Interdisciplinary collaborative project‐based instruction: students in two distinct courses teach each other by building software to solve biological problems (618.38)
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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Interdisciplinary collaborative project‐based instruction: students in two distinct courses teach each other by building software to solve biological problems (618.38)
Description:
<jats:p>We developed and piloted a novel approach to interdisciplinary instruction; this approach relies on well‐defined <jats:bold>interdependent</jats:bold> roles for biology (BIO) and computer science (CS) students in a project‐based laboratory accompanied by two distinct discipline‐specific lecture courses. Student interactions are structured around software development process: (1) BIO students are presented with a biological question, (2) they figure out what data is required and write program requirements, (3) CS partners write a program, (4) BIO and CS students collaborate on testing the program, (5) BIO students use the program to answer the original question. We applied this workflow to five increasingly complex assignments relevant to the genome analysis project conducted by the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP, <jats:styled-content><jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.gep.wustl.edu">www.gep.wustl.edu</jats:ext-link></jats:styled-content>). We tested this approach during two 10‐week quarters (Spring 2012 and 2013) with 65 CS students and 47 BIO students. We assessed cognitive learning gains (skills and knowledge) by evaluating course artifacts and student gains in the affective domain (attitudes and self‐efficacy) using confidential surveys. Assessment data indicate that students appreciate and mutually benefit from interdisciplinary interactions. Students from both disciplines improve communication skills and reinforce mastery of their own discipline by acting as experts and teachers in their field.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold><jats:italic>Grant Funding Source</jats:italic></jats:bold><jats:italic>: Supported by NSF TUES # 1140828.</jats:italic></jats:p>