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Data-rich Case Studies Improve Students' Abilities to Interpret Graphs in a Large Non-majors Course

The authors of this TIEE Research Paper evaluated the use of data-intensive case studies and small group discussion on students' quantitative abilities in a large environmental science lecture course. Students were asked to interpret graphs in pre- and post-course assessments. Most students (>80%) thought they did well on the initial assessment, although faculty evaluators scored about half as below minimally acceptable. There was no significant overall relationship between how students thought they performed and how their responses were scored. Student confidence in dealing with quantitative information increased from the start to the end of the course. Their rated ability did not increase significantly overall, although those students who scored poorly in the pre-course assessment scored significantly higher in the post-course assessment. In general, male students felt more confident than female students about their responses to quantitative information although their rated scores were similar. No background data could account for variation in initial performance or change in performance. Improvements in lower scoring students are encouraging as are increases in student perceptions of ability. However, the large number of poorly performing students in both the pre- and post-course assessments, and the disconnect between how students thought they performed and how they were scored, means that actual performance may not increase with increasing perceptions of ability. Students may need more opportunities for feedback to confront the disparity between their perceptions and the reality of their lack of success in interpreting quantitative information.
Associated files
Format
Resource Group TIEE
Resource Group Link https://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=SearchResults&F46=TIEE
Primary or BEN resource type
Discipline Specific Core Concepts
Life science discipline (subject)
Keywords research practitioner; TIEE; pedagogy; student-active; assessment; analytical skill; graphing skill; graph interpretation; quantitative ability
Audience
Intended End User Role
Language
Educational Language
Pedagogical Use Category
Pedagogical Use Description Quantitative skills are critical to students' understanding of ecology, and while these skills are usually taught in ecology courses, they are rarely assessed. This study documents differences between students' perceptions of their performance in pre- and post- tests and their actual performance. The article is a useful resource for faculty who are teaching these skills, since the authors describe their results and recommend strategies for instructors to successfully teach these skills. The article is also a useful resource for faculty who are interested in using student-active teaching methods and assessing them, since the authors describe their research methods and provide some of the resources that they used in their classes to assess their students. This article was published in Volume 5 of TIEE.
Aggregation Level
Structure
Url http://tiee.esa.org/vol/v5/research/bramble/article.html
Full Name of Primary Author Judith Bramble
Primary Author Controlled Name
Primary Author Affiliation De Paul University, Environmental Science Program
Primary Author email jbramble@depaul.edu
mworkman@depaul.edu
Added By Id
  • educationintern
Rights Copyright 2007 by Judith Bramble, Margaret Workman, and the Ecological Society of America.
License
Publisher
Review type
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection Off
Big Data Collection Off
Editors Choice No
Resource Status
Date Of Record Submission 2007-10-23
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use No
Date Of Record Release 2010-02-16 01:30:53
Last Modified By Id
  • educationintern
Date Last Modified 2018-07-25 11:07:34
Release Flag Published

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