BIO-275: Microbiology: A Practicum Description

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Throughout my program, I have been thinking of the best way to design my practicum experience. As time moved on, I realized the most challenging thing I can do for my practicum is to teach an online microbiology course and make improvements as I go.

The sciences (and science faculty) are typically the most resistant to the online model, and it has been my goal to try and change perceptions. Many times, faculty tell me that there is no way to teach a laboratory online. It is a challenge that I deal with everyday. Teaching a science course online is not like any other online course. There are aspects of science that must be delicately balanced in the online environment. A lot of students tell me... "online science... isn't face-to-face science challenging enough?". Well yes... it is challenging... but my goal is to make science available to all students, whether they can come to campus or not. So, herein lies my practicum project.

The Practicum: Teach an Online Microbiology Course 

One of the best things a student, who is nearing completion in a program on online teaching and instructional design, can do is to teach a course in their major field of study. I am a Professor of Biology and Biotechnology and teach courses in a variety of formats. Over the years, I have worked to make improvements in all my courses and I believe teaching an online course in Microbiology is a wonderful capstone to round out my educational experience in Online Teaching and Instructional Design.

The particular online Microbiology course I am using as my practicum capstone is a 14 week, 6 contact hour course. The course dates run from January 24th - May 8th 2017. Currently there are 30 students enrolled in this particular course. While I understand that keeping up with 30 students in an online course is a lot, I am sure the hours dedicated to this particular course will more than satisfy the requirements for the practicum.

Because the course is a 6 contact hour course (96 total contact hours) over 14 weeks, this means I will be spending approximately 6.85 hours a week simply teaching the course in the online environment. The course will be delivered through Blackboard with one other website being used for the labs (LateNiteLabs.com).

Image Credit: Pearson

What Will I Be Doing for My Students?

 As one would gather, I will be teaching the course throughout the term. Specifically, I will be providing lectures, videos, labs, discussions, and quizzes for students throughout the semester. My course will be set up in 7 modules with each module lasting 2 weeks in length. Within each module will be recorded lectures and videos, virtual labs, discussions and quizzes.

The textbook I will be using throughout the semester is the 4th edition of Microbiology with Diseases by Body System by Robert Bauman. This is a wonderful textbook that students seem to enjoy. Since many of my students are pre-nursing majors, this text works really well because the text is arranged by body system (which is what they are accustomed to in other courses such as Anatomy and Physiology).

Within the course, the students will be provided lecture notes in Power Point format. These notes have been made ADA compliant and are available for the student to download as they wish. Also, I will be providing a video recorded lecture based on the notes. I use Camtasia to record and edit my lectures throughout the course. This provides the student with a variety of ways to learn the material. I will also be providing shorter videos and animations for the students to gain further knowledge on the material we will be covering in the course. The college captions my lectures so that each recording meets Federal ADA standards. Students are also provided lots of different study materials to help them through the material. I provide MP3 short narratives of the chapter that students can download and listen to in the car (usually about 20 minutes long for each chapter). These MP3's have a text transcript to make them ADA compliant for students who may need them. Students are also provided a variety of study games, virtual note cards, as well as an ADA compliant study guide to help each student study in ways that best benefit their learning style.

Students will also participate in bi-weekly discussions. While it is a student-led discussion, I will be working hard to help guide the students. I will be using Voice-thread to participate in the discussions throughout the term.

Image Credit: Voice Thread

For each of the 7 discussions (one discussion for each module), the students will make an initial post responding to the prompt. The prompt covers a topic that helps the student learn more information about the material in each module. The first discussion post will be about "Nuclear Waste Eating Microbes". Module 1 contains a lot of background and historical information and this discussion post will open them up to the unique world of microorganisms. Students will be required to post an initial post about their thoughts on the prompt and what they learned during the readings and research aspect of the discussion. This initial post is due within the first week of the module. Students will then respond to at least two fellow classmates on their posts, which is due during the second week of the module. I will be responding to posts through each module to help the conversation move forward and to encourage students through their posts.

Image Credit: Late Nite Labs

Another aspect of the course that will help the students learn their information is the laboratory portion of the course. I am currently using a virtual lab program called Late Nite Labs. This program offers virtual labs for a variety of science courses. Since I work for the state college and university system, we have a contract with this company to offer the lab program for $15.00 a year. This is much more cost effective than the $150.00 lab book... so students are usually happy to use this program. Students will have two labs to complete for each module. Each of the labs follow in line with the material we are learning in the lecture portion of the course. I will be providing feedback, guidance, and grading the labs throughout each module. Most of my time teaching in this course is spent working with students in the virtual labs.

Each student will also have virtual, proctored exams through Blackboard. I am utilizing Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Webcam in BlackBoard to make sure students are following exam rules and are abiding by all course and college policies. The college pays for each student to have this benefit, so it is no extra cost for the student.

What Will I Be Providing as Evidence for My Practicum?

Each week, I will complete a blog post detailing my progress through teaching an online Microbiology course. I have developed this course completely on my own and that development will be part of my practicum. While some of this I have completed over the past few weeks, I will be reporting on that in my next blog post. Here is a breakdown of the things I will be providing as evidence throughout the semester for my practicum.

1) The Development of the Course (Week 2) -

I will create a blog post discussing this aspect of my practicum for my next blog post. I will be posting a blog on this on Sunday, Jan 21st by 11:59 pm. I have spent a lot of time developing this course. Just to get the course ready for delivery, I have already put in more than 30 hours of work. I will discuss the aspects that I have incorporated into the course and how I have utilized feedback over the course of previous semesters to get to where I am now. I will provide evidence in the form of screen shots, links, or documents to demonstrate my work and progress.

2) The Beginning (Week 3) - 

The course officially starts during the 3rd week of this practicum. Students will have access to the course on Jan 24th at 12:01 am. Students will be navigating the course and getting their feet wet. During this time (the first week), the students do not have science assignments due during this time. I have introduction posts and "getting to know the course" activities for the first week. This is a particularly time consuming time for me. I am making videos and helping students navigate through the course. I will be posting a blog on my work and progress through this introduction week by Sunday, Jan 28th by 11:59 pm. I will be using screen shots, documents, or links to demonstrate some of the work I have completed. I will include these within my blog post.

3) The Course Material and Course Improvement (Week 4 - Week 15) - 

This is the part of the course where the students will be dealing with the material and learning what they need from me and the material. I will be teaching the course, grading, providing feedback, guiding students, and providing support where needed. I will have video lectures, as described above, other material, and will be working closely with students. I will be working be providing examples of my feedback and participation with the students during my weekly reflections. I will also provide screen shots, documents, or videos as evidence for my progress. While this is the main portion of my work (to teach an online Microbiology course), I will also be adding some improvements to my course. I want to make a stronger connection to the material and assignments to the course learning outcomes. A part of this portion of the practicum will be adding learning outcomes to each module so better help the student understand what they are supposed to be learning. I will include progress on this aspect of my practicum during my weekly blog posts. Here is the following schedule for the weekly posts during part 3 of the practicum:

Week 4 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 1 - Sunday, Feb 4th by 11:59 pm.
Week 5 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 1 (cont.) - Sunday, Feb 11th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 1 during this week ***
Week 6 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 2 - Sunday, Feb 18th by 11:59 pm
Week 7 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 2 (cont.) - Sunday, Feb 25th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 2 during this week ***
Week 8 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 3 - Sunday, March 4th by 11:59 pm
Week 9 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 3 (cont.) - Sunday, Mar 11th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 3 during this week *** 
Week 10 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 4 - Sunday, March 18th by 11:59 pm
Week 11 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 4 (cont.) - Sunday, Mar 25th by 11:59 pm
 **** Note - this reflection will include results from mid-term course evaluation to gather feedback on how students are doing in the science course. It is developed and given by me to provide me with feedback with the students are doing. ****
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 4 during this week *** 
Week 12 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 5 - Sunday, Apr 1st by 11:59 pm
Week 13 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 5 (cont.) - Sunday, Apr. 8th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 5 during this week *** 
Week 14 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 6 - Sunday, Apr 15th by 11:59 pm
Week 15 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 6 (cont.) - Sunday, Apr 22nd by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 6 and 7 during this week *** 

4) Wrap-Up / Practicum Reflection (Week 16 - Week 17)

During this portion of the practicum, I will be wrapping up the practicum experience with a reflective blog post during the final week and a half (I assume the last blog post will be posted on Sunday, Apr. 29th due to the Spring courses ending on Wednesday, May 5th. My online course does not end until Monday, May 10th, so the course I am using for practicum will end after this practicum ends. I will provide a final reflection on the experience, summarize areas I can improve, and report on the addition of course objectives through the course. While I will be doing this within each module, I will provide a longer reflection on that process in the end.

I will also be submitting my digital portfolio for review. I plan on completing Goal (learning outcome) 2.3 and 4.2 for the digital portfolio required for the program. This will complete my digital portfolio for the Master's of Science in Online Teaching and Instructional Design. I have developed a website for my digital portfolio. I will submit the link for the portfolio at the end of the course by Monday, April 24th at 11:59 pm or earlier. 

Wrap Up

While I think this practicum is a huge undertaking, I believe it gives me more experience in teaching online in my field, provides opportunity to improve my course in smaller "chunks" throughout the semester (the addition of learning outcomes to the learning module and assignments), and a way to reflect on things that I need to improve in my courses for the future. I look forward to this undertaking and hope to gain as much experience as possible while applying this practicum in a real-world setting.

And... so... lets begin...