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Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance

We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative as...

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Autores principales: Luckie, Douglas B., Rivkin, Aaron M., Aubry, Jacob R., Marengo, Benjamin J., Creech, Leah R., Sweeder, Ryan D.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Cell Biology 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763018/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24006399
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-04-0050
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author Luckie, Douglas B.
Rivkin, Aaron M.
Aubry, Jacob R.
Marengo, Benjamin J.
Creech, Leah R.
Sweeder, Ryan D.
author_facet Luckie, Douglas B.
Rivkin, Aaron M.
Aubry, Jacob R.
Marengo, Benjamin J.
Creech, Leah R.
Sweeder, Ryan D.
author_sort Luckie, Douglas B.
collection PubMed
description We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative assessment of cell biology content knowledge, students who passed the VF outscored their peers on the medical assessment test (MAT), an exam built with 40 Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) questions (66.4% [n = 160] and 62% [n = 285], respectively; p < 0.001);. The higher-achieving students performed better on MCAT questions in all topic categories tested; the greatest gain occurred on the topic of cellular respiration. Because the VF focused on a conceptually parallel topic, photosynthesis, there may have been authentic knowledge transfer. In longitudinal tracking studies, passing the VF also correlated with higher performance in a range of upper-level science courses, with greatest significance in physiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Participation had a wide range but not equal representation in academic standing, gender, and ethnicity. Yet students nearly unanimously (92%) valued the option. Our findings suggest oral exams at the introductory level may allow instructors to assess and aid students striving to achieve higher-level learning.
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spelling pubmed-37630182013-09-09 Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance Luckie, Douglas B. Rivkin, Aaron M. Aubry, Jacob R. Marengo, Benjamin J. Creech, Leah R. Sweeder, Ryan D. CBE Life Sci Educ Articles We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative assessment of cell biology content knowledge, students who passed the VF outscored their peers on the medical assessment test (MAT), an exam built with 40 Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) questions (66.4% [n = 160] and 62% [n = 285], respectively; p < 0.001);. The higher-achieving students performed better on MCAT questions in all topic categories tested; the greatest gain occurred on the topic of cellular respiration. Because the VF focused on a conceptually parallel topic, photosynthesis, there may have been authentic knowledge transfer. In longitudinal tracking studies, passing the VF also correlated with higher performance in a range of upper-level science courses, with greatest significance in physiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Participation had a wide range but not equal representation in academic standing, gender, and ethnicity. Yet students nearly unanimously (92%) valued the option. Our findings suggest oral exams at the introductory level may allow instructors to assess and aid students striving to achieve higher-level learning. American Society for Cell Biology 2013 /pmc/articles/PMC3763018/ /pubmed/24006399 http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-04-0050 Text en © 2013 D. B. Luckie et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2013 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0). “ASCB®” and “The American Society for Cell Biology®” are registered trademarks of The American Society of Cell Biology.
spellingShingle Articles
Luckie, Douglas B.
Rivkin, Aaron M.
Aubry, Jacob R.
Marengo, Benjamin J.
Creech, Leah R.
Sweeder, Ryan D.
Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title_full Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title_fullStr Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title_full_unstemmed Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title_short Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance
title_sort verbal final exam in introductory biology yields gains in student content knowledge and longitudinal performance
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763018/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24006399
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-04-0050
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