TABLE 1.

The backward design process applied to representative scientific and short-term learning outcomes of the Small World Initiative (SWI) curriculum.

Backward Design Step	Scientific Discovery (a)	Student Learning (b)
1. Identify desired outcomes	Students identify an antibiotic-producing soil microbe.	Students 1) develop ownership of their research project and 2) gain a sense of belonging to the SWI scientific community.
2. Determine acceptable evidence	Students obtain a zone of inhibition from patches of soil isolates, signifying antibiotic secretion and killing of tester strains.	1) Adaptation of Project Ownership Survey (46) and 2) Custom survey for sense of belonging.
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction	Students 1) design and execute a method of culturing bacteria from soil, 2) measure CFU/g from serial dilutions of soil, 3) design and execute an assay for zones of inhibition against tester strains.	Students keep a laboratory notebook and complete pre-lab assignments (which include experimental design, hypothesis generation, and data analysis) as well as post-lab oral presentations.
4. Revise and iterate	Troubleshoot experiments to measure whether the experiment leads to an accurate scientific result.	Adapt assessments to measure whether activities lead to learning goals.