Abstract
Experimental design is a fundamental skill for scientists, but it is often not explicitly taught in large introductory biology classes. We have designed two pencil-and-paper in-class activities to increase student understanding of experimental design: an analyze activity, in which students are asked to evaluate data, and a design activity, in which students are asked to propose a novel experiment. We found that students who completed the design activity but not the analyze activity performed significantly better on the Expanded Experimental Design Ability Tool (E-EDAT) than did students who attended a didactic lecture about experimental design. By using grounded theory on student responses on the in-class activities, we have identified a novel set of accurate and inaccurate conceptions focused on two aspects of experimental design: sample size and the repetition of experiments. These findings can be used to help guide science majors through mastering the fundamental skill of designing rigorous experiments.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 125-137 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | BioScience |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- active learning
- education
- experimental design
- large lecture
- learning progression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences