Learner-Centered Inquiry in Undergraduate Biology: Positive Relationships with Long-Term Student Achievement

Abstract

We determined short- and long-term correlates of a revised introductory biology curriculum on understanding of biology as a process of inquiry and learning of content. In the original curriculum students completed two traditional lecture-based introductory courses. In the revised curriculum students completed two new learner-centered, inquiry-based courses. The new courses differed significantly from those of the original curriculum through emphases on critical thinking, collaborative work, and/or inquiry-based activities. Assessments were administered to compare student understanding of the process of biological science and content knowledge in the two curricula. More seniors who completed the revised curriculum had high-level profiles on the Views About Science Survey for Biology compared with seniors who completed the original curriculum. Also as seniors, students who completed the revised curriculum scored higher on the standardized Biology Field Test. Our results showed that an intense inquiry-based learner-centered learning experience early in the biology curriculum was associated with long-term improvements in learning. We propose that students learned to learn science in the new courses which, in turn, influenced their learning in subsequent courses. Studies that determine causal effects of learner-centered inquiry-based approaches, rather than correlative relationships, are needed to test our proposed explanation.

Flipped Classrooms for Advanced Science Courses

“…Combine this with the laboratory requirements to fulfill (National Research Council 2002), time is of the essence. Some argue the need for even more laboratory time via scientific inquiry experiments (National Research Council 1999Derting and Ebert-May 2010). Consequently, the flipped classroom model may be an attractive solution.…”

“…It is the National Research Council's (2002) stance that by allowing students to develop a more conceptual understanding of the sciences, they will then develop a deeper understanding of the content (Derting and Ebert-May 2010;Ermeling 2010). In the inquiry process, students actively participate in learner-led scientific investigations where they collaborate and review evidence to support their findings and then share their explanations of the phenomenon they experienced with others (National Research Council 2000).…”

Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices

“…In learner-centered courses, instructors do not simply disseminate content and create assignments that engage students in the course. Rather, instructors build learning exercises that help students organize content and make connections to other ideas or concepts (13). Learner-centered courses place the responsibility for learning in the hands of the students.…”

External Representations in the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Chemistry

“…There is also an expanding body of evidence that points to the educational value of learner-centered pedagogies that have students actively engaged in learning activities and deliberate practice strategies (Derting & Ebert-May, 2010;Deslauriers et al, 2011;Haak et al, 2011;Stranger-Hall et al, 2011;Weimer, 2002). Although this manuscript describes the use of external representations in an introductory chemistry course, the methods discussed are just one way to promote deliberate and productive practice sessions.…”

“…As a result, the lecture format has been redesigned and more active forms of teaching and learning have been developed (Derting & Cox, 2008;Derting & Ebert-May, 2010;Deslauriers, Schelew, & Wieman, 2011;Haak, HilleRisLambers, Pitre, & Freeman, 2011;Lee & Jabot, 2011;Mazur, 2009). This comes at a time when the amount of content and information available in scientific disciplines is ever expanding.…”