BIO 9 - The Living World

Redesign Title: Toward Equitability and Transformative Engagement of Science-Phobic Students:
Use of two teacher-easy & student-easy auto-graded fill-in-the-blank quizzes per lecture to replace or compliment exams

Biology 9 is a lower division general biology course averaging 60 students per semester**. It is for non-science majors and covers the biological science behind important issues that these students and their loved ones are facing now (e.g. COVID-19) and will face in the future (e.g. climate change). The first 5-10 minutes of nearly every class this semester covers the latest COVID biology. Here is a partial list of topics: biological and human evolution; ancestry genetics (23andMe, etc.); the biology of the major issues in human health and reproduction such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes; diet; depression, addiction; exercise and meditation; fertility and fetal health and genetics for potential parents. In the last third of the course we cover conservation of ecosystems; global warming and climate change; and the behavior of organisms, especially humans, human population, resource use and waste; environmental toxicology and endocrine disruption.

**It seems that flipping courses will differ substantially methodologically depending on the average size of the class. This redesign was originally intended for large online synchronous classes, from 50 to hundreds. However, in the last section below on Challenges, I discuss how this method could be used to enhance equitability and engagement in all class sizes and types of classes, and can be adapted to the classroom, with modifications.

Before: In the classroom I did 4 quizzes and 3 written short-answer closed-notes exams. Students had to memorize. They really had trouble with this. Some asked for multiple choice exams, so that they could guess better and get 30%. The range of scores on my written tests were 5% to 95%. The few over 90% tell me that the material is understandable and the quizzes fair. Written exams (short fill-in-the-blank answers) are a far better learning assessment than Scantron type exams for large enrollment courses which are meant to prepare students for a professional career. However, Biology 9 is not in that category.

Motivation for Redesign: Bio 9 may be the only science course these students ever take. It is an opportunity to introduce them to much of the biology that they will be encountering in their lives. Memorization is not important here, as it would be for nursing or engineering or other professional prep courses, where it is critical to have graduates who are able to recall while working.
The working concept for Bio 9 is that these students, for the rest of their lives, will have the universe of knowledge at their fingertips via Google searches on their phones. I want to have them leave with key concepts, keywords, and a healthy respect for science and evidence-based information as well as how to source those things.

After: .
Equitability: Repetition of assessment (over 100 short quizzes) so that the large number of Biology 9 students who have low or marginal academic skills and professional habits can repeatedly fail or perform marginally in the first part of the course and still catch up and do well or just pass (the goal of many).
Engagement: Transformative Threshold Concept: Science and biology (STEM) are not to be feared and can be embraced. An easy quiz at the start of class and another at the end of lecture. By their own statements (see graphic below) the students say that this keeps them engaged.
Enjoyment: The students tell me that they relax and therefore learn more because they know they won't have to memorize material. The material in the course helps, since I cover the biology of so many of the issues they have and will be dealing with in life, such as health.

Evidence of Student Learning


I'll let the students give the evidence of learning, from their evaluations at end of Fall '21 semester.
Here is a PDF overview of Biology 9 Fall 2021 Spring 2022. The full Fall 2021 student evaluation is here: Evals Fall 2021 Instructor_profile-Donald_Lotter.p

Techniques Incorporated Into Redesign

Below is one of the 120+ quizzes (with answers shown). The questions and answers are verbatim from the PowerPoint slides. They get 3 attempts on each quiz (after they submit the quiz Canvas shows correct or incorrect for each question).

Ok, I know what you're thinking: "I don't have time to come up with two quizzes per lecture! No way!"
In this video I show how I do it in 2 minutes.

The scores go immediately into Canvas Gradebook. Here's a dozen of the 120 columns at end of semester. Pink indicates no-show, so this method also takes attendance. Students can easily track their grade via total.

Video: How to create a Canvas quiz in 2 minutes

Extended version How to create Canvas fill-in-the-blank quizzes

Describe how you did your redesign. When we transitioned to online classes in Spring 2020 I saw that exams just would not work to my standards. I knew I wanted fill-in-the-blank exams and quizzes, and I knew that I wanted to do lots of them without having to grade. So I explored Canvas and learned to use the new (at that time) Canvas New Quiz auto-grading for fill-in-the-blank quizzes. I also wanted to incentivize the students to join class on time, as well as stay engaged taking notes during lecture. So I decided to do two quick 2-question quizzes per class session - one at the start and one at the end.
The start of class quiz is always about the previous lecture and takes 3 minutes. And then during lecture I review the two quizzes from the previous class. This sets an algorithm so that the students get the quiz material on three different days, e.g. in lecture on Monday, on the quiz on Wednesday, and then reviewed with answers on Friday in lecture. A forth can be added if you do a biweekly review exam. This is an algorithm for effective learning.
Canvas New Quiz fill-in-the-blank was not very well beta-tested and apparently is not as commonly used as multiple-choice and true/false quizzes, so I had to learn its limitations and work around them. Mostly to make the quizzes straightforward and fair. I show some of these issues is the extended video.

Assessment of Redesign Project & Equitable & Inclusive Outcomes for Students

Assessing the impact of the redesign on student learning. I use the feedback of the students, shown above and here. Also, the number of F's and D's has fallen dramatically since moving from in-class closed-notes written exams.
Alignment with department, college, campus, and community goals. I have two made progress towards two major goals:
1) Equitability. Repetition of assessment (over 100 short quizzes) so that students who have low or marginal academic skills and professional habits (a large proportion of Bio 9 students) can repeatedly fail or perform marginally in the first part of the course and still catch up and do well or just pass (the apparent goal of many). Of course, the most important way to make for equitability is to sit down every week individually with the 20-30 percent of students who lack the academic skills of the other classmates as a result of not having the educational and family background. But with an average class size of 60 this is just not possible for this senior citizen (or for the overloaded new FTE). However, pep talks to get up on time in the morning and join the Zoom session, having briefly gone over one's notes (professional skills), plus a few opportunities to retake quizzes, and with many repetitions, go a long way towards affording the opportunity to catch up and excel.
2) Achievement of a Transformative Threshold Concept: Science and biology (STEM) are not to be feared and can be embraced. In the linked student evaluations below there are repeated positive comments about the two non-stressful quizzes per lecture enabling sustained engagement and improved learning - especially the Fall '21 comments that resulted from my responding to their feedback about needing more time. Here are some comments from student evaluations on how their science-phobia changed:

From Fall 2021 evals:
- Professor Lotter made learning the basic principles of bio fun. I honestly dreaded taking a bio class my last semester of college, and honestly, I'm glad I did.
- This course really helped learn a lot on how to take care of my health and my environment. I didn’t really think that much on how important it is to take care of us and our planet. I have started to make changes on my diet, and to take care of my planet. I wasn’t interested in biology until I took this class. Watching videos and responding to question is more useful than having to read a textbook, so I really appreciate that the professor didn’t assign us a book. Since I’m a visual learner I think videos really help me learn more than books. This course really helped me changed my lifestyle.
- I also really appreciated in the human physical biology portion, Dr. Lotter going over the range of sexual preferences and gender identities that make us human. I am sure that more students than he realizes can relate to these identities. However, for many it might be their first time being genuinely educated about the LGBTQ+ community.
From Spring 2021 student evals:
- Coming into the course, I felt some worry of struggling with biological concepts or even keeping up. Soon my fears cleared up, and I genuinely enjoyed the system throughout the semester.
- I really did enjoy this class. I was very hesitant to take any sort of bio class however he made it very interesting with the topics and very well explained ideas. This new way of teaching the class definitely helped me stay focused and if I could I would take this class again. also I'm very happy we didn't need a textbook for this course.
- This class was modeled in a way that was beneficial for me personally. Not having large exams and providing daily quiz assessments as well as interesting research projects reduced the amount of educational-based anxiety I have as well as encouraged a more friendly and fun learning environment. I am able to recall information better than in normal classes.
From Fall 2020 student evals:
- I typically don't enjoy science or have a very hard time engaging. This is the highest grade I've ever had in a science course.
- This was the only class I had that really transitioned to being online..... More classes should be structured like this.

Reflection: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Challenges:
1) Transitioning back to the classroom. The 2-autograded quizzes-per-lecture system will work well for all online class sizes, even for, particularly for, large classes of over a hundred. However, in-person classes will need adaptation. Students, as of Spring 2022, appear to be quite able to bring laptops and set up in class (not the case in Bio 9 Fall 2019).
a) In the classroom, a delayed quiz sometime during the first ten minutes of class may be best. Having the quizzes start at the first minute works well for online classes, but in the classroom students who only have ten minutes to get from their previous class and then set up will have problems. Perhaps best to lecture for five minutes and then give the quiz. This would allow students walking in one minute before class to set up their laptops. In the classroom probably best only one quiz, since students are less likely to get up and leave or indulge in their social media addiction during lecture than doing these things in a Zoom class.
b) In large classes in lecture halls or cramped classrooms, students only have those tiny chair-desk surfaces to hold their laptops and at the same time peruse their notes.
c) The Canvas phone app is quite adequate for taking the FiTB quizzes, as I and some students have used it.
2) Classes that require closed-notes exams. The short in-lecture autograded quizzes could integrate well with exams and would almost certainly improve student engagement and performance. I am certain that integrating these in-lecture quizzes will improve student performance on exams (in fact I would bet my bottom dollar on it). If I had a class that requires closed-notes exams I would: do daily in-lecture quizzes for 1/3 of the semester grade; two midterms another third and the final a third of the grade. Student performance on exams and learning outcomes will improve as a result of the engagement and daily review of notes. Attendance is also taken by the method.
3) How do we push and challenge students to do their best and at the same time have equitable pedagogy? A challenge to the implementation of equitability is the ancient teaching philosophy of pushing and challenging students to achieve their best can. In large enrollment classes this can leave the disadvantaged behind unless a strong peer support program is promoted.

Faculty Biography

Faculty Bio
	My Ph.D. is in agroecology from the Graduate Group in Ecology at UC Davis. I have taught in colleges with majority minority students in two different places: 95% Mexican-American students at Imperial Valley College in El Centro, California, and Tanzanian students in St. John's University of Tanzania (colleagues pictured left). A third of the students were Muslim. My publications (at www.donlotter.net) have been about: - organic management of vineyards (dissertation), - genetic engineering of food; Africa: - the sustainability of small-scale staple food crop production; - reducing deforestation by use of agricultural waste for cooking fuel; - indigenous African vegetable production and marketing, - higher education in Africa. In Mexico and Central America I wrote for Rodale's New Farm magazine on sustainable agriculture. More about me at www.facebook.com/don.lotter.1

**Program Sponsors**
	This work was supported by the Sacramento State and The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund

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