Biology for NonScience Majors I
A Statewide Online Initiative
Jennifer Baggett, PhD
Grace Rutherford, EdD
LeCroy Center
Dallas County Community College District
March, 2011
Why teach biology online?
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Meet student demand
Improve student outcomes
Increase student access
Reduce costs
Sloan Survey of Online Learning (2010):
Surveyed 2,500 colleges and universities in the fall of 2009:
• 5.6 million students were enrolled in one or more online courses.
• 29% of students were taking at least one course online.
http://sloanconsortium.org/ Sloan Consortium, Eighth Annual Report. Allen, E., & Seaman, J. (2010). Staying the Course: Online
Education in the United States, Sloan-C, Needham, MA.
Why teach biology online?
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Meet student demand
Improve student outcomes
Increase student access
Reduce costs
U.S. Department of Education (2010):
“Learning outcomes for students who engaged in
online learning exceeded those of students receiving
face-to-face instruction…” (p. xiv)
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/techreports.html
U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based
Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010.
Why teach biology online?
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Meet student demand
Improve student outcomes
Increase student access
Reduce costs
U.S. Department of Education (2006-7):
Factors most relevant to college decisions about
distance education:
• Meeting student demand for flexible schedules
• Increasing course availability (# sections)
• Increasing student access to college
• Increasing student enrollment
http://nces.ed.gov/ Parsad, B., and Lewis, L. (2008). Distance Education at
Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2006–07 (NCES 2009–044). U.S.
Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
Why teach biology online?
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Meet student demand
Improve student outcomes
Increase student access
Reduce costs
• Classroom space
• Lab space
• Lab materials
• Instructor to student ratios
Why not use a virtual lab?
National Science Teachers Association Position Statement (NSTA, 2007):
“While reading about science, using computer simulations,
and observing teacher demonstrations may be valuable, they
are not a substitute for laboratory investigations by students.”
“At the college level, all students should have opportunities to
experience inquiry-based science laboratory investigations…”
http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/laboratory.aspx National Science Teachers Association Position Statement on The Integral
Role of Laboratory Investigations in Science Instruction, adopted February 2007.
What is this project about?
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Creation of Biology 1408 course template
Free to all Texas community colleges
Increase student learning and retention
Decrease institutional costs of hosting biology labs
Decrease instructor development time
Almost “ready-to-go” course for a last-minute
section to be taught for first
time by faculty member
Project Background
• College Participation
– Virtual College of Texas
– TX Community College Teachers’ Association
– Advisory Committee
• Course Development
– LeCroy Center
• Lead Content Expert
• Instructional Designer
– McGraw-Hill
– SoftChalk Platform
What makes a great course?
• The instructor
• Clear, consistent,
and relatable
course materials
Research
• Areas important for student satisfaction with
online instruction:
– Interaction among students
– Quality and timely interaction between student and
professor
– Consistent course design
– Technical support
– Flexibility of online courses compared to face-to-face
Source: Young & Norgard (2006) Assessing the quality of online courses from the
students' perspective
Student-Content Interaction
• 15 Lessons
– Lesson Summaries
– Animations
– Interactives
• 15 Labs correlate with lessons
– Demonstration videos
– Kit with lab manual
Instructional Design
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Engage learner
Student orientation
Clear and intuitive navigation
Consistent course design
Guided learning modules with
– clear learning objectives
– built-in self-assessment
• Lab partner guiding students
through lab experiments by video
demonstration
Instructor Support: Faculty Guide
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Syllabus template
Orientation template
Suggested discussion questions
Suggested research and interactive activities
Supplemental test bank
Measuring Success - Evaluation
1. Define learning outcomes
2. Design assessments
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Lecture content
Lab practicals
3. Administer assessments to:
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Face-to-face students
Hybrid students with traditional lab
Online students with at-home lab kit
4. Evaluate and share results
Contact Information
• Jennifer Baggett
jenniferbaggett@dcccd.edu
• Grace Rutherford
grutherford@dcccd.edu
For more information about acquiring this course, contact:
• Becky Stinson
bstinson@dcccd.edu