Promoting teaching through active learning
The goal of the NorthStar Institute is to promote scientific teaching through active learning, diversity and assessment. It has been modeled after the highly successful HHMI National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology (SI).
Like SI, the Northstar Institute format will include reflective writing, planning, reading, researching, discussing teaching methods and philosophy, interactive presentations, and developing effective teaching materials that all of the participants use and evaluate at their home institutions in the ensuing academic year.
Participant responsibilities:
Write a short teaching philosophy before arriving at the Summer Institute
Stay for the entire Summer Institute
Participate in follow-up Summer Institute evaluation during and at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year
Teach one or more of the instructional materials developed at the Summer Institute in introductory or survey biology, introductory molecular biology/genetics, introductory ecology/evolution, or another course during the 2011-2012 academic year
Coordinate, or recruit a colleague to coordinate, a seminar in mentoring and a scientific teaching workshop for graduate students, postdocs or faculty, during the 2011-2012 academic year or the summer of 2011
Evaluate the instructional materials and the mentoring seminar and scientific teaching workshop taught at their home institutions and report their findings to the Summer Institute
At the Northstar Institute, participants will:
Engage in teaching and learning through interactive presentations, mini-seminars, group work and discussions
Work in small, multi-university groups of approximately six participants to develop instructional materials for one general biology topic area (genetics, cell biology, ecology, evolution, etc.)
Design and adapt instructional materials that integrate themes of active learning, assessment, and diversity and that have clearly defined learning goals
Present instructional materials to Northstar Institute participants for feedback and review, then revise and post them on the interactive Northstar Institute website
Tentative Agenda
- Available here in PDF format.
