Assessment of educational modules based on the "How people learn" framework delivered to biotechnology learners at two universities

New modular materials and methods for teaching biotechnology have been developed based on the 'How People Learn' (HPL) framework and classroom tested in a STAR Legacy sequence. Domain-specific questions targeting each of the learning objectives were used in a pre/post assessment strategy that seeks to measure the change in learner capabilities. One such pre/post assessment revealed a statistically significant increase in learner performance following intervention using HPL and modular materials. The same pre/post assessment yielded no increase in learner performance on control learning objectives not addressed in the classroom. Our results suggest that this approach can produce satisfactory interrater correlation and is a sensitive measure of learner performance.