Adapting Undergraduate Biology to Include Science Practices by Teaching Students to Generate Scientific Explanations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Generating scientific explanations is a fundamental science practice in biology, yet pedagogical efforts to make this practice explicit and devote time for students to perform this practice are not common in gateway science courses. We developed a quarter-long scientific literature annotation project to teach students how to produce scientific explanations in an adapted version of an introductory biology course. We assessed student proficiency in this practice before and after project completion using a previously validated instrument and a rubric adapted to focus on practice distinct from content. Students were given a final exam question shared with a parallel course. The parallel course was taught by the same instructor during the same quarter with similar demographic composition but without the adapted curriculum. Data revealed pre/post improvements in student performance within the adapted course and better performance on a shared final exam question across courses. Results suggest that assessment-driven lesson plans can help instructors engage students in learning science practices. We believe rubrics designed to distinguish practice from content were critical in revealing student achievement and highlighting areas of struggle. We recommend instructors use assessment-driven curriculum to explicitly teach, assess and recognise practices in college classrooms.