Recent reports have called for integrating quantitative reasoning into biology courses to prepare students for careers in research and medicine. This article describes the development, implementation, and assessment of modules designed to incorporate quantitative reasoning and skill development into introductory biology courses.
Group activities as part of active-learning pedagogies are thought to be effective in promoting student learning in part because of the quality of discussion they engender in student teams. Not much is known, however, about which instructional factors are most important in achieving productive conversation or how these factors may differ among different collaborative pedagogies. We explored what provokes meaningful group discussions in a university physiology course taught using team-based learning (TBL). We were most interested in discussions that evoke explanations that go beyond statements of basic facts and into disciplinary reasoning. Using transcribed conversations of four randomly selected teams three times throughout the semester, we analyzed three distinct discursive phenomena—conceptual explanations, re-evaluations, and co-construction—that occurred in productive conversations. In this paper, we provide examples from student discussions showing the role of each of these elements in moving students toward conceptual understanding. These phenomena were more likely to occur in response to higher-order questions in Bloom’s taxonomy. Preclass preparation and student accountability as part of TBL may be important factors in this finding. We share implications for practice based on our results.
Using a cooperative learning framework in a quantitative reasoning
laboratory course, students were assigned to static teams of four in which they
adopted roles that rotated regularly. The roles included: team leader, protocol
manager, data recorder, and researcher. Using a mixed-methods approach, we
investigated students' perceptions of the team roles and specifically
addressed students' understanding of the roles, students'
beliefs in their ability to enact the roles, and whether working with assigned
team roles supported the teams to work effectively and cohesively. Although
students expressed confidence in their understanding of the team roles, their
understanding differed from the initial descriptions. This suggests that
students' understanding of team roles may be influenced by a variety of
factors, including their experiences within their teams. Students also reported
that some roles appeared to lack a purpose, implying that for roles to be
successful, they must have a clear purpose. Finally, the fact that many students
reported ignoring the team roles suggests that students do not perceive roles as
a requirement for team productivity and cohesion. On the basis of these
findings, we provide recommendations for instructors wishing to establish a
classroom group laboratory environment.
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