Research Strategies for Assessment of Learning in Large

Classes

Diane Ebert-MayDepartment of Plant Biology

Michigan State University

ebertmay@msu.eduhttp://first2.org

http://www.msu.edu/course/isb/202/ebertmay/2004/home.html

Anonymous (Change Magazine, 2001):

Anonymous (Change Magazine, 2001):

“I believe we would all agree that the absolute best teaching learning-assessment model is the one-on-one Socratic apprenticeship model with unlimited time with the student. But ever since Socrates took on two students rather than only one (to double his income), teachers have had to make compromises in teaching.”

“I believe we would all agree that the absolute best teaching learning-assessment model is the one-on-one Socratic apprenticeship model with unlimited time with the student. But ever since Socrates took on two students rather than only one (to double his income), teachers have had to make compromises in teaching.”

Question 1

How important is it to use multiple kinds of data to assess student learning?

Please respond on a scale if 0-100 in increments of 10:

How important is it to use multiple forms of data to assess student learning?

%

Relative Importance n=127

Question 2

How often do you use data to make instructional decisions?

Please respond on a scale of 0 - 100 in increments of 10:

How often do you use data to make instructional decisions?

n=127Frequency

%

True or False?

Assessing student learning in science parallels what scientists do as researchers.

1.Description:

-What is happening?

2.Cause:

-Does ‘x’ (teaching strategy) affect ‘y’ (understanding)?

3.Process or mechanism:

-Why or how does ‘x’ cause ‘y’?

Parallel: ask questions

We collect data to find out what our students know.

Data helps us understand student thinking about concepts and content.

We use data to guide decisions about course/curriculum/innovative instruction

Parallel: collect data

Quantitative data - statistical analysis

Qualitative data

break into manageable units and define coding categories

search for patterns, quantify

interpret and synthesize

Valid and repeatable measures

Parallel: analyze data

Ideas and results are peer reviewed - formally and/or informally.

Parallel: peer review

Q3. What is assessment?

Data collection with the purpose of answering questions about…

students’ understanding

students’ attitudes

students’ skills

instructional design and implementation

curricular reform (at multiple grainsizes)

Research Methods

Why do assessment?

Improve student learning and development.

Provides students and facultysubstantive feedback about student understanding.

Challenge to use disciplinary research strategies to assess learning.(Ebert-May et al 2003)

Data collection

approaches

Multiple Choice … … Concept Maps … … Essay … … Interview

high Ease of Assessment low

low Potential for Assessment of Learning high

Theoretical Framework• Ausubel 1968; meaningful learning• Novak 1998; visual representations• King and Kitchner 1994; reflective judgment• National Research Council 1999; theoretical frameworks for assessment

Assessment Gradient

Tools for Data Collection

Items Students Purchase:

Course Pack - at Ned's and the College Store on Hagadorn ISB202 - Section 7 Drs. Ebert-May and Linton

Carbonless Lab Notebook - 8½" x 11" - at the College Store and the Student Bookstore can be graph paper or lined

Student Response Pad - $6 - only at Ned's Register your transmitter online @ www.einstruction.com Cost $15 - you'll need a credit card You need this number to register: Class Key: S2349Q361

Stapler (mini or regular sized) - Bring to class each day

 

Research Question:

Do students’ perceptions of the value of cooperative learning change throughout this course?

Design Experiment:• Course over time (15 weeks)• Pre-post: in-class inquiries/exam questions

Data type: • Indirect: self-report from “clickers”• Direct: individual /group assessment

How often did you work in cooperative groups in high school?

01.26.04

How often have you worked in cooperative groups in college?

01.26.04

How much do you think cooperative learning will improve your understanding?01.26.04

How much do you think cooperative learning has improved your

understanding thus far? 03.29.04

How much do you think cooperative learning improved your understanding

about the frog deformity problem? 03.31.04

Hierarchy

has

Structure

has

Concept Maps

Visual DiagramsOr Models

are represent

Knowledge or Understanding

Concepts

display

connectedwith

Linking Words

Used for

Assessment Organization

Reflection &Learning

promotesContext

is constructedwith

NewInformation

PriorKnowledge

Tool: Concept Maps

Reliability

test-retest reliability not a concern

inter-rater reliability (do people scoring maps agree)

Validity

face validity - represent meaningful learning: progressive differentiation, integration

construct validity - do maps correlate with other measures of learning?

C-TOOLS

http://ctools.msu.edu/

Tool: Bloom’s Rankings

Use to classify assessment questions

(1) Knowledge

(2) Comprehension

(3) Application

(4) Analysis

(5) Evaluation

(6) Synthesis

Concept: Carbon Cycle

• Goals: Students will be able to …

• Trace the pathway of a carbon atom through• living and nonliving components of an • ecosystem, explaining both the processes and• types of organisms involved.

Pre-test

• Which of the following substances has mass? Answer yes or no in the blank to the left.

• H20 vapor _______• CO2 _______• Glucose (C6H12O6) _______• O2 _______

Pre-test

• What are the different pathways that carbon can take once it is inside a plant?

• Select as many as apply

a. it can exit the plant as CO2b. it can become part of the plant’s cell walls, protein, fat, DNAc. it can be consumed by an insect feeding on the plant and

become part of the insect’s bodyd. as a plant decomposes in the soil, carbon can exit the soil as

CO2

Pre-test

• The majority of the actual weight (dry biomass)

gained by plants as they progress from seed to

adult plant comes from which of the following

substances?

a. molecules in the air that enter through the leavesb. particle substances in the soil taken up by the rootsc. substances dissolved in water that are taken up by

roots

d. energy from the sun

Radish ExperimentExperimental Setup:•Weighed out 3 batches of radish seeds each weighing 1.5 g.

Experimental treatments:

• 1. Seeds placed on moistened paper towels in LIGHT–2. Seeds placed on moistened paper towels in DARK–3. Seeds not moistened (left DRY) placed in light

After 2 weeks, all plant material was dried in an oven overnight (no water left) and plant biomass was measured in grams. Predict the biomass of each treatment.

Results

1.46 g 1.63 g 1.20 g

Write an explanation of the results.

Grandma Johnson Problem

Hypothetical Scenario: Grandma Johnson had very sentimental feelings toward Johnson Canyon,Utah where she and her late husband had honeymooned long ago. Her feelings toward this spot were such that upon her death she requested to be buried under a creosote bush overlooking the canyon. She loved the idea that she'd become part of the wonderful wilderness and live on through the wildlife that lived there. Think to yourself and begin to trace the path of a carbon atom from Grandma Johnson's (GJ) remains to where it could become part of a coyote (NOTE: the coyote WILL NOT dig up Grandma and consume any of her remains). What fundamental pathways and processes of biology will be involved in the transit of GJ's carbon atoms to that of the wild coyote in Utah?

Select a question you want to answer in related to the CCLI innovations in your project .

...research design?

...data collection tools?

...analysis?

...journal?

In Groups of 3 or 4

Does an active, inquiry-based instructional design affect students’ understanding of evolution and natural selection?

Method of analysis: Pre-post test

Question:

■ Changes in a population occur through a gradual change in individual members of a population.

■ New traits in species are developed in response to need.

■ All members of a population are genetically equivalent, variation and fitness are not considered.

■ Traits acquired during an individual’s lifetime will be inherited by offspring.

From literature and our research: Alternative Conceptions about

Natural Selection

Instructional Design

Cooperative groups in class:

Guppy Problem: sexual vs. natural selectionhttp://www.first2.org/resources/inquiry_activities/guppy_activity.htm-PBS film

-Simulation-Analyze data-Written explanation

(AAAS 1999)

Explain the changes that occurred in the tree and animal. Use your current understanding of evolution by natural selection.

Misconception: individuals evolve new traitsMisconception: individuals evolve new traits

% o

f S

tud

ents

n=80; p<.01

Misconception: evolution is driven by needMisconception: evolution is driven by need

% o

f S

tud

ents

n=80; p<.01

In guppy populations, what are the primary changes that occur gradually over time?

In guppy populations, what are the primary changes that occur gradually over time?

a. The traits of each individual guppy within a population gradually change.

b. The proportions of guppies having different traits within a population change.

c. Successful behaviors learned by certain guppies are passed on to offspring.

d. Mutations occur to meet the needs of the guppies as the environment changes.

Anderson et al 2002

Posttest: Student responses to mcPosttest: Student responses to mc

% o

f S

tud

ents

n=171

*

Animal/Tree Posttest: Gain in student understanding of fitnessAnimal/Tree Posttest: Gain in student understanding of fitness

% o

f S

tud

ents

n=80; p<.01

Quantitative Data

Qualitative Data

Design Experiment

Ebert-May et al. 2003 Bioscience

How do assessment questions help us determine students’ prior understanding and progressive thinking about the carbon cycle.

Question

Instructional Design

• Two class meetings on carbon cycle (160 minutes)

• Active, inquiry-based learning– Cooperative groups– Questions, group processing, large lecture

sections, small discussion sections, multi-week laboratory investigation

– Homework problems including web-based modules

• Different faculty for each course– One graduate/8-10 undergraduate TAs per

course

Experimental DesignTwo introductory courses for majors:

Bio 1 - organismal/population biology (faculty A)Bio 2 - cell and molecular biology (faculty B)

Three cohorts:Cohort 1 Bio 1 (n=141)Cohort 2 Bio1/Bio2 (n=63)

Cohort 3 Other/Bio2 (n=40)

Assessment DesignMultiple iterations/versions of the carbon cycle problem Pretest, midterm, final with additional formative assessments during classAdministered during instructionSemester 1 - pretest, midterm, final exam Semester 2 - final exam

Grandma Johnson Problem Hypothetical scenario: Grandma Johnson

had very sentimental feelings toward Johnson Canyon, Utah, where she and her late husband had honeymooned long ago. Her feelings toward this spot were such that upon her death she requested to be buried under a creosote bush overlooking the canyon. Trace the path of a carbon atom from Grandma Johnson’s remains to where it could become part of a coyote. NOTE: the coyote will not dig up Grandma Johnson and consume any of her remains.

Analysis of Responses

Used same scoring rubric (coding scheme) for all three problems - calibrated by adding additional criteria when necessary, rescoring:

Examined two major concepts: Concept 1: Decomposers respire CO2

Concept 2: Plants uptake of CO2

Explanations categorized into two groups:Organisms (trophic levels)Processes (metabolic)

Code Organisms Code Processes and pathways 1 Decomposers IA Cellular Respiration IB Release CO2 2 IIA Pathway of Carbon

Primary producers IIA _1: through Air IIA _2 : through Root IIA _3 : no mention about pathway IIB Make Glucose IIC Photosynthesis 3 Herbivore III Respiration

(glycolysis, Kreb cycle) 4 Carnivore IV Respiration

(glycolysis, Kreb cycle)

Coding Scheme

Corr

ect

Stu

den

t R

esp

on

ses

(%)

Cellular Respiration by Decomposers

Bio1/Bio2 Other/Bio2

Friedmans, p<0.01

Pathway of Carbon in Photosynthesis

Bio1/Bio2

Corr

ect

Stu

dent

Resp

on

ses

(%)

Other/Bio2

Friedmans, p<0.05

IRD Team at MSUJanet Batzli - Plant Biology [U of Wisconsin]Doug Luckie - PhysiologyScott Harrison - Microbiology (grad student)Tammy Long - Plant BiologyJim Smith - ZoologyDeb Linton - Plant Biology (postdoc)Heejun Lim - Chemistry EducationDuncan Sibley - Geology*National Science Foundation

What is the question?

What research and instructional designs?

What data collection methods?

How to analyze and interpret data?

Are findings valid and generalizable?

What are the next questions?

WHO?

What evidence will we accept?