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CBS Prof a Class Act
Course project turns students into ‘journal' authors
BY ANDREW VOWLES
Prof. John Dawson's research funding is meant to allow him to focus on studying protein biochemistry and heart disease in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, but he must be doing something right with his limited time in the classroom because he's this year's winner of the College of Biological Science Teaching Award.
For his sole undergraduate course — a fourth-year offering called “Structure and Function of Macromolecules” — he requires students not just to complete a project but also to write a research article for review and possible publication in a mock scientific journal produced in his office.
“I turned the normal term essay into a real experience in scientific publishing,” he says.
About 40 students pair up to complete a demanding research project in protein folding and write a draft journal article for review by their classmates. They use the review comments to revise their work before preparing a final version to submit — cover letter and all — to the electronic “journal.”
Dawson, who joined U of G four years ago, selects the best articles for Fold, his mock e-journal meant to resemble a professionally produced electronic publication. (Besides evoking the course content, that title is partly a nod to the one-word monikers — Science, Nature, Cell — favoured by many prestigious real- life publishers.)
He believes the exercise helps students learn better. Although he has yet to draw any concrete conclusions, he says students who spend more time writing the paper — and doing the requisite reading — generally earn higher marks than those preoccupied with conducting the experiment, creating figures and tables and even revising their work.
“Being able to communicate your ideas effectively is a real skill and talent that demonstrates a deeper understanding of science. Those who write well have mastered the concepts and have also begun to make connections between different ideas.”
Dawson uses the assignment to discuss the importance of collaborative research and the scientific publishing process, especially the fundamentals of the ever-expanding field of electronic publishing. In effect, he says, he teaches not just protein folding but also how science is done.
“My students have a love/hate relationship with the project. They hate the amount of time and effort required, but when it's done, they love the sense of accomplishment and what they have learned about science. This is one thing where they learn not just content but also what it means to be a scientist.”
He borrowed the idea from a visiting professor and adapted it to fit an existing course assignment. A web-based tool he designed last year with Teaching Support Services now makes the entire process of manuscript submission, review and publication more efficient.
Among other ideas, he plans to use podcasting to enable students equipped with iPods or MP3 players to hear and review lectures on the course website. But it's not all about electronics. Referring tongue-in-cheek to “arts and crafts,” Dawson says he encourages students to use old-fashioned paper to model and manipulate molecular structures in 3-D.