Mind the Gap: Investigating Disaggregated Student Performance in an Upper-Division Biochemistry Course Following...

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry Education
• Active Learning Pedagogy
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning strategy shown to improve student outcomes compared to traditional lectures.
• Limited research exists on how TBL impacts student performance across diverse demographic groups.
• Psychological threats from intense interpersonal interactions in TBL could potentially affect performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if student demographics predict performance in a team-based learning biochemistry course.
• To test the hypothesis that TBL's interactive nature may create psychological threats impacting performance differently across demographic groups.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of assessment and demographic data (gender, race/ethnicity, generational status) from three semesters of an upper-division biochemistry course using TBL.
• Regression analysis to determine the predictive power of demographic variables on student performance.

Main Results:

• Regression analysis did not support the hypothesis that demographic variables predict student performance in the TBL setting.
• No significant correlation was found between student demographics and performance outcomes within the TBL environment.

Conclusions:

• The study's null result suggests that TBL may not inherently disadvantage specific demographic groups in terms of performance.
• Highlights the need for nuanced approaches to measuring the effects of active learning, considering intersectional and invisible identities.
• Emphasizes the importance of re-evaluating how we assess the impact of pedagogical strategies on diverse student populations.