Date of Graduation
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor/Mentor
McComas, William F.
Committee Member
Burgin, Stephen R.
Second Committee Member
Goering, Christian Z.
Keywords
Active learning; High enrollment classes; Higher education; Learning methods; Student perceptions; Undergraduate teaching
Abstract
When instructing very large groups of students in science, it can be difficult to engage all students in the content and measure their understanding. A major unaddressed challenge in science instruction is how specifically to design and implement strategies that engender active learning particularly in high-enrollment undergraduate courses. Active learning, which represents a diverse set of strategies, may include student engagement as part of instruction through discussions, active movement, and application (Bernstein, 2018; Cavanagh, et al. 2016; Michael, 2006 & Wilke, 2003). This study was designed to provide data addressing the gap in the literature regarding how the continual implementation of several active learning strategies in a large enrollment undergraduate Human Physiology class impacts students. I chose three active learning modalities for this study from Bernstein (2018) -- kinesthetic and movement, discussion, and problem-based learning and assigned each to units of study during the semester on a rotating basis so that the learning modality not the unit of study could be studied. This project specifically targeted students’ perceptions of learning through the three modalities and students’ retention of targeted content in Human Physiology. Students responded to an end of semester survey and evaluation on how their learning was impacted. A second research component analyzed students’ performance on summative exams under different active learning modalities to provide a comparative analysis across modalities and duration of the study. I found that students were overwhelmingly positive toward participating in these active learning environments and found these activities to be enjoyable and improve cognizance. In survey responses, students reported that active learning improved their knowledge retention and confidence in understanding the content. Students enjoyed and retained information and improved content retention leading to improved examination performance when taught with kinesthetic methods.
Citation
Walker, K. I. (2024). Student Perceptions and Academic Performance when Taught with Multiple Active Learning Methods in a High Enrollment Undergraduate Human Physiology Course. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5494
