Improving Course Coherence & Assessment Rigor: “Understanding by Design” in a Nonmajors Biology Course

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 463-470
Author(s):  
Julie Minbiole
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Understanding By Design ◽  
Course Planning ◽  
Undergraduate Institutions ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Course Material ◽  
K 12

Instructors in two- and four-year undergraduate institutions face a variety of challenges in designing and delivering high-quality courses for their students and in creating accurate assessments of student learning. Traditional course planning (a linear, start-to-finish process based on the knowledge and perspective of the instructor) can lead to lack of clarity of learning objectives for students, uncertainty about course priorities for both instructor and students, and poor alignment between course material and assessments. To address these issues, Understanding by Design (UbD), a course-planning protocol widely used in K–12 education, was implemented to redesign a one-semester, nonmajors “Sensation & Perception” course at a four-year liberal arts college. This implementation improved the instructor's understanding of desired student learning outcomes, allowed core concepts and science competencies to be prioritized as recommended by the “Vision and Change” reform initiative, and led to decreased lecture time in favor of greater lab and student-driven discussion time. In addition, this process allowed components of evidence-based reasoning and scientific process to be incorporated authentically into assessments. Despite the increasing rigor of assessments, there was a statistically significant increase in students earning an A or B on the final exam after UbD implementation.

HUBUNGAN DISIPLIN MAHASISWA DAN FASILITAS KAMPUS DENGAN PRESTASI MAHASISWA

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Didi C. Chalil
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Classroom Learning ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Lecture Material ◽  
A Value

One indicator of the success ofeducation in the level of classroom learning is when a lecturer is able to build student learning achievement and will be more successful if this achievement can be increased if their attendance is above 80% (minimum 10 times attendance from 12 meetings). If the students can be grown discipline and provided a decent campus facilities, then as difficult as any lecture material or learning process that followed by they undoubtedly will live with feelings of joy, even they will feel sad if that day lecturer could not come because there is a need outside campus.There are four stages of appraisal that apply to each student for each course taken include (1) attendance of 10% (2) Task 20% (3) 30% Semester Exam (UTS) and (4) Final Exam Semester. (UAS) 40%. The writer as a lecturer tries to cultivate motivation to learn from the beginning, in addition to always communicate actively with students who follow the lecture also monitor attendance and assignment, each completed college is always given the practice / tasks are directly given the value, usually given the task quite easily so they can get a value of 100, even if there is a miscalculation, they are still given the opportunity to fix the error so that eventually get a value of 100. With the value of this 100, their motivation to grow and even grow in such a way that spur them to diligent lectures.The difficulty level of the task is balanced with the lecture, the longer it is raised so as to reach the maximum average level of student ability at the end of the lecture meeting...This research reveals that there is no a significant correlation between student achievement to discipline presence of student/mahasiswa with campus facilities. The analyzing was taken from an answer of 55 students who were randomly selected as respondents by filling out the Questionaire that was distributed to them. Key words : achievement, attendance, discipline, campus facility

Transitioning to Blended Learning: Understanding Student and Faculty Perceptions

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanette P. Napier ◽  
Sonal Dekhane ◽  
Stella Smith
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Faculty Teaching ◽  
Face To Face Instruction ◽  
The Impact

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. To assess the impact of blended learning on students, survey data was collected at the midpoint and end of semester, and student performance on the final exam was compared in traditional and blended learning sections. To capture faculty perspectives on teaching blended learning courses, written reflections and discussions from faculty teaching blended learning sections were analyzed. Results indicate that student performance in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course were comparable and that students reported high levels of interaction with their instructor. Faculty teaching the course share insights on transitioning to the blended learning format.

Deployment of Mobile Learning Course Materials to Android Powered Mobile Devices

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Chao
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Object Oriented Programming ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Android Market

The objective of this article is to facilitate mobile teaching and learning by providing an alternative course material deployment method. This article suggests a course material deployment platform for small universities or individual instructors. Different from traditional course material deployment methods, the method discussed deploys course materials by using services provided by Android Market. After comparing the traditional course material deployment and the alternative deployment, the author presents strategies to take advantage of Android Market in delivering course materials to mobile devices. Through a case study, this article illustrates the application of these strategies in deploying a class menu for an object-oriented programming course in the computer science curriculum.

scholarly journals Multi-scale virtual field experience, Grand Ledge, Michigan, USA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline S. Marshall ◽  
Melinda C. Higley
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Field Experiences ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Stratigraphic Correlation ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Virtual Field

Abstract. Field experiences are a critical component of undergraduate geoscience education; however, traditional onsite field experiences are not always practical due to accessibility, and the popularity of alternative modes of learning in higher education is increasing. One way to support student access to field experiences is through virtual field trips, implemented either independently or in conjunction with in-person field trips. We created a virtual field trip (VFT) to Grand Ledge, a regionally important suite of sedimentary outcrops in central lower Michigan, USA. This VFT undertakes all stages of a field project, from question development and detailed observation through data collection to interpretation. The VFT was implemented in undergraduate Sedimentation and Stratigraphy courses at two different liberal arts institutions, with one version of the VFT conducted in-person and the other online. The VFT was presented from a locally hosted website and distributed through an online learning platform. Students completed a series of activities using field data in the form of outcrop photos, virtual 3D models of outcrops and hand samples, and photos of thin sections. Student products included annotated field notes, a stratigraphic column, a collaborative stratigraphic correlation, and a final written reflection. VFT assessment demonstrated that students successfully achieved the inquiry-oriented student learning outcomes and student reflection responses provide anecdotal evidence that the field experience was comparable to field geology onsite. This VFT is an example of successful student learning in an upper-level Sedimentation and Stratigraphy course via virtual field experience with an emphasis on local geology.

Teaching and Learning to Communicate

2013 ◽  
pp. 579-599
Author(s):  
Cynthia J. Benton ◽  
Kathleen A. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communication Competence ◽  
College Level ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Professional Success ◽  
Evaluating Methods ◽  
K 12

Effective presentation skills and communication competence are important developmental qualities for teachers’ professional success and K-12 students’ learning. Yet identifying the definitive qualities and methods to practice and evaluate those skills has had minimal emphasis in current education programs. In addition to traditional abilities such as making clear presentations, speaking well, and articulating an argument, K-20 learners are faced with an explosion of options for accessing, organizing, and presenting information using technology. This study documents methods for college-level instruction and assessment of presentation skills, which serve as evidence of preservice teachers' readiness to demonstrate effective communication skills for K-12 student learning. The report summarized in this chapter tracks two years of creating and evaluating methods for promoting professional presentation and communication skills, and includes rubrics focused on the development and evaluation of those skills.

Adult Learners Learning Online

2010 ◽  
pp. 947-961
Author(s):  
Danilo M. Baylen
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Technology ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Effective Practice ◽  
Online Experience ◽  
The Creation ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Specific Technology

This chapter presents a case study in which an onlineexperience for adult learners facilitated improved understanding of blogs and its applications to K-12 classrooms. Data were primarily derived from archived documentation provided by students as components of several completed course assignments. The case studyillustrates and examines how the online experience, specifically the creation and maintenance of a blog, supported student learning about use and application of a specific technology. The chapter discusses processes and results given the contexts of adult learning and instructional technology as well as suggests directions for effective practice.

Assessment in Authentic Environments

2012 ◽  
pp. 32-57
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Hammond ◽  
R. Curby Alexander ◽  
Alec M. Bodzin
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Instructional Strategy ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
K 12

The TPACK framework provides researchers with a robust framework for conducting research on technology integration in authentic environments, i.e., intact classrooms engaged in standards-aligned instruction. Researchers who wish to identify the value added by a promising technology-supported instructional strategy will need to assess student learning outcomes in these environments; unfortunately, collecting valid and reliable data on student learning in classroom research is extremely difficult. To date, few studies using TPACK in K-12 classrooms have included student learning outcomes in their research questions, and researchers are therefore left without models to guide their development, implementation, and analysis of assessments. This chapter draws upon the literature and our own research and assessment experiences in technology-integrated, standards-aligned classroom instruction to give examples and advice to researchers as they develop, analyze, and write up their observations of student learning outcomes. In particular, we focus on standard items, specifically multiple choice items, as an accepted (if limited) method for assessing student understanding. We seek to fill an existing gap in the literature between assessment advice for educational psychologists (who typically work outside of classroom settings) and advice given to teachers (who have lower thresholds for issues such as validity and reliability). Classroom researchers will benefit from this advice to develop, validate, and apply their own objective assessments. We focus on the content areas of science and social studies, but this advice can be applied to others as well.

Teaching Strategies and Tactics in K-12 Blended Education

2016 ◽  
pp. 222-251
Author(s):  
Anne Katz ◽  
Jackie Hee-Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
School District ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Educational Field

With a mission of creating a new paradigm of instructional methods to increase engagement in student learning in order to help develop more resilient students in a high-needs school district, this study examined implementation of the flipped classroom model in an early childhood and childhood education setting. This chapter will start by locating challenges in the current K-12 educational field. It will then examine how flipped classroom model approaches will simultaneously help educators meet long-standing challenges and support teachers to meet the diverse needs of students. This chapter will further discuss a pedagogical rationale for the flipped classroom model. It will then proceed to showcase best practices in utilizing the Flipped Classroom (FC) Model through the presentation of multiple teacher case studies. Lastly, this chapter will discuss considerations that should be examined while executing the Flipped Classroom model.

scholarly journals Another look at the core concepts of physiology: revisions and resources

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-762
Author(s):  
Joel Michael ◽  
Jenny McFarland
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Current Feedback ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
The Core ◽  
Teaching Community ◽  
Conference Presentations ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Revised Definitions ◽  
Organizing Principles

In 2011, we published a description of 15 core concepts of physiology, and in 2017 we described how core concepts could be used to teach physiology. On the basis of publications and conference presentations, it is clear that the core concepts, conceptual frameworks, and the homeostasis concept inventory have been used by faculty in many ways to improve and assess student learning and align instruction and programs. A growing number of colleagues focus their teaching on physiology core concepts, and some core concepts have been used as explicit themes or organizing principles in physiology or anatomy and physiology textbooks. The core concepts published in 2011 were derived from inputs from a diverse group of physiology instructors and articulated what this group of instructors expressed a decade ago. On the basis of current feedback from the physiology teaching community as a consequence of the use of core concepts in teaching and learning, we have revisited these concepts and made revisions to address issues that have emerged. In this article, we offer revised definitions and explanations of the core concepts, propose an additional core concept (“physical properties of matter” which combines two previous concepts), and describe three broad categories for the revised core concepts. Finally, we catalog published resources for each of the core concepts that provide instructors tools to focus facilitation of student learning on goals (learning outcomes), activities and assessments to enable students to develop and apply their understanding of the core concepts of physiology.

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