A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology

In order to stimulate engagement in microbiology, a reading-writing assignment based on a narrative popular science book was created for a one-semester introductory microbiology course. In order to encourage critical thinking, students were required to formulate a question related to the book to res...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal:	Tracy O’Connor
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2019
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3e4b567354e54921a6d64bd29dd0b992
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:3e4b567354e54921a6d64bd29dd0b992
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3e4b567354e54921a6d64bd29dd0b9922021-11-15T15:04:15ZA Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology10.1128/jmbe.v20i1.16881935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/3e4b567354e54921a6d64bd29dd0b9922019-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v20i1.1688https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885In order to stimulate engagement in microbiology, a reading-writing assignment based on a narrative popular science book was created for a one-semester introductory microbiology course. In order to encourage critical thinking, students were required to formulate a question related to the book to research and report on. Active learning was supported by guidance and feedback at each stage of the assignment. The assignment components were graded according to a rubric based on the learning outcomes: reading comprehension, question formulation, literature research, synthesis, and written communication. Median scores for the assignment components indicated that students successfully demonstrated the learning outcomes. A question was included on the final examination, asking students to summarize their most important learning from the assignment. Qualitative analysis of the exam answers revealed a wide variety of lessons learned about the practical applications of microbiology. On average, students scored better on the assignment and the assignment-related exam question than on the final exam. There was no significant correlation between a student’s performance on the final exam and their performance on either of the assignment-related assessments, suggesting that the assignment benefited students regardless of their exam-taking capability. According to surveys administered at the end of the introductory microbiology course and again when students were enrolled in a senior microbiology course, a strong majority of students found the reading-writing assignment to be engaging and informative. This assignment may be modified in various ways in order to suit the needs of other courses.Tracy O’ConnorAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 20, Iss 1 (2019)
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 Tracy O’Connor A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
description	In order to stimulate engagement in microbiology, a reading-writing assignment based on a narrative popular science book was created for a one-semester introductory microbiology course. In order to encourage critical thinking, students were required to formulate a question related to the book to research and report on. Active learning was supported by guidance and feedback at each stage of the assignment. The assignment components were graded according to a rubric based on the learning outcomes: reading comprehension, question formulation, literature research, synthesis, and written communication. Median scores for the assignment components indicated that students successfully demonstrated the learning outcomes. A question was included on the final examination, asking students to summarize their most important learning from the assignment. Qualitative analysis of the exam answers revealed a wide variety of lessons learned about the practical applications of microbiology. On average, students scored better on the assignment and the assignment-related exam question than on the final exam. There was no significant correlation between a student’s performance on the final exam and their performance on either of the assignment-related assessments, suggesting that the assignment benefited students regardless of their exam-taking capability. According to surveys administered at the end of the introductory microbiology course and again when students were enrolled in a senior microbiology course, a strong majority of students found the reading-writing assignment to be engaging and informative. This assignment may be modified in various ways in order to suit the needs of other courses.
format	article
author	Tracy O’Connor
author_facet	Tracy O’Connor
author_sort	Tracy O’Connor
title	A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
title_short	A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
title_full	A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
title_fullStr	A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
title_full_unstemmed	A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology
title_sort	reading-writing assignment based on popular literature to enhance learning about microbiology
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/3e4b567354e54921a6d64bd29dd0b992
work_keys_str_mv	AT tracyoconnor areadingwritingassignmentbasedonpopularliteraturetoenhancelearningaboutmicrobiology AT tracyoconnor readingwritingassignmentbasedonpopularliteraturetoenhancelearningaboutmicrobiology
_version_	1718428246161227776

A Reading-Writing Assignment Based on Popular Literature To Enhance Learning about Microbiology

Ejemplares similares