Using Research-Based Teaching to Enhance Student Success in a

Gateway Course

Barbara J. TallerMelvin L. Beck

Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Memphis

Outline

• Issues associated with traditional course design

• Principles of student-centered course design• Enhanced learning and improved student

success through active learning• Formative and summative assessment

Problems Associated with Traditional Lecture-Based Introductory Courses

• Lack of student engagement • High absenteeism and DFW rate • Limited class participation• Poor information application and retention

Course Organization

Instructor-centered: • designed around the knowledge the

instructor wishes to transmit to students• focused on the instructor’s teaching process

Student-centered: • designed around the needs, abilities, prior

knowledge, and diversity of students • focused on the student’s learning process

Wood, W.B. 2009. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 25:5.1–5.20

Instructor- vs Student-Centered Course Design

Standard Course PlanningChoose textbook

Create syllabus

Write/revise lectures, prepare PowerPoint presentations

Write homework, exam questions

Instructor-centered

Backward designFormulate broad learning

goals

Set specific learning objectives

Design assessments (formative and summative)

Prepare learning activities

Student-centeredWood, W.B. 2009. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 25:5.1–5.20

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

1. Learning goals are explicitly articulated, students receive feedback on their progress towards meeting those goals, assessments are aligned with those goals, and results of assessment are used regularly to improve the course.

Define, list, describe, summarize, apply, diagram, predict, compare, distinguish...

http://www.pulsecommunity.org/forum/topics/which-features-of-a-student-centered-classroom-do-you-incorporate/

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

2. Faculty are aware of common misconceptions in their fields and design opportunities to explicitly engage those during class time.

3. Faculty determine what students already know and explicitly integrate new information into that knowledge.

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

4. Students receive frequent (daily), directed, and timely feedback.

“…By teaching less and providing more feedback, we can produce greater learning.” – Grant Wiggins

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

5. Student learning is assessed at multiple levels (knowledge, application, analysis, evaluation, generating hypotheses) using multiple formats (multiple choice, essays, solving open-ended problems, project completion,

oral examination).

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

6. Material is presented in several formats (verbal, pictorial, simulation, animation, quantitative) and/or students are asked to do multiple things with the information (listen, write, label, discuss, interpret, graph, hypothesize).

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

7. Students are encouraged to explain material to themselves and others.

8. Students regularly engage in communication and collaboration with peers.

Features of a Student-Centered Classroom

9. Faculty create an environment in which students understand that performance is linked to effort rather than inherent ability.

Outline

• Issues associated with traditional course design

• Principles of student-centered course design

• Enhanced learning and improved student success through active learning

• Formative and summative assessment

Assessment

Env

iron

men

t Interactions

Inst

ruct

iona

l

Str

ateg

ies

Content

Student-Centered Learning

Engagement

Source: Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (Pulse)

Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too, Study Finds – Scott Freeman et al. 2014 PNAS

Technology-Assisted Learning & Assessment

• Out-of-class learning (OCL) exercises

• “Low-stakes” formative quizzes

Classroom Response System (Clicker)

• Formative assessments• Discussion warm-up• Peer instruction

(Collaborative learning)• Contingent teaching• Monitor attendance

Student-Centered

Learning

• Testing effect (Test-enhanced [TEL] learning) – Roediger & Karpicke (2006)

– Testing is a critical part of learning process

– Testing improves recall more than extra study time

– Testing results in a type of memory processing

Roediger, H. L. and Karpicke, J. D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Prespect Psychol Sci 1:181-210.

Student-Centered

Learning

• Improving learning through assessment depends on five factors - Black & Wiliam (1998)

1. Providing effective feedback to students.

2. Students’ active involvement in their own learning.

3. Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment.

4. Recognizing the profound influence of assessment on students’ motivation and self-esteem - both crucial influences on learning.

5. Ensuring pupils assess themselves and understand how to improve.

Black, P and D. Wiliam. (1998). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards ThroughClassroom Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan 80:139-148.

Pre – Assessment What do students already know?

Formative Assessment What are students learning?

Assessments

Formative Assessment Drives Instruction

Assessments FOR Learning• How can we use assessment

information to help students learn more?

Assessment is at the heart of student learning (Brown and Knight, 1994)

Students Instructor

Central element of formative assessment& student-centered

instruction

• Help identify strengths & weaknesses

• Obtain performance improvement information

• Adjust learning strategies to improve the quality of their work

• Active involvement in their own learning

• Obtain information on what, how much, and how well students are learning

• Identify students who need assistance

• Adjust teaching to take account of the results of assessment

• Just-in-time teaching

Do formative assessments work?

Summative Assessment What have students learned?

Assessments

Assessments OF Learning• How much have students learned

as of a particular point in time?

Post– Assessment What are the changes in knowledge, skills, & abilities?

Assessments

Benefits of Student-Centered Course

• Increase student engagement and understanding• More student ownership of learning process• Improve study skills• Greater enjoyment of course material• Improve attendance• Increase success rate• Increase retention• Increase graduate rate

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