8. Weir, LK; Barker, MK; McDonnell, LM; Schimpf, NG; Rodeldla, TM; Schulte, PM. (2019) Small changes, big gains: A curriculum-wide study of teaching practices and student learning in undergraduate biology.PLoS One 14 Small changes, big gains: A curriculum-wide study of teaching practices and student learning in undergraduate biology
A growing body of evidence has shown that active learning has a considerable advantage over traditional lecture for student learning in undergraduate STEM classes, but there have been few large-scale studies to identify the specific types of activities that have the greatest impact on learning. We therefore undertook a large-scale, curriculum-wide study to investigate the effects of time spent on a variety of classroom activities on learning gains. We quantified classroom practices and related these to student learning, assessed using diagnostic tests written by over 3700 students, across 31 undergraduate biology classes at a research-intensive university in the Pacific Northwest. The most significant positive predictor of learning gains was the use of group work, supporting the findings of previous studies. Strikingly, we found that the addition of worksheets as an active learning tool for in-class group activities had the strongest impact on diagnostic test scores. This particular low-tech activity promotes student collaboration, develops problem solving skills, and can be used to inform the instructor about what students are struggling with, thus providing opportunities for valuable and timely feedback. Overall, our results indicate that group activities with low barriers to entry, such as worksheets, can result in significant learning gains in undergraduate science. DOI PubMed
7. Zukswert, JM; Barker, MK; McDonnell, L. (2019) Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding.CBE-Life Sci. Educ. 18 Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding
The excessive "jargon" load in biology may be a hurdle for developing conceptual understanding as well as achieving core competencies such as scientific literacy and communication. Little work has been done to characterize student understanding of biology-specific jargon. To address this issue, we aimed to determine the types of biology jargon terms that students struggle with most, the alignment between students' perceived understanding and performance defining the terms, and common errors in student-provided definitions. Students in two biology classes were asked to report their understanding of, and provide definitions for, course-specific vocabulary terms: 1276 student responses to 72 terms were analyzed. Generally, students showed an overestimation of their own understanding. The least accurate self-assessment occurred for terms to which students had substantial prior exposure and terms with discordant meanings in biology versus everyday language. Students were more accurate when assessing their understanding of terms describing abstract molecular structures, and these were often perceived as more difficult than other types of terms. This research provides insights about which types of technical vocabulary may create a barrier to developing deeper conceptual understanding, and highlights a need to consider student understanding of different types of jargon in supporting learning and scientific literacy. DOI PubMed
6. Goodman, BE; Barker, MK; Cooke, JE. (2018) Best practices in active and student-centered learning in physiology classes.Adv. Physiol. Educ. 42 Best practices in active and student-centered learning in physiology classes
active learning; large classes; student-centered learning
This review article includes our analysis of the literature and our own experiences in using various types of active learning as best practices for evidence-based teaching in physiology. We have evaluated what physiology students should be expected to learn and what are specific challenges to enhancing their learning of physiology principles. We also consider how the instructor should design his or her teaching to improve buy-in from both students and other faculty members. We include a discussion of how the readers can evaluate their teaching approaches for their successes in enhancing student learning of physiology. Thus we have addressed pedagogical improvements specific to student learning of physiology, with additional suggestions from cognitive psychology approaches that can improve physiology teaching and learning. DOI PubMed
5. Stains, M; Harshman, J; Barker, MK; Chasteen, SV; Cole, R; DeChenne-Peters, SE; Eagan, MK; Esson, JM; Knight, JK; Laski, FA; Levis-Fitzgerald, M; Lee, CJ; Lo, SM; McDonnell, LM; Mckay, TA; Michelotti, N; Musgrove, A; Palmer, MS; Plank, KM; Rodela, TM; Sanders, ER; Schimpf, NG; Schulte, PM; Smith, MK; Stetzer, M; Van Valkenburgh, B; Vinson, E; Weir, LK; Wendel, PJ; Wheeler, LB; Young, AM. (2018) Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities Lecture is prominent, but practices vary.Science 359: 1468-1470 Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities Lecture is prominent, but practices vary
DOI PubMed
4. McDonnell, L; Barker, MK; Wieman, C. (2016) Concepts First, Jargon Second Improves Student Articulation of Understanding.Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 44: 12-19 Concepts First, Jargon Second Improves Student Articulation of Understanding
vocabulary; learning; concept; introductory biology
In this experiment, students in a large undergraduate biology course were first exposed to the concepts without new technical vocabulary ("jargon") in a pre-class reading assignment. Their learning of the concepts and jargon was compared with that of an equivalent group of students in another section of the same course, whose pre-class reading presented both the jargon and concepts together in the traditional manner. Both groups had the same active-learning classes with the same instructor, and then completed the same post-test. Although the two groups performed the same on the multiple choice questions of the post-test, the group exposed to concepts first and jargon second included 1.5 times and 2.5 times more correct arguments on two free-response questions about the concepts. The correct use of jargon between the two groups was similar, with the exception of one jargon term that the control group used more often. These results suggest that modest instructional changes whereby new concepts are introduced in a concepts-first, jargon-second manner can increase student learning, as demonstrated by their ability to articulate their understanding of new concepts. (C) 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, DOI PubMed
3. Stang, JB; Barker, M; Perez, S; Ives, J; Roll, I. (2016) Active learning in pre-class assignments: exploring the use of interactive simulations to enhance reading assignments.2016 Physics Education Research Conference : 332-335 Active learning in pre-class assignments: exploring the use of interactive simulations to enhance reading assignments
Pre-class reading assignments help prepare students for active classes by providing a first exposure to the terms and concepts to be used during class. We investigate if the use of inquiry-oriented PhET-based activities in conjunction with pre-class reading assignments can improve both the preparation of students for in-class learning and student attitudes towards and engagement with pre-class assignments. Over three course modules covering different topics, students were assigned randomly to complete either a textbook-only pre-class assignment or both a textbook pre-class assignment and a PhET-based activity. The assignments helped prepare students for class, as measured by performance on the pre-class quiz relative to a beginning-of-semester pretest, but no evidence for increased learning due the PhET activity was observed. Students rated the assignments which included PhET as more enjoyable and, for the topic latest in the semester, reported spending more time on the assignments when PhET was included. DOI
2.Barker, MK; Rose, DR. (2013) Specificity of Processing alpha-Glucosidase I Is Guided by the Substrate Conformation CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AND IN SILICO STUDIES.J. Biol. Chem. 288: 13563-13574 Specificity of Processing alpha-Glucosidase I Is Guided by the Substrate Conformation CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AND IN SILICO STUDIES
Processing alpha-glucosidase I (GluI) is a key member of the eukaryotic N-glycosylation processing pathway, selectively catalyzing the first glycoprotein trimming step in the endoplasmic reticulum. Inhibition of GluI activity impacts the infectivity of enveloped viruses; however, despite interest in this protein from a structural, enzymatic, and therapeutic standpoint, little is known about its structure and enzymatic mechanism in catalysis of the unique glycan substrate Glc(3)Man(9)GlcNAc(2). The first structural model of eukaryotic GluI is here presented at 2-angstrom resolution. Two catalytic residues are proposed, mutations of which result in catalytically inactive, properly folded protein. Using Autodocking methods with the known substrate and inhibitors as ligands, including a novel inhibitor characterized in this work, the active site of GluI was mapped. From these results, a model of substrate binding has been formulated, which is most likely conserved in mammalian GluI. DOI PubMed
1.Barker, MK; Wilkinson, BL; Faridmoayer, A; Scaman, CH; Fairbanks, AJ; Rose, DR. (2011) Production and crystallization of processing alpha-glucosidase I: Pichia pastoris expression and a two-step purification toward structural determination.Protein Expr. Purif. 79: 96-101 Production and crystallization of processing alpha-glucosidase I: Pichia pastoris expression and a two-step purification toward structural determination
Alpha glucosidase; Glycoside hydrolase; N-Glycosylation; Protein expression and purification; Pichia pastoris; Carbohydrate synthesis; Protein crystallization
Eukaryotic N-glycoprotein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum begins with the catalytic action of processing alpha-glucosidase I (alpha Glu). alpha Glu trims the terminal glucose from nascent glycoproteins in an inverting-mechanism glycoside hydrolysis reaction. aGlu has been studied in terms of kinetic parameters and potential key residues; however, the active site is unknown. A structural model would yield important insights into the reaction mechanism. A model would also be useful in developing specific therapeutics, as alpha Glu is a viable drug target against viruses with glycosylated envelope proteins. However, due to lack of a high-yielding overexpression and purification scheme, no eukaryotic structural model of alpha Glu has been determined. To address this issue, we overexpressed the Saccharomyces cerevisiae soluble alpha Glu, Cwht1p, in the host Pichia pastoris. It was purified in a simple two-step protocol, with a final yield of 4.2 mg Cwht1p per liter of growth culture. To test catalytic activity, we developed a modified synthesis of a tetrasaccharide substrate, Glc(3)ManOMe. Cwht1p with Glc(3)ManOMe shows a K-m of 1.26 mM. Cwht1p crystals were grown and subjected to X-ray irradiation, giving a complete diffraction dataset to 2.04 angstrom resolution. Work is ongoing to obtain phases so that we may further understand this fundamental member of the N-glycosylation pathway through the discovery of its molecular structure. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. DOI PubMed
