Student survey data over three semesters indicates that the area most in need of improvement in our BIO 182 General Biology II course is the quality and utility of our textbook.
The current cost for Campbell's Biology in Focus is $133. Yet, I have observed that unless specific comprehension questions are assigned, very few students engage with the text.
Following being awarded a FRACTYL grant, I have had the freedom to develop a suite of unique, engaging, short (<20 minute) You Tube videos and associated Canvas quizzes, revolving around real-world case studies to provide supplemental content outside of the classroom, and in lieu of the textbook. I craft these videos using Camtasia and publish on my Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2qc-YS86LxELl9REUeOw6Q/playlists?view…;
On the question assessing the "Quality of Textbook," the grand mean equals 4.01 (out of 5), where 5 = Strongly Agree. While this may seem high, it is considerable lower than all of the other indicators of teaching efficacy which average ~4.9. Comments are often along these lines . . . "Class was taught well enough that the textbook was not needed for my learning." Whether or not my video supplements are effective remains to be seen.
Having now completed 3 semesters teaching BIO 182 - General Biology II for Science Majors, the area consistiently identified by student surveys as in need of improvement is the "Quality of the Textbook." The book is expensive (>$100), and yet, I have observed that many/ most students do not read the supplemental chapters that align with lectures / activities / labs unless I assign end-of-chapter comprehension questions. Following being awarded a FRACTYL grant last spring, I have been developing an OER, consisting of a series of engaging, supplemental videos that focus on case studies (i.e., Koko the gorilla taught sign language), interesting new research (water or space bears and their foreign DNA), and popular topics (Homo floresiensis the "Hobbit"). Thus far this semester, the response to these videos has been overwhelming positive, but is still anecdotal and qualitative; I will quantify repsonses with a formal survey mid-April. My You Tube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2qc-YS86LxELl9REUeOw6Q/playlists?view…
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| bio-182class-climate-4186-bio182120714186.pdf | 50.06 KB |
| bio-182class-climate-4186-bio182121154186.pdf | 49.52 KB |
| bio-182class-climate4176-bio182fall-2017.pdf | 49.05 KB |
Comments
Thank you for taking time to submit a CATS. I love that you are taking time to do videos and using real life case studies. Using the feedback from students to create videos is great. I look forward to seeing what students have to say on the survey.
Jarod,
I admire your passion for teaching, and empowering out students ability to learn! On a personal note, I hope my children have passionate educators like you.
You are going the extra mile, to reach all of our students by creating videos. You are appealing to all the learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Great idea to measure the learning tool, the textbook's usage. Great job!
Catherine
Jarod - Thank you for sharing your experience through CATS. I am excited to see the affect the OERS are having on your students. We implemented this in our developmental math courses with success.