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Enhancing Biology Major Retention Through Metacognitive Strategies in a Rural Campus Setting

This study explores the redesign of an introductory biology course at a small regional campus in rural Utah, focusing on improving recruitment and retention of biology majors. The course emphasizes metacognitive strategies, specifically using Bloom’s Questions, to foster higher-order thinking skills (HOCS). By implementing regular clicker questions and student attitude surveys, we assess whether improvements in HOCS performance correlate with enhanced understanding and attitudes towards biology. Our findings aim to identify effective learning skills that facilitate student retention in biology and inform future educational strategies.

austin-mcintyre
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Enhancing Biology Major Retention Through Metacognitive Strategies in a Rural Campus Setting

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Context • Small regional campus in rural Utah • Diverse student body • Poor recruitment and retention of biology majors • Redesigning intro biology majors course: • Course objectives • Regular clicker questions • Emphasis of metacognition using Bloom’s

  2. Questions In my introductory biology course (~15 students): • Does improvement in HOCS clicker questions correlate with improvement of HOCS exam questions? • Does metacognition of Bloom’s levels influence student attitudes toward biology or learning?

  3. Study Design • bloom clicker and exam questionsand track performance of individual students Question 1: Does improvement in HOCS clicker questions correlate with improvement of HOCS exam questions?

  4. Question 2: Does metacognition of Bloom’s levels influence student attitudes toward biology or learning? • focus questions on Bloom’s and studying attitudes - 3 times in semester • pre/post biology attitude survey (eg. BioCLASS) • study process questionnaire survey ofsurface vs deep learning (eg. RSPQ) • compare retention data to previous semesters

  5. Significance • identify useful learning skills in biology • 21st century skills (higher order thinking) • segue to further questions • do students retain this metacognition in future courses? • does this metacognition help students stay in the major?

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