Promoting active learning out-of-class via online “study questions” leads to higher than expected exam scores in General Biology
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Science and Medical Education
- Keywords
- active learning, higher education, STEM disciplines, general biology, out-of-class active learning, quizzing, study questions
- Copyright
- © 2015 Gibson
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2015. Promoting active learning out-of-class via online “study questions” leads to higher than expected exam scores in General Biology. PeerJ PrePrints 3:e1223v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1223v1
Abstract
A rising need for workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has fueled interest in improving teaching within STEM disciplines. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of active learning approaches on student learning outcomes. However, many of these studies have been conducted in experimental, rather than real-life class, settings. In addition, most of these studies have focused on in-class active learning exercises. This study tested the effects of a form of out-of-class active learning on exam performance for General Biology students at the University of Minnesota. An online database of 1,020 multiple-choice questions covering material from the first half of the course was generated, with feedback provided for 73% of the questions. Students in seven course sections (with an average of approximately 265 students per section) were given unlimited access to the online study questions. These students made extensive use of the online questions, with students answering an average of approximately 1,323 questions (94.5 questions per lecture) covering material from the half of the semester for which the questions were available. The extent to which access to the online study questions improved student learning outcomes was assessed by comparing the performance on exam questions of students in the seven course sections with access to the online study questions with the performance of students in course sections without access to the online study questions. Student performance was analyzed for a total of 89 different exams questions that were not included in the study questions, but that covered the same material covered by the study questions. Each of these 89 questions was used on one to five (average of 2.3) exams administered to students in course sections that had access to the online study questions and on three to 77 (average of 24.8) exams administered to students in sections that lacked access to the online study questions. Data from over 1,800 students in sections with access to the online study questions show that those students scored a statistically significant average of 6.6 percentage points higher on the exam questions analyzed than students in sections without access to the study questions. This difference was greater than the average amount necessary to raise students’ exam grades by one grade (e.g. from a “B-“ to a “B”). In addition, there was a higher correlation between number of questions answered and success on exam questions on material related to the study questions than between number of questions answered and success on exam questions on material unrelated to the study questions. The online study question system analyzed in this work required substantial effort to set up in the first year, but required minimal effort to maintain in subsequent years and was effective in significantly raising average exam scores for even very large course sections.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.
Supplemental Information
Actual versus expected scores on exam questions from the University of Minnesota Biology Program exam question database
This table summarizes information on the exam questions from the University of Minnesota Biology Program exam question database for BIOL 1009 that were analyzed as part of this work. "Mean actual score" refers to the percentage of students who correctly answered the indicated question on the indicated exam for the indicated year and course section. "Mean expected score" refers to the percentage of students who correctly answered the indicated question on all exams in which the question was used, excluding exams from one of the seven course sections being analyzed as part of this work (i.e. course sections for which online study questions were available) and from honor's sections. "# of other exams on which question was used" refers to the number of times the indicated question has been used on a BIOL 1009 exam at the University of Minnesota, excluding exams from one of the seven course sections being analyzed as part of this work and exams from honor's sections of BIOL 1009.
Numbers of study and quiz questions answered and exam scores in 2012
The numbers of study questions, quiz questions and total questions (study plus quiz questions) answered by each student in preparation for exams 1 and 2 during 2012 are shown. The overall exam 1 and 2 scores for each student are also indicated. In addition, the scores on different groups of exam 2 questions are shown. "Exam 2 study questions" refers to questions on exam 2 that were taken directly from the online study questions. "Questions on same material" refers to questions covering the same material covered by the online study questions; these questions were chosen by the author from the exam question database maintained by the Biology Program at the University of Minnesota (thus these questions were not written by the author). "Questions on other material" refer to questions on material not covered by the study questions; these questions were chosen by a different faculty member.
Total numbers of questions answered in preparation for exams 1 and 2 in 2012-2013
The total numbers of questions (study questions plus quiz questions) answered by each student in preparation for exams 1 and 2 in 2012 and 2013 are indicated. The average number of questions answered per lecture for each student in preparation for exams 1 and 2 are also shown. The questions in preparation for exam 1 covered material from eight lectures and the questions in preparation for exam 2 covered material from six lectures.
Number of questions answered versus scores on different groups of exam 2 questions
In 2012 through 2014, questions for exam 2 were drawn from three sources. 13 to 15 questions were chosen by the author from the online study questions, 11 to 13 questions that covered the same course material covered by the online study questions were chosen by the author from questions in the exam question database maintained by the Biology Program at the University of Minnesota (= “Questions on same material”) and 13 to 16 questions were chosen by another faculty member and covered material taught by that faculty member that was not covered by the online study questions (= “Questions on other material”). The number of questions answered by each student in preparation for exam 2 and the scores obtained by that student on the three groups of exam 2 questions and exam 2 overall are indicated.