Implementation report 2
Plan for implementation: collaborative learning
I'm teaching an introductory biology lab course where most students are freshmen and sophomores. This course involves hands-on experiences and scientific writing experiences. Because this is an introductory course, many students come with no experience with scientific writing, and some students may learn how to write in science class for the first time. When this course became entirely online, students lost an opportunity to actively interact with their peers for the hands-on lab activities. Many may feel lost when it comes to writing assignments. My goal of creating collaborative learning for this class is to help students get together and complete course assignments. I am aware that students have to submit their writing assignments (e.g., lab reports, scientific papers), and asking students to work in groups may create an opportunity to cheat or copy someone else's work for the writing. However, I have a strong feeling that students should have space to discuss their lab results with other people to confirm that their results and calculation are correct before they start to write a 3-page long lab report.
Activity plan: students were introduced to a short presentation about a virtual lab they would complete in the lab and a short presentation about scientific writing. Students would be placed in small groups of 3-4 students in zoom breakout rooms after the presentations. Each student could select who they want to work with. Students were asked to complete a lab calculation in the breakout rooms and create a figure showing their lab results. Each student was told to complete the analysis independently. Once they finished, students in the same group were asked to share their calculations and let the conversation begin. Students could compare results and discuss to others what could go wrong if they got different results. Students were asked to create a figure for the results, but this activity could be done as a group, meaning the group needed to submit one figure before leaving the lab. Students had 30-45 minutes to work together in the breakout room. I and a UTA regularly visited students in the breakout rooms to check if they needed helps with anything.
Plan for assessment: students would submit their lab reports about a week after class. This collaborative learning could therefore be assessed by student performance on the lab report. The lab reports were graded based on a grading rubric, so I could see what part of the assessments/ writing students struggled the most.
Examine implementation:
Overall, the small group discussion and group assignment went well in class. Students got to teach their group members if someone in the group had incorrect answers for the calculation, they were asked to complete it independently (this could be linked to the peer instruction). Overall, students did well on their writing assignments. Most students got the results section correct, partly because the collaborative learning group activity in the previous week allowed them to discuss their writing with other students. However, they were a few parts of the lab report that some students struggled with. For example, some students didn't provide a clear conclusion of their findings in the results section or didn't give enough background information in the introduction.
Plan for implementation: collaborative learning
I'm teaching an introductory biology lab course where most students are freshmen and sophomores. This course involves hands-on experiences and scientific writing experiences. Because this is an introductory course, many students come with no experience with scientific writing, and some students may learn how to write in science class for the first time. When this course became entirely online, students lost an opportunity to actively interact with their peers for the hands-on lab activities. Many may feel lost when it comes to writing assignments. My goal of creating collaborative learning for this class is to help students get together and complete course assignments. I am aware that students have to submit their writing assignments (e.g., lab reports, scientific papers), and asking students to work in groups may create an opportunity to cheat or copy someone else's work for the writing. However, I have a strong feeling that students should have space to discuss their lab results with other people to confirm that their results and calculation are correct before they start to write a 3-page long lab report.
Activity plan: students were introduced to a short presentation about a virtual lab they would complete in the lab and a short presentation about scientific writing. Students would be placed in small groups of 3-4 students in zoom breakout rooms after the presentations. Each student could select who they want to work with. Students were asked to complete a lab calculation in the breakout rooms and create a figure showing their lab results. Each student was told to complete the analysis independently. Once they finished, students in the same group were asked to share their calculations and let the conversation begin. Students could compare results and discuss to others what could go wrong if they got different results. Students were asked to create a figure for the results, but this activity could be done as a group, meaning the group needed to submit one figure before leaving the lab. Students had 30-45 minutes to work together in the breakout room. I and a UTA regularly visited students in the breakout rooms to check if they needed helps with anything.
Plan for assessment: students would submit their lab reports about a week after class. This collaborative learning could therefore be assessed by student performance on the lab report. The lab reports were graded based on a grading rubric, so I could see what part of the assessments/ writing students struggled the most.
Examine implementation:
Overall, the small group discussion and group assignment went well in class. Students got to teach their group members if someone in the group had incorrect answers for the calculation, they were asked to complete it independently (this could be linked to the peer instruction). Overall, students did well on their writing assignments. Most students got the results section correct, partly because the collaborative learning group activity in the previous week allowed them to discuss their writing with other students. However, they were a few parts of the lab report that some students struggled with. For example, some students didn't provide a clear conclusion of their findings in the results section or didn't give enough background information in the introduction.
Here's a histogram of student's performance on the latest lab report. The lab report was worth 40 points and the average for the class (among those who submitted the reports) was 34.