ERIC Number: EJ1346611
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Jun
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1931-7913
Beyond the Traditional Classroom: Increased Course Structure and Cooperative Learning Remove Differences in Achievement between Students in an In-Person versus Hybrid Microbiology Course
Foster-Hartnett, Dawn; Mwakalundwa, Gwantwa; Bofenkamp, Lisa; Patton, Liz; Nguyen, Richard; Goodman-Mamula, Patricia
CBE - Life Sciences Education, v21 n2 Article 33 Jun 2022
The increase in online learning brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will likely result in a greater availability of online and hybrid course offerings. In this study, students enrolled in parallel sections of a microbiology lab course with in-person labs and either face-to-face (F2F) or all-online lectures (hybrid, H). Course material and method of assessment in the two sections were identical; student demographics were similar. In the first year, F2F students scored significantly higher on two out of four exams. In the second year, two interventions were introduced: team-building activities (in both sections) and online group discussions (H only). Students in both the F2F and H sections reported similar positive teamwork reviews based on Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (catme.org) and survey data. Although the COVID-19 pandemic eventually forced all learning online, exam scores from the two sections in the first half of the semester were similar, suggesting that the interventions were effective. In both sections, exam scores were positively correlated with entering grade point averages. This study adds to the body of literature supporting the effectiveness of hybrid learning.
Descriptors: Course Organization, Instructional Design, Cooperative Learning, Science Achievement, Academic Achievement, Achievement Gap, Blended Learning, COVID-19, Pandemics, Online Courses, Microbiology, Conventional Instruction, Group Discussion, Computer Mediated Communication, Teamwork, Scores, Grade Point Average
American Society for Cell Biology. 8120 Woodmont Avenue Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. Tel: 301-347-9300; Fax: 301-347-9310; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org; Website: http://www.ascb.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A