In-class activities as formative assessments in immunology: student buy-in and utilization

Abstract

Abstract Immunology is a difficult discipline to teach due to complex concepts, cellular interactions, jargon, and requirement of prerequisite knowledge across biology. Formative assessment (FA) techniques have been shown to improve student learning through increased engagement with material, instructor feedback, revision of understanding and student ownership of learning; yet implementation of these student-centered learning strategies can prove challenging. An in-class activity (ICA) worksheet FA was used in two semesters of an upper level Immunology course and a survey was used to measure student perception, buy-in and utilization of the FA. The ICA was administered each week and covered a key concept of the material presented. ICA worksheets examined the biochemical signaling pathways of T cell receptor signaling using an on line video by HHMI; HLA codominance and polygeny with flow cytometry data and Mendelian inheritance pedigrees; and CD4 T cell subset generation with an on-line modeling program developed by Cell Collective (www.cellcollective.org). Overall, student perceptions about ICA were favorable with a high level of “buy-in” across multiple categories/themes. In addition, ICA for immunology had a higher level of utilization (especially for later use) compared with other Biology courses using FAs. Within the immunology course, students viewed the ICA more favorable for later use and discussion compared to a pre-class FA, just in time teaching (JiTT). In contrast, students perceived the JiTT FA as providing more helpful feedback to correct misunderstandings. Utilizing student survey responses for both ICA and JiTT FAs will help improve in-class discussion, instructor feedback, and learning outcomes in immunology.