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Author: Stephen M. Rybczynski Publisher: ISBN: Category : Teaching Languages : en Pages : 99
Book Description
There continues to be interest in reforming educational practices to better prepare students to succeed. For example, cooperative learning, scientific inquiry, and explicit and reflective (ER) discussions are advocated to improve student attitude and achievement; however, research suggests this is not always the case. The efficacy of reform efforts should be assessed to make informed decisions regarding best instructional practices. In this dissertation, we used qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the effects of two non-traditional instructional practices in an introductory undergraduate biology course; out-of-class collaborative group study in a large-lecture course and the revision of a lab course from expository to inquiry instruction, with and without ER discussions. In chapter 1, we related out-of-class study group (SG) usage to performance on content exams, explored patterns of SG usage, and qualitatively described student perceptions of SGs. No relationship was found between gains in content knowledge and SG use. Students that participated in SGs did, however, believe they were beneficial and four patterns of SG use were identified. Thematic analysis revealed pre-conceptions and in-class experiences influence student decisions to utilize SGs. Students require guidance in the successful use of SGs, and instructors can help by making students aware of potential group composition problems, helping organize groups that are compatible, and providing materials to focus study efforts. In chapters 2 and 3, we assessed how different instructional models affected three aspects of student attitude towards biology lab: confidence, perception of usefulness, and motivation to overcome challenges (effectence motivation; EM). We quantified the effects of inquiry versus expository instruction, both with and without ER, on sub-aspects of attitude, and used qualitative methods to identify factors influencing attitude. There were no differences among treatment combinations in relative change in attitude (RCA) for confidence, usefulness, or EM; however, significant differences in RCA for confidence and EM were found among lab sections. Factors other than instructional model, especially course content, the teaching assistant, assessment, and students' personal characteristics played a larger role in determining attitude and should be considered when implementing curriculum reforms.
Author: Stephen M. Rybczynski Publisher: ISBN: Category : Teaching Languages : en Pages : 99
Book Description
There continues to be interest in reforming educational practices to better prepare students to succeed. For example, cooperative learning, scientific inquiry, and explicit and reflective (ER) discussions are advocated to improve student attitude and achievement; however, research suggests this is not always the case. The efficacy of reform efforts should be assessed to make informed decisions regarding best instructional practices. In this dissertation, we used qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the effects of two non-traditional instructional practices in an introductory undergraduate biology course; out-of-class collaborative group study in a large-lecture course and the revision of a lab course from expository to inquiry instruction, with and without ER discussions. In chapter 1, we related out-of-class study group (SG) usage to performance on content exams, explored patterns of SG usage, and qualitatively described student perceptions of SGs. No relationship was found between gains in content knowledge and SG use. Students that participated in SGs did, however, believe they were beneficial and four patterns of SG use were identified. Thematic analysis revealed pre-conceptions and in-class experiences influence student decisions to utilize SGs. Students require guidance in the successful use of SGs, and instructors can help by making students aware of potential group composition problems, helping organize groups that are compatible, and providing materials to focus study efforts. In chapters 2 and 3, we assessed how different instructional models affected three aspects of student attitude towards biology lab: confidence, perception of usefulness, and motivation to overcome challenges (effectence motivation; EM). We quantified the effects of inquiry versus expository instruction, both with and without ER, on sub-aspects of attitude, and used qualitative methods to identify factors influencing attitude. There were no differences among treatment combinations in relative change in attitude (RCA) for confidence, usefulness, or EM; however, significant differences in RCA for confidence and EM were found among lab sections. Factors other than instructional model, especially course content, the teaching assistant, assessment, and students' personal characteristics played a larger role in determining attitude and should be considered when implementing curriculum reforms.
Author: Jo Handelsman Publisher: Macmillan ISBN: 9781429201889 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
Seasoned classroom veterans, pre-tenured faculty, and neophyte teaching assistants alike will find this book invaluable. HHMI Professor Jo Handelsman and her colleagues at the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching (WPST) have distilled key findings from education, learning, and cognitive psychology and translated them into six chapters of digestible research points and practical classroom examples. The recommendations have been tried and tested in the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology and through the WPST. Scientific Teaching is not a prescription for better teaching. Rather, it encourages the reader to approach teaching in a way that captures the spirit and rigor of scientific research and to contribute to transforming how students learn science.
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309256496 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 203
Book Description
Americans have long recognized that investments in public education contribute to the common good, enhancing national prosperity and supporting stable families, neighborhoods, and communities. Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Today's children can meet future challenges if their schooling and informal learning activities prepare them for adult roles as citizens, employees, managers, parents, volunteers, and entrepreneurs. To achieve their full potential as adults, young people need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that facilitate mastery and application of English, mathematics, and other school subjects. At the same time, business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-management - often referred to as "21st century skills." Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century describes this important set of key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. These labels include both cognitive and non-cognitive skills- such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn. 21st century skills also include creativity, innovation, and ethics that are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments. This report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century summarizes the findings of the research that investigates the importance of such skills to success in education, work, and other areas of adult responsibility and that demonstrates the importance of developing these skills in K-16 education. In this report, features related to learning these skills are identified, which include teacher professional development, curriculum, assessment, after-school and out-of-school programs, and informal learning centers such as exhibits and museums.
Author: Cody Patrick Watters Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 190
Book Description
Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) present students with unique opportunities to work through relevant scientific problems and experience what it is like to be a scientist. They are considered to be high impact practices based on the findings that students who participate in UREs are more likely to persist in their science major and enter a scientific career. Other benefits to participation in UREs include increased independence, increased cognitive and personal skills, and an increased sense of ownership for students. Unfortunately, most universities cannot offer UREs to the majority of their undergraduate science majors. One solution to this problem is to include research-based work in the course curriculum. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are designed to bring elements of the traditional UREs, including scientific practices, discovery, relevance, iteration and collaboration, into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, assess and refine a CURE module that could be used to inform the transformation of our biology department's laboratory curriculum to include research experiences that would benefit all of our nearly 2,000 undergraduate majors. This study (1) assessed student interest and opportunity for participation in research through student and faculty surveys, (2) evaluated current laboratory curriculum from beginning, intermediate, and upper-division courses for the degree of inquiry, and (3) designed and evaluated a CURE to serve as a model for large-scale curricular reform. Survey results from 2012 indicated that 91% of students were interested in performing research, but only 14% had participated by their junior or senior year. Faculty survey results indicated that an average of 3 students per year were mentored by tenure-track faculty, but this accommodated less than 3% of biology pre-majors and majors. Assessment of the existing laboratory curriculum for levels of inquiry revealed either a lack, or very low levels, of inquiry in all but one lower division exercise. These results confirmed the need for curricular reform. To demonstrate feasibility, a three-week Model CURE was created to replace the traditional curriculum in an upper-division Developmental Biology course. Through the Model CURE, students studied the development of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) under normal conditions and after exposure to teratogens that are present in local waterways. Assessments of the impact of the new curriculum on student knowledge, skills, and attitudes were conducted over several semesters through pre-/post-instruction surveys, laboratory write-ups, an embedded exam essay question related to the CURE project and focus groups with students participating in traditional UREs and the Model CURE. Pre-/post-instruction surveys highlighted student gains and exposed areas of the curriculum that could still be improved. Evaluation of student laboratory write-ups indicated a shift in students' perceived gains from basic techniques and foundational knowledge at the beginning of the Model CURE to research-related skills and advanced knowledge by the end. Insights from these assessments also lead to the addition of a fourth week and improvements to the laboratory manual. Analysis of student exam essays indicated that students recognized all five CURE elements in the research they performed during the module. Novel discovery was discussed least often, and was highlighted as an element of the curriculum that could use additional emphasis. Through focus groups, URE students noted the importance of the primary literature, the need for troubleshooting, the benefits of collaboration, the relevance of their projects, and the importance of building relationships with mentors. Model CURE students participating in focus groups also discussed troubleshooting, collaboration, relevance, and a sense of project ownership as elements present in their laboratory course, suggesting that they experienced many of the same benefits and gains as their URE counterparts. Collectively, these results indicate that even a short research module can have positive impacts on students and that evaluation of student data can lead to curricular improvements with observable student gains.
Author: Ivan Man-Tsun Chim Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Research institutions employ instructors with various faculty titles to teach undergraduate students, but it is unclear whether Tenure-track Teaching Faculty (TF) are implementing more effective learning pedagogies than their Non-Tenure track Lecturer and Tenure-track Research Faculty (RF) counterparts. To determine what types of learning pedagogies were being implemented in undergraduate biology classrooms from University of California, San Diego, we quantified their classroom learning activities with the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) and coded the cognitive skills needed for the corresponding exam questions with Bloom's Taxonomy. We observed that Teaching faculty engaged in significantly more Interactive activities and fewer Passive activities than Lecturers and Research Faculty. Subsequent analyses on the cognitive skills needed for exam questions revealed Teaching faculty incorporate fewer Recall questions than Research Faculty. Therefore, with significant differences in both between Research Faculty and Teaching faculty, an instructor's teaching practices may correlate with their assessment practices. Research faculty spend more time on Passive activities in the classroom, which predicts higher proportions of rote memorization questions on exams. Future work to incorporate student feedback surveys and course grades might paint a more holistic picture about the effectiveness of different teaching and assessment practices.
Author: Joel Lee Gardner Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
One learning problem is that public understanding of science is limited. Many people blame at least part of the problem on the predominant lecture approach for students' lack of science understanding. Current research indicates that more active instructional approaches can improve student learning in introductory undergraduate biology courses. Active learning may be difficult to implement because methods and strategies, ranging from in-class collaborative problem-solving to out of class multimedia presentations, are diverse, and sometimes difficult to implement. Merrill's First Principles of Instruction (hereafter referred to as "First Principles" or "First Principles of Instruction") provides a framework for implementing active learning strategies. This study used First Principles of Instruction as a framework for organizing multiple active learning strategies in a web-based module in an introductory biology course. Participants in this exploratory study were university students in Life Sciences 1350, an introductory biology course for nonscience majors. Students were randomly assigned to use either the module using First Principles of Instruction (hereafter called the First Principles module) or the module using a more traditional web-based approach (hereafter called the traditional module) as supplementary instruction. The First Principles module implemented several active learning strategies and used a progression of whole problems and several demonstration and application activities to teach the topic of "microevolution," defined as the study of how populations evolve and change over time. The traditional module implemented a more traditional web-based approach, providing information and explanations about microevolution with limited examples. This exploratory study's results showed that the learning gain from pretest to posttest at the remember level was significant for the traditional group at alpha = .05 and was significant for the First Principles group at alpha = .1. In addition the pretest to posttest gain at problem solving for the First Principles group was significant at alpha = .05. When students rated their confidence in solving future problems, those in the First Principles group were significantly more likely to predict future success at alpha = .1.
Author: Wang, Victor C.X. Publisher: IGI Global ISBN: 1522531335 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 664
Book Description
As the educational system continues to evolve, it is essential that educators of today devise innovative and strategic approaches to program development and assessment. The Handbook of Research on Program Development and Assessment Methodologies in K-20 Education is an essential reference source for the latest terminology and concepts related to program development. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics such as cognitive diagnostic assessments, self-directed learning, and digital education, this publication is ideally designed for educators, students, program designers, and librarians seeking current research on inventive strategies and practices to enhance education in the 21st century.
Author: Stephen M. Rybczynski
Author: Stephen M. Rybczynski
Author: Jo Handelsman
Author: National Research Council
Author: 
Author: Cody Patrick Watters
Author: Ivan Man-Tsun Chim
Author: 
Author: Joel Lee Gardner
Author: 
Author: Wang, Victor C.X.