Bob Goldberg's Novel Undergraduate Science Education Program

Teaching Non-Science Students About the Excitement of Discovery

ENTER BOB GOLDBERG'S CLASSROOM

Sponsored By NSF and HHMI

Even You Can Be A Scientist
HC70A & HC70AL 2008-2009

HC70A Winter 2005
Radical Class 101

Gene Discovery Laboratoy
A Cultural and Scientific Collaboration
HC70AL Spring 2004

Teaching Without Borders
HC70A Winter 2004

Teaching Non-Science Students About the Excitement of Discover
HC70A & HC70AL 2003

Assessment of Bob Goldberg's HHMI program was carried out in several ways:

1. Students evaluated HC70A and HC70AL at the end of each quarter as part of the UCLA course evaluation system.
2. Students evaluated the undergraduate teaching fellows in HC70A.
3. An HC70A survey conducted on the first and last days of the quarter in order to compare student attitudes towards a range of genetic engineering issues.
4. Students who took both HC70A and HC70AL were given a questionnaire that addressed the impact of these classes had on their academic career, their understanding of how science is carried out, and their view of the excitement of discovery.
5. Each HC70AL student was given an exit interview to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the lecture and laboratory and how to improve the program.
6. Undergraduate teaching fellows and peer laboratory mentors were inteviewed by Bob Goldberg to assess the impact that teaching HC70A and/or HC70AL had on their future goals and objectives.

Evaluations of HC70A and HC70AL Click here to download and read students' evaluation comments. Listed below are sample evaluation questions and comments. On a scale from 1-9 (1 low - 9 high), the following ratings have been obtained for three sample questions in 2009: Question Average Rating Your overall rating of the instructor 8.6 Your overall rating of the course 8.9 You have learned something you consider invaluable 8.9 Question % High interest in subject matter BEFORE taking the course 35% High interest in subject matter AFTER taking the course 85% High difficulty relative to other courses 96% "Such a great class. I've never experienced anything like it." - HC70A Student, 2009 "This was the most unique and exciting all-around experience that I have had academically." -HC70AL Student, 2008

HC70AL Questionnaire Click here to read the results from the HC70AL student questionnaire. "(HC70A) is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had at UCLA. Most of my courses have over 200 people in them and teach blind memorization skills. In this class, I am actually actively involved and have learned not only how to perform the experiments, but also the background, history and importance of these strides in science." -2009 "I sometimes imagine Dr. Goldberg asking me a question in one of my other subjects and I think about how I would answer in a very concise and exact manner." -2009 "This is unlike any other class! The only class that has taught me not only an immense amount of information, but also how to think." -2009 "Best class by far. Mostly, beacuse the level of care inputed by all the TA's and teachers involved goes above and beyond what is required." -2008 "As a social science major, I feel very lucky to have been able to participate in a lab experience conducting original research. This is a rare, if not a unique opportunity." -2006 "Before, I thought of a career in science as a standard 9 to 5 job...Now, I know that to seriously dedicated scientists, science is more than a job -- it's a way of life." -2005 "I have learned to better appreciate the work of scientists, because I got a small taste of what it's like to do scientific research." -2005

Evaluations of Undergraduate Teaching Fellows Evaluations of the undergraduate teaching fellows in HC70A were equally excellent compared to the course evaluations. "Daisy is the best TA I've had so far at UCLA" -- student comment for Daisy Robinton, fourth-year MCDB undergraduate student in 2009. "This discussion section was definitely the highlight of my classes this quarter, and was actually enjoyable to attend. I wish I had more TA's as animated as Aycha" -- student comment for Aycha Erbilgin, teaching fellow in 2009 "The best TA at UCLA. Malik was awesome and the discussions were always fun, interesting, and unique" -- student comment for Malik Francis, an African American teaching fellow in 2003 now in a Ph.D Program at UC Berkeley. "Tiffany Sum is a great TA. I cannot believe that she is an undergrad." -- student comment for Tiffany Sum, a teaching fellow in 2005 now a fourth-year undergraduate student with linguistics major. "Mike is the best TA I have had at UCLA - a fantastic communicator." -- student comment for Mike Gavino, a third-year psychology major.

HC70A Class Survey About a Range of Genetic Engineering Issues In class, students were asked many controversial and thought provoking questions about their opinions on issues affecting the present and issues that will soon be affecting the future. Click here to download survey questions and results. An example of a question asked and the corresponding results is shown in the table.   If you could choose traits for your baby, would you choose to: First Day Last Day Rule out a fatal disease 88% 96% Ensure greater intelligence 9% 0% No Answer 3% 4%