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Full-Text Articles in Education

Roles Matter: Graduate Student Perceptions Of Active Learning In The Stem Courses They Take And Those They Teach, Lorelei E. Patrick, Leigh Ann Howell, Everett William Wischusen Oct 2021

Roles Matter: Graduate Student Perceptions Of Active Learning In The Stem Courses They Take And Those They Teach, Lorelei E. Patrick, Leigh Ann Howell, Everett William Wischusen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Despite many calls to reform undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to incorporate active learning into classes, there has been little attention paid to graduate level classrooms or courses taught by graduate students. Here, we set out to understand if and how STEM graduate students’ perceptions of active learning change in the classes they take versus those they teach. We found that graduate students had taken relatively few graduate level classes using active learning and they felt that more time should be devoted to active learning in the courses they were taking. Teaching assistants felt that they were …


Student Perceptions Of An Inquiry‐Based Molecular Biology Lecture And Lab Following A Mid‐Semester Transition To Online Teaching, Jeremy L. Hsu, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith Dec 2020

Student Perceptions Of An Inquiry‐Based Molecular Biology Lecture And Lab Following A Mid‐Semester Transition To Online Teaching, Jeremy L. Hsu, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The transition to online learning in spring 2020 was abrupt for both students and instructors. While many instructors moved to asynchronous classes, some institutions relied more heavily on synchronous online courses. Here, we evaluate student perceptions of an inquiry‐based molecular biology lecture and lab course following this transition by comparing student survey responses from spring 2019, when the lecture and lab were fully in person, to spring 2020, when the lecture and lab started in person before transitioning to a synchronous online format. Students were asked to identify the main factors that supported their learning in lecture and lab, characterize …


Smaller Classes Promote Equitable Student Participation In Stem, Cissy J. Ballen, Stepfanie M. Aguillon, Azza Awwad, Anne E. Bjune, Daniel Challou, Abby Grace Drake, Michelle Driessen, Aziza Ellozy, Vivian E. Ferry, Emma E. Goldberg, William Harcombe, Steve Jensen, Christian Jørgensen, Zoe Koth, Suzanne Mcgaugh, Caroline Mitry, Bryan Mosher, Hoda Mostafa, Renee H. Petipas, Paula A.G. Soneral, Shana Watters, Deena Wassenberg, Stacey L. Weiss, Azariah Yonas, Kelly R. Zamudio, Sehoya Cotner Aug 2019

Smaller Classes Promote Equitable Student Participation In Stem, Cissy J. Ballen, Stepfanie M. Aguillon, Azza Awwad, Anne E. Bjune, Daniel Challou, Abby Grace Drake, Michelle Driessen, Aziza Ellozy, Vivian E. Ferry, Emma E. Goldberg, William Harcombe, Steve Jensen, Christian Jørgensen, Zoe Koth, Suzanne Mcgaugh, Caroline Mitry, Bryan Mosher, Hoda Mostafa, Renee H. Petipas, Paula A.G. Soneral, Shana Watters, Deena Wassenberg, Stacey L. Weiss, Azariah Yonas, Kelly R. Zamudio, Sehoya Cotner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms in higher education transition from lecturing to active learning, the frequency of student interactions in class increases. Previous research documents a gender bias in participation, with women participating less than would be expected on the basis of their numeric proportions. In the present study, we asked which attributes of the learning environment contribute to decreased female participation: The abundance of in-class interactions, the diversity of interactions, the proportion of women in class, the instructor's gender, the class size, and whether the course targeted lower division (first and second year) or upper division …


Student Perceptions Of Reasons For Lecture And Active Learning, Calan Koch Mar 2019

Student Perceptions Of Reasons For Lecture And Active Learning, Calan Koch

Honors Theses

With perceived student resistance to active learning in the classroom, instructors are hesitant to implement such methods into their classroom structure despite how effective they may be. This research seeks to understand student perceptions related to the transition to higher prevalence of active learning techniques. We aimed to find answers to how students perceive the ideal classroom to be structured, what reasons they perceive for lecture and active learning components, and possible explanations to concerns of groupwork during class time. We analyzed 64 interviews with undergraduate biology students at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, developed coding rubrics from commonly found …


Examining The Understanding Of Inquiry-Based Learning And Teaching Among Undergraduate Teachers And Students, Maren Hudson Dec 2017

Examining The Understanding Of Inquiry-Based Learning And Teaching Among Undergraduate Teachers And Students, Maren Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the main aims of inquiry is to engage students as active, not passive, participants in science. The purpose of this study is to describe science educators’ and students’ views about inquiry-based instruction in order to better understand and improve implementation of evidence-based teaching strategies. Inquiry-based techniques have been shown to improve student understanding of scientific concepts, yet, there continue to be challenges in implementing these techniques. This research project utilizes Q Methodology, a research method that captures both common and disparate measures of subjectivity, to identify commonalities and defining viewpoints about inquiry-based teaching and learning. Three significantly different …


Inclusive Teaching Strategies: An Evaluation Of Course Structure And Summative Assessment In Introductory Biology, Oluwaseun O. Agboola May 2017

Inclusive Teaching Strategies: An Evaluation Of Course Structure And Summative Assessment In Introductory Biology, Oluwaseun O. Agboola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several active learning strategies have been used when increasing the structure of a course as increasing course structure has been known to improve student learning in introductory STEM courses. Much has been studied on the value of frequent formative assessment; however, few studies have evaluated the effective modes of delivering summative assessment. This study examines the use of summative assessment as an inclusive teaching practice to improve first generation college student success in introductory biology and also uses faculty surveys to find out how instructors structure their introductory biology course and why they are structured that way. Final exams were …


Gamifying A First Year Biology Lab Library Session, Lisa Rose-Wiles, Veronica Amour Jan 2017

Gamifying A First Year Biology Lab Library Session, Lisa Rose-Wiles, Veronica Amour

Praxis Presentations

Three years of work with a Biology lab course suggests that an embedded librarian has a positive impact on some student research skills. However, student feedback indicated that students want more interactive library sessions. The science librarian worked with an instructional designer to introduce elements of “gamification” into a library presentation and other library materials. In fall 2016 the science librarian integrated Top Hat, a teaching platform designed to help professors engage students, into library sessions for 16 biology labs. She also introduced Bernard Lonergan's Generalized Empirical Method (GEM) as a research framework. In this session we report on the …


Comparing Game Simulation To Concept Models For Student-Centered Learning In Biology, Margaurete Romero Nov 2016

Comparing Game Simulation To Concept Models For Student-Centered Learning In Biology, Margaurete Romero

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Science education research continues to demonstrate improved learning with active-learning techniques compared to lectures. However, the question of which active-learning methods are the most effective for learning complex scientific principles in various context still remains. Models are commonly used in activities that allow students to simplify complex systems and understand how components interact. I investigated the outcomes for student learning and engagement of two model-based activities - concept models and game simulations. The activities were conducted in an introductory biology course in sixteen discussion sections. Eight sections were assigned to the concept model activity and eight to the simulation activity. …


Perceptions Of Active Learning Between Faculty And Undergraduates: Differing Views Among Departments, Lorelei E. Patrick, Leigh Ann Howell, William Wischusen Sep 2016

Perceptions Of Active Learning Between Faculty And Undergraduates: Differing Views Among Departments, Lorelei E. Patrick, Leigh Ann Howell, William Wischusen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

There have been numerous calls recently to increase the use of active learning in university science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classrooms to more actively engage students and enhance student learning. However, few studies have investigated faculty and student perceptions regarding the effectiveness of active learning or the barriers to its implementation. Previous work surveying a single class in a single department has suggested that faculty and students have different perceptions of the effectiveness of active learning strategies and the barriers faculty face when implementing these teaching strategies. We expand on these previous findings by surveying a larger and more …