Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices

Learner-centered teaching represents more than creating a course where students are actively engaged. Rather it is articulated by a shift in the balance of power, function of content, role of the instructor, purpose of assessment, and/or responsibility for learning in a course. To make the learning...

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Autor principal:	Carol A. Hurney
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2012
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/18ae6195b4954dc5b482bb4a1a8eb0d1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:18ae6195b4954dc5b482bb4a1a8eb0d12021-11-15T15:03:40ZLearner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices10.1128/jmbe.v13i2.4581935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/18ae6195b4954dc5b482bb4a1a8eb0d12012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v13i2.458https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Learner-centered teaching represents more than creating a course where students are actively engaged. Rather it is articulated by a shift in the balance of power, function of content, role of the instructor, purpose of assessment, and/or responsibility for learning in a course. To make the learning environment in a large-enrollment nonmajors Biology course more learner-centered, students were given the responsibility to: 1) select course topics, 2) determine the types and weights of course assignments used to assess learning, and 3) individually decide, prior to being assigned work, the weight of exams and projects. Combined survey results from two learner-centered sections of the course (n = 137) indicate that a majority of the students found that choosing the topics enhanced their learning of course material. Students also reported that they put more effort into the parts of the course that they had weighted more heavily. In addition, results support that students are reflective of the learner-centered environment, confident in their ability to learn biological topics and more interested in biology than they thought they would be. Finally, course averages from the learner-centered courses were significantly higher than course grades from instructor-centered versions of the course.Carol A. HurneyAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 13, Iss 2, Pp 133-141 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Carol A. Hurney Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
description	Learner-centered teaching represents more than creating a course where students are actively engaged. Rather it is articulated by a shift in the balance of power, function of content, role of the instructor, purpose of assessment, and/or responsibility for learning in a course. To make the learning environment in a large-enrollment nonmajors Biology course more learner-centered, students were given the responsibility to: 1) select course topics, 2) determine the types and weights of course assignments used to assess learning, and 3) individually decide, prior to being assigned work, the weight of exams and projects. Combined survey results from two learner-centered sections of the course (n = 137) indicate that a majority of the students found that choosing the topics enhanced their learning of course material. Students also reported that they put more effort into the parts of the course that they had weighted more heavily. In addition, results support that students are reflective of the learner-centered environment, confident in their ability to learn biological topics and more interested in biology than they thought they would be. Finally, course averages from the learner-centered courses were significantly higher than course grades from instructor-centered versions of the course.
format	article
author	Carol A. Hurney
author_facet	Carol A. Hurney
author_sort	Carol A. Hurney
title	Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
title_short	Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
title_full	Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
title_fullStr	Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
title_full_unstemmed	Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices
title_sort	learner-centered teaching in nonmajors introductory biology: the impact of giving students choices
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/18ae6195b4954dc5b482bb4a1a8eb0d1
work_keys_str_mv	AT carolahurney learnercenteredteachinginnonmajorsintroductorybiologytheimpactofgivingstudentschoices
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Learner-Centered Teaching in Nonmajors Introductory Biology: The Impact of Giving Students Choices

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