Factual Recall Research Articles

Things We Do for No Reason™: Toxic quizzing in medical education.

Things We Do for No Reason™: Toxic quizzing in medical education.

Minimum accepted competency examination: test item analysis

BackgroundTo ascertain if undergraduate medical students attain adequate knowledge to practice in paediatrics, we designed the minimum accepted competency (MAC) examination. This was a set of MCQ’s designed to test the most basic, ‘must know’ knowledge as determined by non-faculty paediatric clinicians. Only two-thirds of undergraduate students passed this exam, despite 96% of the same cohort passing their official university paediatric examination.We aim to describe the psychometric properties of the MAC examination to explore why there was a difference in student performance between these two assessments which should, in theory, be testing the same subject area. We will also investigate if the MAC examination is a potentially reliable method of assessing undergraduate knowledge.MethodsThe MAC examination was sat by three groups of undergraduate medical students and paediatric trainee doctors. Test item analysis was performed using facility index, discrimination index and Cronbach’s alpha.ResultsTest item difficulty on the MAC between each group was positively correlated. Correlation of item difficulty with the standard set for each item showed a statistically significant positive relationship. However, for 10 of the items, the mean score achieved by the candidates did not even reach two standard deviations below the standard set by the faculty. Medical students outperformed the trainee doctors on three items. 18 of 30 items achieved a discrimination index > 0.2. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.22–0.59.ConclusionDespite faculty correctly judging that this would be a difficult paper for the candidates, there were a significant number of items on which students performed particularly badly. It is possible that the clinical emphasis in these non-faculty derived questions was juxtaposed with the factual recall often required for university examinations.The MAC examination highlights the difference in the level of knowledge expected of a junior doctor starting work in paediatrics between faculty and non-faculty clinicians and can identify gaps between the current curriculum and the ‘hidden curriculum’ required for real world clinical practice. The faculty comprises physicians in employment by the University whose role it is to design the paediatric curriculum and deliver teaching to undergraduate students. Non-faculty clinicians are paediatric physicians who work soley as clinicians with no affiliation to an educational institution.The concept of a MAC examination to test basic medical knowledge is feasible and the study presented is an encouraging first step towards this method of assessment.

Basic Medical Sciences Knowledge Retention for Clinical Practice.

BackgroundThe basis for studying the clinical sciences is the recall and comprehension of basic medical science facts. Do not, however, directly alter clinical information and as studies revealed that there are basic sciences knowledge retention of medical students gaps in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to assess medical students’ basic medical sciences knowledge retention and a relevance of basic sciences knowledge for clinical for practice.MethodsAn institutional-based descriptive cross-section epidemiological study design was carried out in the University of Gondar from April to May of 2021. A total of 15 basic and clinical sets of questions were used for data collection. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20 to analyze data.ResultsA total of 191 medical students participated with response rate of 100%. Of these, 48.6% were male. Of all participant students, 69 (36.1%) have had the academic status of excellent with a commutative grade point average greater that 3.6 out of 4.0. Students who correctly responded for all categories of questions for basic and clinical sciences were 8.6±2.7 and 5±2.8 of second years, 5.5±2.3 and 7.1±1.2 of fourth years, 6.5±1.4 and 6.7±1.0 of fifth years, 5.3±0.8 and 8.4±2.5 of sixth years, respectively. As a representative year, the score of second year students’ performance for the basic sciences is a statistically significant with overall impact of the basic sciences (6.49±2.5, F=12.51, P≤0.001) and clinical sciences (4.0±1.9, F=14.73, P≤0.001).ConclusionIt is proposed that basic sciences knowledge should be aligned with clinical sciences preparation so that students may grasp disease diagnosis and treatment concepts in an integrated manner.

No difference in factual or conceptual recall comprehension for tablet, laptop, and handwritten note-taking by medical students in the United States: a survey-based observational study

PurposeTechnological advances are changing how students approach learning. The traditional note-taking methods of longhand writing have been supplemented and replaced by tablets, smartphones, and laptop note-taking. It has been theorized that writing notes by hand requires more complex cognitive processes and may lead to better retention. However, few studies have investigated the use of tablet-based note-taking, which allows the incorporation of typing, drawing, highlights, and media. We therefore sought to confirm the hypothesis that tablet-based note-taking would lead to equivalent or better recall as compared to written note-taking.MethodsWe allocated 68 students into longhand, laptop, or tablet note-taking groups, and they watched and took notes on a presentation on which they were assessed for factual and conceptual recall. A second short distractor video was shown, followed by a 30-minute assessment at the University of California, Irvine campus, over a single day period in August 2018. Notes were analyzed for content, supplemental drawings, and other media sources.ResultsNo significant difference was found in the factual or conceptual recall scores for tablet, laptop, and handwritten note-taking (P=0.61). The median word count was 131.5 for tablets, 121.0 for handwriting, and 297.0 for laptops (P=0.01). The tablet group had the highest presence of drawing, highlighting, and other media/tools.ConclusionIn light of conflicting research regarding the best note-taking method, our study showed that longhand note-taking is not superior to tablet or laptop note-taking. This suggests students should be encouraged to pick the note-taking method that appeals most to them. In the future, traditional note-taking may be replaced or supplemented with digital technologies that provide similar efficacy with more convenience.

The number of shoulder and elbow questions on the orthopedic in-training examination is increasing with greater emphasis on critical thinking over recall

It is critical for orthopedic surgery residents and residency programs to have a current understanding of the content and resources utilized by the Orthopedic In-Training Examination (OITE) to continuously guide study and educational efforts. This study presents an updated analysis of the shoulder and elbow section of the OITE. All OITE questions, answers, and references from 2013 to 2019 were reviewed. The number of shoulder and elbow questions per year was recorded, and questions were analyzed for topic, imaging modalities, cognitive taxonomy, and references. We compared our data to the results of a previous study that analyzed shoulder and elbow OITE questions from 2002 to 2007 to examine trends and changes in this domain overtime. There were 177 shoulder and elbow questions (126 shoulder, 71.2%; 51 elbow, 28.8%) of 1863 OITE questions (9.5%) over a 7-year period. The most commonly tested topics included degenerative joint disease/stiffness/arthroplasty (31.6%), anatomy/biomechanics (16.9%), instability/athletic injury (15.3%), trauma (14.7%), and rotator cuff (13.6%). Half of all questions involved clinical management decisions (49.7%). A total of 417 references were cited from 56 different sources, the most common of which were the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (23.3%), Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (20.4%), and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume) (16%). The average time lag from article publication to OITE reference was 7.7 years. Compared with a prior analysis from 2002 to 2007, there was a significant increase in the number of shoulder and elbow questions on the OITE (5.5% to 9.5%; P < .001). Recent exams incorporated more complex multistep treatment questions (4.4% vs. 49.7%; P < .001) and fewer recall questions (42.2% vs. 22%; P < .001). There was a significant increase in the use of imaging modalities (53.3% vs. 79.1%; P < .001). No significant differences in the distribution of question topics were found. The percentage of shoulder and elbow questions on the OITE has nearly doubled over the past decade with greater emphasis on critical thinking (eg, clinical management decisions) over recall of facts. These findings should prompt educators to direct didactic efforts (eg, morning conferences and journal club) toward case-based learning to foster critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills.

Physiotherapy students’ perception of their clinical learning environment and clinician teaching attributes in Nigeria

Background: Feedback from students regarding their clinical learning environment and clinicians teaching attributes should be evaluated regularly to monitor students' learning experiences which can affect learning outcomes, the readiness for professional practice, and the level of satisfaction with the profession. Differences may exist in this feedback from students based on their institution, level of study, and characteristics of the clinicians. Aim: To evaluate physiotherapy students’ perception of their clinical learning environment and clinicians’ teaching attributes. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilised 258 participants from two academic institutions, which offer physiotherapy training in southeast Nigeria. A self-structured questionnaire, the McGill Clinical Teacher Evaluation tool (MCGill CTE) and the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to present the mean scores obtained on the DREEM questionnaire and McGill CTE tool. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the difference in the students’ perception of their clinical learning environment and clinicians' teaching attributes based on their institution of learning and level of study. In addition, the Mann-Whitney U test also determined the difference in the students' perception of their clinicians teaching attributes based on the clinicians' gender, while the Kruskal Wallis test determined the difference in the students' perception of their clinician's teaching attributes based on their last clinical posting unit and the highest educational level of the clinicians. Results: The students perceived their learning environment to be “more positive than negative”. The highest-rated domain in the DREEM questionnaire was "perception of learning", while the lowest was "social perception". The highest-rated attribute for clinicians in the McGill CTE tool was "clinical interest in helping students to learn", while the lowest was "emphasises concept rather than factual recall". A significant difference was observed in the students rating of their clinical learning environment based on their institution and level of study. Conclusion: There is a need for regular evaluation of students' perception of their clinicians’ teaching attributes and the clinical learning environment to ensure the desired learning outcomes are attained and that students are ready for professional practice after training.

Teacher's mastery of English Language and Students' Academic Achievement in Higher Technical Teacher's Training College Kumba

Article History:&#x0D; Received 16.07.2020&#x0D; Received in revised form 01.05.2021&#x0D; Accepted &#x0D; Available online 01.07.2021&#x0D; English is the only language of instruction recommended in all the Anglo-Saxon Universities in Cameroon as all over the world. The same reality is being followed by Francophone Universities where teachers of the opposite language must facilitate knowledge acquisition. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teacher's mastery of English language on students' academic achievement at HTTTC Kumba. The accessible population of the study was made up of all level 300 students and level 600 I and their teachers in all the departments of HTTTC Kumba. The participants in the study included 20 francophone teachers in the different departments, and 86 students of level 300 and 64 of level 600 I from HTTTC Kumba, through a random sampling technique. Instrument used for data collection was questionnaire which was designed for teachers and for students. The data was then exported to SPSS version 23.0 for analysis. Findings showed that: There is a significant relationship between teachers’ ability to write English and students’ academic achievement in HTTTC Kumba; there is a significant relationship between teachers’ reading ability of the English Language and students’ academic achievement in HTTTC Kumba; if there is an accurate recall of facts in English by teachers whose background is French, students will achieve higher and better. Based on these findings, it was recommended that teacher’s proficiency in English should be scrutinized prior to recruitment if they are to serve in English.

Assessment of factual recall and higher-order cognitive domains in an open-book medical school examination

Open-book examinations (OBEs) will likely become increasingly important assessment tools. We investigated how access to open-book resources affected questions testing factual recall, which might be easy to look-up, versus questions testing higher-order cognitive domains. Few studies have investigated OBEs using modern Internet resources or as summative assessments. We compared performance on an examination conducted as a traditional closed-book exam (CBE) in 2019 (N = 320) and a remote OBE with free access to Internet resources in 2020 (N = 337) due to COVID-19. This summative, end-of-year assessment focused on basic science for second-year medical students. We categorized questions by Bloom’s taxonomy (‘Remember’, versus ‘Understand/Apply’). We predicted higher performance on the OBE, driven by higher performance on ‘Remember’ questions. We used an item-centric analysis by using performance per item over all examinees as the outcome variable in logistic regression, with terms ‘Open-Book, ‘Bloom Category’ and their interaction. Performance was higher on OBE questions than CBE questions (OR 2.2, 95% CI: 2.14–2.39), and higher on ‘Remember’ than ‘Understand/Apply’ questions (OR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.09–1.19). The difference in performance between ‘Remember’ and ‘Understand/Apply’ questions was greater in the OBE than the CBE (‘Open-Book’ * ‘Bloom Category’ interaction: OR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.19–1.37). Access to open-book resources had a greater effect on performance on factual recall questions than higher-order questions, though performance was higher in the OBE overall. OBE design must consider how searching for information affects performance, particularly on questions measuring different domains of knowledge.

Pedagogical Reform in an Introductory Chemistry Course and the Importance of Curricular Alignment

Despite the substantial progress made to develop evidence-based pedagogical practices that support student learning, many courses are dominated by “traditional” practices such as a passive lecture. Thus, a continued focus on reforming courses is necessary. Here we describe the deliberate practice-driven reform of a large lecture-format introductory chemistry course. We characterize the learning environment through course observations and exam item analysis. We characterize student outcomes through performance on shared exam items, overall course grades, and a pre/post-survey that includes cognitive and affective measures. Through cross-sectional comparisons to concurrent, unreformed course sections, we find that students in the reformed section scored higher on common exam items, earned higher overall course grades, and held more positive attitudes toward chemistry after having taken the course. However, no improvement is seen in conceptual learning as measured through the Chemistry Concept Inventory (CCI). We argue that this is due to a misalignment between the course curriculum, which emphasizes factual recall and algorithmic problem solving, and the CCI. This highlights the need for reform efforts to address both pedagogy and curriculum.

On functional equations and inequalities related to some reasoning schemes that involve fuzzy implications

In this paper, we investigate some functional equations and inequalities which are associated with recognized reasoning schemes like hypothetical syllogism, modus ponens, modus tollens and reduction to absurdity. First, we recall facts and theorems that might be found in the literature. Next, we show some properties and relationships that take place between these equations and inequalities. Moreover, we present some of their solutions among well-known families of fuzzy implications – R-implications, (S,N)-implications and Yager's implications.

You Are What You Assess: The Case for Emphasizing Chemistry on Chemistry Assessments

What we emphasize and reward on assessments signals to students what matters to us. Accordingly, a great deal of scholarship in chemistry education has focused on defining the sorts of performances worth assessing. Here, we unpack observations we made while analyzing what “success” meant across three large-enrollment general chemistry environments. We observed that students enrolled in two of the three environments could succeed without ever connecting atomic/molecular behavior to how and why phenomena happen. These environments, we argue, were not really “chemistry classes” but rather opportunities for students to gain proficiency with a jumble of skills and factual recall. However, one of the three environments dedicated 14–57% of points on exams to items with the potential to engage students in using core ideas (e.g., energy, bonding interactions) to predict, explain, or model observable events. This course, we argue, is more aligned with the intellectual work of the chemical sciences than the other two. If our courses assess solely (or largely) decontextualized skills and factual recall we risk (1) gating access to STEM careers on the basis of facility with skills most students will never use outside the classroom and (2) never allowing students to experience the tremendous predictive and explanatory power of atomic/molecular models. We implore the community to reflect on whether “what counts” in the courses we teach aligns with the performances we actually value.

Assessing the Social Validity of the SAFMEDS Strategy From the Perspective of Teachers and Children

The Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS) strategy promotes fluency across several skills and contexts. However, few studies have reported the social validity key stakeholders associate with using the strategy in schools. Assessing social validity may provide us with some insight into factors that may affect engagement, implementation fidelity, and persistent use of the intervention after the termination of a research study. Study 1 details the findings from a survey completed by teachers who have used the strategy in their schools (N = 55). Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes: 1) factors that promote and limit progress, 2) confidence, and 3) inherent advantages of the SAFMEDS strategy. These themes encapsulate teachers experiences of implementing the strategy under the real-word conditions of the classroom and the accompanying advantages and potential challenges they face. Within study 2, we discuss themes arising from interviews with children (N = 26) about their views and experiences of using the SAFMEDS strategy. These children had used the strategy with their teacher for one academic year to promote fast and accurate recall of arithmetic facts. Analysis of these transcripts revealed five further themes relating to children’s engagement with the strategy: 1) enjoyment, 2) data, 3) sense of achievement, 4) skills, and 5) home use. Collectively these themes have potential impact with regards to future training and support models for the SAFMEDS strategy.

Consider the following: A pilot study of the effects of an educational television program on viewer perceptions of anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification

Climate change portends significant harms to humans and biodiversity but public knowledge of relevant scientific information remains limited. As societal changes and investment are essential to addressing anthropogenic climate change, efforts to better promote both civic science literacy and public awareness of climate change impacts are urgently required. Popular scientific television programming provides one avenue for broad climate change communication efforts. Our pilot study seeks to evaluate the effects viewing a popular scientific television program, “Bill Nye Saves the World: The Earth is a hot mess” on both fact recall and personal perceptions. We surveyed undergraduate students enrolled in non-majors courses at two institutions of higher education, one large selective private university, and one community college with open enrollment before and after viewing this program. The survey contained both open-response questions and Likert-like ordinal responses intended to evaluate both fact recall and beliefs related to climate change. After viewing the program, student awareness of climate change impacts was improved, especially for topics emphasized by the program such as sea level rise. Student awareness of ocean acidification was extremely low prior to viewing the program, and improved dramatically, with most respondents aware that ocean acidification is already impacting marine life after viewing. Our pilot study suggests that scientific television programs may successfully promote awareness of climate change impacts and increase perceived personal relevance of climate change, but additional data from a larger and demographically broad population is required to test whether this result is more broadly applicable. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.1949693

Not just a pretty picture: Scientific fact visualisation styles, preferences, confidence and recall

Visuals are often used to enhance learning of scientific information. The recent emergence and popularity of comic-style instruction books for adults, such as the ‘manga guide to …’, shows the possibility of comic style visualisations for the communication of science with adults. This study investigates whether the addition and style of visual accompaniment of scientific information, as used in comic books, influences immediate and short-term fact recall in an adult audience. Participants ( n = 310 aged 18–79, 52% identified as female) were presented 20 general science facts in one of five styles: (1) text alone, (2) photo with text caption, (3) cartoon with text caption, (4) photo with explanatory agent and a speech bubble, (5) cartoon with explanatory agent and a speech bubble. Immediate recall, and confidence in that recall, was tested following a brief distractor. Participants indicated their preferred presentation style, and short-term recall was tested by a final quiz of all 20 facts. Overall, the most preferred presentation style was cartoon with explanatory agent and text in a speech bubble (26% preferred). There was no single most effective presentation style; there was no significant difference in immediate recall, short term recall or confidence in answers depending on whether the fact was presented as text, photo or cartoon, or the presence or absence of an explanatory agent. However, immediate recall was significantly better when preference was met ( p &lt; 0.02). We found that the style of visual accompaniment of scientific information in accordance with the ‘manga guide to…’ format influenced immediate, but not short-term, fact recall in an adult audience when written English literacy, scientific literacy and non-verbal intelligence were taken into account. Short term recall of scientific facts may best be served by presenting facts in multiple styles, or enquiring about and then meeting participant preference for visual accompaniment.

The role of knowledge availability in forming inferences with rural middle grade English learners

We investigated differences in knowledge-based inferencing between rural, middle grade monolingual English-speaking students and English learners. Students were introduced to facts about an imaginary planet Gan followed by a multi-episode story about Gan. Participants were tested on the accuracy of fact recall and inferences using this knowledge at three time points (i.e., immediate, one-week, and one-month follow-up). Results show that monolingual English-speaking students significantly outperformed English learners on the inference task. Both subgroups made elaborative inferences more accurately than coherence. Students' ability to recall knowledge base facts was the strongest predictor of their ability to accurately make inferences using this knowledge at each time point.

Applying visual mapping techniques to promote learning in community-based medical education activities

BackgroundTeaching and learning Community-Based Medical Education (CBME) requires the active engagement of students in various activities to cover planned curricular content. CBME being multifaceted involves careful application and formation of links when attending to community health problems and public health issues. Students often depend on factual recall rather than ‘engaging in’, to counteract the broad and comprehensive nature of CBME. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Visual mapping techniques as a learning tool in a CBME program for the subject Community Medicine and thereby assist medical undergraduate students in overcoming identified learning challenges.MethodologyAn interventional study was conducted where medical undergraduates were randomly assigned to two different groups (each group = 30). After sensitization, a broad theme was taught to both the groups as a part of community-based teaching (CBT), each week for a month. The students in the intervention group were given the assignment to draw visual maps using the mind mapping & concept mapping techniques, after each CBT session, while the control group had Question-Answer session with built-in discussion (Conventional method) by an equally qualified, experienced faculty with no mapping assignments. A surprise written examination was conducted on the topics taught, and scores of both the groups were compared. Feedback was obtained from the intervention group.ResultsMean score of the examination by the intervention group (29.85 ± 3.22) was significantly higher than and that of the control group (23.06 ± 4.09) (t = 7.14 and p < 0.05). The students shared that the assignment of drawing mind and concept maps for topics taught helped in attempting questions of the written examination by facilitating easy recall of the information learned. It aided to frame the answers to descriptive questions in a structured way with the use of keywords. However, identifying the concepts and establishing relationship between them was slightly challenging.Conclusion‘Visual mapping’ in the form of Mind and Concept mapping was found to be an effective learning tool for multifaceted CBME especially in promoting meaningful learning and facilitating rational thinking by the medical undergraduates.

ICT Usage of Concept Map as a Method of Memorizing and Making Notes

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the use of ICT-based concept mapping as a means for students to make notes and remember the concepts and facts of economic subjects. Computer based learning can produce smart learning environment that encourages students to think critically and creatively. Ten lower sixth form students from a school in Negeri Sembilan serve as respondents of this study. The questionnaire given to the students before and after completing the process of teaching using this method. Original findings before implementing this method showed 70% of students do not like to copy the notes in the form of linear and difficult to understand concepts and economic facts and implemented after the study found 80% of students believe the use of ICT-based mind maps can help students remember facts and concepts in a more systematic and organized and make a note of interest to use ICT-based concept map. Results of this study showed the use of ICT-based concept mapping has shown positive effects in enhancing recall concepts and facts, make a note of the interest for students to revise and enhance students' creativity.

The effect of distraction on the quality of patient handoff: a randomized study.

The number of patient handoffs has increased in recent years. In addition, technology has advanced in the medical field, leading to most providers carrying smartphones at work. Little is known about the effect of mobile devices and quality of patient handoffs. The objective of this study was to determine whether distraction affects the quality of sign-out among obstetrical providers. A randomized, prospective study was conducted. Hospital. Obstetrical providers listened to a recorded sign-out vignette. Provider groups either were or were not exposed to a distraction while listening to the vignette. All providers had been told that they would be participating in a trial of two methods of sign-out, although in actuality they were all assigned to a single method. In the distraction arm, the participants were exposed to a 'distracting event' (a phone ring, which was answered by the proctor and followed by a brief conversation) that occurred midway through the vignette. Providers answered a 14-question survey testing recall of facts included in the vignette. The results of each group were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test. Eighty-eight providers were randomized, 44 in the distraction group and 44 in the non-distracted group. The average scores on the survey were similar between groups (11.0 and 10.8, P = 0.57). In addition, the average scores for questions that occurred after the distraction did not differ between the distracted and non-distracted groups (6.4 vs 6.2, P = 0.42). We observed that a phone ring and brief response did not affect the obstetrical providers' recall of details of a standardized sign-out. More studies are warranted to determine if more frequent or longer distractions would change results.

Executive function and the development of social information processing during the preschool years

The six-step social information processing (SIP) model (Crick & Dodge, 1994) describes how children respond to difficult social situations, but little is known about the underlying cognitive abilities that support the individual SIP steps. Given excu executive function’s (EF) association with behavioral displays of competent and aggressive responses to provocation, the current study examined how three EF components (i.e., response inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility) relate to four SIP steps (i.e., encoding, interpretation, response generation, and response evaluation). In addition, the current study looked at how attributions made about the transgressor in the first two SIP steps affect processing in the later SIP steps. Seventy-two 4- to 5-year-old children completed one EF task for each component and were given a structured interview that assessed four steps of the SIP model. Working memory and age were related to encoding (fact recall and emotion attributions), response generation, and response evaluation. Cognitive flexibility was only related to response evaluation. The individual contributions of EF and age, as well as early SIP steps, differ for each step. The specific processes by which working memory may relate to each step are discussed, as well as how the encoding step provides a foundation for adequate processing in later steps. The results of the current study provide novel information about how cognitive processes contribute to the development of SIP.

Bringing Real-World Microbiology Experiences to Undergraduate Students in Resource-Limited Environments.

Undergraduate microbiology curriculum should be amenable to periodic changes to incorporate new developments and ideas. The curriculum should be used not merely as a way to disseminate facts but also as a way to allow students to experience the process of science. In the context of undergraduate microbiology education in Osmania University (Hyderabad, India), existing curriculum does not explicitly allow students to engage in deeper understanding of concepts and understanding of the process of science, both in lecture and laboratory courses. The assessment methods that are currently used are limited in scope as they only test factual recall and superficial understanding of the subject and very minimally assess critical thinking skills. Another factor hampering innovation in the broader context of undergraduate education is the unavailability and inaccessibility to adequate resources. To address the issue of resource-limitations in implementing activities that expose undergraduate students to real-world microbiology experiences, a collaboration between a research institute and two teaching colleges was formed. This collaboration involved teacher and student workshops on exploring microbial diversity using 16S rRNA analysis with a view of blending novel research questions with technical skills in the undergraduate microbiology lab. This effort is an example of educators providing students with authentic experiences and, helping them gain critical knowledge and research skills in microbiology even under resource constraints, and students demonstrating motivation to participate in similar activities in the future. The collaborative effort described here can be a broadly sustainable model to improve overall undergraduate education in relatively resource-limited environments.