This action research aimed to enhance fluency thinking in the Year 9 Science and Technology course on Genetics by integrating bell ringer exams with inquiry-based learning. The study's objectives were to achieve an 80% pass rate in fluency thinking and to assess student satisfaction with this pedagogical approach. The sample comprised 20 Year 9…

My thesis work is focused on conceptual and epistemic learning and characterizing the environments in which this learning takes place. Earlier studies conducted by the Stowe group explored how instructional practices, instructional emphasis, and assessment emphasis relate to student outcomes in general and organic chemistry courses. Student…

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching anatomy and physiology is using teaching tools that enhance active learning and keep students actively engaged during the lecture courses. This study explored the use of a student response system that was easy to use, cost-efficient, and re-usable for multiple anatomy and physiology courses. More…

Peer Instruction (PI), a student-centred teaching method, engages students during class through structured, frequent questioning, facilitated by classroom response systems. The central feature of PI is the ConcepTest, a question designed to help resolve student misconceptions around the subject content. Within our coordination chemistry PI…

Medical graduates are expected to apply scientific principles and explain the processes underlying common and important diseases. Evidence shows that integrated medical curricula, which deliver biomedical science within the context of clinical cases, facilitate student learning in preparation for practice. However, research has also shown that the…

Teachers' technological experiences are constrained by limitations in reflective decision-making and theoretical frameworks. Challenges with the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework (TPACK) are often associated with deficits in self-regulation. To effectively develop TPACK, it is recommended that educators focus on enhancing…

In courses with a heterogeneous student population, instructors are often challenged to balance successful course completion with rigor. This difficult task can be confounded in foundational, gateway courses, such as introductory biology, which serves a mix of freshman majors at various levels of preparedness. Research suggests that changes in…

This study compared the performance of two audience response systems (ARSs) without students requiring smartphone technology or Internet access during problem-based learning (PBL) activities. Clicker handsets linked to a radio frequency (RF) receiver and paper voting cards, known as Plickers, which display a QR code (two-dimensional barcode) that…

Engagement of multiple learning modalities has been shown to promote learning. This study aimed to develop resources for anatomical sciences educators interested in adding additional teaching modalities into their repertoire. Three review sessions were created for the muscle anatomy unit of an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course, each…

Classroom response systems are an important tool in many active learning pedagogies. They support real-time feedback on student learning and promote student engagement, even in large classrooms, by allowing instructors to solicit an answer to a question from all students and show the results. Existing classroom response systems are general purpose…

In very large lecture classes, student engagement is always a challenge, and many instructors use electronic student response systems (SRS) to promote student engagement and active learning. The conventional wisdom in using student response systems is that the technology matters less than the pedagogy; it is the added value of the instructor that…

Studies on the effectiveness of clickers in undergraduate chemistry courses are mixed, and there is disagreement on how to effectively leverage clickers to improve student learning performance. To fill a gap in the research, we analyzed three different teaching strategies (two involving clickers) in a General Chemistry I course over a 13-year time…

Classroom observation protocols can provide an exceedingly rich form of data. However, this is a double-edged sword, as researchers often struggle to take full advantage of the detailed data outputs. In this essay, we introduce a new approach to the analysis of classroom observation data, termed "classroom as genome" (CAG). We illustrate…

The authors have experienced increasing demand from undergraduate students, particularly those in the early years of study, to be able to access more "test-style" material to help with revision, as well as guidance on how to approach their university assessments. With increased use of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in university…

One strategy to transform the high attrition rates among community college (CC) students is for CC instructors to utilize the teaching practices shown to most likely lead to student success. CC students and faculty are underrepresented in biology education research (BER), with only 3% of BER articles addressing CC-specific issues (Schinske et al.…