Q4B: Development of a Biology Concept Question Inventory

TitleQ4B: Development of a Biology Concept Question Inventory
Faculty/College/UnitScience
StatusCompleted
Duration3 Years
Initiation04/01/2010
Completion08/14/2014
Project Summary

Scientific literacy requires conceptual understanding. ‘Concept Questions’ (CQs) seek to test student understanding of fundamental concepts and principles, rather than factual recall. They are key tools to develop teaching tools that promote active learning. Validated sets of CQs, or ‘inventories’, provide educators with standardized tools to measure conceptual learning gain, and a means of comparing teaching strategies. While the use of CQ inventories have revolutionized the teaching of physics, astronomy and electrical engineering since the 1990s, only limited progress has been made in biology due to the lack of validated CQs. This project seeks to adapt well-established methods of CQ development to create sets of validated biology CQ inventories in a variety of sub-disciplines of biology. These have been and will be offered to all instructors in life sciences and beyond. These assessment tools are critical to improving teaching methods across a wide variety of life science courses.

Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2010/2011
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorGulnur Birol
Year 1: Funded Amount60,612
Year 1: Team Members

Gulnur Birol, Research Associate, Skylight (Science Centre for Learning and Teaching) and Biology, Faculty of Science
Jared Taylor, Teaching and Learning Fellow, CWSEI Life Sciences Program, Faculty of Science
George Spiegelman, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology / CWSEI Faculty Liaison, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Carol Pollock, Senior Instructor / First Year Director, Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Jennifer Klenz, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Tracy Kion, Senior Instructor, Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences
Karen Smith, Lecturer, Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science

Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2011/2012
Year 2: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorGulnur Birol
Year 2: Funded Amount49,576
Year 2: Team Members

Gulnur Birol, Senior Educational Strategist, Skylight, Faculty of Science
Carol Pollock, Senior Instructor / First Year Director, Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Kathy Nomme, Senior Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Pamela Kalas, Sessional Lecturer, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Brett Couch, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Sunita Chowrira, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Greg Bole, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Angie O’Neill, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science
Jared Taylor, Teaching and Learning Fellow, CWSEI Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
MaIin Hansen, Teaching and Learning Fellow, CWSEI Life Sciences, Faculty of Science

Year 3: Project YearYear 3
Year 3: Funding Year2012/2013
Year 3: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 3: Principal InvestigatorGulnur Birol
Year 3: Funded Amount55,796
Year 3: Team Members

Gulnur Birol, Senior Educational Strategist, Skylight, Faculty of Science
Carol Pollock, Senior Instructor / First Year Director, Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Kathy Nomme, Senior Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Pamela Kalas, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Brett Couch, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Sunita Chowrira, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Greg Bole, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Angie O'Neill, Instructor, Botany and Zoology, Life Sciences, Faculty of Science
Jared Taylor, Science Teaching and Learning Fellow, CWSEI Life Sciences Program
Malin Hansen, Science Teaching and Learning Fellow, CWSEI Life Sciences Program
Karen Smith, Lecturer, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science

Project Outcomes

Questions For Biology (Q4B) Website