Using data to get your
students to take
responsibility for their own
learning.
Stephen Burton
Biology Department
Looking for the Light
January 26, 2006
We have an interesting position…
Our work is supposed to result in a product
produced by someone else. While we give all
the students the same components, not all the
products look the same. Further, the quality of
the product is dependent both on what we put
in (making sure they have quality components),
but also on what the student puts into the
product.
So how do we get them to take
responsibility?
• We give them homework…
• We give them readings…
• We give them activities…
WHY DO SOME STILL DO POORLY?
BIO 121 Lab – Winter 05
• Freshman and Sophomore biology majors
• Introduces students to the major groups of
living organisms, adaptations, anatomy, and
physiology.
• Graded by weekly quizzes
– Students take quiz over topic from the week before
Students were inconsistent in the
first 3 weeks
Average Quiz Score
100.0%
95.0%
Average Score
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
1
2
3
4
Week
5
6
7
Students were inconsistent in the
first 3 weeks
Average Quiz Score
100.0%
95.0%
Students requested assistance
through a “study guide”
after second exam
Average Score
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
THIRD EXAM INCLUDES
STUDY GUIDE
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
1
2
3
4
Week
5
6
7
Next quiz
• After quiz, students described on their quiz how
they studied
• I sorted the study methods into:
– Re-reading the lab – very passive
– Re-reading the lab and answering the questions on
the study guide
– Doing something else that relied on them to
manipulate the information – rewrote notes, wrote
their own quiz, re-read lab and generated notes from
reading, talked with colleagues
The results…sort of:
• Students who just studied by re-reading the lab writeup
averaged approximately 40.0%
• Students who did the study guide only averaged
approximately 60%
• Students who manipulated the material to make it their
own averaged approximately 85.0%
I SHARED THIS WITH MY STUDENTS AND
EXPLAINED THAT APPARENTLY MY STUDY
GUIDE WAS NOT THE BEST METHOD FOR
STUDYING – I STOPPED GIVING IT AFTER THE
EVALUATION
Students were more consistent in the
in the remaining weeks
Average Quiz Score
100.0%
95.0%
Average Score
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
1
2
3
4
Week
5
6
7
Was the trend because of what I did?
Average Quiz Score
100.0%
95.0%
Average Score
90.0%
F04
85.0%
80.0%
75.0%
W05
MAYBE???
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
1
2
3
4
Week
5
6
7
So how do we know if something we
require is helping our students?
• SCI 225 – Course for non-science elementary-ed
• Freshman and Sophomores
• Designed to introduce them to life science
content in a way that represents best teaching
practices for K-8.
• Students are required to work on “study”
questions – that require them to think beyond
the material expressly covered in class
SCI 225 – Reflection Questions
• Are often application, analysis, or synthesis level
questions
• Require students to think more deeply about the
material outside of class
• Done in small groups through discussion board
on blackboard.
• One student is responsible for answering the
question, but the rest assist by helping clarify the
answer through discussion
After the midterm…
Reflection Questions vs Grade
120.0%
100.0%
Grade on Exam
80.0%
60.0%
Students who earned better than
80% on the exam always
contributed at least 12 times. But
this just looked at contributions.
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Number of Reflection Question Contributions
20
22
24
26
After the final
Final Exam Grade vs Grade on Reflection Questions
120.0
R2 = 0.303
Exam Score (out of 100 pts)
100.0
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
0.0%
You are more likely to get an 80% or
better if you earned better than 70% on
the reflection questions. Clearly this
helps, but other factors are involved,
such as effort in learning the material.
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
% of points earned on reflection questions (based upon final answer and having responded)
90.0%
100.0%
Concept Mapping
Concept Map vs. Final Exam
100.0
2
R = 0.2678
Final Exam Score (out of 100 pts)
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
Concept mapping as a way to review the material for the
comprehensive final may also be useful, when taken
seriously.
50.0
40.0
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
Concept Map Score (out of 50 pts)
44
46
48
50
What was my take home message?
I am pretty confident that requiring students to
• Actively participate in online discussions to answer
reflection questions is useful and will continue to do
so.
• Require students to design a concept map as a way
to help them prepare for the final exam
IN MY NEXT CLASS I WILL SHOW THESE TO
THE STUDENTS SO THEY UNDERSTAND
WHY I AM REQUIRING THEM.