In Biology 1, students learn about cell structure, metabolism, genetics and animal structure and function. The foundational topics of genetics and metabolism are conceptually complex for first year students deficient in chemistry which has resulted in poor success for these students. To improve student performance and encourage students to engage actively with their learning, the delivery of these topics was reimagined to use online interactive lessons as the primary learning resources. The lessons were developed, improved and promoted over a three-year period, with full deployment in 2019. This has resulted in a marked improvement in student understanding of the genetics and metabolism components of the unit leading to a 6% increase in overall unit marks and a 15% increase in pass rate in Biology in 2019. This success rate was maintained in 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns forced the online only delivery of Biology 1 content and our large cohort of college students had to adapt rapidly to study away from classes and other study support structures. The successful, in-house development of these interactive lessons using Adobe Captivate, was made possible by close collaboration between subject matter experts, educational designers and graphic artists. Our development of interactive learning resources to facilitate student-centred learning of complex foundational concepts enabled the transition of Biology 1 from a brick-and-mortar synchronous, to a student-centred asynchronous learning environment. This has enhanced student success and progression and also enabled us to adapt more readily to unexpected threats such as COVID-19. Therefore, we recommend that our model for the development of interactive content should be used to remodel second and third year undergraduate units. If this is adopted it would promote integrated deep spiral learning of concepts by students.
Dr Heather Nonhebel completed BSc Hons I and PhD degrees in Botany and Plant Physiology respectively at the University of Glasgow in Scotland from 1975 to 1982. This was followed by postdoctoral positions at Michigan state University and the University of NSW. Heather was appointed as a lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Auckland in 1986 but then relocated in 1990 to the University of Western Sydney. In 1998 we moved again to Armidale where she was forced to have a five-year career break before being appointed as a lecturer at UNE in 2003. At UNE Heather has taught at every level from first year to PhD candidates. Although Heather’s research interests remain in the field of plant biochemistry, she has always had a strong interest in teaching excellence and innovation, creating her first computer-based interactive tutorial as a CD for external students at UWS in 1996. Heather uses creativity, critical thinking ability, strong observational and analytical skills as a research scientist to improve her teaching while having absolutely zero credentials in educational research.