Improving Teaching through Triadic Course Alignment †
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Authors:
Dana A. Pape-Zambito1,*,
Alison M. Mostrom1
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Received 19 June 2018 Accepted 13 August 2018 Published 31 October 2018
- ©2018 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
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[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Sciences, 600 S. 43rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Phone: 267-295-3173. Fax: 215-596-8710. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract:
Triadic alignment is a pedagogical technique that instructors can use to improve their teaching and students’ learning. It involves offering the course learning objectives, teaching and learning activities, and assessments at the same cognitive process level. Though it represents a best practice, few instructors have assessed the efficacy of triadic alignment. Previous research has demonstrated that General Biology courses are commonly misaligned relative to the objectives and assessments. However, little emphasis has been placed on assessing the teaching and learning activities as the third component of triadic alignment. In this article, we describe how a General Biology course was initially misaligned, the process that was taken to align it, and the improved student outcomes that resulted from triadic alignment. We expand our discussion to include types of misalignment and the benefits of triadic alignment for both the students and the faculty member.
References & Citations
Supplemental Material
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Appendix 1: Cognitive process level analysis of exam questions.
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Abstract:
Triadic alignment is a pedagogical technique that instructors can use to improve their teaching and students’ learning. It involves offering the course learning objectives, teaching and learning activities, and assessments at the same cognitive process level. Though it represents a best practice, few instructors have assessed the efficacy of triadic alignment. Previous research has demonstrated that General Biology courses are commonly misaligned relative to the objectives and assessments. However, little emphasis has been placed on assessing the teaching and learning activities as the third component of triadic alignment. In this article, we describe how a General Biology course was initially misaligned, the process that was taken to align it, and the improved student outcomes that resulted from triadic alignment. We expand our discussion to include types of misalignment and the benefits of triadic alignment for both the students and the faculty member.

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Author and Article Information
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Received 19 June 2018 Accepted 13 August 2018 Published 31 October 2018
- ©2018 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
-
[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Sciences, 600 S. 43rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Phone: 267-295-3173. Fax: 215-596-8710. E-mail: [email protected].
Figures

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FIGURE 1
The average exam scores over three successive years of a new instructor’s teaching. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA comparing exam scores in years 1, 2, and 3. Individual exams were then compared with one another using post-hoc Bonferoni’s t-tests. Statistical comparisons are displayed within the exam number across years. “Overall” represents the mean of all exams within a particular year. Within the exam number, bars with different superscripts are statistically different from one another (p < 0.05). N = 109, 80, and 67 for Years 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

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FIGURE 2
Students’ responses to the end-of-semester evaluation statement “Exams and assignments related to course content” in three successive years. A Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was performed to determine whether the distribution of students’ attitude responses differed between the three years. Bars with different superscripts are statistically different (p<0.05 ) from one another.

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FIGURE 3
Students’ responses to the end-of-semester evaluation statement “Learned a lot from this course” in three successive years. A Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was performed to determine whether the distribution of students’ attitude responses differed between the three years. Bars with different superscripts are statistically different (p < 0.05) from one another. (Data provided from the evaluation system were rounded to the nearest whole number; therefore, not all sums total 100%.)