Self-expression assignment as a teaching approach to enhance the interest of Kuwaiti women in biological sciences.

Full Abstract

Stimulating the interest of students in biological sciences necessitates the use of new teaching methods and motivating approaches. The idea of the self-expression assignment (SEA) has evolved from the prevalent environment at the College for Women of Kuwait University (Safat, State of Kuwait), a newly established college where the number of students is low and where students have varied backgrounds and interests and are being instructed biological sciences in English for the first time. This SEA requires each student to choose a topic among a long list of topics and interact with it in any way to produce a finished product without the interference of the course instructor. Students are told that the SEA will be graded based on their commitment, creative thinking, innovation in developing the idea, and finishing up of the chosen assignment. The SEA has been implemented in three introductory courses, namely, Biology, Introduction to Human Nutrition and Food Science, and The Human Body. Many interesting projects resulted from the SEA, and, based on an administered survey, students assessed this assignment very favorably. Students expressed their pleasure of experiencing freedom in choosing their own topics, interacting with such topics, learning more about them, and finishing up their projects. Students appreciated this type of exposure to biological sciences and expressed that such an experience enhanced their interest in such sciences.

Author information

Author/s: El-Sabban, Farouk (F);

Affiliation: Department of Family Sciences, College for Women, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, State of Kuwait. farouk.elsabban(-atsign-)cfw.kuniv.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Advances in physiology education (Adv Physiol Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 32 (issue 2) : pp 147-51

Dates: Created 2008/06/09; Completed 2008/08/06; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 18539854, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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