Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics

Retention in science is low in undergraduate populations, especially for under-represented minority (URM) and first generation (FG) college students. Thus, educators have been called upon to design curricula to counteract this trend. This study examined variables most likely to lead to retention, su...

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Autores principales:	Amanda M. Cottone, Susan Yoon
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2020
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1b928f0fdc4846ccaccc15ffc8028698
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1b928f0fdc4846ccaccc15ffc80286982021-11-15T15:04:42ZImproving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.19651935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/1b928f0fdc4846ccaccc15ffc80286982020-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.1965https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Retention in science is low in undergraduate populations, especially for under-represented minority (URM) and first generation (FG) college students. Thus, educators have been called upon to design curricula to counteract this trend. This study examined variables most likely to lead to retention, such as increased achievement, improved attitudes, and self-efficacy beliefs, through participation in active learning and real-world research experiences in an introductory biology course. The research experience was embedded in metagenomics content and processes that have increasingly gained focus in microbiology. This study also investigated differences in learning outcomes when the curriculum was infused with more active learning. The active learning components included integrating interactive technology into the pre-lab lectures, providing students with authentic protocols to conduct lab work, and allowing students to rerun problematic samples. Results showed increased achievement for URM/FG students, although this was not strongly tied to the active learning elements incorporated into the three-week metagenomics research experience. However, students participating in research with more active learning did report higher frequencies of engaging in mastery experiences (an important source of self-efficacy) when compared with students engaged in research with less active learning. This analysis can aid in identifying specific curricular design features associated with promoting retention in undergraduate biology and science programs in general.Amanda M. CottoneSusan YoonAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 21, Iss 1 (2020)
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 Amanda M. Cottone Susan Yoon Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
description	Retention in science is low in undergraduate populations, especially for under-represented minority (URM) and first generation (FG) college students. Thus, educators have been called upon to design curricula to counteract this trend. This study examined variables most likely to lead to retention, such as increased achievement, improved attitudes, and self-efficacy beliefs, through participation in active learning and real-world research experiences in an introductory biology course. The research experience was embedded in metagenomics content and processes that have increasingly gained focus in microbiology. This study also investigated differences in learning outcomes when the curriculum was infused with more active learning. The active learning components included integrating interactive technology into the pre-lab lectures, providing students with authentic protocols to conduct lab work, and allowing students to rerun problematic samples. Results showed increased achievement for URM/FG students, although this was not strongly tied to the active learning elements incorporated into the three-week metagenomics research experience. However, students participating in research with more active learning did report higher frequencies of engaging in mastery experiences (an important source of self-efficacy) when compared with students engaged in research with less active learning. This analysis can aid in identifying specific curricular design features associated with promoting retention in undergraduate biology and science programs in general.
format	article
author	Amanda M. Cottone Susan Yoon
author_facet	Amanda M. Cottone Susan Yoon
author_sort	Amanda M. Cottone
title	Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
title_short	Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
title_full	Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
title_fullStr	Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
title_full_unstemmed	Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics
title_sort	improving the design of undergraduate biology courses toward the goal of retention: the case of real-world inquiry and active learning through metagenomics
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/1b928f0fdc4846ccaccc15ffc8028698
work_keys_str_mv	AT amandamcottone improvingthedesignofundergraduatebiologycoursestowardthegoalofretentionthecaseofrealworldinquiryandactivelearningthroughmetagenomics AT susanyoon improvingthedesignofundergraduatebiologycoursestowardthegoalofretentionthecaseofrealworldinquiryandactivelearningthroughmetagenomics
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Improving the Design of Undergraduate Biology Courses toward the Goal of Retention: The Case of Real-World Inquiry and Active Learning through Metagenomics

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