Digital portfolios for enhanced online learning in first-year Biochemistry
Author(s)
Love, Christopher
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Student success and retention is of the utmost importance in higher education, particularly for large first year courses in STEM disciplines which involve understanding complex concepts and navigating a high level of content. With most universities relying on remote teaching in the foreseeable future, it is imperative to implement strategies that support online learning and student performance. To assist student transition and ensure success in first-year biochemistry (~340 students), a Personal Learning Platform (PebblePad) was introduced for students to develop a digital portfolio (Biochemistry Learning Journal). The ...
View more >Student success and retention is of the utmost importance in higher education, particularly for large first year courses in STEM disciplines which involve understanding complex concepts and navigating a high level of content. With most universities relying on remote teaching in the foreseeable future, it is imperative to implement strategies that support online learning and student performance. To assist student transition and ensure success in first-year biochemistry (~340 students), a Personal Learning Platform (PebblePad) was introduced for students to develop a digital portfolio (Biochemistry Learning Journal). The learning journal contained: 1. Weekly activities/entries aligned with key biochemistry concepts to prepare students for assessment; 2. Study plans to support an increasingly diverse range of students that may not have the appropriate skills to successfully transition through university; and 3. Embedded assignments personalised to individual students. In addition, students are required to evaluate their performance and reflect on their learning through targeted and open ended prompts, to develop metacognitive skills and encourage self-regulated learning. This strategy is based on the successful implementation of a digital workbook for students to create study plans (2019), which resulted in student improving (30.2%) or maintaining (41.1%) their grades from one quiz to the next1. The success was also evident in the creativity of study plans, and students identifying their own strengths and weaknesses through self-reflection. The transition to online teaching provided an opportunity to expand the PebblePad workbook used for study plans into a comprehensive Biochemistry Learning Journal, and hopefully an enhanced learning experience for students.
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View more >Student success and retention is of the utmost importance in higher education, particularly for large first year courses in STEM disciplines which involve understanding complex concepts and navigating a high level of content. With most universities relying on remote teaching in the foreseeable future, it is imperative to implement strategies that support online learning and student performance. To assist student transition and ensure success in first-year biochemistry (~340 students), a Personal Learning Platform (PebblePad) was introduced for students to develop a digital portfolio (Biochemistry Learning Journal). The learning journal contained: 1. Weekly activities/entries aligned with key biochemistry concepts to prepare students for assessment; 2. Study plans to support an increasingly diverse range of students that may not have the appropriate skills to successfully transition through university; and 3. Embedded assignments personalised to individual students. In addition, students are required to evaluate their performance and reflect on their learning through targeted and open ended prompts, to develop metacognitive skills and encourage self-regulated learning. This strategy is based on the successful implementation of a digital workbook for students to create study plans (2019), which resulted in student improving (30.2%) or maintaining (41.1%) their grades from one quiz to the next1. The success was also evident in the creativity of study plans, and students identifying their own strengths and weaknesses through self-reflection. The transition to online teaching provided an opportunity to expand the PebblePad workbook used for study plans into a comprehensive Biochemistry Learning Journal, and hopefully an enhanced learning experience for students.
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Subject
Biochemistry and cell biology
Higher education
Curriculum and pedagogy