Hi Staci,

Many thanks for your thoughtful reply, and for the specific chemistry  
and "muddy point" paper ideas. They are indeed useful, and I will be  
certain to pass along to you and the group any ideas I come across or  
develop.

Paul

Paul C. King, Instructor
Massasoit Community College
S 537
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(H) 781-784-2195




On Sep 3, 2008, at 5:00 PM, Staci Johnson wrote:

> Hi Paul,
>
> I am fairly new to TBL and am still learning, but I am happy to  
> share what I
> have learned and used.  I have been using TBL in my biology courses  
> for the
> past 2 semesters.  I also teach Biology for Non-Majors in our  
> Evening Adult
> program at Southern Wesleyan University.  This class is 5 4-hour  
> sessions
> which covers all of Essential Biology (20 chapters).
>
> I am currently in the 'chemistry' section of a traditional Biology  
> for Non-Majors
> course and have a couple of activities that I have used with my class.
> -Our first activity was to make a poster showing covalent, ionic,  
> and hydrogen
> bonds.  I wanted them to describe these bonds in a way that an  
> elementary
> school student would understand.  We then posted all of the posters,
> observed them, and talked about what we did and did not like.
> -Our last class period, I had my TAs build fatty acids, glycerol,  
> glucose, amino
> acids, and water with molecular models.  Each team worked as a  
> member of
> the FDA to tell me if a fat-free cake mix could yield the monomers  
> in front of
> them.  This activity required them to identify each molecular model  
> and
> determine which monomers were part of a lipid.  We then had class  
> discussion
> after teams revealed their 'decision'.
>
> Another tip I received from a wise instructor was to use 'muddiest- 
> point'
> papers.  The students take a minute at the end of class to write  
> the 1 thing
> they are most confused about.  It is great information for me to  
> know what I
> can help them with - either by posting information online or by  
> addressing it
> during our next class period.
>
> I hope this information is helpful to you.  If you have a great  
> idea of what to
> use in your class, I woud love to know about it.  Good luck!
>
> Staci N. Johnson
> Adjunct Professor of Biology
> Southern Wesleyan University
> Phone - 644-5218
> [log in to unmask]
> Office - Brower 123