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BIOLOGY 1: Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology (Lab)

Examples • Rubric • Checklist

Reflection on Instructional Change:

One of the practices I implemented was [Helping Students Persist in Their Studies (LE4)]. Students in BIO1 lab need to produce lab reports for several lab exercises. For most students, it's their first research-paper-genre scientific writing, in which they need to establish a rationale for the study, develop a hypothesis, describe the design of experiment, perform statistical analyses & & interpret results, produce a bar charte, and discuss the problems & future directions. That's a lot to ask for in one assignment. To help them on the right track to eventually doing it right, in addition to the 'lab report requirement handout', I had provided the following resources (practices I learned from the ACUE course): a grading rubric, examples from past students, a 'frequent mistakes' file, a video showing how to perform statistical analyses & produce a bar chart, and a checklist. I also gave students opportunities to revise and resubmit. The lab reports produced by students were much more consistent and their grades were much improved comparing to students in previous semesters.

The [Practice and Reflect Written Assignment] was the most helpful component of ACUE, it forced me to critically rethink my old approaches weekly, but I must say I appreciate all ACUE modules and the posts/comments from colleague. I'd say this is one of the turning points of my teaching career. Thank you!

The video I used in the [Observe and Analyze] is here: [Yuteh Lin ACUE video] (in Google Drive). In the video, I was showing students the resources they could & shoud consult for writing the Lab Report 1.

I greatly appreciate the comments from colleagues Eliza M., Travisd H. & Matthew K. during the observe & analyze session on 11/18/2022. The main comments I received were to increase 'wait time' for students responding to my questions, AND (my aha moments) to cut down the time spend on explaining by using an activity that let students discuss the rubric or critique examples of lab reports. With all the changes I have made and will make, I hope students will feel that the course (& the instructor) welcomes & values everyone and wants to help every student to succeed in class.

Evidence of Instructional Change

I am explaining the grading rubrics to students.

Me explaining the grading rubric.

This is an image of resources I provided on Canvas for students.

Some resources provided for students to write their very first lab report.

My ACUE badges for the [Designing Student-Centered Courses]

Practice and Reflect on: Helping Students Persist in Their Studies (by providing various resources, e.g., examples, rubrics and checklists)

Developing and Using Rubrics and Checklists(YKL).docx

Course Syllabus

BIO1 LAB Syllabus (After FLC).pdf

Faculty Bio

Hi, I am an ecologist. Here I am with three of the organisms I have studied: Taiwan vole (on forehead), Rice paddy frog tadpole (on hair), and Agamid lizard (by my cheek). I am extremely fortunate to be living in Sacramento, at the center of one of global biodiversity hot spots: the 'California Floristic Province'. In my classes, I try to bring students closer to the wonderful natural world.

This work was supported by:

National Science Foundation Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM Zone DUE 1832335

CSU Office of the Chancellor Academic Affairs grant for Faculty Professional Development

US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM4Equity P031C210012

*Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the US Department of Education.

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