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BIO181: Unity of Life I course redesign
In a unique and highly impactful course redesign project that focused as much on classroom teaching as it did on the design of the course, we took a collaborative approach to transform student success rates in NAU’s introductory biology course.
The redesign team consisted of two biology lecturers, an instructional designer, and a student success administrator. Together, we created a productive environment for sharing ideas, providing feedback, as well as a mechanism for accountability.
50%
reduction in the DFW rate and a high level of student satisfaction.Outcomes Accordion Closed
Below are outcomes of the course redesign project. Full-time retention will be added after the census in fall 2019.
For students enrolled in the two sections participating in the pilot:
- The average BIO181 GPA was higher for fall 2018 than fall 2017 (2.87 v 2.27)
- The end of term GPA was 0.17 points higher for fall 2018 than fall 2017 (3.01 v 2.84)
- DFW rates were 12.0 percentage points lower for fall 2018 than fall 2017 (13.7% v 25.7%)
- DF rates were 13.8 percentage points lower for fall 2018 than fall 2017 (23.0% v 9.2%)
- Probation rates were 4.3 percentage points lower for fall 2018 than fall 2017 (13.4% v 17.7%)
- Retention to second semester was positive but not statistically significant (91.1% v 91.3%)
- The course redesign was especially effective for less academically prepared students
For more outcomes, please click on the link under “Learn More”.