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In our large-enrollment general microbiology course, students arrive with highly variable foundational knowledge due to diverse prerequisite pathways, including AP credits and transfer coursework alongside completion at our institution. This inconsistent baseline in fundamental biology and chemistry negatively impacts their ability to synthesize complex, advanced microbiology concepts. To address this, we investigated whether implementing targeted, "just-in-time" refresher assignments throughout the semester improves student comprehension and exam performance compared to relying solely on prior prerequisite completion. Over four semesters in our General Microbiology course averaging 350 students per term, we designed and implemented three reading and application modules (ObojoboNext) deployed immediately preceding relevant complex material: Basic Biology prior to introductory prokaryotic cell concepts (Exam 1), Molecular Biology prior to bacterial genetics and growth (Exam 2), and Basic Chemistry prior to microbial metabolism (Exam 3). Looking at the data from before and after the intervention, we saw two very different stories: the Molecular Biology module drove a highly significant increase in overall Exam 2 averages, however, the Basic Biology and Basic Chemistry modules yielded no statistically significant overall improvements. These results suggest that just-in-time prerequisite refreshers are highly effective for improving higher-order process mapping in complex units like molecular biology. Although the Basic Biology and Basic Chemistry modules did not improve overall exam scores and individual questions produced mixed results, most questions assessing foundational biology and chemistry concepts demonstrated statistically significant improvement.
