 Do non-majors learn genetics at a different rate than majors?  What factors affect how students think about and learn difficult genetics concepts? Jenny Knight and Michelle Smith 11/12/08 MCDB Science Education Initiative ASM Biology Scholars Research Residency Program Learning Genetics: comparing student learning in non-majors and majors genetics courses

The two courses, Fall 2008 formatLearning goals yeargenderMajor MCDB 1041 Non-majors (61 students reporting) LAs Clicker s Homework 3 exams Final Group activities Shares 7 content learning goals with majors 72.1% fresh/soph 62.7% female 6.7% Bio MCDB 2150 Majors (138 students reporting) LAs Clicker s Homework 3 exams Final Optional group activities 9 content learning goals 37.6% fresh/soph 58.7% female 55% Bio 13% Engineer/ Chem

Non majors pre: 34% post: 70% normalized gain: 54% n=61 Majors pre: 40% post: 78% normalized gain: 63% n=107 Are these students really different? Performance on the Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) in Fall 2007 was not dramatically different Fall 2007 The GCA is a 25 question validated assessment tool that tests conceptual understanding of fundamental genetics concepts

Experimental Design: Rate of learning genetics: measure performance at 4 points during the semester 1. PRE ASSESSMENT : Administer the multiple choice GCA on the first day of class in both courses 2. WHAT THEY KNOW IMMEDIATELY AFTER INSTRUCTION : Administer shared short multiple choice quiz after we address each topic already identified as a misconception area 3. WHAT THEY KNOW AFTER STUDYING : Administer shared multiple choice exam questions and a few short answer questions at each of 3 midterm exams 4. POST ASSESSMENT : Administer the multiple choice GCA as part of the final exam in both courses : This was interesting, but not enough data to make conclusions about learning genetics. So:

Pilot study (Fall 2007): Designed common quiz and exam questions for each common learning goal Observed: A trend towards increasing understanding (higher performance) with each measure, for each learning goal Majors were usually ahead of non-majors, but often by only a little What we still needed: – Better coordination--material was not introduced at the same time to both groups – more questions per learning goal to feel confident of comparisons Current study: Fall questions per learning goal per quiz or exam material introduced in same order, quizzes and exams over same material (topics introduced within 1 week of each other)

Fall 2008 Score on genetics content pre-assessment (GCA): Average score % (±SE) number of students Non-majors (1.7)70 Majors: (1.1) 148 LA’s 80.2(6.1)6 TA’s: 69.7 (7.2) 7

Performance on shared exam questions * * * Significantly different, Tukey post-hoc test p<.05 Exam 1Exam 2 * % students answering correctly

What factors affect how students think about and learn difficult genetics concepts? (characterizing the way students work and how they feel) 1. PERCEPTION : How do students feel about genetics and science? What is their motivation to succeed? 2. PROCESS and TIME: How do students study? How much time do students spend studying and how often do they study? How do they prefer to work (alone or in groups)? How do they approach solving difficult genetics problems (what resources do they use)? 3. PRIORITY : How much importance do students place on the class in relationship to their other classes? Experimental Design part 2 SURVEYS and INTERVIEWS

InterestGenetics background Reason for taking course Intimidatio n level of material Motivation Non majors (n=61) 49% high 25% never taken any genetics 70.5 science distribution requirement 16% for med school 26.2% high83.6% highly motivated to study Majors (n=138) 87% high 7.2% never taken any genetics 71.7 required for major 54.5% for med school 34% high 97% highly motivated to study Starting points: comparing the demographics of the two courses, Fall 2008

Starting points that might affect their perception of genetics InterestGenetics background Reason for taking course Intimidation level of material Motivation Non majors (n=61) 49% high 25% never taken any genetics 70.5 science distribution requirement 16% for med school 26.2% high83.6% highly motivated to study Majors (n=138) 87% high 7.2% never taken any genetics 71.7 required for major 54.5% for med school 34% high 97% highly motivated to study

What factors affect how students think about and learn difficult genetics concepts?

Survey questions: TIME How much do they study for exams? Exam 1Exam 2 % of students Hours studying

Survey questions (midsemester): PROCESS How do students study? I rework homework/ clicker questions/ activities in preparation for the exams: 1 (never) ……. 3 (sometimes)………5 (always) homeworkclicker questionsactivities

Survey questions (midsemester): PROCESS “culture” of group work You are working on a Friday activity and your classmate Chris, who is doing well in the course, answers a question. What are you most likely to do next? a. I will write the answer down and not really think about what Chris just said b. I will pause to think about what Chris said, but I will likely write down what s/he says c. I will probably write down a different answer, but I will not say anything to Chris d. I will ask Chris questions and point out any flaws in his/her answer before writing an answer down Majors: 29% B; 63.8%D Non-majors: 3% A, 45% B,31% D You are working on a Friday activity and your classmate Alex, who is struggling in the course, answers a question. What are you most likely to do next? a. I will write the answer down and not really think about what Alex just said b. I will pause to think about what Alex said, but I will likely write down what s/he says c. I will probably write down a different answer, but I will not say anything to Alex d. I will ask Alex questions and point out any flaws in his/her answer before writing an answer down Majors: 89.8% D Non-majors: 13.8% C, 78% D CJ and Sam are working through an activity. CJ says something that Sam thinks is wrong. What do you think is the most appropriate thing for Sam to do? a. Not say anything b. Ask an LA or course instructor to decide who is correct c. Point out errors in CJ’s thinking and offer an alternative view Majors: 42% B; 58% C Non-majors: 41.4% B, 58.6% C

Survey questions (midsemester): PRIORITY How many courses are you taking this semester? (number) Rank studying genetics compared to other courses Rank importance of genetics compared to other courses Rank interest level in genetics compared to other courses Divide rank by number of classes for each student, in each category, take average: LOW number (closer to 0 = highest studying, importance and interest) Avg # courses studyingimportance to future interest Non majors Majors

Conclusions so far… When compared to students in the non-majors course, students in the majors course: 1.Begin the course with slightly higher content knowledge and have had more exposure to genetics 2.Perform better on common exam questions 3.Feel a genetics course is more important to their future career and begin the course with a higher interest 4.Less likely to blindly trust a peer they perceive as knowledgeable 5. Study more for exams and spend more time reworking problems

What other questions would be useful to ask?