Students\u27 Performance, Satisfaction and Retention in a Hybrid and Traditional Face-To-Face Science Course, Principles of Biology I, in a Community College (original) (raw)
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2012
Through distance learning, the community college system has been able to serve more students by providing educational opportunities to students who would otherwise be unable to attend college. The community college of focus in the study increased its online enrollments and online course offerings due to the growth of overall enrollment. The need and purpose of the study is to address if there is a difference in students' grades between face-to-face and online biology related courses and if there are differences in grades between face-to-face and online biology courses taught by different instructors and the same instructor. The study also addresses if online course delivery is a viable method to educate students in biology-related fields. The study spanned 14 semesters between spring 2006 and summer 2011. Data were collected for 6,619 students. For each student, demographic information, cumulative grade point average, ACT, and data on course performance were gathered. Student data were gathered from General Biology I, Microbiology of Human Pathogens, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, and Human Anatomy and Physiology II courses. Univariate analysis of variance, linear regression, and descriptive analysis were used to analyze the data and determine which variables significantly impacted grade achievement for face-to-face and online students in biology classes. The findings from the study showed that course type, face-to-face or online, was significant for Microbiology of Human Pathogens and Human Anatomy and Physiology I, both upper level courses. Teachers were significant for General Biology I, a lower level course, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, and Human Anatomy and Physiology II. However, in every class, there were teachers who had significant differences within their courses between their face-to-face and online courses. ix This study will allow information to be concluded about the relationship between the students' final grades and class type, face-to-face or online, and instructor. Administrators, faculty and students can use this information to understand what needs to be done to successfully teach and enroll in biology courses, face-to-face or online. biology courses, online courses, face-to-face courses, class type, teacher influence, grades, CGPA, community college
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 2016
Online courses are a large and growing part of the undergraduate education landscape, but many biology instructors are skeptical about the effectiveness of online instruction. We reviewed studies comparing the effectiveness of online and face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate biology courses. Five studies compared student performance in multiple course sections at community colleges, while eight were smaller scale and compared student performance in particular biology courses at a variety of types of institutions. Of the larger-scale studies, two found that students in F2F sections outperformed students in online sections, and three found no significant difference; it should be noted, however, that these studies reported little information about course design. Of the eight smaller scale studies, six found no significant difference in student performance between the F2F and online sections, while two found that the online sections outperformed the F2F sections. In alignment with general fi...
International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) incorporate authentic research instead of confirmatory exercises into laboratory courses. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a general shift in instructional modalities from face-to-face (F2F) towards hybrid and online teaching. Student impacts caused by the abrupt shift to online teaching have been characterized, but comparisons between modalities for CUREs are missing. Therefore, we evaluated student learning and attitudinal outcomes in F2F, hybrid, and online delivery of an introductory college biology CURE. Additionally, we compared student outcomes between White/Asian students and persons excluded due to ethnicity or race (PEER) in these modalities. There were significant learning differences between modalities, but there were no significant learning differences by PEER status. Of six attitudinal variables, one varied significantly by modality and three varied significantly for PEER students. These results suggest that CUREs can be adapted to the online or hybrid modality with minimal impacts on student outcomes.
Survey of Student Satisfaction with Online Biology Course
Proceedings of the Quality Assurance in Higher Education International Conference (QAHE 2022), 2022
The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the resulting lockdown has led to the closure of all education institutions in an effort to contain transmission of the infection and students inevitably switched to online learning.Students were faced with the new challenge of adapting to virtual lessons in order to optimize continuous education during times of crisis. We aimed to assess satisfaction level of university students with online and in-class biology course. We used a crosssectional study design, and collected data using a questionnaire. Total student satisfaction level with biology course was rated high. The instructor's online lesson teaching methods scored the highest (4.41 ± 0.089), while virtual instruction scored lower (4.24 ± 0.84). Instructors were significanly better at interaction with students, preparation of lessons, and student evaluation for in-class lessons. Therefore, instructors need to communicate better with students, improve their lessons, integrate good teaching techniques, and sustain an interactive environment during online classes.
International Journal of Instruction, 2024
The study focused on the assessment of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) of graduate students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Science Education (MASE) program and tested the effectiveness of a blended learning approach using online collaborative tools, a learning management system, and interactive resources in Biology. The specific objectives of the study included describing the profile of MASE students in terms of computer and internet resources and skills, measuring their confidence levels in the four TPACK constructs, finding significant differences in pretest and posttest scores, and obtaining student feedback on the use of Edmodo as a Learning Management System. The study employed a one-shot pretest-posttest experimental design using a combination of online resources and face-to-face interactions. Based on the results, there was an increase in the median values before and after the intervention, as shown by the difference between the pre-median and post-median. Pre-implementation, the TPACK confidence level of the students was rated fairly confident (FC), but it increased after to completely confident (CC). This suggests that the students' TPACK confidence level improved positively using the BL approach. Likewise, the t-stat value of 10.68 indicates a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores after implementing the blended learning approach. This suggests that the blended learning approach had a positive and noteworthy impact on the student's performance, as seen in the improved test scores. The study's results highlighted the benefits of Edmodo as well as the use of interactive online activities in their performance and TPACK as reported by the students.
2010
Introduction: The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), located in Aurora Illinois, is a public, three- year residential high school for students who are academically talented in mathematics and/or science. Students apply in their freshman year and are chosen based on test scores and grades as well as other accomplishments, such as extracurricular projects or performances. About 10-15% of the sophomore class enters IMSA from the eighth grade. The sophomore program consists of three content- based, one-semester core courses in biology, chemistry, and physics, and one methods-in- science course. Sophomores take two science classes per semester. About 80% of the sophomores have had a previous biology course. We offer a placement test and approximately 9% place into a biology elective and the other 91% are enrolled in the Scientific Inquiries - Biology (SIB) course (Scheppler, Dosch, Styer, & Rogg, 2005).
Successful Integration of Face-to-Face Bootcamp Lab Courses in a Hybrid Online STEM Program
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 2019
The Microbiology and Cell Science program at the University of Florida compressed two standard 16-week lab courses into five-day versions of the course, which are referred to as bootcamp labs. The bootcamp labs have the same objectives, activities, and assessments as their traditional counterparts. Development of the bootcamp labs was part of a larger effort to increase access to the major, and more broadly STEM, by offering a 2+2 hybrid online transfer program. The results of this mixed-methods study include a direct comparison between bootcamp and traditional lab format as an approach for delivery of a face-to-face lab course. The bootcamp lab cohort has a greater diversity of students, with more women and underrepresented minorities in STEM than the traditional semester-long cohorts. Students in the bootcamp labs have comparable grade outcomes and learning gains to students in traditional lab format. Regression analysis identified GPA, but not lab format, as the most significant ...
Course Redesign of Online Non-Majors Biology: Analysis of Effects
We redesigned an online non-majors General Biology course (Survey to Biosciences, BIO100) by implementing a number of Constructivist and active learning approaches, and selecting a new textbook. Thirty courses before and thirty courses after the redesign were analyzed for student survey results, BIO100 and the corresponding Survey to Biosciences Laboratory (BIO100A) course grades, as well as the influence of student demographics such as age and ethnicity. Official end-of-class surveys scores of student perceptions of teaching, learning, and course content were compared pre-and post-redesign. We found that in the surveys only the perception of the textbook was significantly improved after redesign. Additionally, no difference was found in survey scores between the thirteen instructors teaching the course. No significant changes were found in either BIO100 or BIO100A grades after the redesign. BIO100A grades were strongly associated with BIO100 grades. Strong relationships were found between certain student demographic groups and BIO100A course grades, as well as between course enrollment and attrition.
2017
The purpose of this action research study was to describe the effectiveness of a virtual learning system (VLS) on college preparatory biology students' preand posttest scores. Data were gathered from observations of students using the VLS for video lectures, practice tests, reviewing, and other online simulations in the spring of 2017. Data were also collected using a pretest and a posttest designed by the participant-researcher before and after the implementation of the VLS. A t test was used to analyze the pre-and posttest quantitative data, and the constant comparative method was used to analyze the qualitative data from the formative assessments. Findings included the following themes: cultivating habits of student self-monitoring, developing student decision making, and improved equity and access to higher level science courses. The results of the present action research study were used to develop an action plan to enable other science educators at White Hall High School to make informed decisions regarding the implementation of a VLS in their classrooms to enhance student learning.
An evaluation of web enhanced instruction in college level biology courses
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2005
Websites that accompany science courses typically aim to provide easy access to learning materials, and to facilitate student-instructor communication. We tested whether these aims were achieved in two web enhanced, lower division undergraduate biology courses in an Israeli college. We collected data on the students' attitudes through pre-and postcourse questionnaires, monitored their usage of the course websites, and related these data to the students' final course grades. The students (n=96) accessed the websites frequently and regularly, and regarded them as important sources of information. About 47% of the students reported an increased level of general interest in the courses due to the websites. Students mainly downloaded lecture slides and exercise forms from the websites, but did not use the sites to communicate among themselves, or with the instructor. Final course grades were not correlated with the frequency of usage of the website. Female students had a more positive pre-course attitude towards the websites as compared with male students. However, there was no difference between men and women in usage of the course websites, and in achievement levels. We conclude that the website component of the courses in our study facilitated delivery of learning materials and individual study, but not the social aspects of learning. We suggest that effective design of web enhanced courses can overcome this limitation by stressing social interactions and group learning during face to face sessions.