Active Learning in a Non-Majors Biology Class Lessons Learned

Active Learning in a Non-Majors Biology Class Lessons Learned Elaine B. McClanahan and Lon L. McClanahan Abstract. This article describes how a tradi- dents enroll in the lecture independent of dynamics, and student learning outcomes tional biology lecture course was transformed the laboratories. for an introductory non-majors biology into an interactive class. A review the activi- Lon’s teaching style is that of the tradi- course. The framework we used to design ties used, changes made to grading policy, and practical tips for integration of active learning tional college professor, taking a “sage on our classroom uses “instructional activi- in the classroom are provided. Analysis of stu- the stage” (King 1993) approach. ties involving students in doing things dent responses to course assessments indicat- Although my initial teaching style was also and thinking about what they are doing” ed that active learning experiences helped the traditional lecture, I learned a more (Bonwell and Eisen 1991). them focus on and understand key concepts of facilitative teaching approach after I left To ensure that students were evaluated the course. Students performed as well as, or better than, those in previous classes that used academia to work in business and industry. on their participation as well as their a more traditional lecture technique. Active I have since returned to higher education, scores on traditional multiple-choice learning enriches the classroom learning expe- and my teaching style is now a more inter- exams, we modified the course syllabus. rience and can be incorporated into a large active “guide on the side” (King 1993) Previously the grading plan was based lecture setting with relative ease. approach. When Lon and I decided to co- solely on three multiple-choice exams teach, the biggest challenge we faced was and a cumulative final. Our new course or those of you who have begun or how to reconcile, and eventually combine, would measure achievement through are thinking about implementing teaching styles that appear at first to be dia- three multiple-choice exams, a cumula- F active learning, the following metrically opposed. tive final, a reading reflection, study jour- describes a personal journey into active In recent years Lon noticed a drastic nals, a problem-based learning activity, learning and our “lessons learned.” In the decrease in student attendance at lectures and student formative and summative process, we offer practical tips that you and that those who attended class were assessments of class activities. Instead of may wish to consider when planning a often passive and unengaged. He was lecture only, we conducted mini-lectures course. interested in seeking new ways to reach (20 to 30 minutes) and in-class learning In fall 2000 we co-taught two large his students but unsure of what approach activities. We also included student introductory non-major biology courses. to take. After learning of studies that assessments of the instructional strategies Lon has taught both lower and upper indicated that students in courses taught as a form of active learning. The com- division courses at the university level using active learning strategies have done plete list of active learning methods we for thirty-four years. I (Elaine) have as well or better than those taught in a tra- used are described in the sidebar. taught lower division courses at the col- ditional lecture mode, he was willing to One of the significant things we lege level for fifteen years. The course explore these techniques (Black 1993; learned was that it is helpful to start by we taught is lecture only, and although Paulson 1999). He also recognized that selecting a strategy that is compatible there is a laboratory component, stu- students have different learning styles with your teaching style and comfort and believed that multiple teaching strate- level. Then develop the student learning gies might engage those who did not outcomes for a topic, and select a corre- Elaine B. McClanahan is president of respond to the lecture mode. sponding active learning strategy that can Strategic Learning in Chino Hills, California, and Lon L. McClanahan is Professor We selected several active learning help you achieve the goal. Share your Emeritus in the department of biology at strategies to implement based on student ideas with someone who has experience California State University, in Fullerton. profiles, desired changes in classroom in implementing active learning and seek 92 COLLEGE TEACHING their feedback. Finally, try your plan, Active Learning Techniques reflect on the results, and then make Matrix (BSCS 1998) adjustments where improvements are A matrix is a chart that requires students to represent lecture material in a format different needed. from the way it was presented. It focuses on key concepts and requires the use of higher- We produced the following practical order thinking skills. One way in which we used a matrix was for comparing and contrast- ing the process and products of cellular respiration with photosynthesis. tips based on our experience. Partial Outline (Angelo and Cross 1993) Practical Suggestions The partial outline technique builds outlining and note-taking skills and allows students to focus on important concepts. We used this technique after a mini-lecture on basic chem- Set the stage. istry and asked student to complete an outline by using the following main topics: defini- Create the expectation that students tion of a type of chemical bond, significance in living things, and examples. will actively participate in this class. One Think, Pair, Share (King 1993) way to accomplish that is to include a This technique is extremely versatile and may be implemented in a variety of ways. In gen- statement in your syllabus about your eral, students think about a question posed by the instructor and then pair with one or two others to share their responses. A final step, which we included, was a class debrief of pair teaching strategies. For example: responses. I will be using a variety of teaching strate- Debrief (McClanahan and Wicks 1993) gies in this class. Some of these activities A debrief is an instructor-guided discussion of student (individual or group) interactive may require that you interact with me or work. This discussion validates student responses or corrects inaccurate responses. Stu- other students in class. I hope you will find dents who did not respond to the question learn the correct response at this time. these methods interesting and engaging, and that they enable you to be more suc- Brainstorming cessful in this course. Brainstorming generates ideas about a topic. All responses are accepted and written on a board, flip chart, or overhead transparency. We used this process to introduce topics and In the syllabus, describe the specific assess what students knew about them. We then tailored the mini-lecture or lecture that fol- learning activities you plan to conduct. lowed to build on student knowledge and/or clarify misconceptions. These descriptions let the students know Mini-Problem Based Learning Activity what to expect from you as well as what In this activity, small groups (class action teams) of three or four students work together to you expect from them. We included the investigate a scenario or problem provided by the instructor. Mini-lectures on foundation- al principles are given at specific points. Each student within a group conducts a part of the learning activities described in sidebar in research needed to solve the problem. Research is conducted outside of class and then our syllabus. shared with the group in class. Individuals synthesize final projects from pertinent infor- mation. Students determine the final format of their own projects. Our mini-problem based Develop a grading policy that supports learning activity was completed during four class sessions and some outside-class time. active learning. Reading Reflection Active learning experiences that are A reading reflection is a one-page summary report based on reading course-related mater- important enough to do are important ial on a topic the student finds particularly interesting. This reflection can be a review of a enough to be included as part of a student’s newspaper article, a journal article, on an article on an Internet site, a discussion of a con- grade. For example, in our class, students cept read in the textbook, or a discussion of concepts read in a book related to the course topic. A rubric was provided to students describing how their reflection would be graded. who completed the first post-exam study journal received 10 points. A problem- Study Journal The study journal is a brief questionnaire, administered periodically throughout the course based learning experience was worth 50 that asks questions about the students’ study habits and the extent to which they think in- points. The students received a rubric class learning activities increase their ability to learn. explaining the criteria used to grade the Plus/Delta (McClanahan and Wicks 1993) activity. The total number of points in our A Plus/Delta chart is a quick and easy way to obtain feedback from students about what is class was 650; 150 of these points were working for them in the class and what needs improvement. It can be used at the end of an assigned to active learning activities. assignment or class session, or as a periodic check throughout the semester. Pluses or deltas The class syllabus should describe your may address class activities, instructor or student performance, instructional materials, or grading policy for active learning experi- the classroom environment. A plus identifies elements that students believe worked well and helped them learn. For example, our students said talking to other students in class ences and how those grades factor into the about what they had just heard in lecture often simplified the material and helped them student’s final grade.

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