Measuring the Active Learning Gains of Students In Undergraduate Biology Labs Using Peer Review

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dc.contributor.authorBantel, Joseph
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeJoy Stacey (Biological Sciences)
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeTamara Kelly (York University)
dc.contributor.supervisorDebets, Cassandra
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-23T18:32:39Z
dc.date.available2025-05-23T18:32:39Z
dc.date.issued2025-03
dc.date.submitted2025-05-23T18:32:39Zen_US
dc.degree.disciplineBiological Sciences
dc.degree.levelBachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
dc.description.abstractThe peer-review process allows students to engage in the valuable exercise of critically thinking about how they generate and judge the validity of an idea. This is a cornerstone of the scientific community and a core component of biological sciences. Some students in undergraduate studies routinely underperform in the traditional educational experience and benefit greatly from active learning. In a first-year introductory biological science course at the University of Manitoba, I studied the population by using an online peer-review platform called Peerceptiv to study the standardized learning gains of different demographic groups of students to determine if any subgroups experienced a disproportional benefit in this learning exercise compared to any others. I hypothesized that peer-to-peer feedback on scientific graphing would raise the measurable graded assignment scores of URM students in undergraduate biological science, and therefore predicted that there would be no significant difference between URM and non-URM students' graded performance after peer-to-peer input. Students in certain groups did have higher learning gains over the course of the semester when averaged however, these results were not significantly different from the rest of the population. Overall, the reception of the exercise was very positive in student perceptions with 79% of respondents saying that it helped them understand the concepts they learned about. The strongest response was from students saying that getting reviews of their work was the most useful, with 87%. Ultimately, this study shows that students learn from the peer review process and have learning gains associated with it however, additional testing is necessary to definitively say which groups may or may not benefit the most from this activity.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/39088
dc.language.isoeng
dc.subjectactive learning
dc.subjectpeer review
dc.subjectunderrepresented minority students
dc.titleMeasuring the Active Learning Gains of Students In Undergraduate Biology Labs Using Peer Review
local.author.affiliationFaculty of Science::Department of Biological Sciences
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