Effectiveness of Micro-Modules in a Science Classics Course

Kai Ming Kiang^1, , Hin-Yan Chan¹, Andy Ka-Leung Ng¹ and Derek Hang-Cheong Cheung¹

¹Office of University General Education and Baldwin Cheng Research Centre for General Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

Cite this paper:
Kai Ming Kiang, Hin-Yan Chan, Andy Ka-Leung Ng and Derek Hang-Cheong Cheung. Effectiveness of Micro-Modules in a Science Classics Course. American Journal of Educational Research. 2016; 4(13):917-926. doi: 10.12691/education-4-13-1

Abstract

Undergraduate liberal arts education often includes reading classic literature. In accordance to this philosophy, the Chinese University of Hong Kong launched two compulsory classics-reading courses for all students. One of these courses, In Dialogue with Nature, requires students to read science-related classics to cultivate scientific literacy. There were evidences that the course has been highly regarded by the students in general. However, students without science background have been reportedly encountering difficulty in studying this course even though the course objective is to teach only the method, characteristics and influence of science but not the scientific knowledge in detail. A set of micro-modules was developed to supplement these students with scientific concepts that are deemed to be fundamental to the understanding of the classics. This paper reports the statistical analysis of the effectiveness of the micro-modules by two measurement tools. First, students’ self-reported perceptions on their achievements in the course were collected by the entry and exit surveys. Second, academic grades of the students were also retrieved to measure the effectiveness objectively. The analysis shows strong signs of positive effects on the micro-modules to the users, as well as the entire class. This finding suggests the importance of supplementing basic scientific concepts to students with diversified background when cultivating the scientific literacy through the classics reading approach.

Keywords:
science literacy classics reading micro-modules assessment learning outcome

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