Dissection Dose Response and Laboratory Examination Performance – Influence of Peer Teaching

Marc A. Pizzimenti

doi:10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.328.3

Educational strategies designed to promote student learning and provide opportunities for multiple levels of engagement are important components for curricular design. The current study builds on previous work by comparing the relative amount of dissection participation for unit examinations across two different curricula and how students' perceptions of peer teaching are related. In a previous curriculum, students completed dissections related to 20% or 40% of the content for unit examinations (equal, repeated block design) and were exposed to the remaining content through peer teaching/learning exercises. In the current study, students completed dissections related to 50% of the content for unit examinations and were exposed to the remaining content through peer teaching/learning. Laboratory examination scores increased with increased exposure to dissection (p < .01). Students in the lower quartile of each cohort (LQ) had increased overall score (>7%, p < .01) with the additional dissection experiences, whereas gains for students in the upper quartile (UQ), while significant (p < .01), were lower (< 3.8%). Sub‐scores on questions related to areas in which students completed dissection were higher than scores for questions in which students (initially) learned the material through peer teaching. The perceptions of students about their peers' teaching were similar between the two quartiles on items related to individual depth, and identified limits, of knowledge (p > .05). However, UQ students were rated more highly on organization and being clear when explaining things to others (p < .01). The data suggest that dissection contributes to higher overall laboratory examination scores, particularly for students in the LQ. Learning from peers (over material already dissected) provides an initial exposure for building knowledge, that may be enhanced by the reciprocal exchanges during teaching/learning sessions. While performance on areas that were not dissected by students is generally lower, the pragmatic (and educational) benefits of peer teaching/learning interactions are positive. While dissection and peer teaching would be considered effective strategies in a constructivist learning environment, isolating the exact contribution of each component to a student's knowledge progression remains challenging to discern. This is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this published in The FASEB Journal.

Dissection Dose Response and Laboratory Examination Performance – Influence of Peer Teaching

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