Melissa Hills, Kathy Davies, Carolyn Ives
Meiosis is the foundation of heredity, and a core concept in genetics. It is also one that is challenging to learn, and ingrained misconceptions are common amongst students. As meiosis is a dynamic process, traditional lecture formats alone are not effective in maximizing student learning of the concept. Meiosis, therefore, provides a useful test case to evaluate approaches to generate and sustain meaningful learning in biology. Video is frequently used as a learning tool in and out of the classroom. Students often rely on online videos on platforms such as YouTube; however, these videos can lack key detail, and some may reinforce existing misconceptions. Therefore, we developed a short, engaging, animated video about meiosis (4:38). The objective of this research was to determine whether this video, when used as a supplement to usual classroom instruction, enhanced understanding and student engagement. A validated Meiosis Concept Inventory (Kalas et al. 2013) was used to assess understanding of meiosis prior to instruction. Students then received the usual classroom instruction on meiosis, and half of the students received access to the meiosis animation. The Meiosis Concept Inventory was then administered as a post-test. Data collected included pre- and post-test results, video usage data, demographic data, course grade, and student perceptions of the utility of the video using a validated survey. Data collection took place in the winter, spring and fall terms in 2017 through to 2018. This research will enable us to explore the dynamic relationship between academic performance, understanding of meiosis, and learner behaviour, including animated video usage, and learner perceptions of the value of the animation as a learning tool.
