Weekly Flow: an Effective Organizational Tool for Structuring Biology Courses and Supporting Student Learning

Area of Science:

• Biology Education
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Many undergraduate students struggle with time management.
• Effective time management is crucial for academic success.
• Course structure can significantly impact student learning and engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and describe the "Weekly Flow" strategy for structuring college biology courses.
• To demonstrate how transparent course organization can support student time management.
• To provide a flexible framework applicable across various course types and teaching modalities.

Main Methods:

• Implementing a consistent weekly schedule with recurring elements (assessments, readings, activities).
• Making the course organization explicit and transparent to students.
• Applying the "Weekly Flow" framework in diverse college biology course settings.

Main Results:

• The "Weekly Flow" strategy provides structure and predictability, aiding student time management.
• Enhanced time management facilitates deeper engagement with course material.
• The flexible framework is adaptable to different course types and teaching modalities.

Conclusions:

• The "Weekly Flow" strategy is a simple yet effective intervention to support student learning.
• Explicit course structure and transparency facilitate, model, and provide practice in time management.
• This approach benefits undergraduate students by addressing common time management challenges.