Biology for NonScience Majors IA Statewide Online Initiative

Jennifer Baggett, PhDGrace Rutherford, EdD

LeCroy CenterDallas County Community College District

March, 2011

Why teach biology online?• Meet student demand• Improve student outcomes• Increase student access• Reduce costs

Sloan Survey of Online Learning (2010):

Surveyed 2,500 colleges and universities in the fall of 2009:•5.6 million students were enrolled in one or more online courses.•29% of students were taking at least one course online.

http://sloanconsortium.org/ Sloan Consortium, Eighth Annual Report. Allen, E., & Seaman, J. (2010). Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, Sloan-C, Needham, MA.

Why teach biology online?• Meet student demand• Improve student outcomes• Increase student access• Reduce costs

U.S. Department of Education (2010):

“Learning outcomes for students who engaged in online learning exceeded those of students receiving face-to-face instruction…” (p. xiv)

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/techreports.html U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010.

Why teach biology online?• Meet student demand• Improve student outcomes• Increase student access • Reduce costs

U.S. Department of Education (2006-7):

Factors most relevant to college decisions about distance education:•Meeting student demand for flexible schedules•Increasing course availability (# sections)•Increasing student access to college•Increasing student enrollment

http://nces.ed.gov/ Parsad, B., and Lewis, L. (2008). Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2006–07 (NCES 2009–044). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Why teach biology online?• Meet student demand• Improve student outcomes• Increase student access• Reduce costs

• Classroom space• Lab space• Lab materials• Instructor to student ratios

Why not use a virtual lab?

National Science Teachers Association Position Statement (NSTA, 2007):

“While reading about science, using computer simulations, and observing teacher demonstrations may be valuable, they are not a substitute for laboratory investigations by students.”

“At the college level, all students should have opportunities to experience inquiry-based science laboratory investigations…”

http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/laboratory.aspx National Science Teachers Association Position Statement on The Integral Role of Laboratory Investigations in Science Instruction, adopted February 2007.

What is this project about?• Creation of Biology 1408 course template• Free to all Texas community colleges• Increase student learning and retention• Decrease institutional costs of hosting biology labs• Decrease instructor development time• Almost “ready-to-go” course for a last-minute

section to be taught for first time by faculty member

Project Background

• College Participation– Virtual College of Texas– TX Community College Teachers’ Association– Advisory Committee

• Course Development– LeCroy Center

• Lead Content Expert• Instructional Designer

– McGraw-Hill– SoftChalk Platform

What makes a great course?

• The instructor

• Clear, consistent, and relatable course materials

Research• Areas important for student satisfaction with

online instruction:– Interaction among students– Quality and timely interaction between student and

professor– Consistent course design– Technical support– Flexibility of online courses compared to face-to-face

Source: Young & Norgard (2006) Assessing the quality of online courses from the students' perspective

Student-Content Interaction• 15 Lessons

– Lesson Summaries– Animations– Interactives

• 15 Labs correlate with lessons– Demonstration videos– Kit with lab manual

Instructional Design• Engage learner• Student orientation• Clear and intuitive navigation• Consistent course design• Guided learning modules with

– clear learning objectives– built-in self-assessment

• Lab partner guiding students through lab experiments by video demonstration

Instructor Support: Faculty Guide

• Syllabus template• Orientation template• Suggested discussion questions• Suggested research and interactive activities• Supplemental test bank

Measuring Success - Evaluation

1. Define learning outcomes2. Design assessments

• Lecture content• Lab practicals

3. Administer assessments to:• Face-to-face students• Hybrid students with traditional lab• Online students with at-home lab kit

4. Evaluate and share results

Contact Information• Jennifer Baggett

jenniferbaggett@dcccd.edu• Grace Rutherford

grutherford@dcccd.edu

For more information about acquiring this course, contact:• Becky Stinson

bstinson@dcccd.edu