Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology is part of a recent expansion of E2Coach, a data-driven, personalized coaching program, which is designed to improve student success in large introductory science and math courses.

Developed and piloted in Physics by Professor Tim McKay, it was expanded this fall to three other introductory science and math classes. MCDB 310 Biochemistry was one course chosen by Professor Laura Olsen for the expansion team to work on.

“More than half of the 310 students this semester used the program and liked it very much,” according to Kenneth Balazovich, Lecturer in the class. Through the summer, he worked with Anna Cacciaglia, a recent MCDB graduate, to develop the content and website area for the biochemistry part of E2Coach. (Cacciaglia also wrote many of the “Ask A Biologist” pieces on the MCDB website.)

MCDB 310 will continue to participate in E2Coach during the Winter term. Extensive data analysis is now underway with Fall results. The goal is to learn more about how students learn, what can be done to help them learn more efficiently, and what things do not help them learn.

“I want to know as much as I can about how students learn complex information,” explains Balazovich. Not only does he feel it will help individual students who are struggling with the material but it could keep more students interested in the STEM fields by helping them to have greater success in introductory courses.

See him talk more about the E2Coach and read more about the program on the UM News Service World Class site