1. Research Problem Introductory biology students have difficulty applying basic biological concepts to more complex problems and tend to rely on memorization, which in turn affects their learning and class performance resulting in higher attrition. Course: General Biology for Majors course: BIO161 (1 st of 3 GenBio courses): Biochemistry- Cell Bio- Molecular Bio Mainly Biology & Radiation Therapy Majors

2. Previous data: importance of in-class activities

3. Research Question How do active learning approaches* in the context of a flipped** Majors general biology class help students to apply basic biological concepts? *active learning approaches = “highly developed” active learning activities, covering higher Bloom skills see ex. Crowe et al, 2008. ** have recorded lectures available

4. General outline of the course Recorded lectures are available for students (flipped classroom) 2 treatment groups: with & without activities (probably different modules in different courses to correct for instructor effect) They will complete problem solving questions at the end of the course They will be interviewed (“think aloud”) about their problem solving process.

5. Research Methods My primary research methods include: 1)Post written questions (addressing higher Bloom levels)- direct 2)Student interviews/recordings when solving a problem (think-alouds) for small incentive - qualitative How will I collect these data? 1) Post questions will be given to students at the end of the course in class, for an incentive (grade points or replacing lowest quiz). 2) Student thinking process will be recorded during a review session (think aloud). My strategy to analyze these data will be: Post questions will be graded using a validated rubric, and treatment groups will be compared for all questions and per LO (concept). Interviews will be coded both openly & theory-driven.

6. Critical elements per feedbacks Activities have to address core biology concepts, ideally inquiry-driven and tangible, and allow for higher level Bloom questions (processing) Post-question rubrics have to address multiple aspects of the problem-solving process. To correct for instructor effect and make the design more equal to students, instead of a “control” and “active” different active courses modules will be implemented in both courses.

7. Alignment of Research Question and Methods Research question Are students learning how to apply biological concepts to solve problems? Are they actually contextualizing the concepts? Are they using the skills they acquired with in-class activities? Research method Post questions will provide a quantitative measure. Think aloud questions will show if they are using the desired process. 2 treatments compared will show if it was due to the intervention.