Enhancing Science Learning: New Model's Impact on Higher-Order Thinking & Motivation

1. Impacts of a NewInstructional Model on Higher-Order Thinking Skills & Motivation to Learn

2. Course/Student Population • >300 students enrolled per semester, fall & spring • 3 crIntroductory Microbiology lecture course • Microbiology majors must also take a 3 crIntroductory Microbiology Laboratory course (can co-subscribe) • Audience is primarily science majors • (>95% pre-health profession majors) • Typically taken in 3rd year of a 4 year curriculum • Scheduling meetings external to class is nearly impossible! • Students have many academic and personal commitments • Space is difficult to acquire outside of class-assigned times

3. Learning Problems • Problem 1:  • Students only want to memorize the necessary content to ‘do the job’: “Tell me what I need to know for the test!” • Problem 2: • Traditional lecture delivery does not promote student engagement in classroom environments or drive deeper learning • Students do not develop a deep meaningful understanding connection of concepts • Problem 3: • Large course enrollment (>300) limits my ability to engage with students as individuals and to: • a) increase student motivation to learn • b) provide low-stakes feedback opportunities to address individual student learning issues

4. Why Is It Interesting? • Active learning activities promote higher order thinking (Bloom’s): Hopson et al. 2002 • Team-based learning has been shown to increase individual student motivation: Gardner & Korth 1998 • Blended/hybrid learning deliveries have shown to affect student motivation in a positive manner: Ritter et al. 2010, Yen and Lee 2011 • Blended (hybrid) learning: face-to-face instruction (often traditional lecture) supplemented with online activities that students participate in instead of class seat time • Online activities are often high stakes - instructor feedback occurs post-grading • Students in high-enrollment courses report a lack of connection with professor in traditional format delivery courses, decreasing student motivation: Armbruster et al. 2009, • Also decreased mastery of content: Straits 2007 • Online classes allow students to access material as many times as desired to master the concepts with no loss to content mastery (based on student perceptions): Ritter et al. 2010 • Problem solving activities can be connected to real world implications which could affect student motivation to learn or student interest: Lowrie 2004 • Large enrollment courses tend to employ selective response (multiple choice) in a high stakes single-tier assessment: Wideen et al. 2007

5. Research Questions & Alignments • Does using a modified blended instructional model which shifts from a passive learning classroom environment (traditional lecture by the professor) to  an active learning environment in which team-based problem solving activities are employed in the classroom(the professor serves as  facilitator) and is coupled with online podcasts of traditional lectures) improve students’ abilities higher order thinking skills? • Alignments of question/problem: • a) problem-solving skills will drive students to develop higher-order thinking • b) collaborative learning (team) focus provides peer-based interaction to develop knowledge in a deeper manner than on an individual basis. • Does using this modified blended instructional model (as described above) affect students’ motivation to learn science? • Alignments of question/problem: • a) more individualized attention (at lower stakes) can be provided to the students if the professor acts as a facilitator in the classroom instead of using class time for traditional lecture - traditional lectures will still be provided as podcasts • b) team-based collaborative learning provides peer-based motivation to strive to perform in a more engaged manner. • Is there a collaborative effect of the new teaching delivery style on student performance and motivation?