Shaking It Up in the Classroom: Coupling Biotremology and Active Learning Pedagogy to Promote Authentic Discovery

Abstract

Active learning methods are instructional techniques that create an environment for increased student engagement in the process of learning. Whether employed in the lecture hall or in the teaching laboratory, these pedagogical methods have been shown to improve content learning, increase process skills, and positively affect psychosocial factors associated with the learning process. Additionally, because active learning environments have been shown to increase academic performance and lead to greater retention among students from underrepresented groups, they hold the promise of harnessing untapped talent in STEM fields like biotremology. When implementing active learning pedagogies, educators can align student learning outcomes with Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domains to integrate both lower-order and/or higher-order cognitive skills development into the learning activities of the course. When teaching STEM courses, especially those seeking to integrate principles in biotremology, implementing research or inquiry-based active learning methods can ensure students have access to an authentic and inclusive research experience; this more accurately represents the process of science and leads to higher-order critical thinking skills. Research-based active learning methods such as project-based learning and course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are presented in three case studies that include a biotremology dimension. Each case study includes student learning outcomes, a guide for instructional implementation, tips for evaluating student learning, and considerations for pedagogical practicalities and plausible alternatives.