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Papers by Robert Kosinski

medRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Nov 24, 2021

The American Biology Teacher, 1987

The American Biology Teacher, 1978

VER 5,000 PAPERS HAVE appeared on methods of evaluating teaching (Trend and Cohen 1973), and a pr... more VER 5,000 PAPERS HAVE appeared on methods of evaluating teaching (Trend and Cohen 1973), and a proposition more assumed than proven has been that highly rated teachers produce more high-achieving students. Less than 100 of the 5,000 studies attempt to relate teacher behavior to student achievement, and only 50 use a correlational approach (Averch, et al. 1974). The data here have not supported the relationship between "good" instructors and achievement very strongly. About half the studies found no relationship, and the rest only a slight correlation (Flanders 1969). This study tested the hypothesis that the performance of instructors in a large, multisectioned general biology course could be judged by the averages of their sections on a standardized exam. Although grades in general and standardized exams in particular have shortcomings as evaluation tools (Cronbach 1970; Klein 1971), grades are easily available and often are assumed to reflect the bottom line of teaching. The section that gets the highest average on the course-wide exam may not have the most popular teacher, the theory goes, but it certainly has the most effective teacher. "I get results" seems to be an unanswerable argument. This theory has enjoyed much unofficial acceptance in the Rutgers College general biology course, and the structure of the course is such that a good test of it is possible. The course has 750 students and is organized into 36 recitation and 36 laboratory sections, each run by a teaching assistant (TA). With few exceptions, each TA teaches either two recitation or two laboratory sections. Formal lectures are televised from tapes made by senior faculty members. The recitation TA's explain difficult points, answer questions, and assign quizzes and reports, which give each student a recitation grade. Laboratory grades are also based on quizzes and reports, but on different material. The standardized midterm and final exams are composed of multiple choice questions on only the televised material. They are put together by the professor in charge of the course from among questions submitted by the TA's themselves. Examinations, therefore, are repre

The American Biology Teacher, 1984

where he has taught since 1977. Dr. Kosinski received his B.S. in biology from Seton Hall Univers... more where he has taught since 1977. Dr. Kosinski received his B.S. in biology from Seton Hall University and his Ph.D. in zoology from Rutgers University, where he also was a teaching assistant. He has done research in computer modeling and freshwater ecology, and recently combined the interests in a project for EPA on the effects of herbicides on stream algal communities. He is currently working with a colleague on an NSF-funded project on computer assisted instruction. Dr. Kosinski is a member of the Ecological Society of America, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the American Society of Naturalists, and AAAS. His hobbies are photography and backpacking.

Hydrobiologia, 1982

Cladocera living in close association with shallow water macrophytes were collected from specific... more Cladocera living in close association with shallow water macrophytes were collected from specific locations on plants using a device similar to an aspirator bottle. The proposed technique did not differ significantly from plastic bag or cylindrical tube enclosure techniques in sampling Cladocera living on Chara stems. Shaking the plants followed by collection of the surrounding waters seriously underestimated the abundance of plant associated organisms. The method successfully demonstrated die1 changes in the microdistribution of Chydorus brevilabris living on stems of the emergent plant Hydrolea ovata. C. brevilabris was most abundant at the bases of vertical stems at midday and appeared to move up the stems and into the water column at night.

ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 1996

At Clemson University in the fall of 1994, spring of 1995 and the spring of 1996, HyperStudio mul... more At Clemson University in the fall of 1994, spring of 1995 and the spring of 1996, HyperStudio multimedia modules were used to teach the portion of freshman biology dealing with "diversity" (the different types of animals, plants and microorganisms in the living world). Working individually in our AV center, the students completed the modules outside of class. This experiment saved much class time, and instructional results were positive. This paper discusses this project's methods, problems and results

This project originated with the desire to offer general biology students a laboratory experience... more This project originated with the desire to offer general biology students a laboratory experience which emphasizes scientific thinking rather than a review of lecture content. To create investigative laboratories without many of the practical problems of their implementation, this project uses a combination of "methods modules" for wetlabs and FISHFARM, a computer simulation of a commercial aquaculture enterprise. FISHFARM served as an introduction to the process of scientific inquiry and data analysis. In the wetlabs part of the course, studf,,nt1; designed and carried out experiments using traditional "bench" science. Methods modules were used to help students develop the necessary skills. These modules used videotapes to demonstrate procedures. The program was evaluated on four aspects of student achievement: lecture exam scores, process skills, opinions on the nature of science, and writing ability. There were no differences between students in this experimental group when compared to a control group. Data on student opinion was also collected and showed positive views for the approach. The following topics are found in the appendix: list of methods module videotapes; summer schedule for investigative labs; database summary of student projects; process skills and nature of science test; and student opinion data. (PR)

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1979

The contributions of different sources of error in sampling mixed and unmixed bacterial microcosm... more The contributions of different sources of error in sampling mixed and unmixed bacterial microcosms were evaluated by using analysis of variance. Culturable heterotrophic bacteria from a turbid freshwater impoundment were sampled from 9-liter tanks that were unagitated or mixed with magnetic stirrers or pumps and from dilution bottles that were unagitated or agitated with a mechanical shaker. Axenic cultures of Enterobacter aerogenes were also sampled from manually shaken test tubes. In both agitated and unagitated tanks and in unagitated dilution bottles, dilutions made from the same sampling pipette were significantly different, showing a clumping of bacteria on the scale of millimeters. Also, microcosms within a single experiment differed from one another by a large margin. Dilution mean squares and tank or bottle mean squares were homogeneous for all types of tanks and unagitated bottles, indicating that the gentle mixing provided by pumps and stir bars did not reduce either mill...

Environmental Pollution Series A, Ecological and Biological, 1984

The influence of 0"1, l and lOmg kg-1 of the terrestrial herbicides atrazine, tr!fluralin, MSMA a... more The influence of 0"1, l and lOmg kg-1 of the terrestrial herbicides atrazine, tr!fluralin, MSMA andparaquat on the species composition and standing crop of algal periphyton was assessed using artificial streams. For each herbicide, two experiments were per.[brmed: one using algae from a pristine spring and another using algae from a stream heavily influenced by agricultural runoff. Also, in each experiment, 0.01 mg kg-i of the test herbicide was maintained in the water of half the streams during a three-week period prior to the application of the O" I/1/10 mg kg-~ treatments in an attempt to induce development of a resistant community. A trazine caused the most extensive damage. Rhopalodia, Phormidium and Cladophora were severely inhibited by 1 and I0 mg kg t, and these treatments caused a large biomass reduction. Tr!fluralin decomposed rapidly in the streams and had no toxic' effect. MSMA and paraquat caused reductions in several filamentous cyanobacteria, but these effects were less serious than those of atrazine. Contrary to expectation, the spring community seemed more resistant than the stream community to both atrazine and paraquat. Ah'o, while the 0.01 mg kg-t treatment caused detectable reductions in several species, there was no evidence that it induced resistance to any of the herbicides.