ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND PERCEPTIONS OF ACTIVE LEARNING IN AN UNDERGRADUATE PARASITOLOGY COURSE

Student learning objectives for an undergraduate Parasitology course were used to design a pre- and post-assessment over various topics in Parasitology. The assessment was administered to 46 undergraduate students enrolled in either the fall of 2021 or 2023. Throughout the semester, students participated in active learning exercises that were designed to emphasize parasite morphology, identification of developmental stages, and life cycle transmission. Students demonstrated substantial growth in their understanding of parasitology topics with pre-test averages below 60% and post-test averages near 90%. Student reflections highlighted the usefulness of active learning. Student learning objectives and the designed materials are easy to use and adaptable for use in any Parasitology course. Several national scientific societies have developed and implemented educational guidelines or learning objectives for their respective fields. However, these are not yet found in the field of Parasitology.