Elevate your Biomedical Science teaching with new Quantitative Skills resources
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Emily Rees
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May 4, 2023
We know that incoming biomedical science cohorts often vary in terms of confidence and experience in the mathematical skills they need to succeed in their degree and beyond. That’s why we’re excited to introduce a set of three new Smart Worksheets, created specifically to help biomedical science students develop quantitative skills.
Designed using guidance from IBMS, these new solutions allow students to practise, build and apply mathematical and analytical skills that they’ll use throughout their degrees. The worksheets are designed for everyone; supporting those who might be nervous or struggle with mathematical topics, while still offering a satisfying challenge to more confident students.
Supporting skills development in a biomedical context
Quantitative skills are an essential part of a biomedical science degree, as they enable students to analyse and interpret complex data, design experiments, and more. These skills are important in industry too, which is why it’s vital that students are able to work on them as part of their studies. However, many students may not feel confident in using quantitative skills, particularly when applying them to a specific scientific context.
Our new Smart Worksheets help fill this gap, by presenting mathematical questions within real scientific contexts. By showcasing real examples of where numerical data is likely to be encountered, students can more easily make the step from skill knowledge to skill application.
Summary of the content covered in each of the Quantitative Skills for Biomedical Science worksheets.
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The worksheets use algorithmic data generation to give students unique yet consistent experiences, and feature interactive components to really hone in on areas students struggle with, such as rearranging equations and creating high quality graphs.
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Priming, applying and integrating skills
Each Smart Worksheet is scaffolded, allowing students to develop quantitative skills by priming, applying, and integrating their knowledge.
Prime
Students are supported at every stage, starting with background information provided at the start of each sheet, encouraging them to review the information they need to complete the worksheet. These are tailored for students who may not have studied maths for a number of years, and feature worked examples and self-check questions at every stage for students to return to, any time they wish.
The background information section of the Fundamental Numeracy sheet
Apply
Throughout the resource students develop, demonstrate and reinforce their quantitative skills, with a strong focus on application in biomedically-relevant contexts rather than abstract questions in isolation. Tailored, useful feedback for each question allows students to continuously learn from their mistakes and misconceptions. Algorithmic randomisation within questions makes it possible for students to repeat the activities as many times as they need, developing mastery of techniques and strategies, rather than memorising specific numbers.
An example of a contextual question
Integrate
The questions in each worksheet lead up to a final, longer-form biomedical scenario which integrates all the skills they’ve learned after practising them individually. The scenarios reinforce this learning, while increasing student familiarity with techniques they will likely use later in their degree and future career (no prior knowledge is required and all relevant information is provided). This helps give students confidence in taking the vital quantitative skills into a wide range of future situations.
An example of a question in the scenario section, with instant feedback.
Solutions to support students at every step
The set of worksheets can be embedded seamlessly into your VLE/LMS or accessed via our platform, and used to enhance learning in a variety of ways. You can introduce them as additional support for students to use as and when they need. When used in foundational and first-year contexts this can level the playing field between students, ensuring everyone is primed and ready for your teaching sessions.
These solutions can also be used as pre-sessional diagnostic activities to benchmark incoming cohorts, providing a clearer understanding of your students’ strengths and areas they struggled with. This also allows you to identify specific students who might need further support. Alternatively, the sheets can be used as an assessment tool so you can keep track of students’ progress and development throughout their degree.
We’re excited to see the impact that these solutions have on biomedical science courses over the coming years. If you’d like to find out more or are interested in using these Smart Worksheets in your course, get in touch with us at info@learnsci.com or book a free, personalised demo.
