Predicting Student Success in a Major’s Introductory Biology Course via Logistic Regression Analysis of Scientific Reasoning Ability and Mathematics Scores

Studies over the last 30 years have considered various factors related to student success in introductory biology courses. While much of the available literature suggests that the best predictors of success in a college course are prior college grade point average (GPA) and class attendance, faculty often require a valuable predictor of success in those courses wherein the majority of students are in the first semester and have no previous record of college GPA or attendance. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the ACT Mathematics subject exam and Lawson’s Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning in predicting success in a major’s introductory biology course. A logistic regression was utilized to determine the effectiveness of a combination of scientific reasoning (SR) scores and ACT math (ACT-M) scores to predict student success. In summary, we found that the model—with both SR and ACT-M as significant predictors—could be an effective predictor of student success and thus could potentially be useful in practical decision making for the course, such as directing students to support services at an early point in the semester.     

An assessment of the quantitative skills of students taking introductory college biology courses

Twenty-three mathematical competencies were identified and a 46-item multiple choice test was developed to measure the extent to which students entering introductory college biology courses possessed these competencies. Students enrolled in semester-long introductory courses for science majors and non-science majors were given the test at the beginning and end of the courses. The relationships between the mathematical competencies possessed by students at the beginning of the semester and 15 variables dealing with student characteristics were examined. Also investigated was the relationship between test scores and the type of mathematics courses taken during the semester students were enrolled in the introductory biology courses.     

Relationships between attitude and achievement among college biology students

The purposes of this study were to (1) study changes in attitude toward science, school, and academic self among college biology students, and (2) to examine relationships between attitudes and achievement in an introductory college course in biology. The three attitude variables were assessed at the beginning and end of the study. Each of the three constructs was measured by the semantic differential and one additional instrument. One cognitive measure, biology achievement, was taken at the beginning and end of the study. This was accomplished by using the Nelson Biology Test. Another cognitive measure, grade in the course, as given by the instructor, was recorded at the end of the course. Normative data and correlation coefficients among pre- and postadministrations were calculated for each institution and the composite sample as well. An analysis of variance showed that while gains in scores on the Nelson Biology Test were significant beyond the 0.01 level of probability, changes in attitude scores were not. Correlations were calculated between the attitude and cognitive variables in this study. Relationships between academic self-concept and achievement in biology were the strongest. Data from this study show that while student cognitive behavior was changed during an introductory college biology course, selected attitudes either stayed the same or became slightly more negative. Affective as well as cognitive gains would appear to be desirable goals in college courses. As we learn more about relationships that exist between cognition and affect, science educators at all levels will become better equipped to improve learning in science.     

Translation of algebraic equations and its relation to formal operational reasoning

A large proportion of science major college students are unable to translate even simple sentences into algebraic equations. Given the following sentence: There are six times as many students (S) as professors (P) at this university, most students write the following equation: 6S = P, referred to as the reversal error. In order to overcome the reversal error students need to operate in a hypothetico-deductive manner, i.e., performing a hypothetical operation that makes the group of professors six times larger than it really is (S = 6P). The objective of this study is to investigate the relation between student ability to translate sentences into equations, equations into sentences, and student performance in the following variables: formal operational reasoning, proportional reasoning, and introductory freshmen-level chemistry course. The results obtained show that as the student ability to translate sentences into equations and equations into sentences increases, their mean scores in Chemistry I, formal operational, and proportional reasoning increases. This study has found support for the hypothesis that students who lack formal operational reasoning skills (hypothetico-deductive reasoning) may experience more problems in the translation of algebraic equations.     

The science support scale: Its appropriateness with high school students

Implementing the idea that more emphasis should be placed on student achievement in the affective domain is contingent upon the concurrent development of suitable instruments for the assessment of prescribed criteria. One such instrument, the Schwirian Science Support Scale (Tri-S scale), was reported in a recent NSTA publication as a promising tool for measuring student science support. Recent research using the Tri-S scale with high school pupils showed that scores on this instrument did not increase after the students had taken a tenth grade introductory course in biology. Further analysis indicated students of teachers scoring “high” in science support did not produce higher scores on the Tri-S scale than students studying biology from teachers “low” in science support. Reliability estimates using high school student scores were well below previous estimates using scores from college undergraduates. Factor analysis of inter-item correlations indicated that student interpretation of item meaning did not correspond to the five subtest structure of the Tri-S scale. Findings from this study demonstrate that the Tri-S scale is not an appropriate instrument for measuring attitudinal changes of tenth grade high school students. This study is suggestive of the fact that went and future instruments that purport to measure achievement in noncognitive areas should be carefully analyzed before they are recommended for use with specific populations.     

What are the relative effects of reasoning ability and prior knowledge on biology achievement in expository and inquiry classes?

What factor(s) influence the likelihood a student will succeed in college biology? Some researchers have found the primary determinant to be the student's prior knowledge of biology, while others have found it to be reasoning ability. Perhaps the ability of these factors to predict achievement depends on the instructional method employed. Expository instruction focuses primarily on facts and concepts. Therefore, perhaps the best predictor of achievement in expository classes is domain-specific prior knowledge. Inquiry instruction focuses more on how science is done, i.e., on scientific processes; therefore, perhaps the best predictor in inquiry classes is reasoning ability. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Students enrolled in a nonmajors community college biology course were pretested to determine reasoning ability and prior knowledge. The number of previous biology courses was also recorded as an indicator of prior knowledge. After a semester of either expository or inquiry (learning-cycle) instruction, students took a comprehensive final examination. Reasoning ability but not prior knowledge or number of previous biology courses accounted for a significant amount of variance in final examination score in both instructional methods and with semester examination and quiz scores in inquiry classes. This suggests that reasoning ability limits achievement more than prior knowledge among these biology students, whether they are enrolled in expository or inquiry classes. Reasoning ability explained more of the variance in final examination scores for students enrolled in expository classes (18.8%) than in inquiry classes (7.2%). The reason for this is not clear, but significant improvements in reasoning were found in the inquiry but not in the expository classes. These improvements were accompanied by significant differences in achievement in the inquiry classes. Perhaps the reasoning improvement facilitated the better and more equal achievement for students in the inquiry classes, thus reducing the correlation between initial reasoning ability and final achievement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 89-103, 1998.     

Development of a ‘universal’ rubric for assessing undergraduates' scientific reasoning skills using scientific writing

We developed a rubric for measuring students' ability to reason and write scientifically. The Rubric for Science Writing (Rubric) was tested in a variety of undergraduate biology laboratory courses (total n = 142 laboratory reports) using science graduate students (teaching assistants) as raters. Generalisability analysis indicates that the Rubric provides a reliable measure of students' abilities (g = 0.85) in these conditions. Comparison of student performance in various biology classes indicated that some scientific skills are more challenging for students to develop than others and identified a number of previously unappreciated gaps in the curriculum. Our findings suggest that use of the Rubric provides three major benefits in higher education: (1) to increase substance and consistency of grading within a course, particularly those staffed by multiple instructors or graduate teaching assistants; (2) to assess student achievement of scientific reasoning and writing skills; and (3) when used in multiple courses, to highlight gaps in alignment among course assignments and provide a common metric for assessing to what extent the curriculum is achieving programmatic goals. Lastly, biology graduate students reported that use of the Rubric facilitated their teaching and recommended that training on the Rubric be provided to all teaching assistants.     

Student learning in higher education: a longitudinal analysis and faculty discussion

Answering a call put forth decades ago by the higher education community and the federal government, we investigated the impact of US college coursework on student learning gains. Students gained, on average, 3.72 points on a 66-item test of quantitative and scientific reasoning after experiencing 1.5 years of college. Gain scores were unrelated to the number of quantitative and scientific reasoning courses completed when controlling and not controlling for students’ personal characteristics. Unexpectedly, yet fortunately, gain scores showed no discernable difference when corrected for low test-taking effort, which indicated test-taking effort did not compromise the validity of the test scores. When gain scores were disaggregated by amount of completed coursework, the estimated gain scores of students with quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework were smaller than what quantitative and scientific reasoning faculty expected or desired. In sum, although students appear on average to be making gains in quantitative and scientific reasoning, there is not a strong relationship between learning gains and students’ quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework, and the gains are less than desired by faculty. We discuss implications of these findings for student learning assessment and learning improvement processes.     

Modelling water systems in an introductory undergraduate course: Students’ use and evaluation of data-driven,computer-based models

ABSTRACT

Introductory undergraduate courses present an opportunity to use disciplinary concepts in solving authentic problems. Making complex natural systems accessible to students through computer-based models allows them to practice making evidence-based predictions and communicate understanding. Despite the importance of modelling tools in formal classrooms, gaps exist in our understanding of how post-secondary students engage in computer-based modelling. Introductory courses, particularly in the hydrosciences, typically do not use these tools. This mixed methods study examines students’ model-based reasoning about a water-related issue over two years in response to a flipped course model. Students in an introductory water course learned basic hydrologic content and used a computer-based water model to complete a project. Data came from a pre-/post-course assessment, student assignments, and student interviews. Results of quantitative and qualitative data analyses show that students in the revised version of the course (Year 2, n?=?53) increased their understanding of core hydrology concepts and performed better on their evaluation of a computer-based water model, than students in the initial course (Year 1, n?=?38). We tentatively attribute these observed changes to increased active learning opportunities surrounding computer-based modelling of water systems. Findings contribute to science literacy development, undergraduate science learning environment design, and undergraduate scientific modelling.     

Learner-centered inquiry in undergraduate biology: positive relationships with long-term student achievement

We determined short- and long-term correlates of a revised introductory biology curriculum on understanding of biology as a process of inquiry and learning of content. In the original curriculum students completed two traditional lecture-based introductory courses. In the revised curriculum students completed two new learner-centered, inquiry-based courses. The new courses differed significantly from those of the original curriculum through emphases on critical thinking, collaborative work, and/or inquiry-based activities. Assessments were administered to compare student understanding of the process of biological science and content knowledge in the two curricula. More seniors who completed the revised curriculum had high-level profiles on the Views About Science Survey for Biology compared with seniors who completed the original curriculum. Also as seniors, students who completed the revised curriculum scored higher on the standardized Biology Field Test. Our results showed that an intense inquiry-based learner-centered learning experience early in the biology curriculum was associated with long-term improvements in learning. We propose that students learned to learn science in the new courses which, in turn, influenced their learning in subsequent courses. Studies that determine causal effects of learner-centered inquiry-based approaches, rather than correlative relationships, are needed to test our proposed explanation.     

The Effect of Plain-English Vocabulary on Student Achievement and Classroom Culture in College Science Instruction

This study examined the effect of the translation of traditional scientific vocabulary into plain English on student achievement in college science instruction. The study took place in the context of an introductory microbiology course. Data were collected from course sections instructed with traditional microbiology vocabulary as well as sections instructed with plain-English equivalent terms. Both treatment groups followed the same inquiry-based curriculum. Data collected included written and practical exam scores as well as pre and post-course surveys on subject knowledge and impressions of biology, science, and the course. Students subjected to plain-English instruction performed significantly better on written exams that assessed higher-order abilities to apply and analyze knowledge from the course. They gained similar amounts of lower-order knowledge during the course when compared to peers instructed with standard vocabulary. Results supported the hypothesis that improved achievement in the plain-English treatment was caused by students’ ability to utilize extant neural networks to ground new learning.     

Decreasing course content improves student comprehension of science and attitudes towards science in freshman biology

This study demonstrates a small, but significant, difference in prior understanding of basic biological concepts between students enrolled in majors' versus nonmajors' introductory biology courses. By the end of their respective courses, nonmajors demonstrated greater improvement in posttest scores than did majors. Furthermore, although initially students in the major course had a significantly more positive attitude towards science, especially in terms of personal comfort with science, by the end of the course this difference disappears. Following a semester of instruction, the attitudes of nonmajors generally improved, but student attitudes in the majors' classes declined in nearly all categories. We demonstrate a significant instructor effect in these results.     

Student gain in reasoning ability as a function of teacher reasoning level and teaching style preference

This study examines the effect of teacher reasoning level (i.e., concrete versus formal) and teaching style preference (i.e., inquiry vs. expository) on improvement in student reasoning ability. A random sample of fourth and seventh grade teachers and their students were selected to participate over one school year. Students completed a reasoning test in the early fall and late spring. Teachers completed two instruments in the Spring, a reasoning test and a teaching style preference questionnaire. Students of concrete operational teachers showed greater gains in reasoning ability than students of formal operational teachers while students of inquiry teachers showed slightly greater gains than students of expository teachers. Possible explanations are discussed as are suggestions for future research.     

Facilitating long-term changes in student approaches to learning science

Undergraduates entering science curricula differ greatly in individual starting points and learning needs. The fast pace, high enrollment, and high stakes of introductory science courses, however, limit students' opportunities to self-assess and modify learning strategies. The University of Washington's Biology Fellows Program (BFP) intervenes through a 20-session, premajors course that introduces students to the rigor expected of bioscience majors and assists their development as science learners. This study uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess whether the 2007-2009 BFP achieved its desired short- and long-term impacts on student learning. Adjusting for differences in students' high school grade point average and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, we found that participation in the BFP was associated with higher grades in two subsequent gateway biology courses, across multiple quarters and instructors. Two to 4 yr after participating in the program, students attributed changes in how they approached learning science to BFP participation. They reported having learned to "think like a scientist" and to value active-learning strategies and learning communities. In addition, they reported having developed a sense of belonging in bioscience communities. The achievement of long-term impacts for a short-term instructional investment suggests a practical means to prepare diverse students for the rigors of science curricula.     

Spatial ability and achievement in introductory physics

This research was undertaken to clarify the nature of the relationship between visual-spatial abilities and achievement in science courses. A related purpose was to determine what influence visual-spatial abilities have on the high attribution rate characteristic of many introductory college-level science courses. Three sections of introductory college level physics (S = 136) and one nonscience liberal arts section (S = 52) received pre- and postmeasures of visual-spatial ability in the areas of perception, orientation, and visualization. Increases in visual-spatial abilities were greatest with an experimental section that received a spatial intervention. These gains were related to test items that utilized graphical form and to laboratory work. Substantial gains in visual-spatial ability were also registered by a placebo and by control sections. These increases suggest that taking introductory physics improves visual-spatial abilities. Although students who withdrew from the course demonstrated mathematics skills comparable to those of students who completed the course, their scores on perception tests were appreciably lower. Visual-spatial scores of the liberal arts group were lower than those of the physics sections, suggesting that visual-spatial ability influences course selection.     

Reformed undergraduate instruction and its subsequent impact on secondary school teaching practice and student achievement

The Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT) Program is one of several reform efforts supported by the National Science Foundation. The primary ACEPT reform mechanism has been month‐long summer workshops in which university and community college science and mathematics faculty learn about instructional reforms and then attempt to apply them in their courses. Previous ACEPT evaluation efforts suggest that, when implemented, the reforms boost undergraduate student achievement. The initial purpose of the present study was to discover whether enrollment of preservice teachers in one or more of these reformed undergraduate courses is linked to the way they teach after they graduate and become in‐service teachers. Assuming that a link is found, a second purpose was to discover whether the presumed positive effect is in turn linked to their students' achievement. In short, the answer appears to be yes, at least among the biology teachers and students surveyed. Compared with controls, the biology teachers who had enrolled in one or more ACEPT reformed course during their teacher preparation program demonstrated significantly higher scores on the measure of reformed instruction and their students demonstrated significantly higher achievement in terms of scientific reasoning, nature of science, and biology concepts. These results support the hypothesis that teachers teach as they have been taught. Furthermore, it appears that instructional reform in teacher preparation programs including both methods and major's courses can improve secondary school student achievement. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 939–957, 2003     

Comparison of Views of the Nature of Science between Natural Science and Nonscience Majors

Science educators have the common goal of helping students develop scientific literacy, including understanding of the nature of science (NOS). University faculties are challenged with the need to develop informed NOS views in several major student subpopulations, including science majors and nonscience majors. Research into NOS views of undergraduates, particularly science majors, has been limited. In this study, NOS views of undergraduates in introductory environmental science and upper-level animal behavior courses were measured using Likert items and open-ended prompts. Analysis revealed similarities in students'' views between the two courses; both populations held a mix of naïve, transitional, and moderately informed views. Comparison of pre- and postcourse mean scores revealed significant changes in NOS views only in select aspects of NOS. Student scores on sections addressing six aspects of NOS were significantly different in most cases, showing notably uninformed views of the distinctions between scientific theories and laws. Evidence-based insight into student NOS views can aid in reforming undergraduate science courses and will add to faculty and researcher understanding of the impressions of science held by undergraduates, helping educators improve scientific literacy in future scientists and diverse college graduates.     

The effect of grouping of laboratory students on selected educational outcomes

The purpose of this study was to discover if grouping students in the laboratory on the basis of their formal reasoning ability affected (1) their science content achievement, (2) their formal reasoning ability, (3) the learning environment in the laboratory, and (4) the relationships between individuals in a particular group. The laboratory groups for three physical science classes for preservice elementary teachers were arranged as follows: (1) one class with students of unequal reasoning ability grouped together, i.e., one highly developed formal reasoner per group (the heterogeneous group), (2) one class with students of similar reasoning ability grouped together (the homogeneous group), and (3) one class arranged in groups according to the desires of the class members (the student choice group). The three classes were compared using pre-and post-scores on content and formal reasoning instruments and scores for classroom environment and social relationships. Results indicated that the groupings as described had significantly different effects on science content achievement but not on any of the other questions posed above. The students in the class with laboratory teams grouped by student choice had significantly lower science content scores than the students in the classes with teams formed using either the heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping procedures. The difference between the heterogeneously and homogeneously grouped classes was not significant at the 0.05 level.     

高师理科教学与学生科学推理能力的培养

科学推理能力是理科师范生应具备的一种重要能力.用 "Lawson科学推理能力测试量表(LCTSR)"对四所师范院校理科学生进行测试,结果显示理科学生科学推理测试成绩普遍偏低;测查的7个能力维度水平发展不均衡,其中高级控制变量推理能力最低;能力维度得分与院校存在显著相关性但与专业和年级的相关性不显著,这表明师范院校理科教学对提高学生科学推理能力作用不明显.为此,结合理科教学现状进行深入分析了原因并提出理科教学改革的建议.