Are we offering science students sufficient authentic assessments?

Authentic assessments are commonly promoted to assess higher-order thinking, encourage deep learning, and strengthen ties between classroom content and real-world problems. However, while many institutions highlight a commitment to authentic assessment in strategic documents, a clear definition of what constitutes authenticity and objective measures of the patterns and prevalence of these assessments is lacking. In a multi-year project, we compiled an inventory of all assessments across a complete BSc curriculum at a large Canadian comprehensive university and documented their authenticity to better understand student assessment experiences and facilitate discussion between instructors. Based on Villarroel\u27s (2018) core dimensions of authenticity: realism, cognitive challenge, and evaluative judgement, we developed a rubric-style tool to score individual assessments as low, moderate, or high on each dimension. The tool has been applied to over 1000 assessments from face-to-face and remote settings, uncovering patterns in authenticity by class size, year level and assessment type. The prevalence of authentic assessment in our BSc program was low (\u3c2%), with evaluative judgement being the weakest dimension across contexts. Small, 4th year courses were more authentic than large, early-year core courses, and assignments were consistently more authentic than tests. Curriculum-level authenticity didn’t change from face-to-face to remote settings, although nearly equal number of courses improved authenticity as decreased authenticity. This work presents a tangible tool and process that can be used to critically review individual assessments or complete curriculums and offers a representative data set for comparison. We will share practical strategies participants can consider at course, curriculum, or institutional levels to promote authenticity with an open call for collaboration

Transforming a Volunteer Program into a Meaningful Experiential Learning Opportunity.

Through a previous review of high impact practices at our institution, we identified that health science students have very few opportunities to engage in experiential learning (EL) in the current curriculum. This paper describes our work to transform an existing volunteer opportunity at an allied health clinic, into a meaningful, student-driven, co-curricular EL opportunity. Specifically, we incorporated critical EL elements (i.e. reflection, feedback) into the existing volunteer program and developed five program specific learning outcomes (LO).  We then tracked volunteer’s self-selected participation in a variety of activities and collected volunteers’ and practitioners’ assessment of LO achievement. This paper presents LO data from the first offering of this EL opportunity and discusses the challenges we faced and lessons learned through this process so that it may inform other institutions considering implementing co-curricular EL opportunities

Measuring the prevalence of high impact practices in biological science majors at a large comprehensive university

An increasing number of schools in higher education have adopted Kuh (2008)’s high impact educational practices (HIPs) within their curriculum.1 These HIPs have been shown to enhance student engagement, learning, and academic success.3,4 Ten HIPs have been defined, these include practices such as first year seminars and undergraduate research.2 However, whether or not students are taking part in these opportunities is up to the institution to discover.2 A number of universities have set goals to collect baseline data on these HIPs and to ensure that students participate in ≥ 2 HIPs by graduation.5 Surveys are one method to measure student engagement in HIPs, for example the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) which is a large scale survey that is implemented in universities across North America.2 It is recommended that institutional surveys in combination with surveys like NSSE are necessary in capturing a campus-specific profile of educational practices.2 Following Kuh’s recommendation, an online survey was developed and administered to undergraduate students enrolled in a wide range of biological sciences majors at the University of Guelph, in semester levels 1 through 9+ to determine their participation in all ten HIPs. In this presentation, we will share how HIP engagement in biological science students was measured using an online survey tool including some findings such as the most common HIPs experienced, where students participated in HIPs, as well as some insight on the quality of their educational experiences. Participants will be given guidance on how to identify HIPs and ways to implement measurement of HIPs at their institutions. This survey has the potential to be used for measuring institutional success through identifying gaps in the curriculum and informs the quality assurance process. 1 Kuh (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities. 2 Kuh (2003). Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 35(2), 24-32. 3 Padgett et al. (2013). Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 50(2), 133-151. 4 Pascarella & Terenzini (2005). How College Affects Students A Third Decade of Research (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. 5 Strategic Mandate Agreement. 2014-2017. The Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and The University of Guelph

A Model to Incorporate Meaningful Community Engaged Learning Opportunities into Medium

Community engaged learning (CEL) has been identified as a high impact educational practice that can have profound influence on learning and improve student engagement (Kuh, 2008). Despite the potential to provide a meaningful learning experience, CEL opportunities are not widespread at large research institutions, and most examples arise from optional co-curricular activities or small classes (Holander, 2011). Current realities of increasing class sizes and decreasing resources can make implementing CEL challenging. Creative thinking is required to modify the critical elements of successful CEL to suit broader educational needs. This paper provides a tangible model for CEL assignments that can be adapted to suit medium to large classes, with an honest discussion of the lessons learned in the process from student, faculty and community perspectives. Based on key concepts of reciprocity, shared decision-making and mutual benefit we designed a novel CEL assignment in a large 4th year course (\u3e100 students). Briefly, student teams researched one of five priority areas identified by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) to write an evidence-based literature review. Based on these findings, students worked with WDGPH experts to translate their research into practical recommendations and tools to advance WDGPH programming. An end-of-semester showcase was used to highlight these applied projects. Students identified real world relevance and the opportunity to be creative as the main advantages of the assignment. Surprisingly, community partners identified the opportunity for leadership and mentorship as an unintended but welcomed benefit to the program. From a faculty perspective, the time required to coordinate and grade the projects during the teaching semester was manageable although the quality of student projects varied significantly. Future offerings should consider strategies to provide more tailored feedback to all students and to encourage a balance of effort between the research and applied aspects of the CEL project

Do Students Who Live in Residence Learning Communities Perform Better Academically than Those Who Live in Traditional Residence and Off-Campus?

Residence learning communities (RLCs) refer to intentional groupings of students living together in residence with shared academic and/or non-academic interests. The present research study sought to determine if living in a RLC improved student academic performance compared to other living scenarios at the University of Guelph, specifically for students in the College of Biological Science (CBS). A complete cohort of students was followed from admission through the following five years. Results demonstrated that RLCs improved student academic performance at Guelph for all students, and specifically for CBS students

More integrity and less academic misconduct: The prevalence of academic misconduct during test re-grading of short and long answer tests

Many senior level science courses employ short and long answer testing style whereby students can have their test re-graded if they feel they were inaccurately assessed. The integrity of this type of system has been questioned over reports that students may alter their test before handing it back in for re-grading. We designed a study to objectively quantify the prevalence of this type of academic misconduct. Eleven third and fourth year science courses (class sizes: 63-468 students) that used a written testing style and allowed these tests to be re-graded were chosen for the study. All course midterm tests were graded and scanned before they were returned to the students, and then re-scanned if they were submitted for re-grading. The tests were then compared to determine if the answers had been altered. Ethical approval for this study was obtained to allow the study to be performed without informed consent to ensure the validity of the results. Further analysis will determine if there is a correlation between those that cheat and their test grade, their major, and their sex as well as observing how they are cheating. A comprehensive analysis of the all courses will help elucidate the context that incites students to commit academic misconduct. Understanding the prevalence of this cheating strategy, how students supplement their tests and the circumstances that provoke students to cheat will help us determine the integrity of this testing style, and inform us on how to deter this activity in the future

Prevention and management of hyperglycaemic crisis

Hyperglycaemia is a defining feature of diabetes mellitus. It involves an elevated level of glucose in the blood, which develops as a result of the body's inability to produce insulin or process insulin effectively. If left unchecked and untreated, patients with diabetes are at risk of short-term, potentially life-threatening hyperglycaemic crises such as diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state. Nurses frequently care for patients diagnosed with diabetes in various clinical settings; therefore, it is essential that they have an awareness of the prevention and management of hyperglycaemia and hyperglycaemic crises. This article explains the causes and clinical manifestations of hyperglycaemic crises, and details the management of patients with these conditions, in accordance with national guidelines. [Abstract copyright: © 2019 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Promoting higher order thinking skills in biology: evaluation of a newly developed course using Bloom’s taxonomy.

We have recently designed and implemented a unique, large (1800 students/year) first year biological concepts of health course (BIOL*1080) aimed at promoting higher order thinking skills and attributes. Our course served as one of three courses that replaced two more traditional biology courses (BIOL*1030 and BIOL*1040) and incorporates seminar, lab and interdisciplinary assignments in an attempt to foster skills in areas such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, and independent learning. To determine if we were successful in designing a course centered on the teaching and assessment of higher order thinking skills, we ranked the course evaluative materials based on Bloom’s taxonomy (Zheng, A.Y., Science 319:414,2008). Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical categorization of knowledge and thinking skills comprised of 6 levels (from lowest to highest): knowledge - 1, comprehension – 2, application – 3, analysis – 4, synthesis – 5, and evaluation – 6. Briefly, each exam question and assignment was scored by a team of 6 individuals with varying degrees of familiarity with the course. Scores per test/assignment were averaged and a weighted average was calculated for the entire course, with a higher weighted average representing assessment of a higher order of thinking. The average bloom level for our course was 3.28±0.15 which was significantly higher than one of the more traditional biology courses (BIOL*1030 – 1.93±0.08 ) but not the second course (BIOL*1040 – 2.95±0.17). The blooming exercise provided a useful metric to assess the level of higher order thinking required for newly developed courses and allowed for comparisons between courses to be objective

Undergraduate examination and assessment of knowledge and skills is crucial in capacity planning for the future healthcare workforce in physical activity interventions

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by BMJ in British Journal of Sports Medicine on 14/01/2020, available online:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101646 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Background The WHO Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) (#GAPPA)1 highlights the importance of a systems-wide approach to achieving the global goals for reducing physical inactivity at the national, community, individual and patient levels. Within this scope, objective 1.4 of that plan details the vision and strategy for capacity planning for the health workforce and the collaborations required for success. This objective is closely linked to existing global and national efforts to enable the future healthcare professional (HCP) workforce to have the capability and competencies to make every contact count for physical activity support and advice (via brief interventions). A significant part of these goals is to enable the future and current healthcare workforce to meet the challenges of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), sustainable development goals (SDGs) and person-centred healthcare, exemplars of which have been identified in most European countries.2 3 Indeed, a physical activity resource focused approach in undergraduate healthcare courses such as medicine, nursing and allied health is critical in higher education institutes’ (HEIs) strategies2 4 5 to deliver on these directives.ABG and IR were previously commissioned and funded by PHE and Sport England in 2017–2018. GSM and ABG are recipients of an Erasmus+Collaborative Partnership Grant 2019-2022.Published versio

A Large, First-Year, Introductory, Multi-Sectional Biological Concepts of Health Course Designed to Develop Skills and Enhance Deeper Learning

Large first-year biology classes, with their heavy emphasis on factual content, contribute to low student engagement and misrepresent the dynamic, interdisciplinary nature of biological science. We sought to redesign a course to deliver fundamental biology curriculum through the study of health, promote skills development, and encourage a deeper level of learning for a large, multi-section first-year class. We describe the Biological Concepts of Health course designed to encourage higher-order learning and teach oral communication and independent learning skills to large numbers of first-year students. We used the Blooming Biology Tool to determine the cognitive skills level assessed in the newly developed course and the courses it replaced. This evidence-based approach demonstrated that our new course design achieved the goal of encouraging a deeper level of cognition, and further, successfully introduced both oral communication and independent learning skills in large first-year classes.  En mettant l’emphase sur un contenu factuel, les grandes classes de biologie de première année contribuent au faible engagement des élèves et donnent une représentation imprécise de la nature dynamique et interdisciplinaire des sciences de la biologie. Afin d’offrir un programme fondamental en biologie par l’étude de la santé, de promouvoir le perfectionnement des compétences et d’encourager un niveau d’apprentissage marqué, nous avons repensé un cours pour une grande classe de première année contenant plusieurs sous-groupes. Nous décrivons le cours « Biological Concepts of Health » conçu pour encourager l’apprentissage supérieur, ainsi que pour enseigner la communication orale et les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé à un grand nombre d’étudiants de première année. Pour déterminer le niveau d’habiletés cognitives évalué dans ce cours nouvellement conçu et les cours qu’il remplace, nous avons utilisé le « Blooming Biology Tool ». Cette approche éprouvée démontre que ce nouveau cours a atteint son but d’encourager l’approfondissement des connaissances et, par ailleurs, a réussi à introduire la communication orale, de même que les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé aux grandes classes de première année