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The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for use in Biology
Katharine Semsar1, Jennifer K Knight, Gülnur Birol
1Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
CBE Life Sciences Education
|September 3, 2011
Summary
The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio) measures student perceptions. Introductory biology courses shift students toward novice-like views, unlike upper-division courses.
Area of Science:
- Biology Education Research
- Cognitive Science in STEM
Background:
- Student perceptions of science influence learning and problem-solving.
- Expertise in science involves specific attitudes and approaches.
- Existing instruments may not fully capture biology-specific expert-like perceptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio).
- To assess novice-to-expert-like perceptions in biology students.
- To compare student perceptions with expert consensus.
Main Methods:
- Development of a 31-item Likert-scale survey (CLASS-Bio).
- Validation of CLASS-Bio with undergraduate students and biology PhDs.
- Analysis of student responses against expert benchmarks.
Main Results:
- CLASS-Bio effectively measures perceptions related to enjoyment, real-world connections, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving.
- Introductory biology courses show a shift towards novice-like perceptions post-instruction.
- Upper-division biology courses do not exhibit this novice-like shift.
Conclusions:
- CLASS-Bio is a valid instrument for evaluating student perceptions in biology.
- Pedagogical interventions may be needed to foster expert-like thinking in introductory courses.
- CLASS-Bio can be used to study the impact of perceptions on learning and teaching effectiveness.
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