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Marquee Science & Technology Courses A successful example of cross- disciplinary course development Jordan GoodmanRobert Briber Department of PhysicsMaterial Science & Eng. CMPSEngineering February 2010

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National need for an understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Cannot be addressed only by educating future scientists The problem is deeper, more systemic, and solutions must extend to improved education for non-science majors. Non-scientists are called on to make decisions based on science

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Discussion in the early spring of 07 UG Dean Donna Hamilton, Jim Gates, and JG Donna was concerned that many of our best students on campus never took science Many would AP out of science when they came in Many would be in majors like Business where more science wouldnt be required Donna organized a group (~15) of interested people who meet in the spring of 07

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Call for Proposals from Undergraduate Studies: Signature program that: Engages senior faculty Creatively addresses the challenge Teach the process of science Elucidate how science addresses world problems Satisfies General Education (CORE) expectations Has departmental and college support Deans picked from proposals Engage 100+ students

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How does science attack problems to which the answer is not known Most (virtually all) science courses we teach are about subjects that the answers are known Controversy is only presented historically and often parenthetically Conclusions are offered as if any reasonable person would have figure it out themselves Even subjects like relativity What role can technology play in society?

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Summer 2007 full day workshop Fall 2007-Present The Faculty became a Learning Community Met regularly over lunch Reviewed and discussed best practices Shared ideas for engaging students in process of science Agreed upon common attributes of courses Developed learning goals and assessment measures Met with advisors to foster full course enrollment

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The Marquee Faculty Research-Active Tenured Faculty Interdisciplinary (3 colleges and 7 disciplines) NEW AREC 200: The Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem: Intersection of Science, Economics and Policy Douglas Parker and Douglas Lipton Life Sciences

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At the completion of a Marquee Course in Science and Technology students will be able to: Look at complex questions and identify the science in the question and how it impacts and is impacted by political, social, economic, and ethical dimensions Understand the limits of scientific knowledge Critically evaluate science arguments Ask good questions Find information using various sources and evaluate the veracity of the information Communicate scientific ideas effectively Relate science to a personal situation Marquee Course Learning Goals

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At the completion of a Marquee Course in Science and Technology students will be able to: Look at complex questions (e.g. global warming, medical technology, biodiversity) and identify the science in the question and how it impacts and is impacted by political, social, economic, and ethical dimensions Critically evaluate science arguments (e.g. those that are made in a news article, a student presentation, on a TV show, presented to a lay person by a physician etc) Marquee Course Assessment

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First CORE courses offered by College of Engineering !

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Updated Enrollment Data

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Mentoring Teaching Assistants TA involvement and buy-in is essential This is a different kind of TA assignment This time hand selected TAs This was an excellent way for them to learn We are working on creating a Marquee TA program

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Learn physics of energy in the context of the global energy crisis and the real world Physics Biology Economics Politics Energy concepts Population and growth Fossil Fuels Global warming Energy sources Possible outcomes/solutions PHYS 105 Physics for Decision Makers: The Global Energy Crisi PHYS 105 Physics for Decision Makers: The Global Energy Crisis

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Engaging the Students Assigned seating in lecture according to discussion group Think, pair, share works only if they are willing to talk to each other Moved Honors students

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Keep it current Homework included reading George Will article in the Washington Post and letters that followed (Nov 09) Visit campus Co-generation plant Honors section will do congressional visits Discussion of current events Science Politics Read & Discuss the IPCC report Discuss the East Anglia E-mails Guest speakers Campus Conservation Manager House Science Committee Staffer Science Journalist

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Example from student project - McKeldin Library

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McKeldin Library Average daytime energy use: 200-250 KWH Average nighttime energy use: 150-200 KWH

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Daytime Running Lights DRLs Are they worth the energy they consume? Sample lecture topic

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Energy Usage by Daytime Running Lights How do we figure it out? Then figure out how many cars there are Estimate how many hours DRLs would be on per car Estimate how much power 1 pair uses Put it together and get the energy usage Compare this to their benefits

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Energy Usage by Daytime Running Lights How many cars are there in the US? 300 Million People (adults and children) How many families? 1. 50 Million 2. 75 Million 3. 100 Million 4. 150 Million 5. 200 Million

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Energy Usage by Daytime Running Lights How many cars are there in the US? (100 Million families) How many cars/family? 1. 0.5 2. 1 3. 1.5 4. 2 5. 2.5

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Energy Usage by Daytime Running Lights (after some more class work) So we use 3 x 10 9 kWh extra electrical power in our cars A gallon of gas contains about 130 MJ/gal or 36 kWh/gal The car engine is about 30% efficient so we get 10kWh/gal 3 x 10 9 kWh extra electrical power means 3 x 10 8 (300 million) gallons of gas/yr on DRLs At $2.50 a gallon - $750M year and 5 Billion pounds of CO 2

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Benefit of Daytime Running Lights Studies show anywhere from 7%-18% reduction in daytime accidents from use of DRLs (mostly head-on left-turns) 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than $230 Billion If there is a only a 5% reduction in crashes because of DRLs then you save ~$10 Billion per year 30,000 fatalities each year 5% saves 1,500 lives (at $5M each -> $7.5B)

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Another lecture topic

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Students were asked: Why the trend? People mistake weather for climate The economy has displaced global warming from the news Its the scientists fault for not being definitive enough Why, since this is a scientific question, do the responses break down on party lines? Dems want green industries Republicans want to protect big business They get their news from different sources

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What are students expectations? Students just want me to tell them the answer What makes them think I know it? Why should they believe it if I told them one?

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Student Comments (about the class) The topics are current so it makes for a really interesting class and it is really well-developed. This is a great class that everyone should be required to take. the course was awesome!!! I really dont like science at all but I loved this class!! I absolutely loved this class! I'm so glad that it was offered this year, and I would recommend it to almost anyone. The material covered was very interesting and very relevant. The class was kept engaging by clicker questions, occasional experiments or fun tasks, and discussions about interesting issues Very interesting course but too many group assignments.... I did however learn a lot and the course covers a lot of extremely relevant material to the world today.

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ENMA 150Materials of Civilization Materials have played such an important role that scholars have named periods of history after them, including the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. This cover the basic concepts of the field of materials science and outline the role materials have played through history.

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ENMA 150Materials of Civilization Students do experiments with materials

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ENMA 150Materials of Civilization Students do Research Poster about materials Teams of 4 students Presentation in lobby of Kim Building Posters cover the following items: discovery, (unique) properties (both good and bad), composition/structure, applications, future applications/potential.

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Possible Topics The 2007 Nobel Prize in physics was given to Albert Fert and Peter Gruenberg for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance which is considered one of the first fruits of material property changes that occur at the nanoscale. The discovery, properties manufacture and uses of Teflon. The discovery, properties manufacture and uses of Kevlar. The discovery, properties manufacture and uses of synthetic diamonds. The discovery, properties manufacture and uses of superconductors. The discovery, properties manufacture and uses of carbon nanotubes.

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What makes Marquee courses different from most other courses at the University? The goals of the courses are independent of the subject matter they are truly cross-disciplinary The subject matter doesnt drive the course Community involvement in the process We meet over lunch for 2-hrs 3 times a semester We have special sessions for Marquee TAs

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Community

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Community involvement in the process Senior faculty People used to collaboration Strong institutional support: buy-in from the colleges Community within the disciplines This community provides innovative ideas and keeps the focus on the overall educational goals rather than the subject material Provides a focus for TAs