The WCSE Blog

During our WCSE presentation we introduced our project to collect evidence of scholarship in teaching and learning in Canadian post-secondary Science. Once collected, we will subject this body of work to various insightful analyses that will inspire witty commentary.

You can find the latest version of this bibliography under the SoTL Review tab at the top of this page.   In true WCSE fashion, the list is sorted by author, not by discipline.  Just browse through the collection.  For most of us, it will be our first look into literature outside our discipline and I guarantee that there will be several shiny ideas that catch your eye.

Aside from mining these paper for usable raw material, please be sure that your own work is included, as well as that of colleagues.  SoTL evidence is so widely scattered that we appreciate the extra eyes watching out for it.

I had the pleasure of facilitating a session at WCSE featuring Drs. Deakin, Katchabaw, and Daley (session C1 on Wednesday July 6, 2011). The authors presented a compelling case for toxicology (Deakin) and computer software development (Katchabaw & Daley) as key components of science literacy (slides of their sessions are available at http://wcse.ca/?page_id=107). During the general discussion after the presentations, the point was brought up that each discipline could likely make a compelling case that aspects of their own fields are key components of science literacy. This raised the question of what general competencies all science students should have by the time they graduate.

As many of you may be aware, the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents (OCAV, 2004) tackled this question more broadly (i.e., not specific to science disciplines), the result being the University Undergraduate Degree Levels Expectations (UUDLEs; see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/iqap/OCAV_UDLE.pdf). The UUDLEs were designed to outline the “…expectations of performance by the graduates of the Baccalaureate/Bachelors programs of Ontario’s public assisted universities” (p. 1). The UUDLE’s outlines six broad expectation categories (i.e., depth and breadth of knowledge, knowledge of methodologies, application of knowledge, communication skills, awareness of limits of knowledge, and autonomy and professional capacity) with corresponding competencies which should be demonstrated by graduating students. Thus, these competencies would be expected of all students graduating with a degree regardless of their specific discipline.

Perhaps less widely known, Sloniowski and Adam (2006) mapped the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (2000) onto the UUDLEs (see http://ontarioedudevelopers.wikispaces.com/file/view/OCAV&ACRL.pdf). Information literacy is the ability to “recognize when information is needed and …locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (ALA, 1989, PARA 3; see http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm) and the Standards reflect the outcomes associated with varying degrees of information literacy in post-secondary education. The substantial overlap between the UUDLEs and the Standards suggest that perhaps the key literacy that students, including those in science, should develop during university is information literacy. The central nature of information literacy to science education was raised at the WCSE session and there was some agreement that it is a critical competency that our science students should posses.

I would like to build on the discussion from the conference by bringing it here, to the WCSE blog, for anyone to join in. Is information literacy one of the key competencies of a science education? If you think so, are you explicitly (or implicitly) integrating information literacy into your course and/or degree curriculum? If so, was a librarian, an expert in information literacy, involved in the development of that curriculum? What do you see as other key competencies for science students?

I look forward to reading your thoughts on this issue.

Ken N. Meadows
Educational Researcher
The University of Western Ontario

References

American Library Association (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy. Final report. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm

 Deakin, L. (2011, July). Thinking about how to best form scientists: Incorporating toxicology, public and environmental health risks into the curriculum. Paper presented at the Western Conference for Science Education, London, ON, Canada.

Information literacy competency standards for higher education. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/standards.pdf

Katchabaw, M. & Daley, M. (2011, July). Abort, retry, fail? Why computer science is an essential part of every science education. Paper presented at the Western Conference for Science Education, London, ON, Canada.

Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents (2004). Guidelines for university undergraduate degree level expectations. Retrieved from http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/iqap/OCAV_UDLE.pdf

Sloniowski, L. & Adam T. (2006). OCAV Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations Guidelines mapped to ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Retrieved from http://ontarioedudevelopers.wikispaces.com/file/view/OCAV&ACRL.pdf

Among the many valuable WCSE presentations, a few stand out in my mind. Peter Mahaffy’s eloquent, witty and beautifully illustrated talk admirably achieved its goal, namely “to spark discussions about strategies to create interdisciplinary understanding of complex systems such as climate change”.

I was also impressed by the careful data collection and analysis in the back to back presentations by two U of T Chemistry profs, David Stone and Scott Browning. Their topics of how students succeed (or not) in the transition from high school to university and whether Ontario high schools are equal in adequately preparing students for this transition are germane to all of us who teach science in post secondary institutions

However, the stand out presentation for me was one that I did not expect to benefit much from because my formal education in math is limited. This was the talk by Brent Davis on “Complexity science and math education”. Using complexity theory as a starting point, Brent emphasized that math teachers must have a deep understanding of mathematics to be effective instructors. I was hovering on the edge of comprehension for much of the talk and, when it was over, I noticed that my heart rate was elevated. I spoke to a colleague afterwards and he reported the same physiological response. It was a truly exciting talk. Brent’s research also gives us all some hope. If an excellent scholar with a passion for pedagogy is well funded, the potential for generating superior strategies for measurably improving learning in both teachers and students is very high. Sadly, another thing we learned from the conference is that obtaining funding for research on science education in Canada is usually very difficult.

Rob Dean
Assistant Professor
Biology Department
University of Western Ontario

Hello! The conference is now underway. I hope you are enjoying the nice weather in London. Most of the slides from this morning’s talks are available here.