current study, which focuses on an extensive gamification exercise applied in an upper-division interdisciplinary course. To phrase it colloquially, this research asks whether or not gamification is too cool for school.

Student-Led Engagement of Journal Article Authors in the Classroom Using Web-Based Videoconferencing

The learning environment described here uses Web-based videoconferencing technology to merge the traditional classroom journal article discussion with student-led interviews of journal article authors. Papers that describe recent applications of a given technique are selected, with the author engagement occurring at the end of a three or four week module covering the technique and its applications. Students prepare for the author engagements by reading the paper, discussing it as a class with the instructor, and developing a set of consensus questions to provide a framework for their conversation. Authors do not make formal presentations to the students, but instead answer questions. The smaller class sizes of upper-division undergraduate courses provide an intimate setting for these student-led conversations. Author engagements are designed to improve critical thinking skills in the content areas studied, improve interactive scientific communication skills, build scientific self-confidence in young scientists, and expose students to established scientist role models. The student–author interactions described here provide a cost-effective mechanism to expose students to diverse areas of chemistry and to bring expert scientists into the classroom. In situations where videoconferencing is not available or permitted, teleconferences provide a reasonable substitution.

Developing a Kerr microscope for upper-division solid-state physics laboratories

We have constructed a low-cost Kerr microscope for use in our upper-division solid-state laboratory course by retrofitting a polarizing microscope. It was tested by imaging the magnetic domains on the surface of the polished ferromagnetic samples Nd-Fe-B and Fe-Si. The instrument serves as a learning platform for students who use it to study essential aspects of magnetic domains, as observed using the magneto-optic Kerr effect. By applying a controlled external magnetic field to a sample, magnetic domains can be observed and manipulated in real time with the aid of a digital camera. We offer technical guidance for the development of such a microscope and outline learning objectives for undergraduates in a formal lab curriculum.

Writing in Web-based Disciplinary Courses: New Media, New Disciplinary Composing Expectations

Abstract Scholarship in Online Writing Instruction has offered many suggestions to facilitate web-based writing pedagogy; however, little research examines how faculty in other disciplines use writing assignments and related technologies for web-based courses in their own discipline. This article reports on the findings of two surveys of disciplinary faculty at a large Midwestern, state-supported university regarding composing assignments they use in upper-division courses, particularly differences in assignments and assessment criteria related to the course delivery mode—classroom-based versus web-based. I identify a handful of distinctions of writing assignments used and expectations of composing skills in web-based upper division disciplinary courses compared with such classes delivered via the classroom environment. These include: the kinds of composing assignments used, digital literacy expectations and where such skills ought to be learned, and criteria deemed important. Also, I discuss how class size, instructor training in web-based pedagogy, training in assessment of multimodal projects, and the degree to which a program has web-based offerings can affect these attributes. These findings and related discussion encourage further focused study on composing demands in web-based coursework. Such research can help writing faculty understand on which particular skills to focus instruction in first-year writing courses, given the proliferation of web-based courses, and it can help program administrators develop strong survey instruments to facilitate assessment at their own institution.

Grade Performance of Face-to-Face Versus Online Agricultural Economics Students

Online course offerings have been growing at a rapid pace in post-secondary education. An ordered probit model is estimated to analyze the effects of online vs. face-to-face course format in achieving specific letter grades. An upper-division agricultural economics course taught over 9 years using both formats is used for the analysis. For a sample of 81 students, variables of grade point average, number of credit hours taken, verbal SAT score, gender, course format, and major were used to predict final score in the course. Results indicate that online students performed better than face-to-face students at a marginal significance level. Online students were 2% less likely to earn a D in the course, and 15% less likely to earn a C in the course than their face-to-face counterparts. Online students were 8%t more likely to earn a B in the course and 9% more likely to earn an A in the course than face-to-face students.

Intensive use of primary literature in science courses can supplement and prepare undergraduate students for laboratory‐based jobs and graduate programs (1020.7)

Many schools across America, particularly smaller, liberal arts, undergraduate‐intensive schools, may lack the human and capital resources necessary to fully prepare science, pre‐medical, and nutrition undergraduates for the job market or graduate school, as laboratory techniques and critical research skills are coveted by employers and graduate school admissions committees alike. As such, it is the responsibility of the undergraduate department to seek creative avenues of supplementing normal lecture and laboratory classes with opportunities for students to interact with widely employed biological techniques and current topics in medicine and nutrition. As a result of this need, the CREATE strategy (consider, read, elucidate hypotheses, analyze and interpret the data, and think of the next experiment) has proven effective in undergraduate science education. Herein described is, for the first time, the application of the CREATE strategy to upper division courses at Biola University, and measurable outcomes related to student learning, preparedness, critical thinking, and satisfaction. Overall, it is clear that the CREATE strategy can help students become more well‐rounded and better prepared technicians and critical thinkers, particularly in atmospheres where laboratory research opportunities are minimal.