Enhancing Alignment Between Introductory Biology and Core Courses

 
Biology core curriculum vertical
alignment study
 
Shana Kerr
Biology Teaching Retreat 2015
 
Goals of this session
 
Rationale, goals, and study approach
Broad overview of findings and implications
Detailed discussion/next steps…
 
Biology Core Curriculum Structure
Rationale
 
Wanted to flip portions of 1510/1511
1510/1511 is the required course for all upper
level Biology courses…
…But there is little overlap between 1510/1511 and
core course instructors
Intro bio committee developed 1510/1511
learning objectives for every lecture
“students will be able to…”
Opportunity to generate discussion about our
curriculum on a program level
 
How well aligned is the 1510/1511
curriculum with the four core courses?
 
What LOs are most important as incoming
knowledge for core courses?
Are students prepared for core courses?
Are there redundancies and/or gaps between
1510/1511 and core courses?
Are there redundancies and/or gaps between
courses on a program level?
 
Study Design
 
Phase I
Content/topics of each core course
categorized for relative importance
(Wiggins & McTighe) by at least three
instructors the course
Phase II
Introductory Biology Learning
Objectives categorized by at least two
core course instructors for relative
importance for preparation for their
course
Phase III
Open-ended follow-up and discussion
with core course instructors 
via
 one-
on-one interviews
Top three concepts/topics for which
students are least prepared identified
by core course instructors
Adapted from Wiggins & McTighe , 
Understanding by Design
, 1998
 
Part I: Core Course Topics
 
Study prompts
 
Core Course Topics:
The following topics/concepts were identified from recent course syllabi. Based
on the way you and your co-instructors teach the course, and thinking about what
you want students to retain 6 months to a year after the course is over, please
categorize each topic/concept according to the following scale:
 
0 = Not important / Not taught
1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice for students to know
2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do
3 = "Enduring" understanding / Essential knowledge for biologists
 
Topic or Concept:
Mitosis
Meiosis
DNA as hereditary material
Dominant/recessive alleles
 
Average categorization for core course topics as
outgoing knowledge
 
0 = Not important / Not taught
1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice for students to know
2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do
3 = "Enduring" understanding / Essential knowledge for biologists
Error bars represent standard deviation
 
Part II: 1510/1511 LOs
 
Study prompts
 
1510/1511 Learning Objectives:
The following Learning Objectives are used to design lectures for each module in
Biology 1510.  Please categorize these Learning Objectives for their importance to
your course as incoming student knowledge according to the following scale:
 
0 = Not important / Not relevant as incoming knowledge
1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice to know as incoming knowledge
2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do as incoming knowledge
3 = “Enduring” understanding / Essential as incoming knowledge
 
Learning Objective (“students will be able to…”)
Describe the chromosomal makeup of a cell using the terms chromosome, sister
chromatid, homologous chromosome, diploid, haploid, and tetrad
Explain how chromosomal separation at meiosis leads to segregation of alleles in
gametes
Explain how alignment at metaphase results in independent assortment of
(unlinked) genes
 
 
 
*one faculty evaluated LOs for Evolution & Ecology modules; two faculty evaluated
LOs for Biomolecules & Genetics modules.  Error bars represent standard deviation.
Incoming knowledge expectations for each core course:
analysis by core course
*one faculty evaluated LOs for Evolution & Ecology modules; two faculty evaluated
LOs for Biomolecules & Genetics modules.  Error bars represent standard deviation.
Incoming knowledge expectations for each core course:
analysis by 1510/1511 module
 
How do 1510/1511 LOs align with core
course topics?
 
Total Number of 1510/1511 LOs and
Core Course Topics
 
*Ecology LOs were in draft form at the time of this study
 
Core Course Topic/Concept:
 
1510 Learning Objective:
 
Analysis approach for alignment of individual LOs
with individual topics:
Percent of 1510/1511 module LOs linked to at
least one core course topic
 
photosynthesis
 
Average number of topic links per LO
 
Error bars represent standard deviation.
 
Part III: open-ended interviews
Incoming knowledge gaps
Genetics
Mitosis/meiosis: behavior of chromosomes
Interpreting phylogenetic trees
Importance of genetics in evolution/vice versa
Probability in Mendelian genetics
Ecology:
How to analyze organismal interactions in a quantitative way
Conceptual definition of ecology; recognition that ecology is a process
Importance of ecology in evolution/vice versa
Cell & Molecular
Highly variable student backgrounds
Practical understanding of genetic concepts incl. allele, transcriptional regulation
Evolution
Interpreting phylogenetic trees
HWE (but do they need it?)
History of life: focus should be on process/amount of time rather than specific timeline of events
Speciation and species concepts
All: how to study, how to analyze/solve problems vs. memorizing facts, process of
science
 
General curricular concerns
 
Redundancy between intro/core and across core courses: is it
good or bad?
How to make evolution more explicit in each core (all areas of
biology are sub-disciplines of evolution)
History of science vs process of science: should we move away
from classical/historical studies and focus instead on how
science is done (“evaluate experiments, not learn history”)?
Overall amount of material (“why cover everything if they’re
not going to keep it?”)
How much variation is there in core course “core” based on
instructor, and is this OK?
Learning objectives for core courses
Take-homes and remaining questions
 
In general we have good alignment between 151x
and the core courses
There is a lot of overlap/redundancy esp.
between Genetics and Cell & Molecular
this is viewed as both good and bad
There are missed opportunities to make
evolution more explicit in the core courses (esp.
in Genetics and Ecology)
There are specific incoming knowledge gaps in
each core course which can be addressed in 1510
Are we asking students to be more broadly
trained than we consider ourselves to be?
 
Limitations
 
LOs/topics evaluated by only 3 faculty (max)
Did not ask faculty to assess each LO or topic
for general preparation level (assess lack of
incoming knowledge)
Evaluated by one faculty for links between
151x LOs/core course topics
Comparison between LOs (measurable) vs
topics (descriptive)
 
Core Course Topic/Concept:
 
1510 Learning Objective:
 
Analysis approach for alignment of individual LOs with
individual topics: heat map of topic score/LO score
 
Review the data:
http://tinyurl.com/biovertical
 
What necessary 1510/1511 LOs are students
not adequately meeting prior to the core
course?
Are there inappropriate gaps and/or
redundancies between LOs and core course
topics?
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Explore the alignment of the Biology core curriculum, focusing on the structure, goals, and rationale behind flipping portions of the curriculum. Evaluate the preparedness of students for core courses, identify gaps, redundancies, and essential knowledge transfer. Study design involves categorizing topics for importance and gathering feedback from core course instructors.


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  1. Biology core curriculum vertical alignment study Shana Kerr Biology Teaching Retreat 2015

  2. Goals of this session Rationale, goals, and study approach Broad overview of findings and implications Detailed discussion/next steps

  3. Biology Core Curriculum Structure Biol 1510/1511 modules: Biomolecules Evolution Ecology Genetics 2000-Level Core Courses: Ecology Genetics 3000-Level Core Courses: Evolutionary Biology Cell & Molecular Biology

  4. Rationale Wanted to flip portions of 1510/1511 1510/1511 is the required course for all upper level Biology courses But there is little overlap between 1510/1511 and core course instructors Intro bio committee developed 1510/1511 learning objectives for every lecture students will be able to Opportunity to generate discussion about our curriculum on a program level

  5. How well aligned is the 1510/1511 curriculum with the four core courses? What LOs are most important as incoming knowledge for core courses? Are students prepared for core courses? Are there redundancies and/or gaps between 1510/1511 and core courses? Are there redundancies and/or gaps between courses on a program level?

  6. Study Design Phase I Content/topics of each core course categorized for relative importance (Wiggins & McTighe) by at least three instructors the course Phase II Introductory Biology Learning Objectives categorized by at least two core course instructors for relative importance for preparation for their course Phase III Open-ended follow-up and discussion with core course instructors via one- on-one interviews Top three concepts/topics for which students are least prepared identified by core course instructors 1: Worth being familiar with/ Nice to know 2: Important to know and be able to do 3: Enduring understanding/ Essential knowledge Adapted from Wiggins & McTighe , Understanding by Design, 1998

  7. Part I: Core Course Topics

  8. Study prompts Core Course Topics: The following topics/concepts were identified from recent course syllabi. Based on the way you and your co-instructors teach the course, and thinking about what you want students to retain 6 months to a year after the course is over, please categorize each topic/concept according to the following scale: 0 = Not important / Not taught 1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice for students to know 2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do 3 = "Enduring" understanding / Essential knowledge for biologists Topic or Concept: Mitosis Meiosis DNA as hereditary material Dominant/recessive alleles

  9. Average categorization for core course topics as outgoing knowledge 3.50 Average topic rating as outgoing 3.00 2.50 knowledge 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 Genetics Ecology Cell & Molecular Evolution Core Course 0 = Not important / Not taught 1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice for students to know 2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do 3 = "Enduring" understanding / Essential knowledge for biologists Error bars represent standard deviation

  10. Part II: 1510/1511 LOs

  11. Study prompts 1510/1511 Learning Objectives: The following Learning Objectives are used to design lectures for each module in Biology 1510. Please categorize these Learning Objectives for their importance to your course as incoming student knowledge according to the following scale: 0 = Not important / Not relevant as incoming knowledge 1 = Worth being familiar with / Nice to know as incoming knowledge 2 = Important for students to know and/or be able to do as incoming knowledge 3 = Enduring understanding / Essential as incoming knowledge Learning Objective ( students will be able to ) Describe the chromosomal makeup of a cell using the terms chromosome, sister chromatid, homologous chromosome, diploid, haploid, and tetrad Explain how chromosomal separation at meiosis leads to segregation of alleles in gametes Explain how alignment at metaphase results in independent assortment of (unlinked) genes

  12. Incoming knowledge expectations for each core course: analysis by core course 3.50 3.00 Average 1510/1511 module LO rating 2.50 2.00 Evolution Module Ecology Module 1.50 Biomolecules Module 1.00 Genetics Module 0.50 0.00 Genetics Course Ecology Course Cell Course* Evolution Course -0.50 Core Course *one faculty evaluated LOs for Evolution & Ecology modules; two faculty evaluated LOs for Biomolecules & Genetics modules. Error bars represent standard deviation.

  13. Incoming knowledge expectations for each core course: analysis by 1510/1511 module 3.50 3.00 Average 1510/1511 module LO rating 2.50 2.00 Genetics Course Ecology Course 1.50 Cell Course* 1.00 Evolution Course 0.50 0.00 Evolution Module Ecology Module Biomolecules Module Genetics Module -0.50 1510/1511 Module *one faculty evaluated LOs for Evolution & Ecology modules; two faculty evaluated LOs for Biomolecules & Genetics modules. Error bars represent standard deviation.

  14. How do 1510/1511 LOs align with core course topics?

  15. Total Number of 1510/1511 LOs and Core Course Topics 60 50 40 # LOs/Topics 30 1510/1511 20 Core Course 10 0 Evolution Ecology* Biomolecules/Cell & Molecular Genetics 1510/1511 Module or Core Course *Ecology LOs were in draft form at the time of this study

  16. Analysis approach for alignment of individual LOs with individual topics: Core Course Topic/Concept: Topic A Topic B Topic C Topic D Avg LO/Topic rating by core course faculty # Topics related to LO 1.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 1510 Learning Objective: LO 1 4 1.00 X X X X LO 2 1 2.00 X LO 3 1 3.00 X LO 4 4 3.00 X X X x

  17. Percent of 1510/1511 module LOs linked to at least one core course topic 120.00 Percent of module LOs linked to core course topics 100.00 photosynthesis 80.00 Evolution Module (29 LOs) 60.00 Ecology Module (23 LOs) Biomolecules Module (54 LOS) 40.00 Genetics Module (36 LOs) 20.00 0.00 Genetics Course Ecology Course Cell Course Evolution Course Core Course

  18. Average number of topic links per LO 16.00 14.00 Average number of topic links per LO 12.00 10.00 Evolution Module 8.00 Ecology Module 6.00 Biomolecules Module Genetics Module 4.00 2.00 0.00 Genetics Course Ecology Course Cell Course Evolution Course -2.00 Core Course Error bars represent standard deviation.

  19. Part III: open-ended interviews

  20. Incoming knowledge gaps Genetics Mitosis/meiosis: behavior of chromosomes Interpreting phylogenetic trees Importance of genetics in evolution/vice versa Probability in Mendelian genetics Ecology: How to analyze organismal interactions in a quantitative way Conceptual definition of ecology; recognition that ecology is a process Importance of ecology in evolution/vice versa Cell & Molecular Highly variable student backgrounds Practical understanding of genetic concepts incl. allele, transcriptional regulation Evolution Interpreting phylogenetic trees HWE (but do they need it?) History of life: focus should be on process/amount of time rather than specific timeline of events Speciation and species concepts All: how to study, how to analyze/solve problems vs. memorizing facts, process of science

  21. General curricular concerns Redundancy between intro/core and across core courses: is it good or bad? How to make evolution more explicit in each core (all areas of biology are sub-disciplines of evolution) History of science vs process of science: should we move away from classical/historical studies and focus instead on how science is done ( evaluate experiments, not learn history )? Overall amount of material ( why cover everything if they re not going to keep it? ) How much variation is there in core course core based on instructor, and is this OK? Learning objectives for core courses

  22. Take-homes and remaining questions In general we have good alignment between 151x and the core courses There is a lot of overlap/redundancy esp. between Genetics and Cell & Molecular this is viewed as both good and bad There are missed opportunities to make evolution more explicit in the core courses (esp. in Genetics and Ecology) There are specific incoming knowledge gaps in each core course which can be addressed in 1510 Are we asking students to be more broadly trained than we consider ourselves to be?

  23. Limitations LOs/topics evaluated by only 3 faculty (max) Did not ask faculty to assess each LO or topic for general preparation level (assess lack of incoming knowledge) Evaluated by one faculty for links between 151x LOs/core course topics Comparison between LOs (measurable) vs topics (descriptive)

  24. Analysis approach for alignment of individual LOs with individual topics: heat map of topic score/LO score Core Course Topic/Concept: Topic A Topic B Topic C Topic D Avg LO/Topic rating by core course faculty # Topics related to LO 1.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 1510 Learning Objective: LO 1 4 1.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 LO 2 1 2.00 1.00 LO 3 1 3.00 0.33 LO 4 4 3.00 0.33 0.67 1.00 1.00

  25. Review the data: http://tinyurl.com/biovertical What necessary 1510/1511 LOs are students not adequately meeting prior to the core course? Are there inappropriate gaps and/or redundancies between LOs and core course topics?

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