General Education Biology Class Using Online Activities and Clickers

BIOL 1010 (Principles of Biology) is a 3-unit survey course in biology for non-majors, and meets the CSU Stanislaus general education requirement in area B2. In this course we cover cells and molecules, genetics, evolution and ecology. This is a large lecture course, capped at 119 students. Historically (e.g., AY 2008-09 - 2011-12) D/F/W rates averaged 41% across all sections. My sections (n=7) of the course, prior to interventions detailed in this ePortfolio, averaged a 33% D/F/W rate. The goal of this project was to significantly reduce the D/F/W rate in the course. In Fall 2014 I piloted nine new interventions in the course; that semester the D/F/W rate dropped to 26%. This 15-point drop in the D/F/W rate is encouraging, and I am repeating the same course structure and interventions in Spring 2015 to see if the same results occur.