Description of a study comparing the effect of inverting the classroom & adding in-class activities to a Majors' General Biology Course. To be presented at EB2016, Monday 4/4.

1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
Introductory biology students have difficulty
applying basic biological concepts to more
complex problems 1. They tend to rely on
memorization, which affects their learning,
class performance, and increases risk of
attrition 2,3. A growing number of educational
initiatives are promoting practices such as
undergraduate research and peer and
problem-based learning among others 4,5.
One learning approach used is that of the
flipped classroom, where lectures are pre-
recorded and watched by the students before
coming to class 6–7. The beauty of flipped
classroom is to use class time to discuss
difficult topics, clarify misconceptions, and
have students apply the concepts learned
through active learning such as case studies
and group projects among others 8.
BACKGROUND
MATERIALS AND METHODS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Presenter contact: abarral@nu.edu @Bio_prof
Ana Maria Barral, Veronica Ardi, Rachel E. Simmons
Department of Mathematics & Natural Sciences, National University, San Diego CA.
Active Learning in a Flipped Classroom: Implementation and Assessment
RESULTS
Learning videos: the video lectures were watched
extensively by the students (Analytics by Kaltura)
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Compared to their traditional counterparts,
students in the inverted classroom:
§ Answered more questions correctly
§ Answered more higher Bloom level
questions correctly
2. In-class activities of higher level led to higher
answer scores.
3. Students found both the learning videos and
the in-class activities useful for the
understanding of the material.
4. Although not statistically significant, students
in flipped classroom preformed better at the
end of class (Post 2) as compared to tradition
classroom.
5. Most students reported hands-on activities as
their preferred way of studying.
Two learning objectives in two inverted and one
traditional sections of a General Biology course
(BIO161) were evaluated. Matched student Post1 and
Post2 quiz answers at three Bloom levels were
evaluated while controlling for activity level
(repeated measures MANOVA).
Our results show that flipped classrooms have
a dramatic effect on initial student quiz
performance, especially with questions
assessing higher Bloom levels. Further studies
are needed to fully assess long-term retention
and how the inclusion and level of in-class
activities affect student learning in flipped and
traditional classes. To date, a think aloud
assessment is being implemented at the end of
the course to evaluate students’ application of
concepts in problem solving.
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND
HYPOTHESES
How useful the following
were to understand the
material? Survey N=32 (5
most helpful)
Percent correct answers for
all students (mean ± SEM)
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
The authors wish to thank Mr. Nima Salimi for providing the
control data, and Mike Kirkpatrick for statistics advice, as well
as the Biology Scholars Research Residency 2015 cohort
and writers’ group for insight and feedback. This study was
approved by the National University Institutional Review
Board (IRB), document #70-4990-4. Special thanks to Dean
Richardson (funding), Prof. Tatum, and Romeo Lorenzo.
1. Wright R, Boggs J. Cell biology education. 2002;1(4):145–153.
2. Freeman S, et al. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2007;6:132–139.
3. PCAST Report. Washington DC; 2012.
4. AAAS. Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education. 2015.
5. Bradforth SE et al. Nature. 2015 July 16;523(7560):282–284.
6. Berrett D. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2012:1–15.
7. Strayer JF. Learning Environments Research. 2012;15:171–193.
8. Mazur E. Science. 2009;323:50–51.
Quiz questions were scored according to Bloom
categories as low, medium, or high level by 3
independent instructors. Examples of each level:
4874
Our overarching research question is to
evaluate the role of active learning approaches
in a majors’ general biology course.
We tested the hypothesis that students in the
inverted classroom would 1) answer more
questions correctly, 2) answer more higher
Bloom level questions correctly, and 3) have
better scores based if they completed in-class
activities, relative to their counterparts in
traditional classrooms.
Question Bloom score Bloom level Associated
activity?
Activity
1 6 medium none N/A
2 5 medium low
Molecular
models
3 6 medium none N/A
4 4 low none N/A
5 4 low low
Molecular
models
6 4 low none N/A
7 10 high high pH activity
8 5 medium none N/A
9 7 medium high
Cell structures
diagrams
10 5 medium high
Cell structures
diagrams
11 3 low high
Cell structures
diagrams
12 6 medium none N/A
13 12 high high
Dialysis
membrane
14 9 high high
Dialysis
membrane
15 9 high high
Dialysis
membrane
Aspect No
Medium
level
High
level
Points Factor
Total
possible
Address VC core
concept(s)
None
or only
one
(0)
1-2 >2 2 1 2
Inquiry-driven:
students need to
address of inquiry
performed during
the activity and
interpret the results
0 1 2 2 2 4
Tangible/
hands-on
0 1 2 2 2 4
Requires
quantitative
reasoning
None Minor
Problem
solving 2 2 4
Cooperative No Yes 1 2 2
Total 16
Scoring rubric for in-class activities
(below). Setup of questions, their Bloom
levels, and related in-class activity (right).
Learning videos In-class activities
0
1
2
3
4
5
Agreement(Likertscale)
Repeated Measure MANOVA, Matched Student
data (flipped n=33, traditional n=19)
All Between
Test Value Exact F Prob>F
F Test 0.274648 13.9155 <.0001
Flipped vs. Traditional
Test Value Exact F Prob>F
F Test 0.1735263 26.376 <.0001
Mean(Activity)
Test Value Exact F Prob>F
F Test 0.1877437 28.537 <.0001
All Bloom Levels
Test Value Exact F Prob>F
F Test 0.0084679 1.2871 0.2584
In class-activities ranged from filling out
diagrams and worksheets to inquiry-based
experiments involving basic concepts such
as pH and diffusion, as well as hands-on
exercises using molecular models.
Mean # correct answers per Bloom level
How do you learn the best? Word cloud of
survey answers.
Question prompt
Bloom
score
Which structure is common to both plant and animal cells?
A) chloroplast
B) wall made of cellulose
C) central vacuole
D) mitochondrion
E) centriole
3
Low
Large numbers of ribosomes are present in cells that specialize in producing which of the following molecules?
A) lipids
B) proteins
C) starches
D) steroids
E) glucose
7
Medium
The solutions in the arms of a U-tube are separated at the bottom of the tube by a selectively permeable membrane. The
membrane is permeable to sodium chloride but not to glucose. Side A is filled with a solution of 0.4 M glucose and 0.5 M
sodium chloride (NaCl), and side B is filled with a solution containing 0.8 M glucose and 0.4 M sodium chloride. Initially,
the volume in both arms is the same.
After a day, in side B the volume __________, the NaCl concentration _______, and the glucose concentration _________.
A) increases, increases, stays the same
B) decreases, decreases, increases
C) stays the same, increases, stays the same
D) decreases, increases, decreases
E) increases, increases, decreases
12
High