Multiple-choice assessments provide a straightforward way for instructors of large classes to col... more Multiple-choice assessments provide a straightforward way for instructors of large classes to collect data related to student understanding of key concepts at the beginning and end of a course. By tracking student performance over time, instructors receive formative feedback about their teaching and can assess the impact of instructional changes. The evidence of instructional effectiveness can in turn inform future instruction, and vice versa. In this study, we analyzed student responses on an optimized pretest and posttest administered during four different quarters in a large-enrollment biochemistry course. Student performance and the effect of instructional interventions related to three fundamental concepts—hydrogen bonding, bond energy, and pKa—were analyzed. After instructional interventions, a larger proportion of students demonstrated knowledge of these concepts compared with data collected before instructional interventions. Student responses trended from inconsistent to co...
Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jan 14, 2015
Assessment instruments designed to measure student conceptual understanding and skills proficienc... more Assessment instruments designed to measure student conceptual understanding and skills proficiency related to biochemistry are important to transform undergraduate biochemistry education. The purpose of this study was to develop an assessment instrument to measure student understanding of protein structure and enzyme inhibition in a new context, that of saturable binding. A community of biochemistry educators was involved in an iterative process of designing and testing of this assessment, which consists of true/false and open-ended questions that map to low and high levels in Bloom's taxonomy. A total of 188 students' responses were collected from seven different institutions and were graded by two independent raters using a rubric. Results from this administration indicate that most students were able to answer the questions related to lower-levels in Bloom's taxonomy; however for higher-level questions, students had more difficulty. The results from this assessment ca...
Threshold concepts (TCs) are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding ... more Threshold concepts (TCs) are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding of a discipline without which the learner cannot progress. We have undertaken a process involving more than 75 faculty members and 50 undergraduate students to identify a working list of TCs for biochemistry. The process of identifying TCs for biochemistry was modeled on extensive work related to TCs across a range of disciplines and included faculty workshops and student interviews. Using an iterative process, we prioritized five concepts on which to focus future development of instructional materials. Broadly defined, the concepts are steady state, biochemical pathway dynamics and regulation, the physical basis of interactions, thermodynamics of macromolecular structure formation, and free energy. The working list presented here is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather is meant to identify a subset of TCs for biochemistry for which instructional and assessment tools for undergradua...
Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior is used to examine continuing teachers' plans to remain or res... more Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior is used to examine continuing teachers' plans to remain or resign and the likelihood of resigned teachers to return to teaching in the next 3 years. Specifically, this study examined factors that encourage or hinder resigned teachers from returning to teaching, the importance of such factors, and the importance of those factors for teachers who remained in teaching. We find that family issues are of greatest concern to all teachers, and that leavers place much more emphasis on the time they are able to spend with their families than do stayers. The importance assigned to all factors is influenced by demographic characteristics.
This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought abil... more This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought ability and general achievement to predict students at-risk of poor performance in collegelevel general chemistry. Over a three year period, data on formal thought ability (as measured by the Test of Logical Thinking, or TOLT) and/or general achievement (as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT) was collected from over 3000 students as they entered a general chemistry course. The outcome measure was an American Chemical Society general chemistry exam at the end of the course. Findings indicate that both the formal thought and the general achievement measure can successfully identify at-risk students in this setting, with neither measure being superior in doing so. The presence of distinct groups of students correctly predicted to be at-risk by only one of the measures demonstrates that formal thought ability and general achievement each represent an independent hindrance to success in chemistry. Therefore, efforts to help at-risk students should include a focus on the development of formal thought as well as a content review. [Chem.
Multiple-choice assessments provide a straightforward way for instructors of large classes to col... more Multiple-choice assessments provide a straightforward way for instructors of large classes to collect data related to student understanding of key concepts at the beginning and end of a course. By tracking student performance over time, instructors receive formative feedback about their teaching and can assess the impact of instructional changes. The evidence of instructional effectiveness can in turn inform future instruction, and vice versa. In this study, we analyzed student responses on an optimized pretest and posttest administered during four different quarters in a large-enrollment biochemistry course. Student performance and the effect of instructional interventions related to three fundamental concepts—hydrogen bonding, bond energy, and pKa—were analyzed. After instructional interventions, a larger proportion of students demonstrated knowledge of these concepts compared with data collected before instructional interventions. Student responses trended from inconsistent to co...
Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jan 14, 2015
Assessment instruments designed to measure student conceptual understanding and skills proficienc... more Assessment instruments designed to measure student conceptual understanding and skills proficiency related to biochemistry are important to transform undergraduate biochemistry education. The purpose of this study was to develop an assessment instrument to measure student understanding of protein structure and enzyme inhibition in a new context, that of saturable binding. A community of biochemistry educators was involved in an iterative process of designing and testing of this assessment, which consists of true/false and open-ended questions that map to low and high levels in Bloom's taxonomy. A total of 188 students' responses were collected from seven different institutions and were graded by two independent raters using a rubric. Results from this administration indicate that most students were able to answer the questions related to lower-levels in Bloom's taxonomy; however for higher-level questions, students had more difficulty. The results from this assessment ca...
Threshold concepts (TCs) are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding ... more Threshold concepts (TCs) are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding of a discipline without which the learner cannot progress. We have undertaken a process involving more than 75 faculty members and 50 undergraduate students to identify a working list of TCs for biochemistry. The process of identifying TCs for biochemistry was modeled on extensive work related to TCs across a range of disciplines and included faculty workshops and student interviews. Using an iterative process, we prioritized five concepts on which to focus future development of instructional materials. Broadly defined, the concepts are steady state, biochemical pathway dynamics and regulation, the physical basis of interactions, thermodynamics of macromolecular structure formation, and free energy. The working list presented here is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather is meant to identify a subset of TCs for biochemistry for which instructional and assessment tools for undergradua...
Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior is used to examine continuing teachers' plans to remain or res... more Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior is used to examine continuing teachers' plans to remain or resign and the likelihood of resigned teachers to return to teaching in the next 3 years. Specifically, this study examined factors that encourage or hinder resigned teachers from returning to teaching, the importance of such factors, and the importance of those factors for teachers who remained in teaching. We find that family issues are of greatest concern to all teachers, and that leavers place much more emphasis on the time they are able to spend with their families than do stayers. The importance assigned to all factors is influenced by demographic characteristics.
This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought abil... more This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought ability and general achievement to predict students at-risk of poor performance in collegelevel general chemistry. Over a three year period, data on formal thought ability (as measured by the Test of Logical Thinking, or TOLT) and/or general achievement (as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT) was collected from over 3000 students as they entered a general chemistry course. The outcome measure was an American Chemical Society general chemistry exam at the end of the course. Findings indicate that both the formal thought and the general achievement measure can successfully identify at-risk students in this setting, with neither measure being superior in doing so. The presence of distinct groups of students correctly predicted to be at-risk by only one of the measures demonstrates that formal thought ability and general achievement each represent an independent hindrance to success in chemistry. Therefore, efforts to help at-risk students should include a focus on the development of formal thought as well as a content review. [Chem.
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