SHETLAR, R; University of Central Florida: The effect of active learning strategies in undergraduate biology education

There has been much written about different ways to engage undergraduate biology students in the learning process, i.e., to make them active learners. While active learning has generally been the norm in laboratories, it has been perhaps less so in the lecture component of courses. In an attempt to demonstrate the effects of incorporating a range of active learning techniques into lecture, a study was undertaken aimed at comparing two sections of honors general biology. In one section, students were exposed to different activities that were aimed at increasing participation. The second section was held in the more �traditional� way, and while discussions and questions were not discouraged no attempt was made to employ the same techniques as in section one. The content of each course was identical, only the strategies for presentation were different. Both direct and indirect measures were used to assess each section of the course. Preliminary investigations suggested that active learning strategies were at least partially successful in boosting student engagement, as determined from observations in class, students perception of instruction (at the end of the semester), surveys conducted throughout the semester, and interviews with students conducted by an independent evaluator (indirect measures). Evidence for student learning was obtained by comparing the results of direct measures between classes and included, embedded questions, skills demonstrations, reflective writing, problem solving activities and case studies. Scores on pre-tests versus post-tests suggest that there may be a difference in student learning when active strategies are employed.