Active-learning pedagogies often require group work. We tested aspects of forming groups in a nonmajors Biology class. We asked whether large or small groups affected student learning outcomes and attitudes towards working in groups. We placed students in groups of three or six and students stayed in their groups for the term. We measured learning…

Organismal biology (OrgBio) comprises the diversity, structures, and functions of all organisms from bacteria to humans. Arguably, OrgBio is often the most poorly taught and least conceptually rigorous section of the introductory biology sequence offered at most U.S. institutions of higher education. This article reports on the successful…

The use of technology in Higher Education teaching is now commonplace and can have multiple benefits for learners; however, the benefits of learner-generated digital media (LGDM) are understudied. Using a combination of pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and student critical reflections, we evaluated the impact of an assessed week-long…

Effective active learning supports student engagement in generative learning behaviors, often through collaborative group work. Although collaborative learning has many benefits, it can be difficult for individual instructors to prompt knowledge building discourse in large enrollment courses. Peer Learning Assistants (PLAs) can provide the…

While group work in undergraduate science education tends to have overall benefit, less is known about the specific peer-peer dynamics that optimize learning during group interaction. The current study used peer ratings and self-reported data from 436 students enrolled in team-based undergraduate science courses (biology or chemistry) to determine…

One of the key agendas for the emerging field of disciplinary-based education research is the evaluation of the trajectory of disciplinary knowledge development from novice to expert. However, with the ongoing promotion of student-centered and collaborative undergraduate science classrooms, it is unknown how peer discourse during these exercises…

In light of a growing emphasis on student-centred learning approaches, feedback is viewed as an activity that has potential to facilitate higher education students' explorations of knowledge contents and practices. However, research shows that feedback does not always lead to the expected student engagement. This qualitative study proposes a…

Metacognition is awareness and control of thinking for learning. Strong metacognitive skills have the power to impact student learning and performance. While metacognition can develop over time with practice, many students struggle to meaningfully engage in metacognitive processes. In an evidence-based teaching guide associated with this paper…

Evidence of the effectiveness of active learning has resulted in a shift in post-secondary classrooms towards student-centred teaching, often relying heavily on peer-to-peer interactions. While the overall benefit of these teaching methods is established, it remains unclear whether all sub-populations of students benefit similarly. Given the…

Combinations of text and different types of pictures are commonplace in biology as in science in general. The single representations (i.e., text, picture) constituting a text-picture combination may contain redundant or complementary information. The ability to identify and integrate information in different kinds of text-picture combinations is…

In Australia, a significant number of students enrol in first-year university biology without the benefit of high school biology. In order to help students support each other, the authors of this paper (a central unit academic developer and a biology coordinator of first-year biology) created a classroom activity that facilitated the distribution…

Group work is often a key component of student-centered pedagogies, but there is conflicting evidence about what types of groups provide the most benefit for undergraduate students. We investigated student learning outcomes and attitudes toward working in groups when students were assigned to groups using different methods in a large-enrollment,…

Community college instructors are influential in the lives of rural students, and they have key insights on the education of those students. Studies are needed to identify ways to support these rural students, who represent an important source of political and socioeconomic diversity for their communities and when transferring to universities.…

A nine-week laboratory project designed for a sophomore level molecular biology course is described. Small groups of students (3-4 per group) choose a tumor suppressor gene (TSG) or an oncogene for this project. Each group researches the role of their TSG/oncogene from primary literature articles and uses bioinformatics engines to find the gene…

Understanding how instructional techniques and classroom norms influence in-class student interactions has the potential to positively impact student learning. Many previous studies have shown that students benefit from discussing their ideas with one another in class. In this study of introductory biology students, we explored how using an…