Natural Sciences

A Project of the College of Natural Sciences, Dakota State University funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education, Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program

PROJECT SUMMARY

The College of Natural Sciences at Dakota State University (DSU) has developed a computer-based "SMART LAB" [Science/Math Active Response Technology] for interdisciplinary undergraduate learning in science and mathematics. The learning model for the laboratory is technology-mediated, active student response to science/math topics through involvement in cooperative learning groups, designing, completing, and reporting on lab projects. Laboratories are topic-based investigations structured to emphasize the interconnected nature of the science disciplines and mathematics, both through the particular exercises used and through collaborative interchange within and beyond the immediate lab setting. The SMART LAB serves as a locus for exchange of data, insights, and science/math concepts among classes in different disciplines using the lab. Computers function in four major roles: 1. as device controllers for laboratory data acquisition; 2. as analytical tools for the visualization, inspection, evaluation, and interpretation of lab data; 3. as gateways to network data resources relevant to the lab projects; and 4. as links for communication with other educational communities, such as K-12 classrooms and other undergraduate science/math classes, both in the USA and abroad.

Preservice teachers, both secondary science/math education majors in combined Education/Natural Sciences programs and elementary education majors are a substantial part of the student population addressed by the project. Learning science by doing science, the central theme of the SMART LAB, is particularly important in the preparation of K-12 science teachers. Those preservice teachers, and other students as well, can benefit from network links between the laboratory and other classrooms (K-12, tribal colleges, universities). By assuming the role of mentor/teacher, college students in the SMART LAB add significantly to their own comprehension of the particular lab topics and of general science/math concepts.

INTRODUCTION

The focus of the project is the computer-centered "SMART LAB" established for science/math learning through active, collaborative investigations of interdisciplinary topics. The project builds on the strength of the computer/information systems mission of Dakota State University (DSU). The approaches suggested in the proposal are substantiated by the research on learning environments and learning modes.

In the SMART LAB, computers support the learning process in four major ways: 1. students will use computers as part of the standard laboratory equipment, particularly for device control (data collection) through the PASCO interface controllers that allow the computers to act as the virtual device for a wide range of probes for temperature, pressure, pH, force, motion, heart rate, and many other parameters, 2. computers, with suitable graphics and data analysis software, aid students in visualizing, synthesizing and interpreting the data they have collected, particularly using graphing capabilities of Excel and DeltaGraph and the systems modeling capability of Stella, 3. computers are used to link the students in the lab, through high-speed network connections, to on-line resources relevant to the problems being investigated, 4. computers facilitate dialog and collaborative learning, over the network, between students in the lab and students at other university/colleges and in K-12 classes. This enhancement of network use and the K-12 linkage is particularly important for the preservice teachers in science/math education. As students engage in their own lab projects, they will produce lab-support data resources which will accumulate on a server as instructional materials for DSU and K-12 use.

SMART LAB NEWS RELEASE:

Grant Creates Science/Math Lab at Dakota State University

Madison -- Dakota State University has received a matching grant from the National Science Foundation to create a computer-centered "SMART Lab" (Science/Math Active Response Technology Lab) for science and math learning.

The project, which builds on the strength of Dakota State's computer/information systems mission, was submitted by the faculty of the College of Natural Sciences. Dr. Philip Sandberg, Dean of the College and principal investigator on the grant, noted: "We are creating a rich learning environment which emulates the collaborative, technology-rich working environment of modern math/science professionals. In learning by doing, students will be better prepared for work, whether or not they continue in math or science."

Two major goals of the SMART Lab are collaborative problem-solving and interdisciplinary thinking. Students, in cooperative learning groups, will design and execute lab projects in the SMART Lab and share reports on their results. Classes in different disciplines (biology, chemistry, math, physics, earth science) will exchanging data, insights, and science/math concepts.

The computers will have four major roles: 1. To control laboratory sensors for data acquisition, 2. To help students visualize and interpret lab data and understand concepts, 3. To serve as gateways to network data resources, and 4. To facilitate communication, especially to K-12 classrooms or science/math classes at other universities.

Most of the $70,400 in grant funds will be used to purchase a network of seven dual-platform (Macintosh/Windows) computers, each with numerous lab data sensors, and software programs for student use.