Abstract:
Genetics for the College of Agriculture is traditionally taught as a lecture-only course in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University. In fall 2010, a weekly group problem-solving activity was incorporated. The course was divided into four units. Unit one covered mitosis, meiosis, Mendelian inheritance, sex-linked inheritance, and pedigree analysis; unit two addressed linkage, chromosome variation, DNA structure and
replication, and transcription; unit three comprised RNA processing, translation, gene expression, mutations, DNA repair, and biotechnology; and unit four covered genomics, quantitative genetics, and population genetics. Pretests were administered before each unit in fall 2009 and 2010. Improvement from pretest to posttest was used as a measure of student learning. For units one and two, student learning improved more when a group problem-solving activity was incorporated. Student learning did not differ for unit three; learning was greater with the lecture-only
format for unit four. Although learning over all units was improved with a group problem-solving activity, the material covered appeared to affect which method maximized student learning.
Keywords:
group problem solving, improved student learning, problem-solving activity, teaching methods
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