From “Traditional” to Research-Based Instructional Strategies: An Assessment of Learning Gains

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 302-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah B. Cosgrove ◽  
Neal H. Olitsky
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Assessment Of Learning ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Traditional Class

The cognitive science literature provides several research based instructional strategies (RBIS) proven to be effective in student learning. Given the prevalence of lecture-based classes and instructor-led discussions, understanding the effects of switching from the “traditional” method to employing RBIS would provide a better understanding of the value of these strategies. In this paper, we conduct a controlled experiment comparing a “traditional,” lecture-based class to a class in which these RBIS are carefully employed. Students exposed to the refined RBIS approach show significantly higher gains in learning of approximately 15 percentage points when compared to students in a traditional class.

scholarly journals Teaching More by Lecturing Less

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Knight ◽  
William B. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Student Responsibility ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Interactive Engagement ◽  
Interactive Classroom ◽  
Made In

We carried out an experiment to determine whether student learning gains in a large, traditionally taught, upper-division lecture course in developmental biology could be increased by partially changing to a more interactive classroom format. In two successive semesters, we presented the same course syllabus using different teaching styles: in fall 2003, the traditional lecture format; and in spring 2004, decreased lecturing and addition of student participation and cooperative problem solving during class time, including frequent in-class assessment of understanding. We used performance on pretests and posttests, and on homework problems to estimate and compare student learning gains between the two semesters. Our results indicated significantly higher learning gains and better conceptual understanding in the more interactive course. To assess reproducibility of these effects, we repeated the interactive course in spring 2005 with similar results. Our findings parallel results of similar teaching-style comparisons made in other disciplines. On the basis of this evidence, we propose a general model for teaching large biology courses that incorporates interactive engagement and cooperative work in place of some lecturing, while retaining course content by demanding greater student responsibility for learning outside of class.

Collaborative Learning in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Classroom

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn S. Potts ◽  
Sarah M. Ginsberg
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Abstract In recent years, colleges and universities across the country have been called upon to increase the quality of education provided and to improve student retention rates. In response to this challenge, many faculty are exploring alternatives to the traditional “lecture-centered” approach of higher education in an attempt to increase student learning and satisfaction. Collaborative learning is one method of teaching, which has been demonstrated to improve student learning outcomes.

Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALGains)

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayle Vogt ◽  
Catherine Atwong ◽  
Jean Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Student Perception ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Assessment Of Learning ◽  
High Level

Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALGains) is a Web-based instrument for measuring student perception of their learning in a variety of courses. The authors adapted this instrument to measure students’ achieved proficiency in analyzing cases in an advanced business communication class. The instrument showed that students did achieve a high level of proficiency and that they did so equally in both traditional and online classes.

scholarly journals Writing Assignments with a Metacognitive Component Enhance Learning in a Large Introductory Biology Course

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Mynlieff ◽  
Anita L. Manogaran ◽  
Martin St. Maurice ◽  
Thomas J. Eddinger
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Act Scores ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Calibrated Peer Review ◽  
Written Recall ◽  
Introductory Biology Course ◽  
Retention Of Knowledge ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors.

Undergraduate Research Abroad: Shared Themes in Student Learning from Two Models of Course-Embedded Undergraduate Research in Field Biology Study Abroad Courses

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Hamel ◽  
◽  
Hannah M. ter Hofstede ◽  
Adrienne Gauthier ◽  
David Lopatto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Professional Research ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The authors present student self-reported learning gains from two undergraduate courses that embed research within study abroad courses. Students in one course worked in small groups on original research projects; students in the second course collectively contributed to one ongoing, professional research project. Differences in student learning between courses raise questions about the relationship of course structures to high-impact practices.

Undergraduate Student Learning Gains and Satisfaction in Online and In-Person Animal Science Courses

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. nse2017.02.0003
Author(s):  
Abby E. Neu ◽  
Marshall D. Stern ◽  
Krishona L. Martinson
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Student ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Animal Science ◽  
Science Courses

Quality-Assurance Assessment of Learning Outcomes in Mathematics

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
Seifedine Kadry
Keyword(s):  
Differential Equation ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Assessment Of Learning ◽  
Analyze Data

Student outcomes are statements that describe the attributes; skills and abilities that students should have and be able to do by the time of graduation. For quality assurance evaluation, these outcomes must be assessed. In order to evaluate the level to which an outcome is met, it is necessary to select some courses where the outcome is covered. Course objectives must be linked to the student outcomes and define in terms of measurable performance indicators. Using just two outcomes as an example, this paper presents a systematic approach to assess directly and indirectly student learning outcomes in Mathematics through differential equation course, by define appropriate measurable performance indicators, build up assessment rubrics, collect and analyze data for possible recommendations and improvement.

Which Way Is Better? Comparison of Two Interactive Modeling Approaches for Teaching Meiosis in an Introductory Undergraduate Biology Course

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-109
Author(s):  
Kelsey J. Metzger ◽  
Joanna Yang Yowler
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Free Response ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Modeling Approaches ◽  
Post Assessment ◽  
Mitosis And Meiosis

The processes of mitosis and meiosis are oft-cited and long-standing examples of concepts that are difficult for students to learn and understand. While there are many examples in the literature of “how-to-do-it,” innovative instructional approaches for teaching mitosis and meiosis, publications that include measurement of learning gains are fewer. Moreover, when measurement of learning gains are reported, the outcomes of innovative approaches are most often compared to outcomes from traditional lecture-format instruction. In contrast, this research compares two active-learning approaches to teaching meiosis through modeling in an introductory undergraduate biology course for health sciences majors. Items from the published, validated Meiosis Concept Inventory were used for pre- and post-instruction assessment. In addition, we collected data regarding student perceptions of the learning experience in each modeling scenario through two Likert-scale items and two free-response items. Overall, students demonstrated significant learning gains from pre- to post-assessment. We found no significant differences in performance on the posttest between the two modeling approaches, indicating that the selection of the modeling activity used to support student learning can be made on the basis of other criteria, such as instructor preference, physical classroom layout, or available supplies.

Measuring Information Content of Freehand Sketches Using a Cognitive Chunk Visualization Protocol

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiradeep Sen ◽  
Quintcey Parrish ◽  
Omar Galil
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Information Content ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
New Method ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Software Program ◽  
Er Model ◽  
Protocol Study

This paper first presents a protocol study and its software realization for visualizing cognitive chunks as they form in real time during freehand sketching of design concepts, and then illustrates a method and metrics for measuring the information content of freehand sketches based on those chunks. A manual protocol for detecting cognitive chunks during sketching was reported earlier. In this research, the said protocol was automated into a software program and validated in a new protocol study, using new participants. The chunks detected by the program, by definitions in cognitive science literature, serve as entities or units of information conceived at once by the designer. The relations between these entities, esp. spatial relations, are then computed using a new method, which represents the sketch as an entity-relation (ER) model. An established protocol for measuring information of ER models is then applied to compute the information content of the sketches.

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