title: Active learning and student-centered pedagogy improve student attitudes and performance in introductory biology.
abstract: We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the course content in an attempt to teach specific content within the context of broad conceptual themes, 2) incorporating active and problem-based learning into every lecture, and 3) adopting strategies to create a more student-centered learning environment. Assessment of our instructional design consisted of a student survey and comparison of final exam performance across 3 years-1 year before our course redesign was implemented (2006) and during two successive years of implementation (2007 and 2008). The course restructuring led to significant improvement of self-reported student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance. We discuss the successes and ongoing challenges of our course restructuring and consider issues relevant to institutional change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA. paa9@georgetown.edu
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Armbruster
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology