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Biology 25: Anatomy and Physiology I

Reflection on Instructional Change:

For my remote teaching and learning course redesign, I focused on flipping part of my classroom to create a blended flipped model of instruction. Instead of meeting synchronously for lecture content, I pre-record "Topic Overview" videos each week and ask my students to complete these Overviews and an associated Prep Work Quiz. Then, I invite them to attend synchronous Zoom sessions for practice during what would have been our usual lecture times; we work on applying the content introduced in the Overviews. Students are not required to attend the synchronous practice sessions. They have access to recordings of the sessions, as well as access to the applied exercises we work on, so they can practice on their own if they choose.

I was influenced by the literature on equity and access in remote teaching/learning environments to redesign my assessment strategy for BIO 25. Instead of asking students to complete 2-3 timed, closed-resource, high-stakes exams during the semester, I decided to switch to 6 open-ended, open-resource, low-stakes tests. The tests are available to the students from 8 am to 5 pm, and students are encouraged to use resources and collaborate with their BIO 25 colleagues. I have switched the emphasis from memorization to application for these tests, and each test is worth only a small fraction of their overall course grade. A student could miss an entire test and still demonstrate anatomy and physiology content mastery throughout the semester.

I designed the above-described low-stakes frequent assessment strategy to promote equity in my BIO 25 course. My goal with this assessment strategy is to provide more equitable access to the tests. If, for example, a student does not have reliable internet, or prefers to take more time reading/processing questions, the longer testing window accommodates these needs. This assessment strategy also increases opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery and provides more flexibility (instead of "all or nothing" on high-stakes exams) and hopefully creates a less stressful assessment environment to support all of my students.

Example of weekly Prep Work Quiz

Example of a weekly Prep Work Quiz each student completes to stay engaged with the course content.

Example of applied practice activity.

Example of a low-stakes test; students complete 6 throughout the semester.

Post Side Car - Syllabus and Schedule

Pre Side Car - Syllabus and Schedule

Faculty Biography

I've lived and worked in California for many years now, but I'm originally from Kirkland, Washington (close to Seattle) and consider myself a true Pacific Northwestern-er at heart. This means I love rain and gray skies (yes, really!) This also means I am a fan of warm beverages: coffee, tea, hot cocoa... love them all. In true Pacific Northwest fashion, salmon is one of my favorite foods, and I think whale watching is pretty much the coolest activity ever. I enjoy reading, walking, Scrabble, and chocolate.

I studied molecular, cellular, and integrative physiology in graduate school. I enjoy learning about how our bodies have all of these amazing components that seamlessly work together to allow us to do the things we love (and things we don't love) throughout our lives. If I had to pick a favorite physiological system, I would choose the cardiovascular system. There's just something about the heart and the blood vessels that strikes me as extra cool! I really do think ALL the systems are cool, though... I am a self-proclaimed "physiology dork!" and I wear the badge proudly.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation NSF Hispanic Serving Institution Award 1832335. Any opinions, findings, and 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.