Post on 05-Jun-2022
Journal-club style presentations in a first yearundergraduate course
Melanie I Stefan
Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of EdinburghZJU-UoE Institute, Zhejiang University
6 Feb 2019
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 1 / 9
The setting
Edinburgh-Zhejiang joint degree programmes in Haining, China
Taught in English; most (but not all) students are Chinese
Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Informatics
Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology is a compulsoryfirst-year course
Curriculum includes a lot of small-group learning and skillsdevelopment
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 2 / 9
Idea behind “Journal Club” assessments
By Agoston Tyll and Yuuki Guzman, OkinawaInstitute of Science and Technology, 2015 (withpermission)
Students to read anoriginal research paperand present it to theirpeers
Assessment that is closeto a “real-life” task for ascientist
Opportunity to read anoriginal research paper
Opportunity to present
Opportunity for peerfeedback
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 3 / 9
The secret:
Provide steps
By Huangdan2060 - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18116885
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 4 / 9
The secret:
Provide steps
By Huangdan2060 - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18116885
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 4 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Steps provided
1 Introduction to journal clubs: Interactive lecture to make studentsfamiliar with the concept, timeline, and grading rubric
2 Faculty journal club: Faculty members do a journal clubpresentation and are graded by students
3 Prepare formative journal club: Students are given paper andinstructions and have 2 weeks to prepare
4 Formative journal club: Students present in tutorial setting.
5 Feedback from formative journal club: Students receive feedbackfrom peers and faculty on their formative journal club, but these donot count towards final grade
6 Prepare summative journal club: Students are given paper 2 weeksin advance, and have at least 2 weeks after formative journal club
7 Feedback and grade from summative journal club
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 5 / 9
Grading rubric
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 6 / 9
Grading rubric
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 6 / 9
Grading rubric
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 6 / 9
Feedback from students
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 7 / 9
Feedback from students
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 7 / 9
Feedback from students
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 7 / 9
Issues raised by students
Fairness (difficulty of articles)
Fairness (time article is available)
Fairness (single-faculty marking)
“The assessment of the journalclub didn’t seem to be very fair.One marker [gave] malepresenters low grades but thesepresenters got high peer grades.Thus the grades given by markersshould be modified with peergrades. Some students got lowpeer grades but high markergrades probably because [their]markers were not strict enough.”
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 8 / 9
Issues raised by students
Fairness (difficulty of articles)
Fairness (time article is available)
Fairness (single-faculty marking)
“The assessment of the journalclub didn’t seem to be very fair.One marker [gave] malepresenters low grades but thesepresenters got high peer grades.Thus the grades given by markersshould be modified with peergrades. Some students got lowpeer grades but high markergrades probably because [their]markers were not strict enough.”
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 8 / 9
Issues raised by students
Fairness (difficulty of articles)
Fairness (time article is available)
Fairness (single-faculty marking)
“The assessment of the journalclub didn’t seem to be very fair.One marker [gave] malepresenters low grades but thesepresenters got high peer grades.Thus the grades given by markersshould be modified with peergrades. Some students got lowpeer grades but high markergrades probably because [their]markers were not strict enough.”
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 8 / 9
Issues raised by students
Fairness (difficulty of articles)
Fairness (time article is available)
Fairness (single-faculty marking)
“The assessment of the journalclub didn’t seem to be very fair.One marker [gave] malepresenters low grades but thesepresenters got high peer grades.Thus the grades given by markersshould be modified with peergrades. Some students got lowpeer grades but high markergrades probably because [their]markers were not strict enough.”
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 8 / 9
Lessons learnt
Even a difficult task can betackled in first year with enoughpreparation
This requires a lot of facultytime and buy-in
Students appreciate thechallenge, even if they find itdifficult
Issues around fairness (andperceived fairness) must becarefully managed
Happy New Year!
By Ben Salter - Flickr: Pig in a bucket, CC BY 2.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=28249453
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 9 / 9
Lessons learnt
Even a difficult task can betackled in first year with enoughpreparation
This requires a lot of facultytime and buy-in
Students appreciate thechallenge, even if they find itdifficult
Issues around fairness (andperceived fairness) must becarefully managed
Happy New Year!
By Ben Salter - Flickr: Pig in a bucket, CC BY 2.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=28249453
melanie.stefan@ed.ac.uk (�MelanieIStefan) Journal Clubs 6 Feb 2019 9 / 9