Course Delivery Format and Exam Performance Stratified by Question Difficulty

Abstract

BackgroundWe previously reported the D/F/W rate in an undergraduate Human Physiology course to be significantly lower for students enrolled in a blended course delivery format (5%) compared with traditional large lecture (23%) or online formats (22%, P=0.007). Students in blended sections reviewed pre‐recorded lectures and met once per week for 75 min to complete guided collaborative learning activities. The large lecture format utilized didactic lecture to present the same content (twice‐weekly class sessions, 75 min each). Online students independently reviewed the same pre‐recorded lectures and engaged in asynchronous online discussions once per unit over four units. The purpose of this follow‐up investigation was to examine the influence of course delivery format upon exam performance stratified by question difficulty classified by Bloom's taxonomy. We also assessed performance on free response questions and aggregate performance from the Phys‐MAPS assessment.MethodsOf the 207 students initially enrolled in Human Physiology during the Fall 2017 semester, 181 (83%) provided consent for inclusion in this study. From this cohort we analyzed exam performance from 157 students who completed all four exams: N=50 blended, N=72 large lecture, N=35 online. Participants also completed pre‐ and post‐ course surveys regarding perceptions of course activities and motivation factors (self‐efficacy, intrinsic value, test anxiety). Multiple regression models were used to compare exam performance outcomes (% correct for multiple choice questions stratified by Bloom's level, free response scores, cumulative portion of the final exam) by course format after controlling for prior learning outcomes (i.e. Exam 1 performance). Additionally, given the correlation between students' performance across Bloom's levels, a mixed effects model was used to compare student performance overall across all levels.ResultsStudents in the blended sections scored higher on Bloom's Level 1 Knowledge‐based exam questions (77.5 ± 14.7% answered correctly) compared with large lecture section (72.6 ± 16.3%), b=−6.54, t(153)= −3.11, P=0.002. Free response performance was higher for blended sections compared with traditional lecture and online sections (both P=0.002). No significant differences by course delivery format were noted for Bloom's Level 2 Comprehension (P=0.08), combined Bloom's Levels 3/4 Application/Analysis (P=0.37), the cumulative portion of the final exam (20 multiple choice questions, P=0.83), or aggregate Phys‐MAPS performance (P =0.66). Lastly, end‐of‐semester self‐reported anxiety was lower in the blended compared to large lecture format (P=0.006).ConclusionsStudents enrolled in the blended sections of Human Physiology, which included peer interactions during each class session, performed higher on knowledge‐based multiple choice exam questions and free response questions requiring demonstration of integrative thinking and ability to communicate physiology‐related concepts.Support or Funding InformationFunding and instructional design support provided by the University of Iowa Office of Teaching, Learning, and TechnologyThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.