Redesign%20of%20Biology%20101%20at%20Salisbury%20University

1
Redesign of Biology 101 at Salisbury University

• Maryland Course Redesign Workshop
• 30 May 2008

2
SU Redesign Team

• Clem Counts
• Mark Frana
• Sam Geleta
• Ron Gutberlet
• Mark Holland
• Wanda Kelly
• Joan Maloof
• Claudia Morrison-Parker
• Wanda Perkins
• Betty Lou Smith
• Bob Tardiff
• Melissa Thomas
• McGraw-Hill
• Heidi Freund, Meghan Moreau, Matt Swinand
• Enhancement of online learning in Biology 210
• Kim Hunter, Richard Hunter

Dr. Les Erickson, learning technology guru (left)
3
Selected Goals of Biology 101

• Improve biological literacy of our students
• Demonstrate relevance of biological science to
  all citizens
• Create a positive experience of biology, doing
  justice to the amazing natural world
• Distinguish science from non-science
• Share practical information about personal and
  environmental health

4
Traditional Course

• Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab per
  week
• Large lecture sections (72-96 students)
• Small lab sections (24 students)
• Common lab syllabus
• Course drift and duplication of effort in lecture
• Engagement could be improved
• Clicker use recently begun in some sections

5
Redesigned Course

• One hour of lecture and two hours of lab per
  week
• Large lecture sections (96 students)
• Small lab sections (24 students)
• Shared online component
• Engagement will be improved
• Use of WebCT, clickers, eBook option

6
Pilot of Redesigned Course

• 1 hour 15 minutes of lecture and two hours of
  lab per week
• Will decrease to a single 50-minute meeting per
  week for lecture
• Time for lab/discussion will remain the same
• Use of WebCT to deliver online content that
  partially replaces traditional lectures
• Weekly instructions
• Study guide
• Online lesson from McGraw-Hill
• Practice activities from McGraw-Hill
• Additional links
• Online quiz
• eBook
• Maximized use of lab time for activities,
  discussion, team contests
• Use of clickers to engage more students, to
  initiate discussions, and to automate some
  grading

7
Evaluation and Assessment

• Three surveys
• Midsemester survey
• End-of-semester survey
• Course evaluations
• Embedded exam questions
• Same instructor, different semesters
• Same semester, different instructors
• DFW rates
• Same instructor, different semesters

8
Impact of Redesign on Student Engagement and
LearningThe Good

• I liked the online style of the course.
• Online quizzes were helpful.
• I usually do not like bio but it quickly became
  my favorite this semester.

9
Impact of Redesign on Student Engagement and
LearningThe Good

• easy to want to come to class every time and
  not fall asleep.
• This was my favorite course this semester.
• I like the way this class is conducted better
  than my friends bio classes.

10
Impact of Redesign on Student Engagement and
LearningThe Good

• I really like the mix between online work and
  class time.
• It is new and a little hard to get used to, but
  I like it!
• I never really liked bio until now.
• I like the online materialit makes class easier
  to attend.
• The breakdown of DNA and protein synthesis is
  interesting and never taught in my high school.

11
Impact of Redesign on Student Engagement and
LearningThe Bad

• I would prefer a hard covered textbook.
• YouTube usually doesnt work on my computer.
• The only thing I dont like about the lessons is
  it goes into a great detail and covers things we
  dont need to know for the exam.

12
Impact of Redesign on Student Engagement and
LearningThe Ugly

• Hybrid class sucked b/c I didnt learn anything
  from e-book or learning modules, time consuming
  or annoying.
• If you taught as much as you were supposed to,
  Id understand the topics better.

13
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningExam
Performance

• Embedded QuestionsSame Semester
• Number of questions answered correctly by a
  higher percentage of students.

Pilot Tie ( 5) Traditional
Exam 1 5 2 2
Exam 2 2 5 2
14
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningExam
Performance

• Embedded QuestionsSame Instructor
• Number of questions answered correctly by a
  higher percentage of students.

Pilot Tie ( 5) Previous Semester
Exam 1 5 3 1
Exam 2 4 4 1
15
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningSelected
Survey Results

• Approximately how many hours per week do you
  spend working on the online lesson?
• less than 1 hour 10 (24)
• 1-2 hours 27 (64)
• 2-5 hours 5 (12)
• more than 5 hours 0 (0)
• The online lesson helps me understand the
  material and is important in my preparation for
  quizzes and exams.
• Strongly agree 12 (29)
• Agree 30 (71)
• Disagree 0 (0)
• Strongly disagree 0 (0)

16
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningSelected
Survey Results

• Approximately how many hours per week do you
  spend working on the study guide?
• less than 1 hour 7 (17)
• 1-2 hours 24 (57)
• 2-5 hours 11 (26)
• more than 5 hours 0 (0)
• The study guide helps me understand the material
  and is important in my preparation for quizzes
  and exams.
• Strongly agree 30 (71)
• Agree 12 (29)
• Disagree 0 (0)
• Strongly disagree 0 (0)

17
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningSelected
Survey Results

• I understand the material that we have covered so
  far in Biology 101.
• Strongly agree 11 (26)
• Agree 32 (74)
• Disagree 2 (5)
• Strongly disagree 0 (0)
• I have learned new things about biology this
  semester.
• Strongly agree 21 (51)
• Agree 20 (49)
• Disagree 0 (0)
• Strongly disagree 0 (0)

18
Impact of Redesign on Student LearningSelected
Survey Results

• I can see how the topics we are covering are
  relevant to my life and my education.
• Strongly agree 9 (21)
• Agree 30 (70)
• Disagree 4 (9)
• Strongly disagree 0 (0)
• Which of these best matches your feelings about
  the course?
• Id prefer a traditional lecture with no online
  component. 5 (13)
• I like having a mix of online work and class
  time. 33 (83)
• Id prefer to have more online work and less
  class time. 2 (5)

19
Impact of Redesign on Student RetentionDFW Rates
Pilot Previous Semester
Withdrawals 0/48 4/87
Fs 0/48 1/87
Ds 3/48 5/87
20
Did the course work better for some students?

• In class is my favorite way of learning, but the
  online is like homework and reinforces what Ive
  learned.
• Only 1 or 2 of 48 students had a strong negative
  reaction to the course format.
• 5 students changed their major to Biology
• Concerns and questions
• What do we do for students who dont like the
  hybrid format?
• Perhaps it is good for these students to be
  forced to do more independent work.
• Students who prefer to avoid online work
  altogether could take a different course to meet
  their gen ed science requirement are we ok with
  that?

21
Implementation Issues

• Adequate coverage of course content
• No major problems in fact, coverage may have
  improved for pilot instructor
• Technology
• Browser compatibility with publisher materials
• Clicker glitches (batteries, participant list,
  students forget)
• Faculty development and support (very good)
• Assigned time
• WebCT training sessions
• Student attitudes and reactions
• Mostly very positive
• Some (limited) perception that redesigns purpose
  is for the instructor to get out of work
• eBook was not popular

22
Colleague Reactions to the Redesign

• Objections or reservations
• Use of clickers and some other technology
• Decreased classroom time and the uneasy feeling
  of not telling students information directly and
  in person
• Concern that workload could increase
• What are they excited about?
• Engagement of students
• Revision of course content to make science and
  biology relevant to nonmajors
• What evidence of success seems to be most
  convincing?
• Embedded questions
• DFW rate
• Independent evaluation of course through
  classroom visit by tenured faculty
• Student comments on surveys and evaluations

23
Support from Department, Institution, and
McGraw-Hill

• Assigned time to prepare and implement the pilot
  workload discussion ongoing
• Department faculty and university administration
  supportive and encouraging
• Good advice from redesign team and other
  colleagues
• Excellent support (advice, implementation, etc.)
  from our Instructional Technology group
• Free online course and eBook from McGraw-Hill for
  students in the pilot section

24
Changes in Redesign Goals

• Some traditional lecture (enhanced with clickers
  and short activities) should probably be part of
  the redesigned course.
• Online work primes students for lectures.
• Students seemed to appreciate additional
  explanation after they had completed online work.
• We are still evaluating the possibility of using
  undergraduate learning assistants.

25
Scaling Redesign for Full Implementation

• Course Coordinator
• Lab Coordinator
• Figuring out appropriate workload
• Orientation workshop for 101 instructors in early
  August