Small-Group Learning in an Upper-Level University Biology Class Enhances Academic Performance and Student Attitudes Toward Group Work

To improve science learning, science educators' teaching tools need to address two major criteria: teaching practice should mirror our current understanding of the learning process; and science teaching should reflect scientific practice. We designed a small-group learning (SGL) model for a fourth year university neurobiology course using these criteria and studied student achievement and attitude in five course sections encompassing the transition from individual work-based to SGL course design. All students completed daily quizzes/assignments involving analysis of scientific data and the development of scientific models. Students in individual work-based (Individualistic) sections usually worked independently on these assignments, whereas SGL students completed assignments in permanent groups of six. SGL students had significantly higher final exam grades than Individualistic students. The transition to the SGL model was marked by a notable increase in 10th percentile exam grade (Individualistic: 47.5%; Initial SGL: 60%; Refined SGL: 65%), suggesting SGL enhanced achievement among the least prepared students. We also studied student achievement on paired quizzes: quizzes were first completed individually and submitted, and then completed as a group and submitted. The group quiz grade was higher than the individual quiz grade of the highest achiever in each group over the term. All students – even term high achievers –could benefit from the SGL environment. Additionally, entrance and exit surveys demonstrated student attitudes toward SGL were more positive at the end of the Refined SGL course. We assert that SGL is uniquely-positioned to promote effective learning in the science classroom

Changing the learning environment to promote deep learning approaches in first year accounting students

Developing deep approaches to learning is claimed to enhance students' engagement with their subject material and result in improved analytical and conceptual thinking skills. Numerous calls have been made for accounting educators to adopt strategies that produce such results. This paper reports on changes to the learning environment centring on the introduction of group learning activities that were designed to improve the quality of students' learning outcomes. The impact of changes in the learning environment on students' approaches to learning, as measured by the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) (Biggs, 1987b), was then assessed. Results indicate that, across the semester, accounting students exhibited a small but statistically significant increase in their deep learning approach, and a small but statistically significant reduction in their surface learning approach. The results suggest that accounting educators, through changes in the learning environment, may be able to influence the learning approaches adopted by accounting students