Multi-dimensional learning: Complexity in a drop of blood
By Jackie Amsden, Teaching and Learning Centre
The world is full of messy problems that don鈥檛 have multiple-choice answers.
Mark Lechner is helping students develop the skills they need to tackle those problems through a course-design approach that helps them see the complexity in things no bigger than a speck of dust鈥攐r, in this case, a drop of blood.
Lechner is a senior lecturer and director, undergraduate programs, in the Faculty of Health Sciences: 鈥淭he motto for our Faculty鈥擟ell to Society鈥攔eflects our recognition that there are so many different factors that impact health issues and that any solutions need to take those into account.鈥�
He explains that he was struggling with how to actualize that multi-faceted reality within a single course when he came up with the idea of a course structured entirely around the literal and metaphorical idea of human blood.
The result鈥擧SCI 333 Red, Hot, and True: A Semester of Blood鈥攈as been offered four times, and Lechner plans to run it again in Spring 2018.
鈥淭his course has done a very good job at providing a comprehensive overview of blood using both biological explanations as well as social explanations 鈥� This was a great way to learn in an environment which supported all kinds of learning.鈥� 鈥� Teagan Sorokan, student
鈥淚 want my students to see that blood is multi-dimensional鈥攙isceral, emotional, scientific鈥攁nd that there are dangers associated with not recognizing that complexity. In the course I am inviting students to go 360 degrees around the concept of blood so that they can truly understand it. If they can do that with blood, they can do that with any concept.鈥�
The course touches upon everything from the meaning of vampires to misconceptions about sickle cell anemia to lab-based analyses of blood types.
Exploring such a broad range of topics through the frame of blood, explains Lechner, provides students with the freedom to make connections between diverse content areas. To help them weave the knowledge they are acquiring into an integrated whole, he also facilitates in-class reflection activities on a weekly basis.
鈥淥ne of the prompts I give them is to look for patterns. One example I share is how we often encounter crosses and quadrants in the course: Punnett squares (a tool for genetics), the four humours, the crucifixion of Christ on the cross (and all that attendant meaning of blood), a plus sign for certain blood types.鈥�
鈥淚 think beyond blood, this is a great way to approach other things 鈥� Looking at it from multiple views can vastly help shape your understanding and that is the most valuable thing I have gained from this course.鈥� 鈥� Adriana Kanlic, student
Lechner admits, however, that his approach adds significant complexity to his role as teacher.
鈥淧art of recognizing that the problems of the world are not linear is encouraging my students to express their knowledge in ways that aren鈥檛 linear either. This means inviting them to turn [in] final projects beyond traditional academic products.鈥�
鈥淚 cannot ignore my extensive history in fine arts, nor can I walk away from my love for sciences. Blood has shown me that one can be active in the world of arts and the world of sciences.鈥� 鈥� Carmen Saucier, student
The projects have ranged from CD compilations of blood-related songs to Frankenstein posters to self-produced claymation videos depicting blood clotting.
Such a range, he says, makes it difficult to apply the same criteria throughout, and so he has had to develop multiple assessment rubrics, which takes time.
鈥淭he course can feel a little chaotic at times, but if I can鈥檛 grapple with that chaos in the confines of academia, how can I expect to train the next generation of thinkers who will do so out in the world?鈥�