Developing an Introductory Biology Preparation Assessment Tool
Developing an Introductory Biology Preparation Assessment Tool
Academic Year:
2014 - 2015 (June 1, 2014 through May 31, 2015)
Funding Requested:
$3,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Overview of the Project:
Students who elect to enroll in Introductory Biology (171 and 172/174) have diverse biology backgrounds and prior coursework experience. This diversity in preparation is a challenge both for instructors and less-prepared students. Underprepared students often struggle in Introductory Biology, and many end up leaving biology. We need to find ways to correct this preparation deficit and increase success of these students in Introductory Biology if we hope to retain these students in STEM fields. We plan to develop a preparation assessment for students entering Introductory Biology; this assessment will allow us to identify the least prepared students so that we can prevent them from having an adverse outcome in Introductory Biology. The assessment will be developed based on the current Introductory Biology curriculum along with the Next Generation Science Standards for high school biology, and will be tested and validated before it used. Results of the assessment will be used to advise underprepared students into non-majors biology courses or other 100-level topics courses to help mitigate their preparation deficit prior to enrollment in Introductory Biology. The assessment will be used in the Comprehensive Studies Program sections of Introductory Biology at first, and may be expanded to the large sections in the future.