Measuring Student Transformative Learning in a Biology Lab
Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2017, Volume 38
Mark E. Walvoord
Abstract
Biology laboratory teaching techniques include active learning, collaboration, critical thinking, writing, reflection, and often discourse. Transformative learning theory states that students are given their best opportunities for transformation through willingness to grow, engagement in learning experiences, critical reflection, and substantive discourse. So, students in biology laboratories should be experiencing transformations, or changes in perspectives. To know if this really is happening, biology educators need assessment tools to measure student transformation. Our university has recently implemented such a tool, campus-wide, through an initiative called the Student Transformative Learning Record (STLR). This poster will describe the STLR rubric and lay out a plan for its implementation in biology laboratory courses.
