Creating Validated Learning Objectives to Improve Course Design and Student Outcomes in Introductory Biology

该项目旨在通过帮助美国满足对合格的STEM专业人员和具有科学素养的公民的需求，为国家利益服务。学习目标是对学生在接受指导后应该知道和能够做什么的陈述。在设计良好的科学课程中，课程、考试和其他评估与学习目标紧密相连。然而，尽管这些基础课程是本科STEM教育中最重要的一些课程，但对于专业或非专业的大学生物学入门课程，还没有制定出一套被广泛接受的学习目标。该项目将动员全国300多名生物学教师为这些课程制定一套全面的学习目标。此外，它还将1)制作一份用户指南，以支持刚开始实施学习目标的教师；2)发布一份分析报告，分析专业和非专业课程的学习目标和课程目标是如何比较的；3)首次大规模研究大学科学教师如何以及为什么开始将学习目标纳入他们的课程。学习目标的广泛使用有可能改善专业和非专业生物入门课程的设计，这些课程每年在全国招收超过500,000名学生。逆向课程设计是科学教学的一个基本组成部分，它始于明确的总体课程目标和更细致的学习目标。大学生物学教师和学生已经从2011年远景和变化报告以及生物核心和生物技能指南中阐明的一般课程目标中受益。该项目将通过为专业和非专业生物入门课程制定第一套全国认可的学习目标来补充和扩展先前的工作。这些学习目标将通过焦点小组和全国性调查的反复过程进行起草、修订和验证，这些调查旨在纳入来自代表不同机构类型和地点的300多名教职员工的反馈。一旦为每门课程建立了一致的学习目标，项目团队将分析专业和非专业课程的目标有何不同，并使用访谈、焦点小组和调查来研究美国不同类型机构的生物学教师如何在他们的课程中使用学习目标。其目标是打开一个新的研究领域：1)教师如何设计他们的课程；2)如何使用学习目标和其他落后课程设计的元素影响学生的表现。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by helping the United States meet the need for qualified STEM professionals and scientifically literate citizens. Learning objectives are statements of what students should know and be able to do after instruction. In a well-designed science course, the curriculum and the exams and other assessments are tightly linked to learning objectives. However, no widely accepted set of learning objectives has been developed for introductory college biology for majors or nonmajors, even though these foundational courses are some of the most important in undergraduate STEM education. This project will engage over 300 biology faculty nationwide in creating a comprehensive set of learning objectives for these courses. In addition, it will 1) produce a user’s guide to support instructors who are new to implementing learning objectives, 2) publish an analysis of how learning objectives and course goals compare in the majors and nonmajors courses, and 3) launch the first large-scale study of how and why college science faculty begin incorporating learning objectives into their courses. Widespread use of learning objectives has the potential to improve the design of introductory biology courses for majors and nonmajors, which nationally enroll over 500,000 students each year.Backward course design is a fundamental component of scientific teaching and begins with explicit lists of overall course goals and more-granular learning objectives. College biology faculty and students have already benefitted from the general course goals articulated by the 2011 Vision and Change Report and the BioCore and BioSkills Guides. This project will complement and extend this previous work by producing the first nationally validated set of learning objectives for majors and non-majors introductory biology courses. These learning objectives will be drafted, revised, and validated through an iterative process conducted with focus groups and national surveys designed to incorporate feedback from over 300 faculty members representing a diversity of institution types and locations. Once consensus learning objectives are established for each course, the project team will analyze how the goals of majors and nonmajors courses differ and use interviews, focus groups, and surveys to research how biology faculty at different types of institutions across the U.S. are using learning objectives in their courses. The goal is to open a new field of inquiry on 1) how faculty design their courses, and 2) how using learning objectives and other elements of backward course design affects student performance. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.