Student preparation is an integral component of success in laboratories with novel techniques, particularly in
fields such as coding and statistics. As a way to encourage student preparation prior to lab, we implemented pre-
lab quizzes in our Introductory Biostatistics course with a focus on questions that encourage preliminary attempts
at practicing the techniques. These questions included code composition, calculations as well as hypothesis and
conclusion formulation, built to be answered as students work through the preparatory material in the Lab
Handbook. Priority was placed on non-multiple choice style questions to encourage students to be conscientious
with building their answers, rather than quickly selecting a box or bubble. Students in our three lab sections
participated in structured surveys at the beginning of the term prior to their first pre-lab quiz and at the end of
the term prior to their last pre-lab quiz. While the overall response to the quizzes was mixed, particularly in their
timing, we found that students generally had a positive experience with the quizzes and found that they
encouraged them to prepare and practice the material prior to lab. We will use these responses to continue to
develop our pre-lab activities in future offerings of the course.
Keywords: biostatistics, coding, pre-lab, quizzes
University of Maryland (2024)
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