T HE U PS AND D OWNS OF A
C OURSE R EDESIGN AND W HY I T
I S S TILL W ORTH I T .
Jennifer A. Metzler, Ph.D.
Ball State University

T ODAY ’ S T ALK
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Institution description
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Course Description
Problems to address
Implications
Outcomes
Implementation hurdles
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Next steps

B ALL S TATE U NIVERSITY
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A mid-size state university with 22,000 students
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Offers degrees ranging from associates through
Ph.D.s
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180 undergrad degree programs
100 grad degree programs
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Students attend from every county in Indiana, 48 states, two US territories, and 65 countries
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13% are out of state
10% ethnic minorities
650 international
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Faculty ratio is 18:1

B ALL S TATE S TUDENTS
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About 11% of undergraduates are non-traditional
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For 2010/11 freshman class
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Average HS GPA was 3.33
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97% had a composite ACT of 18 or higher
96% had a composite SAT of 1600 or higher
19% in top 10%, 50% in top 25%, and 89% in top 50% of HS class
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Strong freshman program
Freshman retention rate is 79.7%
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6 year graduation rate is 58%

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T HE M ILLENIAL G ENERATION
Weaker K-12 education
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Technology and media savvy
Impatient, demanding, and self-centered
Do not want independence from parents and look to them for help
View education as a consumer good
Anticipate college will be like high school
Want to know we care
Anxious and stressed from the chapter, Understanding Your Students And How They
Learn, in the book, Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based
Resource for College Instructors (Third Edition), by Linda B. Nelson.

ME
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B.S. in Biology 1996
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Ph.D. Microbiology/Immunology 2002
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Did research on immune response to a type 1 diabetes autoantigen
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8 th year at BSU, 10 th year teaching
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An animal lover with two dogs, two cats, and some goldfish

B IOLOGY 111: P RINCIPLES OF B IOLOGY I
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A majors course that introduces the basics of cellular and molecular biology
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Students range from freshman to seniors
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A core curriculum course
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Includes a required lab component

P RIOR C LASS S ET -U P
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Lecture
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4 100 point exams
50 point cumulative final
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100 points of pop quizzes
100 points of homework
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Lab
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50 point lab practical
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10 ten point homework assignments
10 ten point lab quizzes

P ROBLEMS /I SSUES TO A DDRESS WITH R E -
DESIGN
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Poor study habits
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Retention of information was poor
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Class sizes getting larger
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Students just wanting to memorize information
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New core curriculum focusing on the process of science – move away from cookbook lab activities

W HAT W AS D ONE IN I NITIAL S TAGE
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Lecture
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Added weekly homework assignments using
MasteringBiology
Switched to computer exams
Lab
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Added two inquiry based labs which required the writing of lab reports
Added a literature based research project to expose students to scientific literature culminating in a short literature summary and a group presentation
Only kept two homework assignments that related to graphing
Changed to three 20 point quizzes
Added a diversity project about biology and race
Switched one lab activity to an online version

L ECTURE C HANGES
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Weekly homework
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Had an assignment every week not an exam
Mostly over material had already covered in lecture, sometimes had to work ahead
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Always due right before lecture so I could review any material they had not understood based on diagnostics
Assignments involved a variety of activities, not just multiple choice questions
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Computer exams
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Exams were administered using InQsit program in dedicated, proctored computer labs on campus

D IAGNOSTICS

D IAGNOSTICS

L AB C HANGES
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Added two inquiry based labs which required the writing of lab reports
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Purpose was to teach students how to design their own experiments, analyze the data, and present the results as a scientist would
Added a literature based research project to expose students to scientific literature culminating in a short literature summary and a group presentation
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Involved having the science librarian give a presentation on how to find relevant research articles, further exposure to how scientists find and disseminate information
Only kept two homework assignments that related to graphing
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Teaching a key skill of scientists
Changed to three 20 point quizzes
Added a diversity project about biology and race
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Shows students the implications science can have in cultural discussions
Switched one lab activity to an online version
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Exposes students to valuable resources on the internet

L ECTURE O UTCOMES
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Increases in passing exam scores
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Increases in passing course grades
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More in class time, which was used for review

C OMPARISON OF E XAM 1 S CORES - F ALL
2004 VS . S PRING 2011
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Without Mastering
With Mastering
Column1
A B C
Letter Grade
D F

C OMPARISON OF E XAM 2 S CORES - F ALL
2004 VS . S PRING 2011
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Without Mastering
With Mastering
Column1
A B C
Letter Grade
D F

15
10
5
0
C OMPARISON OF E XAM 3 S CORES - F ALL
2004 VS . S PRING 2011
25
20
Without Mastering
With Mastering
Column1
A B C
Letter Grade
D F

L AB O UTCOMES
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Students getting a more well-rounded exposure to what scientists do
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Better prepared for work they will do in upperlevel courses
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Greater appreciation for how science impacts their life

O UTCOMES FOR ME
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No longer grading homework by hand
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Getting instant feedback on student performance when there is still time to make changes
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More class time for active learning activities

S AVINGS FROM THE R EDESIGN
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More lecture time
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Not spending money on copy costs, which is shifted to lab budget
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5 cents per page, each exam cost ~$25, total of $125 savings per section per semester
Cost savings in lab
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Has allowed us to shift money towards doing more exciting inquiry based labs
~ $150 per year

P ROBLEMS
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Complaints about the time required to do Mastering assignments
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Discuss how much it can help grade, and by the end of the semester most of the feedback on Mastering is very positive
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Complaints about how much Mastering can affect their grade
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Explain the proportion of their grade that Mastering is and how it helps
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Complaints about all the writing in lab
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Working on doing a better job of explaining all that scientists do
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Plagiarism issues
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Using a book on How to Write in Biology, a video on plagiarism, a plagiarism contract

W HAT I AM D OING N OW
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Increasing my use of MasteringBiology
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Changing assignments to reflect all the new content added
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Linking all assignment activities with Learning
Outcomes
Adding reading questions to be done prior to lecture
Adding reading questions to be done prior to lab
Getting rid of lecture quizzes and switching to clickers
Adding an assignment in lab on reading scientific articles
Using SafeAssign to help students avoid plagiarism while adapting to scientific writing

Q UESTIONS ??