Do non-majors learn genetics at a different rate than majors?
What factors affect how students think about and learn difficult genetics concepts?
Jenny Knight and Michelle Smith 11/12/08MCDBScience Education InitiativeASM Biology Scholars Research Residency Program
Learning Genetics: comparing student learning in non-majors and
majors genetics courses
The two courses, Fall 2008
format Learning goals
year gender Major
MCDB 1041Non-majors(61 students reporting)
LAsClicker sHomework3 exams FinalGroup activities
Shares 7 content learning goals with majors
72.1% fresh/soph
62.7% female
6.7% Bio
MCDB 2150Majors(138 students reporting)
LAsClicker sHomework3 exams FinalOptional group activities
9 content learning goals
37.6% fresh/soph
58.7% female
55% Bio
13% Engineer/Chem
Non majors pre: 34% post: 70% normalized gain: 54% n=61Majors pre: 40% post: 78% normalized gain: 63% n=107
Are these students really different?Performance on the Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) in Fall 2007 was not dramatically different
Fall 2007
The GCA is a 25 question validated assessment tool that tests conceptual understanding of fundamental genetics concepts
Experimental Design:Rate of learning genetics: measure performance at 4 points during the
semester
1. PRE ASSESSMENT : Administer the multiple choice GCA on the first day of class in both courses
2. WHAT THEY KNOW IMMEDIATELY AFTER INSTRUCTION : Administer shared short multiple choice quiz after we address each topic already identified as a misconception area
3. WHAT THEY KNOW AFTER STUDYING : Administer shared multiple choice exam questions and a few short answer questions at each of 3 midterm exams
4. POST ASSESSMENT : Administer the multiple choice GCA as part of the final exam in both courses
:
This was interesting, but not enough data to make conclusions about learning genetics. So:
Pilot study (Fall 2007): • Designed common quiz and exam questions for each common
learning goal
• Observed:
A trend towards increasing understanding (higher performance) with each measure, for each learning goal
Majors were usually ahead of non-majors, but often by only a little
• What we still needed: – Better coordination--material was not introduced at the same time to
both groups– more questions per learning goal to feel confident of comparisons
Current study: Fall 20083-5 questions per learning goal per quiz or exammaterial introduced in same order, quizzes and exams
over same material (topics introduced within 1 week of each other)
Fall 2008 Score on genetics content pre-assessment (GCA):
Average score % (±SE) number of students
Non-majors 31.14 (1.7) 70Majors: 37.76 (1.1) 148
LA’s 80.2 (6.1) 6TA’s: 69.7 (7.2) 7
Performance on shared exam questions
*
*
* Significantly different, Tukey post-hoc test p<.05
Exam 1 Exam 2
*
% s
tude
nts
answ
erin
g co
rrec
tly
What factors affect how students think about and learn difficult genetics concepts?
(characterizing the way students work and how they feel)
1. PERCEPTION : How do students feel about genetics and science? What is their motivation to succeed?
2. PROCESS and TIME: How do students study? How much time do students spend studying and how often do they study? How do they prefer to work (alone or in groups)? How do they approach solving difficult genetics problems (what resources do they use)?
3. PRIORITY : How much importance do students place on the class in relationship to their other classes?
Experimental Design part 2
SURVEYS and INTERVIEWS
Interest Genetics background
Reason for taking course
Intimidation level of material
Motivation
Non majors(n=61)
49% high
25%never taken any genetics
70.5 science distribution requirement
16% for med school
26.2% high 83.6% highly motivated to study
Majors(n=138)
87% high
7.2% never taken any genetics
71.7 required for major
54.5% for med school
34% high 97% highly motivated to study
Starting points: comparing the demographics of the two courses, Fall 2008
Starting points that might affect their perception of genetics
Interest Genetics background
Reason for taking course
Intimidation level of material
Motivation
Non majors(n=61)
49% high
25%never taken any genetics
70.5 science distribution requirement
16% for med school
26.2% high 83.6% highly motivated to study
Majors(n=138)
87% high
7.2% never taken any genetics
71.7 required for major
54.5% for med school
34% high 97% highly motivated to study
Survey questions: TIME
How much do they study for exams?
Exam 1 Exam 2
% o
f st
uden
ts
Hours studying
Survey questions (midsemester): PROCESS
How do students study?
I rework homework/ clicker questions/ activities in preparation for the exams:
1 (never) ……. 3 (sometimes)………5 (always)
homework clicker questions activities
1041 3.17 3.39 3.39
2150 4.14 3.91 3.46
Survey questions (midsemester): PROCESS “culture” of group work
You are working on a Friday activity and your classmate Chris, who is doing well in the course, answers a question. What are you most likely to do next?a. I will write the answer down and not really think about what Chris just saidb. I will pause to think about what Chris said, but I will likely write down what s/he says c. I will probably write down a different answer, but I will not say anything to Chrisd. I will ask Chris questions and point out any flaws in his/her answer before writing an answer down
Majors: 29% B; 63.8%DNon-majors: 3% A, 45% B,31% D
You are working on a Friday activity and your classmate Alex, who is struggling in the course, answers a question. What are you most likely to do next?a. I will write the answer down and not really think about what Alex just saidb. I will pause to think about what Alex said, but I will likely write down what s/he says c. I will probably write down a different answer, but I will not say anything to Alexd. I will ask Alex questions and point out any flaws in his/her answer before writing an answer downMajors: 89.8% DNon-majors: 13.8% C, 78% D
CJ and Sam are working through an activity. CJ says something that Sam thinks is wrong. What do you think is the most appropriate thing for Sam to do?a. Not say anythingb. Ask an LA or course instructor to decide who is correctc. Point out errors in CJ’s thinking and offer an alternative viewMajors: 42% B; 58% CNon-majors: 41.4% B, 58.6% C
Survey questions (midsemester): PRIORITY
How many courses are you taking this semester? (number)
Rank studying genetics compared to other courses
Rank importance of genetics compared to other courses
Rank interest level in genetics compared to other courses
Divide rank by number of classes for each student, in each category, take average:
LOW number (closer to 0 = highest studying, importance and interest)
Avg # courses studying importance to future interestNon majors 4.64 0.50 0.71 0.51
Majors 4.20 0.54 0.53 0.48
Conclusions so far…When compared to students in the non-majors
course, students in the majors course:
1.Begin the course with slightly higher content knowledge and have had more exposure to genetics
2.Perform better on common exam questions
3.Feel a genetics course is more important to their future career and begin the course with a higher interest
4.Less likely to blindly trust a peer they perceive as knowledgeable
5. Study more for exams and spend more time reworking problems
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