Using a modified Bloom's Taxonomy to assess learning gains in inquiry‐based physiology laboratories

Students in our non‐majors and majors physiology laboratories have experienced a curricular transition from an instructor‐centered to an inquiry‐based approach. Using a modified Bloom's taxonomy, we evaluated a 20‐point course assessment instrument to differentiate gains in lower and higher order learning in both knowledge and cognitive dimensions. Lower order knowledge learning was defined as factual while higher order learning comprised conceptual and procedural knowledge. Lower order cognitive processes consisted of remembering and understanding information while higher order encompassed analyzing, evaluating, and creative processes. In both non‐majors (n=111) and majors (n=32) courses, post‐course scores significantly improved compared to pre‐test scores for both learning levels and dimensions. The greatest score increases occurred in the knowledge dimension in the majors course although significant improvements were observed in the cognitive domains. Similar results were found in the non‐majors course but with greater improvements in the cognitive compared to the knowledge dimension. Interestingly, significantly greater improvements were found in the higher cognitive dimension for non‐majors versus majors (p<0.05). These results demonstrate that all students gained both lower and higher order knowledge and cognitive processing skills from inquiry‐based physiology labs.