Development and Analysis of a Learning Outcomes Assessment Instrument for a Single-Semester Nonmajors Biochemistry...

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry Education
• STEM Pedagogy
• Learning Outcomes Assessment

Background:

• Effective STEM teaching requires data-driven insights into student learning.
• Developing assessment tools for learning outcomes can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
• Faculty need practical methods for evaluating educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a cost-effective learning outcomes assessment instrument for a nonmajors biochemistry course.
• To analyze student performance changes over a semester using the developed instrument.
• To identify specific content areas where pedagogical interventions may be necessary.

Main Methods:

• A true/false question instrument was created to assess learning objectives in protein structure, thermodynamics, and metabolism.
• The instrument was administered as a pre- and post-course evaluation over multiple semesters.
• Statistical analyses were performed on overall and individual question scores.

Main Results:

• Students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in cumulative scores from the beginning to the end of the semester.
• Analysis of individual questions revealed limited student improvement in specific content areas and concepts.
• The assessment methodology proved feasible for faculty with minimal funding and time.

Conclusions:

• The developed instrument is a viable tool for assessing learning gains in biochemistry.
• Targeted pedagogical interventions are needed to address identified knowledge gaps in specific topics.
• This approach supports a scientific, data-driven methodology for improving STEM education.