The NSF-funded study titled Nationally endorsed learning objectives to improve course design in introductory biology by Kelly M. Hennessey and Scott Freeman (both at the University of Washington) has just been posted on bioRxiv. This is the first study to establish a set of nationally endorsed learning objectives on what content should be taught in Introductory Biology courses for biology majors.

These measurable statements also serve as the bedrock for Codon Learning's Introducing the Life Sciences course by Scott Freeman. Learning objectives are far too often underutilized in the course design process. As a result, learning objectives, intended to be a transparent communication to students about what they are expected to know and be able to do, are often ignored by students.

By leveraging the NSF-supported learning objectives, Introducing the Life Sciences promotes a self-testing approach that helps students develop stronger study skills and metacognition rather than trying to memorize their way through the course. This approach transforms the learning experience from a memorization-driven endeavor to one that prepares them for future success in their field.

“LOs also serve as the foundation of course design, as they help structure classroom practices and define the focus of assessments.”
– Rebecca B. Orr, Melissa M. Csikari, Scott Freeman, and Michael C. Rodriguez in Writing and Using Learning Objectives (published in CBE-LSE)

This piece was written by Ashley Rowland who is a discipline-based education researcher and currently serves as the director of customer experience at Codon Learning.