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Collaborative Teaching plus (CT+): A Timely, Flexible, and Dynamic Course Design Implemented during Emergency Remote Teaching in an Introductory Biology Course

*Address correspondence to: Kamal Dulai (E-mail Address: [email protected]) or Néstor J. Oviedo, (E-mail Address: [email protected]).

Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 95382

^§These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Petra Kranzfelder

Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

^§These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Adriana Signorini

Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning, Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) Program, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

^§These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Téa S. Pusey

Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning, Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) Program, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

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Andrea Presas Valencia

Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning, Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) Program, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

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Christian Urbina

Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning, Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) Program, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

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, and

Néstor J. Oviedo

*Address correspondence to: Kamal Dulai (E-mail Address: [email protected]) or Néstor J. Oviedo, (E-mail Address: [email protected]).

Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Merced, CA 95343

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Brian Couch, Monitoring Editor

Published Online:16 Sep 2022https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-08-0199

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Abstract

Student-centered pedagogies promote student learning in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms. However, transitioning to active learning from traditional lecturing may be challenging for both students and instructors. This case study presents the development, implementation, and assessment of a modified collaborative teaching (CT) and team-based learning (TBL) approach (CT plus TBL, or CT+) in an introductory biology course at a Minority-Serving Institution. A logic model was formulated depicting the various assessment practices with the culminating goal of improving the student learning experience. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data based on students and instructors’ behaviors and discourse, and student midsemester and end-of-semester surveys. Our findings revealed that the integration of multiple instructors allowed for knowledge exchange in blending complementary behaviors and discourse practices during class sessions. In addition, the frequent ongoing assessments and incorporation of student feedback informed the CT+ design during both in-person and emergency remote teaching. Furthermore, this course design could be easily adapted to a variety of STEM courses in higher education, including remote instruction.

Vol. 21, No. 4

December 01, 2022

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Downloads: 690

History

Submitted: 9 August 2021

Revised: 14 June 2022

Accepted: 28 July 2022

Information

© 2022 K. S. Dulai, P. Kranzfelder, A. Signorini, et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2022 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0).

We thank Dr. Chris Amemiya for his contributions to the initial versions of the course design. We would also like to thank all the SATAL interns for their contributions to COPUS data collection and survey data analysis: Sandy Dorantes, Hoa Nguyen, Leslie Bautista, Guadalupe Covarrubias-Oregel, Jesus Lopez, Sara Patino, Andrew Perez, Matias Lopez, Abrian Villalobos, Monica Ramos, Ayo Babalola, and Gurpinder Bahia. Special thanks to members of the Kranzfelder lab, especially Jourjina Alkhouri and Cristie Donham, for their contributions to CDOP data collection. We want to extend our gratitude to the Advanced Studies faculty: Drs. Debra Bukko, Virginia Montero Hernandez, and Anysia Mayer at California State University, Stanislaus, for their valuable input on aspects of the qualitative data analysis and graphs layout. Finally, we want to thank Drs. Jennifer Manilay and Eileen Camfield for their critical review of and suggestions for improving this article. This study was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence (HHMI IE) award no. GT11066 and startup funding from the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the University of California Merced to P.K. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) award R01GM132753 supports N.J.O.

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