Backward design and beyond: Lessons from a molecular genetics classroom

I vividly remember the first exam I wrote as an instructor for our molecular genetics course.

Students frantically wrote responses as the clock ticked down, their faces tense and expressions harried. Even after I warned that only a few minutes remained, every student stayed seated, many pages from finishing.

Afterward, students described feeling overwhelmed, citing both the exam’s length and uncertainty about what to focus on while studying.

Later that day, I slumped in my office, acutely aware of how new I still was to teaching. Not a single student had completed the exam, and my desk was filled with pages of answers that recited nearly every fact students knew about gene expression.

That exam made it clear that I needed to rethink both how I taught the course and how I assessed learning. I responded by consulting mentors, colleagues and our teaching center, and by diving into the science education literature.

Courtesy of Jeremy Hsu

Jeremy Hsu attends the 2024 National Association of Biology Teachers conference in Anaheim, Calif., with undergraduate and graduate students Grace Holick, Makaylee Dahms, Joelle Prate, Tammy Bui and Molly Niswender.

Humbled, I began revising my teaching and assessments in deliberate ways.

First, I developed specific learning objectives, or SLOs, for each module: clear, measurable statements describing what students should know and be able to do. Students had previously shared that they were unsure what to study and felt unprepared for questions that required applying knowledge to new scenarios.

I began explicitly highlighting SLOs that emphasized higher-order skills before and after each unit, signaling the importance of critical thinking. I then redesigned my assessments to align directly with these objectives.

Second, I realized that students needed guidance in using the SLOs to direct their studying and reflect on their learning. I developed new study guides that showed students how to use the SLOs to plan and prioritize their studying.

Drawing from the literature, I also introduced metacognitive exam wrappers, guided assignments that prompt students to think critically about their learning and study strategies. I incorporated the SLOs in the wrapper to better help students reflect on their performance and mastery after each assessment.

Finally, writing the SLOs revealed just how many skills and concepts each unit contained, making it clear that assessing every objective on every exam overwhelmed students.

Instead, I restructured the course to include more in-class activities and formative assessments aligned with the SLOs.

This application of backward design — starting with learning objectives and then designing assessments and curriculum accordingly — allowed me to better support students as they developed these skills.

In the decade since that first exam, these changes have transformed the course. Clearer objectives and reflective tools now help students from diverse backgrounds take ownership of their learning, leading to deeper engagement and stronger performance, and I have observed student interest, motivation and confidence increase.

The experience continues to remind me that effective teaching is not static but a continual process of learning, adapting and growing alongside my students.