Measuring the Effectiveness of Active Learning Methods in Cell Biology

Despite ample evidence that implementing active learning methods in the classroom leads to better outcomes, most courses in Biology continue the use of traditional lecturing. Anecdotal conversations with many of my colleagues who teach upper division biology courses indicate a widespread perception that the traditional lecture is the most effective way to transmit information to students. Coupled with the feeling that they need to cover a vast inventory of concepts in a limited amount of time and the lack of personal time to explore alternative teaching methods leads most professors to continue their lecturing style as they have done it in the past. I know this attitude all too well as I have been in this exact frame of mind. From personal experience I can attest that developing good active learning modules require a great deal of time and effort. It is indeed simpler to lecture on a topic as is described in a textbook using the corresponding figures from the textbook. However, in the past few years I have introduced, little by little, some active learning methods in my teaching and have seen positive effects using these in my classroom. The two main goals of this project are to transform a Cell Biology course employing active learning methods and to measure the effectiveness of this transformation on student learning outcomes.