Every semester, the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning (BTL) surveys students taking biology courses. There are two surveys. One is designed for courses taken by non-CBS students, which is distributed at the beginning and end of the semester, and one is designed for CBS majors. This “Majors Survey” is distributed at the start of their CBS Journey (BIOL 1805 or BIOL 3001), after one semester in CBS (BIOL 1806), after completing the Foundations of Biology Series (BIOL 3004), and upon their graduation from CBS. These surveys contain metrics of students' science identity, science confidence, academic self-efficacy, and more.
Background about the surveys
Aligned with the mission of the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning to discover, apply, and share research-based strategies that transform biology education, BTL has collected student survey data from a large number of its courses for over 10 years. The BTL Surveys originated as grant-funded projects from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the National Science Foundation through an InSciED-In grant. After the conclusion of these two projects, BTL continued to fund the surveys due to the ongoing need to evaluate the impact of classroom innovations, conduct pedological research, identify underserved students, and use the data for future university reaccreditation. The BTL Survey Committee oversees the surveys in coordination with the BTL Data and Research Support (DRS) team.
Future of the BTL Surveys
The BTL Survey Committee is convening a working group to craft a relaunch of the BTL Surveys, update them, and bring them in line with the current understanding of potential predictors of student success while increasing their usefulness in pedagogical research. In parallel with this content rejuvenation, BTL's DRS team is collaborating with CBS-RLT to overhaul the behind-the-scenes processes of collecting, processing, and storing our survey data. Crucially, these changes will automate the retrieval and storage of UMN institutional data (e.g., Student Demographics, Course Grades, and more). Using this streamlining of the data pipeline as a jumping-off point, DRS plans to develop Data Dashboards (a user-friendly interface to display various types of data in one place) to allow members of BTL to conduct analyses of the BTL Survey data and/or institutional data at their convenience. Once these BTL Data Dashboards are developed, the DRS Team will be refining these tools for use by CBS Student Services and the CBS Dean’s Office.
To learn more, access the Spring 2024 Biology Teaching and Learning Semesterly Report Overview.