Table 2.
Course descriptions for the five classes used in the BEDCI pre- and posttestsa
| Course name and description | Typical course enrollment | Term | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-year general: a multisection, lecture-only course that introduces ecology, evolution, and genetics to first-year students; it is a required course in the biology program and in some other faculties (e.g., forestry). Assessment is based on midterm and final exams, plus assignments and participation in clicker quizzes. | ∼ 2000 per year; ≤ 225 per section; 10 sections per year; offered term 1 and term 2 | 1* 2* |
170 160 |
| First-year coordinated: students self-select for this cohort program in which they attend the same sections of core science courses (lab, lecture, workshop) in biology (first-year general), chemistry, physics, and math. Assessment is based on midterm and final exams, plus assignments and participation in clicker quizzes. | ∼ 160 per year; 1 section per year; offered term 2 only | 2* | 110 |
| First-year science: a cohort program similar to first-year coordinated, except that students apply and are screened for admittance based on high performance in high school science and English courses. The biology lessons are integrated with other science courses, and small-class tutorials reinforce integrated concepts. Assessment is based on midterm and final exams, plus weekly tutorial assignments. | ∼ 75 per year; 1 section per year; offered term 1 and term 2 | 1* | 57 |
| Third-year laboratory: a lab skills–based course, with lectures integrating topics from the ecosystem-level investigation of organisms to molecular techniques and model organism studies. Not intended for biology majors but open to students with a third-year standing or higher in the Combined Major in Science program. First-year general is a prerequisite. Assessment is based on written lab reports plus oral presentations. | ∼100 per year; 4 lab sections and 1 lecture section per year; offered term 1 only | 1**** | 83 |
aData were collected from two different classes of first-year general students. Term 1: Fall term (September–December 2012); term 2: Winter term (January–April 2013). *, Data collected from one section; ****, data collected from four sections.