"Is This Class Hard?" Defining and Analyzing Academic Rigor from a Learner's Perspective

Autor/inn/en	Wyse, Sara A.; Soneral, Paula A. G.
Titel	"Is This Class Hard?" Defining and Analyzing Academic Rigor from a Learner's Perspective
Quelle	In: CBE - Life Sciences Education, 17 (2018) 4, Artikel 59 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1931-7913
DOI	10.1187/cbe.17-12-0278
Schlagwörter	Academic Standards; Difficulty Level; Student Attitudes; Biology; Science Instruction; College Students; Higher Education; Stress Variables; Relevance (Education); Learning Processes; Teacher Student Relationship; College Faculty; Teaching Methods; Student Centered Learning; Instructional Design; Prior Learning; Active Learning; Learning Experience; Introductory Courses + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schwierigkeitsgrad; Schülerverhalten; Biologie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Collegestudent; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Relevance; Relevanz; Learning process; Lernprozess; Teacher student relationships; Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung; Fakultät; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Group work; Student-entered learning; Student-centred learning; Student centred learning; Schülerorientierter Unterricht; Schülerzentrierter Unterricht; Gruppenarbeit; Lesson concept; Lessonplan; Unterrichtsentwurf; Vorkenntnisse; Aktives Lernen; Lernerfahrung; Einführungskurs
Abstract	Despite its value in higher education, academic rigor is a challenging construct to define for instructor and students alike. How do students perceive academic rigor in their biology course work? Using qualitative surveys, we asked students to identify "easy" or "hard" courses and define which aspects of these learning experiences contributed to their perceptions of academic rigor. The 100-level students defined hard courses primarily in affective terms, responding to stressors such as fast pacing, high workload, unclear relevance to their life or careers, and low faculty support. In contrast, 300-level students identified cognitive complexity as a contributor to course rigor, but course design elements--alignment between instruction and assessments, faculty support, active pedagogy--contributed to the ease of the learning process. Overwhelmingly, all students identified high faculty support, learner-centered course design, adequate prior knowledge, and active, well-scaffolded pedagogy as significant contributors to a course feeling easy. Active-learning courses in this study were identified as both easy and hard for the very reasons they are effective: they simultaneously challenge and support student learning. Implications for the design and instruction of rigorous active-learning college biology experiences are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Society for Cell Biology. 8120 Woodmont Avenue Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. Tel: 301-347-9300; Fax: 301-347-9310; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org; Website: http://www.ascb.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01