Language:

Small changes, big gains: A curriculum-wide study of teaching practices and student learning in undergraduate biology

PloS one, 2019-08, Vol.14 (8), p.e0220900-e0220900 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

COPYRIGHT 2019 Public Library of Science ;COPYRIGHT 2019 Public Library of Science ;2019 Weir et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. ;2019 Weir et al 2019 Weir et al ;ISSN: 1932-6203 ;EISSN: 1932-6203 ;DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220900 ;PMID: 31461447

Full text available

Citations Cited by

Actions
1. Add to My Research
2. Remove from My Research
3. E-mail
4. Print
5. Permalink
6. Citation
7. EasyBib
8. EndNote
9. RefWorks
10. Delicious
11. Export RIS
12. Export BibTeX

Title:
Small changes, big gains: A curriculum-wide study of teaching practices and student learning in undergraduate biology
Author: Weir, Laura K ; Barker, Megan K ; McDonnell, Lisa M ; Schimpf, Natalie G ; Rodela, Tamara M ; Schulte, Patricia M
Motz, Benjamin
Subjects: Active learning ; Biology ; Biology - education ; Biology and Life Sciences ; British Columbia ; Classroom response systems ; Classrooms ; Collaborative learning ; College students ; Core curriculum ; Curricula ; Curriculum ; Diagnostic systems ; Education ; Educational Measurement - methods ; Humans ; Learning ; Mathematics education ; People and Places ; Physical Sciences ; Physics ; Problem solving ; Problem-Based Learning - methods ; Research and Analysis Methods ; Science education ; Science Policy ; Sciences education ; Social Sciences ; STEM education ; Students ; Studies ; Study and teaching ; Success ; Teachers ; Teaching ; Teaching methods ; Technical education ; Technology ; Technology education ; Universities ; Wieman, Carl ; Zoology
Is Part Of: PloS one, 2019-08, Vol.14 (8), p.e0220900-e0220900
Description: A growing body of evidence has shown that active learning has a considerable advantage over traditional lecture for student learning in undergraduate STEM classes, but there have been few large-scale studies to identify the specific types of activities that have the greatest impact on learning. We therefore undertook a large-scale, curriculum-wide study to investigate the effects of time spent on a variety of classroom activities on learning gains. We quantified classroom practices and related these to student learning, assessed using diagnostic tests written by over 3700 students, across 31 undergraduate biology classes at a research-intensive university in the Pacific Northwest. The most significant positive predictor of learning gains was the use of group work, supporting the findings of previous studies. Strikingly, we found that the addition of worksheets as an active learning tool for in-class group activities had the strongest impact on diagnostic test scores. This particular low-tech activity promotes student collaboration, develops problem solving skills, and can be used to inform the instructor about what students are struggling with, thus providing opportunities for valuable and timely feedback. Overall, our results indicate that group activities with low barriers to entry, such as worksheets, can result in significant learning gains in undergraduate science.
Publisher: United States: Public Library of Science
Language: English
Identifier: ISSN: 1932-6203
EISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220900
PMID: 31461447
Source: GFMER Free Medical Journals
MEDLINE
PubMed Central
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
ProQuest Central
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals

Back to results list


INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY	(84-028) 37 755 057	Feedback
19 Nguyen Huu Tho St. Dist.7, HCM	thuvien@tdtu.edu.vn	Feedback

Small changes, big gains: A curriculum-wide study of teaching practices and student learning in undergraduate biology

Searching Remote Databases, Please Wait