Transcript Redesigning Introductory Biology

UA Introductory Biology
Redesign: Final report
Lisa Elfring, Elizabeth Willott, Susan
Jorstad, Ted Weinert, Ravi Palanivelu,
Rob Leonard, Brian Larkins, Kate Dixon
University of Arizona
Introductory Biology at UA
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~1800 students per year, ~1500 in fall
This is a course for majors (>25 different
majors)
Six fall sections taught by 6-9 faculty
Lecture sections of 200-300 students
Few graduate student TAs-- Undergraduate
tutors assist in class
Traditional lecture-style presentation, no
required discussion sections
Variable use of instructional technology
Goals of our redesign
Enhance student learning by using more activelearning techniques and increasing students’ out-ofclass time spent on the course
2. Promote students’ view of biology as a rapidly
changing, interdisciplinary endeavor
3. Increase the uniformity in course content and
instructional approaches among the different
sections
4. Increase student success rates in the class
(number of students who achieve overall scores ≥
60% in the course).
5. Develop mechanisms that enable these changes and
accommodate anticipated increased student
enrollment without a concomitant increase in
personnel.
1.
Key features of redesign
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Pre-class tutorials and quizzes
In-class activities that promote student
interaction and higher-level learning
Undergraduate tutors use technology to
provide out-of-class help
Learning materials adopted from Pearson
Publishing- Mastering Biology
Assessment: Pre- and post-tests, embedded
final exam questions, “post-post” tests in
ensuing biology courses
Final report: Fall 2008, full
implementation
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Five of six sections used the redesign
strategies (n=1,184 students).
 One instructor (n= 284 students) chose not
to follow the redesign protocol
 All redesigned sections adopted 11 common
final exam questions on key concepts
 All sections completed pre- and posttests
(administered in laboratory sections)
Learning outcomes
•Compared traditional sections taught in Fall 2007 with
redesigned sections taught by those instructors in
Fall 2008.
•Retirements and a death in Fall 2007-- 2 new
instructors in 2008
2007
traditional
Pretest
52.15%
Posttest Gain
59.6%
7.47%
+/- 9.6%
+/- 11.5%
N= 515
2008
55.31%
redesigned +/- 10.2%
N= 814
63.95%
+/- 8.6%
8.64%
Other student impacts
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Course evaluations: ratings essentially
unchanged
 Lecture attendance: ~75% vs. ~45% for
traditional sections (clicker points)
 Students positive about usefulness of
– Online quizzes (67%)
– Clicker exercises (48%)
– Instructor-created podcasts (75%)
– In-class problem-solving (61%)
Course retention
2007
A
B
C
D
E
W
DR
Other
% DEWDr
13.67%
22.71%
25.21%
21.88%
9.99%
5.47%
0.71%
0.36%
38.41%
2008
A
B
C
D
E
W
DR
Other
% DEWDr
13.23%
22.50%
30.43%
16.82%
11.34%
3.97%
1.42%
0.28%
33.83%
Cost savings
We moved from 9 faculty in 2007 to 7
in 2008 (target: 4 faculty teaching 6
sections)
 We moved from 6 graduate teaching
assistants to 2
 We moved from 30 undergraduate
tutors to 42
 Enrollment stayed relatively constant
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Challenges
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Uniformity of approach between instructors
– Changing instructor lineup
– Assessment, grade cutoff issues
Time to become familiar with new resources
(Mastering Biology)
Student compliance in registering properly
for technology resources
Time required for incorporating grades from
clickers, tutorials into course gradebook
Recruiting undergraduate tutors
Surprises- positive
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Student response was largely positive
 2008 students asking to serve as
undergraduate tutors for Fall 2009
 Increased collaboration between most
faculty-- focus on assessment has increased
engagement
 Ongoing engagement with publisher about
text and Mastering Biology resources
Surprises-negative
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About 1/3 students expected to receive an A
at the end of the semester, despite much
evidence to the contrary
 Pretest/posttest question: “My interest in the
content of this course is ___________.”
Results in 2007 and 2008: 25% responded
“great” on pretests, 9% responded “great” on
posttests
The future
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Shared course resources: Instructor-created
podcasts, useful animations and links, exam and quiz
questions, clicker questions, and course resources
are available on a password-protected website
 Budget situation is uncertain. Will course enrollments
continue to increase?
 For 2009, 5 instructors will teach 6 sections
 Instructor meetings continue-- opportunity for
continued professional development and
collaboration
 Moving toward common final exam
Contact us
Lisa Elfring
[email protected]
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Elizabeth Willott
[email protected]
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Kate Dixon
[email protected]
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