Less teaching, more learning: 10-yr study supports increasing student learning through less coverage and more inquiry

Douglas B. Luckie · Jacob R. Aubry · Benjamin J. Marengo · Aaron M. Rivkin · Lindsey A. Foos · Joseph John Maleszewski

57 citations0/0 files storedAJP Advances in Physiology Education

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Science Education and Pedagogy Innovative Teaching Methods Undergraduate Neuroscience Education and Research

Abstract

In this study, we compared gains in student content learning over a 10-yr period in which the introductory biology laboratory curriculum was changed in two ways: an increase of inquiry and a reduction of content. Three laboratory formats were tested: traditional 1-wk-long cookbook laboratories, two 7-wk-long inquiry laboratories, and one 14-wk-long inquiry laboratory. As the level of inquiry increased, student learning gains on content exams trended upward even while traditional content coverage taught decreased. In a quantitative assessment of content knowledge, students who participated in the 14-wk-long inquiry laboratory format outscored their peers in both 7- and 1-wk-long lab formats on Medical College Admissions Test exam questions (scores of 64.73%, 61.97%, and 53.48%, respectively, P < 0.01). In a qualitative study of student opinions, surveys conducted at the end of semesters where traditional 1-wk laboratories (n = 167 students) were used had low response rates and predominately negative opinions (only 20% of responses were positive), whereas those who participated in 7-wk (n = 543) or 14-wk (n = 308) inquiry laboratories had high response rates and 71% and 96% positive reviews, respectively. In an assessment of traditional content coverage in courses, three indexes were averaged to calculate traditional forms of coverage and showed a decrease by 44% over the study period. We believe that the quantitative and qualitative data support greater student-driven inquiry in the classroom laboratory, which leads to deeper learning in fewer topic areas (less teaching) and can reap gains in scientific thinking and fundamental understanding applicable to a broader range of topic areas (more learning) in introductory biology.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 57 citations exist upstream.

References

2004Scientific Teaching 2005Teaching More by Lecturing Less 2010Just the Facts? Introductory Undergraduate Biology Courses Focus on Low-Level Cognitive Skills 2009Too much content, not enough thinking, and too little FUN!2006Moving From Didactic to Inquiry-Based Instruction In A Science Laboratory 2008Depth versus breadth: How content coverage in high school science courses relates to later success in college science coursework 2011Effects of Collaborative Group Composition and Inquiry Instruction on Reasoning Gains and Achievement in Undergraduate Biology 2008Application of Bloom's Taxonomy Debunks the "MCAT Myth"

Cited by

2015Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Strategy Enhances Students’ Higher Level Thinking Skills in a Pharmaceutical Sciences Course 2017Do Biology MajorsReallyDiffer from Non–STEM Majors?2017Integrating Concepts in Biology Textbook Increases Learning: Assessment Triangulation Using Concept Inventory, Card Sorting, and MCAT Instruments, Followed by Longitudinal Tracking

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.