“… because as we know, there are
known knowns; there are things we
know we know. We also know
there are known unknowns; that is
to say we know there are some
things we do not know. But there
are also unknown unknowns – the
ones we don’t know we don’t
know.”
-- Donald Rumsfeld
BLC Webinar II:
Biology Intensive Orientation
for Students (BIOS)
Bill Wischusen
Assoc. Chair, Introductory Biology
LSU Dept. of Biological Sciences
Sheri Wischusen
Director of Retention
LSU
2
Overview
The “Why”, “How” and “What”
of BIOS, a 5-day self-funded contentspecific academic boot camp
3
Why?
Have you ever had a student who failed
your first exam say that they ….. ?
4
“Why” do freshmen struggle,
especially on the first exam?
12 Years of success
th
College
is
13
grade
13
18 They are 18 and very (overly?)
confident
5
The result is:
• they
perform poorly on their first exam or
two
• they
blame others for their poor
performance
• they
drop the course or earn a low grade
• they
change majors
BIOS Program Structure
5 days
Built around course content and exams
Study skills and learning styles support
Learning communities formation
LSU orientation
BIOS
was designed to allow students to:
•
•
•
•
•
Get a preview of the content
Make mistakes ---that don’t count
Learn and practice new study skills
Meet and work with other students
Meet and work with university faculty and
staff
• Get a feel for the “Pace of College Life”
8
Sunday
12:00 pm Housing Check-in
3:00 pm Program check-in, and Dinner
7:00 pm Orientation (Introduction, Content Lecture 1)
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation, comfort level, help
Monday
Morning
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Content Lecture 2
10:00 Break
10:30 Study Skills Discussion 1, note taking, listening
and metacognition
Afternoon
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Student Discussion 1, student organizations & BASC
2:00 Group Work
4:00 Content Lecture 3
5:30 Dinner
6:15 Graduate Mentor Research Presentations
7:30 Lab Tours
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation, comfort level, help
Tuesday
Morning
7:00 Breakfast & Review
8:00 Exam 1
9:30 Content Lecture 4
11:00 Learning Strategies Discussion 2
Afternoon
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Discussion of Exam Results
2:00 Study time/group work
4:00 Content Lecture 5
5:30 Dinner
6:15 Graduate Mentor Research Presentations
7:30 Lab Tours
Wednesday
Morning
7:00 Breakfast
8:30 Content Lecture 6
10:00 Student Discussion 2
11:00 Lunch/Lab
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation, comfort level, help
Afternoon
3:00 Study Time
4:00 Content Lecture 7
5:30 Dinner (faculty visits)
6:30 Graduate Mentor Research Presentations
7:30 Lab Tours
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation, comfort level, help
Thursday
Morning
7:00 Breakfast and Review
8:00 Exam 2
9:30 Content Lecture 8
11:00 Student Discussion 3, how do I survive? Money
Matters, Student Health Center
Afternoon
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Discussion of Exam Results
2:00 Study Time/group Work
4:00 Content Lecture 9
5:30 Dinner
6:30 Graduate Mentor Research Presentations
7:30 Lab Tours
Content
Exams
Study Skills
Learning Community-building
LSU orientation, comfort level, help
Friday
Morning
7:00 Breakfast & Review
8:00 Exam 3
10:30 How to be a Student Session 4,
Undergraduate Research. What comes after
you graduate?
11:30 Final Exam Results
Afternoon
1:00 Awards Luncheon and Closing Ceremonies
3:00 Checkout of dorm
Groups
Introductory Biology Course/Section
So what are the results from the
first 6 years of this program?
Before we show our data, what is the
basic success rate in your introductory
course?
16
Success in Core Courses
Percentage of Students earning an
A, B, or C
100%
90%
*
80%
*
70%
60%
*
50%
*
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1201
1202
2nd fall
Semester of Coursework
2nd spring
17
Retention to the 2nd Year
100%
90%
% Retained to the 2nd Year
80%
70%
60%
BIOS
50%
BIOL 1201
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
18
Retention in the Major
19
4-Year Graduation Rate
70%
% Graduating in 4 Years
60%
50%
40%
BIOS
BIOL 1201
30%
20%
10%
0%
2005
2006
2007
20
BIOS Keys to Success
1) Focus content material on a specific
course directly related to their major.
2) Use real exams.
3) Group the students in small groups.
4) Infuse the program with study skills
training.
5) Involve the faculty who teach the
introductory course.
21
Conclusions
BIOS participants performed significantly better
than control students in introductory biology.
The percentage of BIOS students on-track was
significantly higher than the control group.
Similarly their retention rate in the major was
also greater than that of the control group.
The 4-year graduation rate was also
significantly higher than the control
Conclusions
In answers to the qualitative questions in the Exit
Evaluation and post-program focus groups BIOS
participants indicated that they:
• learned valuable study habits
• felt more comfortable about starting college than
they had before BIOS.
• Based on student comments they have formed
and sustained study groups, i.e. “learning
communities,” through their freshman year.
Acknowledgements
24
Questions?
bios@lsu.edu
http://bios.lsu.edu
Wischusen, S. M., E. W. Wischusen, and S. M.
Pomarico. 2011. Impact of a Short Pre-Freshman
Program on Retention. Journal of College Student
Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 12
(4):429-441
Wischusen, S. M. and E. W. Wischusen. 2007. CBE Life
Sciences Education 6:172-178.
25