Digital Commons Network^™

Promoting Higher Order Thinking Skills In Biology: Evaluation Of A Newly Developed Course Using Bloom’S Taxonomy., Coral L. Murrant Dr., Nicolette S. Bradley, Genevieve Newton, Kerry L. Ritchie, Justine Tishinsky, William Bettger

The Western Conference on Science Education

We have recently designed and implemented a unique, large (1800 students/year) first year biological concepts of health course (BIOL*1080) aimed at promoting higher order thinking skills and attributes. Our course served as one of three courses that replaced two more traditional biology courses (BIOL*1030 and BIOL*1040) and incorporates seminar, lab and interdisciplinary assignments in an attempt to foster skills in areas such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, and independent learning. To determine if we were successful in designing a course centered on the teaching and assessment of higher order thinking skills, we ranked the course evaluative materials based …

Less Traditional – More Conceptual: Enhancing Student Learning In First-Year Biology, Cindy M. Graham, James Stallard, Heather D. Addy, William R. Huddleston

The Western Conference on Science Education

Over the last two decades, a number of influential reports have called for fundamental changes to undergraduate science education. Most importantly, these reports advocate a shift from traditional lecture-based teaching formats to ones that use student-focused pedagogies to encourage deep student learning about key conceptual ideas in science. Based on these reports, and the underlying research, the University of Calgary completed an extensive redesign of its first-year biology courses in 2011, resulting in two courses: Energy Flow in Biological Systems and DNA, Inheritance and Evolution. These courses focus student learning on two foundational concepts and use student-centered pedagogies to encourage …

Using Technology To Support The Grading And Distribution Of Written Exam Questions For Large Classes, Lori A. Jones

The Western Conference on Science Education

Because marking and returning written work on tests in high-enrollment classes is an unwieldy task, the trend is towards the exclusive use of multiple-choice questions or online quizzes with no individual feedback. Most large-enrollment classes are associated with first-year courses, where students need timely feedback to adjust to the expectations of university-level courses. However, many students do not bother to pick up their midterms once they are made available. If existing technology could be leveraged to scan hand-graded work and distribute digital copies, students could receive timely and confidential feedback in a streamlined, secure and convenient manner.

This presentation will …

More Integrity And Less Academic Misconduct: The Prevalence Of Academic Misconduct During Test Re-Grading Of Short And Long Answer Tests, Kristine Ottaway, Coral L. Murrant Phd, Kerry L. Ritchie Phd

The Western Conference on Science Education

Many senior level science courses employ short and long answer testing style whereby students can have their test re-graded if they feel they were inaccurately assessed. The integrity of this type of system has been questioned over reports that students may alter their test before handing it back in for re-grading. We designed a study to objectively quantify the prevalence of this type of academic misconduct. Eleven third and fourth year science courses (class sizes: 63-468 students) that used a written testing style and allowed these tests to be re-graded were chosen for the study. All course midterm tests were …

So You Are Thinking About Using A Concept Inventory, Noel A. George, Andrew Mcwilliams, Mihailo Aleksandric

The Western Conference on Science Education

The use of valid and reliable concept inventories to measure knowledge gains and evaluate student misconceptions has gained popularity in the science disciplines. At the first Western Conference on Science Education we discussed additional merits of using concept inventories and presented some data acquired from using a pre-existing chemistry inventory in our first-year chemistry class. Since then, we have developed our own concept questions, tested them, revised them, and undertaken a number of additional steps, including think aloud interviews, to improve the reliability and validity of our Ryerson Chemistry Concept Inventory. This presentation will offer some reflections about our experiences …