Student- and Teacher-Centered Learning in a Supplemental Learning Biology Course

Students who chose to enroll in a supplemental course associated with a large biology lecture performed better on lecture exams than those students who chose not to enroll in the supplemental course. Sections of the supplemental course were taught with instructor-centered methods prior to some exams, student-centered methods prior to other exams, and a mixture of studentand instructor-centered methods prior to the first and final exams; the treatment (instructoror student-centered learning) sequence varied between sections. This reciprocal repeatedmeasures design allowed for comparison of students’ performance on exams following a series of instructorcentered, student-centered, and mixed sessions. The relative benefits of studentand instructor-centered instructional methods, or a mixture of the two methods, varied among supplemental sections. The section with the highest overall score showed the most improvement following mixed instructional methods, the two intermediate sections showed the most improvement in exam performance following student-centered instruction, and the section with the lowest overall score did not show consistent improvement. Those sections that improved in response to student-centered or mixed instruction methods maintained their improved exam performance throughout the remainder of the semester.