THE UPS AND DOWNS OF A COURSE REDESIGN AND WHY IT IS STILL WORTH IT.Jennifer A. Metzler, Ph.D.

Ball State University

TODAY’S TALK

Institution description Course Description Problems to address Implications Outcomes Implementation hurdles Next steps

BALL STATE UNIVERSITY

A mid-size state university with 22,000 students

Offers degrees ranging from associates through Ph.D.s 180 undergrad degree programs 100 grad degree programs

Students attend from every county in Indiana, 48 states, two US territories, and 65 countries 13% are out of state 10% ethnic minorities 650 international

Faculty ratio is 18:1

BALL STATE STUDENTS

About 11% of undergraduates are non-traditional

For 2010/11 freshman class Average HS GPA was 3.33 97% had a composite ACT of 18 or higher 96% had a composite SAT of 1600 or higher 19% in top 10%, 50% in top 25%, and 89% in top

50% of HS class Strong freshman program Freshman retention rate is 79.7% 6 year graduation rate is 58%

THE MILLENIAL GENERATION Weaker K-12 education Technology and media savvy Impatient, demanding, and self-centered Do not want independence from parents and

look to them for help View education as a consumer good Anticipate college will be like high school Want to know we care Anxious and stressed

from the chapter, Understanding Your Students And How They Learn, in the book, Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (Third Edition), by Linda B. Nelson.

ME

B.S. in Biology 1996

Ph.D. Microbiology/Immunology 2002

Did research on immune response to a type 1 diabetes autoantigen

8th year at BSU, 10th year teaching

An animal lover with two dogs, two cats, and some goldfish

BIOLOGY 111: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY I

A majors course that introduces the basics of cellular and molecular biology

Students range from freshman to seniors

A core curriculum course

Includes a required lab component

PRIOR CLASS SET-UP

Lecture 4 100 point exams 50 point cumulative final 100 points of pop quizzes 100 points of homework

Lab 50 point lab practical 10 ten point homework assignments 10 ten point lab quizzes

PROBLEMS/ISSUES TO ADDRESS WITH RE-DESIGN

Poor study habits

Retention of information was poor

Class sizes getting larger

Students just wanting to memorize information

New core curriculum focusing on the process of science – move away from cookbook lab activities

WHAT WAS DONE IN INITIAL STAGE

Lecture Added weekly homework assignments using

MasteringBiology Switched to computer exams

Lab Added two inquiry based labs which required the

writing of lab reports Added a literature based research project to expose

students to scientific literature culminating in a short literature summary and a group presentation

Only kept two homework assignments that related to graphing

Changed to three 20 point quizzes Added a diversity project about biology and race Switched one lab activity to an online version

LECTURE CHANGES

Weekly homework Had an assignment every week not an exam Mostly over material had already covered in

lecture, sometimes had to work ahead Always due right before lecture so I could review

any material they had not understood based on diagnostics

Assignments involved a variety of activities, not just multiple choice questions

Computer exams Exams were administered using InQsit program

in dedicated, proctored computer labs on campus

DIAGNOSTICS

DIAGNOSTICS

LAB CHANGES Added two inquiry based labs which required the writing of

lab reports Purpose was to teach students how to design their own experiments,

analyze the data, and present the results as a scientist would Added a literature based research project to expose students

to scientific literature culminating in a short literature summary and a group presentation

Involved having the science librarian give a presentation on how to find relevant research articles, further exposure to how scientists find and disseminate information

Only kept two homework assignments that related to graphing

Teaching a key skill of scientists Changed to three 20 point quizzes Added a diversity project about biology and race

Shows students the implications science can have in cultural discussions

Switched one lab activity to an online version Exposes students to valuable resources on the internet

LECTURE OUTCOMES

Increases in passing exam scores

Increases in passing course grades

More in class time, which was used for review

COMPARISON OF EXAM 1 SCORES- FALL 2004 VS. SPRING 2011

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COMPARISON OF EXAM 2 SCORES- FALL 2004 VS. SPRING 2011

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COMPARISON OF EXAM 3 SCORES- FALL 2004 VS. SPRING 2011

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LAB OUTCOMES

Students getting a more well-rounded exposure to what scientists do

Better prepared for work they will do in upper-level courses

Greater appreciation for how science impacts their life

OUTCOMES FOR ME

No longer grading homework by hand

Getting instant feedback on student performance when there is still time to make changes

More class time for active learning activities

SAVINGS FROM THE REDESIGN

More lecture time

Not spending money on copy costs, which is shifted to lab budget 5 cents per page, each exam cost ~$25, total of

$125 savings per section per semester Cost savings in lab

Has allowed us to shift money towards doing more exciting inquiry based labs

~ $150 per year

PROBLEMS Complaints about the time required to do Mastering

assignments Discuss how much it can help grade, and by the end of the

semester most of the feedback on Mastering is very positive

Complaints about how much Mastering can affect their grade Explain the proportion of their grade that Mastering is and how

it helps

Complaints about all the writing in lab Working on doing a better job of explaining all that scientists do

Plagiarism issues Using a book on How to Write in Biology, a video on plagiarism,

a plagiarism contract

WHAT I AM DOING NOW

Increasing my use of MasteringBiology Changing assignments to reflect all the new content

added Linking all assignment activities with Learning

Outcomes Adding reading questions to be done prior to lecture Adding reading questions to be done prior to lab

Getting rid of lecture quizzes and switching to clickers

Adding an assignment in lab on reading scientific articles

Using SafeAssign to help students avoid plagiarism while adapting to scientific writing

QUESTIONS??