Improving Biology Understanding through a Universal Design for Learning Strategy

本项目的主要目的是确定交互式、触觉和动态学习工具的使用与学生对细胞生物学概念的掌握之间的关系。学习工具是一组细胞和细胞成分的模型，最初是在以前的NSF资助下使用通用学习设计（UDL）方法在粘土中创建的。这些新模型现在用塑料制成，用于更大规模的测试，关于学生使用和教师课堂实践的四种假设正在测试中。开发UDL单元模型的智力价值在许多层面上都是可识别的。学生以交互式和动态的方式使用UDL模型来建模他们在实验室中看到的任何细胞类型；这些模型也是触觉的，为学习提供了额外的途径，并促进了视障人士对细胞的学习。当学生操纵UDL模型来创建细胞类型的准确示例时，他们通过模仿科尔布学习理论的四个阶段的步骤来进步；在使用UDL模型时，这应该比不使用UDL模型时能够更好、更深入地学习。在生物学导论课上使用UDL模型的初步定量数据表明，改进了学习。这些数据并不是完全公正的，因为没有能力控制研究中的个别教师，但它确实表明使用UDL模型可能有助于掌握细胞生物学的概念。使用UDL模型的广泛影响是广泛的。对于学生来说，学习单元是非常具有挑战性的，使用UDL方法学习可以使他们更容易理解这个概念。UDL细胞模型的使用为学习提供了一种互动的方法，减少了对入门生物学学生来说枯燥的主题的可能性，从而减少了他们从生物学课程和职业中流失的机会。尽管没有细胞模型可以完美地模拟真实的细胞，但是UDL细胞模型提供的附加信息可以使更多的学习者更深入地理解细胞概念。随着未来教师在使用UDL细胞模型的生物学课程中取得进展，他们也可能更有可能将UDL方法纳入他们未来的教学中。这些模型计划大量生产，以便在课堂上广泛使用。

Biological Sciences (61) The overarching purpose of this project is to determine relationships between the use of interactive, tactile, and dynamic learning tools and student mastery of concepts in cell biology. The learning tools are a set of models of cells and cell components that were initially created in clay using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach during funding from a previous NSF grant. These new models are now made in plastic for more wide scale testing, and four hypotheses regarding student usage and instructor classroom practices are being tested.The intellectual merit of developing UDL cell models is recognizable at many levels. Students use the UDL models in interactive and dynamic ways to model any cell type they view in lab; the models are also tactile, providing an additional path to learning, and facilitating learning about cells for the visually impaired. As students manipulate the UDL models to create accurate examples of cell types, they progress through steps that mimic the four stages of Kolb's learning theory; this should enable better and deeper learning when using the UDL models than without. Improved learning is suggested by preliminary quantitative data on the use of the UDL models in an introductory biology class. This data is not entirely impartial, because there was no ability to control for individual teachers in the study, but it does indicate that use of the UDL models may prove beneficial in mastering concepts in cell biology. The broader impacts of the use of UDL models are extensive. Learning about cells can be very challenging for students, and using a UDL approach to learning could make this concept more accessible for them. Use of the UDL cell models provides an interactive method for learning, lessening the likelihood that the topic will prove boring to introductory biology students and thus decreasing their chances of attrition from biology courses and careers. Although no cell model can perfectly mimic a real cell, the additional information provided by the UDL cell models could make a deeper understanding of cell concepts available to more learners. As future teachers progress through biology courses where UDL cell models are used, they may also be more likely to incorporate UDL approaches in their future teaching. The models are planned to be made in large quantities to be available for widespread classroom use.