2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Breaking Barriers: Promoting Motivation, Engagement, and Learning Success among Biology Undergraduates from Minority Backgrounds

Presented at ELOS Technical Session 3 - Diversity

This research presents an in-depth exploration of the transformative potential of hands-on learning (which would be used interchangeably with the term ECP-Experiment Centric Pedagogy) in the domain of biology education, with a focus on student engagement and academic achievement. Over three semesters, students enrolled in three biology courses (BIO 103, BIO 201, and BIO 202) participated in a hands-on learning approach that integrated various hands-on activities and experiments. In parallel, participants in a non-ECP group were exposed to conventional teaching methods.
The keystone of this pedagogical transformation was the "Heart Rate" experiment, wherein students utilized a mobile application to quantify heart rate fluctuations following various physical activities. The study employed pre- and post-surveys to assess student engagement, while pre- and post-signature assessments were administered to gauge their understanding of the experiment's core concepts. Project assignments were used to evaluate practical application and understanding.
Using statistical software like SPSS and Excel, meticulous data analysis was conducted to provide a comprehensive look at the students' performance over these three semesters.
Results showed that students who participated in hands-on learning activities demonstrated significantly higher levels of engagement and performance than those in the non-ECP group. The data showed marked improvements in student engagement and learning outcomes.
This study builds upon prior work that investigated the implementation of an experiment-centric pedagogy aimed at enhancing student motivation, learning, and critical thinking skills within biology. It contributes to the discourse on the transformative potential of this pedagogical approach in STEM education. The findings suggest that this approach can help create a more engaging and meaningful learning experience for biology students, leading to improved outcomes in academic achievement and persistence

Authors

Ms. Blessing Isoyiza Adeika http://orcid.org/https://0009-0007-5600-8051 Morgan State University [biography]

Blessing ADEIKA is a Doctoral student at Morgan State University currently in the Doctor of Engineering Program. She has an interest in teaching student basic concepts by adopting an Experiment-centric approach to it. She also is currently working towards being a Data Scientist - AI/ML Expert and hopes to use her skills to proffer solutions in the Medical, Financial, Technology and any other Sector she sees a need to be filled/catered for.
Dr. Adedayo Ariyibi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1812-5843 Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Adedayo Ariyibi is a faculty in the Department of Biology, Morgan State University in Baltimore Maryland. Prior to joining the department in 2010, the Department of Veterinary Biochemistry, Physiology and Pharmacology of the Veterinary School, Univers
Mr. Pelumi Olaitan Abiodun http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4969-9591 Morgan State University [biography]

Pelumi Abiodun is a current doctoral student and research assistant at the department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. Pelumi got his BSc and MSc degree in Physics from Obafemi Awolowo University, where he also served as a research assistant at the Environmental Pollution Research unit, in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. As part of his contribution to science and engineering, Pelumi has taught as a teaching assistant both at Morgan State University and Obafemi Awolowo University. With passion to communicate research findings and gleaned from experts in the field as he advances his career, Olaitan has attended several in-persons and virtual conferences and workshop, and at some of them, made presentation on findings on air pollution, waste water reuse, and heavy metal contamination.
Dr. Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E. Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty in 2010. He is the assistant director of the Center for Advanced Transportation and Infrastructure Engineering Research (CATIER) at Morgan State Universit

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