The ComGen Pedagogy

The ComGen Teaching Philosophy 

The teaching philosophy embodied in the ComGen authentic research courses is best described as hands-on for students and hands-off for faculty. Hands-off does not mean absent; the instructor is active and present but takes the role of a facilitator who cultivates inquiry and metacognition in the student rather than the expert who gives detailed directions and evaluates performance. In this context the students are not passive learners but instead are allowed to take ownership of their learning process and to experience the scientific process first hand.

The four key aspects of the teaching philosophy are:

1. High expectations are set on the very first day of the course by the fact that there is no detailed daily schedule and that students are expected to perform at the level of graduate students. The instructor needs to “unlearn” the reflex to quickly smooth over any student difficulties.
2. Respect for the students is shown by the instructor’s clear indication that she/he believes that the students are capable of performing the research; this engenders in students a belief in their own abilities.
3. Creating a safe environment where the student feels comfortable enough to risk failure is critical. In fact, the permission to “fail” is a hallmark of this teaching method. For example, early on in the term Dr. Bangera encourages students to “fail” at loading agarose gels by overloading or rupturing the bottom of the wells. Students should feel free to explore knowing that the instructor is available as a safety net and a resource. As students gain independence, they stop asking for trivial help and use the wider knowledge base of the instructor to ask deeper questions.
4. Communication: Students will go through some anxiety especially in the initial stages and it is critical for the instructor to communicate clearly and often about why they are being asked to go through this process and why it is valuable.

What is an authentic research experience?

At the heart of the ComGen program is the concept of an Authentic Research Experience (ARE), a synergistic learning process incorporating all of the important aspects of working in a research environment. AREs offer students three major benefits: a sense of ownership of the project (being knowledge generators), belonging to a larger project involving real scientists (community/connection) and pride in contributing to solving a real life problem to society (self-actualization).

The major aspects of authentic research experiences are as follows:

1. Contributing to ongoing research: AREs reflect the reality that scientists often work on a project already underway and build on the results of previous and concurrent work by colleagues. Students work on real, current science projects and contribute directly to that body of knowledge ideally in multiple phases of the research from design to analysis. The story of the project and its relevance to society is meaningful and motivates the students. They invest in the project because they know their data will be used by professional scientists and is contributing to solving a real world problem.
2. Self-direction is a new experience for first and second year students accustomed to highly structured curricula with a designated textbook and detailed syllabus. The ARE syllabus provides broad guidelines and encourages students to develop their own project management skills as they navigate the research process more independently. They must be adaptive to pitfalls as well as reach critical benchmarks in a collaborative context. Students also often have access to the lab after class time which helps to build a sense of ownership, belonging, and community.
3. Self-assessment provides opportunities for students to learn and strengthen metacognitive skills, to reflect on their process, and to gain independence and confidence. It shifts the focus of assessment from external disapproval or validation provided by the teacher to internal reflection, self-correction and motivation originating from the student.
4. Critical thinking developed from trouble shooting day-to-day lab problems as they arise either on their own, in discussion with other students, or in lab meetings, provides students with opportunities to learn and practice critical problem solving.
5. Scientific literacy practiced through journal clubis one of the most challenging tasks required of the students and trains students to critically analyze original research and wrestle with scientific jargon and writing. Presenting their own research allows students to practice science communication for a wide audience.
6. Collaboration is a key component in all aspects of AREs as the instructor acts mostly as a facilitator of learning, guiding and assisting the students in learning for themselves, to form their own thoughts, and to take ownership of the material through self-exploration and dialogue.
7. Teaching is empowering and leads to deeper knowledge. In ARE students teach each other and are co-developing knowledge, sharing tips and directly learning from each other’s experiences. Furthermore, ideally, teaching assistants are used from previous or advanced ARE courses to assist in lower level classes.
8. Social interactions are important components in building research communities. Students participate in a collaborative, loosely structured lab environment where they build relationships with each other and feel mutually supported in their learning process. At the end of an ARE, students present posters and articulate their research to their peers, college administrators, and scientists. Here, they often recognize they are contributing to and have become part of something larger—a scientific community.
9. Interaction with scientists, either as visits or mini-symposia, help reinforce the broader impact of the students’ work. Students gain a sense of belonging to the scientific community and the researchers gain an appreciation of the students’ level of understanding and enthusiasm.

The ComGen Model: 

ComGen has 5 key course components that are designed to help students develop critical research and higher order thinking skills. These course components are:

• Journal Club
• Lab Notebook
• Self-Assessment
• Poster Presentations
• Assessment

Course components are designed to foster student development in five major types of skill sets:

1. Critical thinking and problem solving
2. Scientific literacy
3. Technical laboratory skills
4. Project management
5. Communication

Ideally, each curriculum includes the four core ComGen course components which are used collectively to develop the five major skill sets. Each component serves to develop multiple and overlapping skill sets. For example, the journal club component fosters critical thinking, scientific literacy, project management and communication skills. For each core component the ComGen team has developed a number of tools including “How to” documents that help the student learn how to perform certain activities (e.g. How to write a summary for a journal article), rubrics to allow the students to see the standards expected, or assignments such as self-assessment prompts to promote reflection and meta-cognition.