ASSESSING LEARNING GAINS FROM IMPLEMENTING LECTURE TUTORIALS IN THE CLASSROOM

To help address the need for research-based interactive teaching strategies, we developed Lecture Tutorials, short, concept-focused worksheets that students complete in pairs during class. Lecture Tutorials guide students through difficult topics by building on prior knowledge and forcing them to confront their misconceptions. To use Lecture Tutorials in class, instructors lecture as normal, break to have the students work in small groups to complete the related Lecture Tutorial, and then, after a short debriefing, continue on with lecture.

To determine if Lecture Tutorials effectively increase student knowledge, we used several assessment strategies. We compared pre-post multiple-choice questions and found that students improved from 58% correct after the introductory lecture to 76% correct after completing the Lecture Tutorials. On questions included from the Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI), students improved from 61% to 75% correct. To determine if the improvement was due to increased time spent on the topic, we performed another study in which we asked the same pre-post questions, but replaced the time spent on the Lecture Tutorial with an extended lecture on the same topic. These students’ scores improved by only 5%, with no significant change on GCI questions.

We also asked students their attitudes towards Lecture Tutorials on end-of-semester evaluations, and nearly all students agreed that the Lecture Tutorials helped them with their understanding of the topics. Analysis of open response questions and interviews resulted in similar positive responses. Overall, our research indicates that Lecture Tutorials are an effective and easily-implemented interactive teaching strategy that students enjoy.