Undergraduate Biology Students Research Articles

A Framework & Lesson to Engage Biology Students in Communicating Science with Nonexperts

Communicating science with nonexperts (SciComm) is an important scientific practice. SciComm can inform decision making and public policies. Recently, seminal reports have indicated that SciComm is a practice in which students should engage. Unfortunately, students have few opportunities to engage in SciComm, partially due to the absence of a framework that can help instructors facilitate such activities. We present a framework of the essential elements of effective SciComm that synthesizes previous work to describe the who, why, what, and how of effectively communicating science with nonexperts. We applied the framework to a lesson for undergraduate biology students and assessed student outcomes. The lesson uses an introduction, assignment sheet, and worksheet to guide students through planning, producing, and describing their SciComm assignment. We assessed the outcomes of the lesson by quizzing students on their knowledge of SciComm and asking about their perceptions of SciComm and the lesson. Students performed well but focused some of their responses on what they were assigned in the lesson instead of what was best for effective SciComm. Moreover, students perceived the lesson positively. This work can be used by practitioners and researchers to understand how to engage students in the important scientific practice of SciComm.

Introductory biology undergraduate students' mixed ideas about genetic information flow.

The core concept of genetic information flow was identified in recent calls to improve undergraduate biology education. Previous work shows that students have difficulty differentiating between the three processes of the Central Dogma (CD; replication, transcription, and translation). We built upon this work by developing and applying an analytic coding rubric to 1050 student written responses to a three‐question item about the CD. Each response was previously coded only for correctness using a holistic rubric. Our rubric captures subtleties of student conceptual understanding of each process that previous work has not yet captured at a large scale. Regardless of holistic correctness scores, student responses included five or six distinct ideas. By analyzing common co‐occurring rubric categories in student responses, we found a common pair representing two normative ideas about the molecules produced by each CD process. By applying analytic coding to student responses preinstruction and postinstruction, we found student thinking about the processes involved was most prone to change. The combined strengths of analytic and holistic rubrics allow us to reveal mixed ideas about the CD processes and provide a detailed picture of which conceptual ideas students draw upon when explaining each CD process.

An Evolving Outbreak Simulation Using Active Learning

Despite the inclusion of a lab component in many STEM courses, college students often struggle to apply these skills in different situations. This outbreak simulation gives students a taste of some of the challenges associated with being in charge of an essential research project. Students will hone their grant writing, presentation skills, experimental design, data analysis, ability to prepare for failed experiments, and ability to understand the big picture of their research. Senior undergraduate biology students are split into small groups that represent distinct laboratories. Each laboratory receives the same starting information about an emerging pandemic. The laboratories must use their knowledge and innovation to design a series of experiments to identify the pathogen, and progress toward a treatment and/or a vaccine to limit the global spread of infection. My students unanimously felt that the outbreak simulation helped solidify their understanding of research and improved their engagement. One student reflected that “[the simulation] was very effective in furthering my limited knowledge on pandemics, the characteristics of disease spread, experimental design, writing grants, types of assays, and vaccine development. Despite studying science for so many years, experimental research is not something that had been well addressed.”

A latent profile analysis of undergraduates’ achievement motivations and metacognitive behaviors, and their relations to achievement in science.

Achievement motivation theories propose that student motivation is composed of multiple factors. Models of self-regulated learning adopt this assumption and further articulate that multiple metacognitive processes—planning, monitoring learning, and self-evaluation—are essential to guide progress toward a learning goal. Learners’ motivations are theorized to influence these metacognitive processes, which in turn influence learning outcomes. Latent profile analyses (LPA) enable a person-centered approach and capture multiple dimensions of motivation as they co-occur when learners engage in a task. This study documents the emergent motivation profiles of 1326 undergraduate biology students comprising efficacy beliefs, achievement goals, and perceptions of the value and costs of an anatomy and physiology course. Traces obtained from the learning management system provide data on students’ use of tools designed to support metacognitive processes including planning, monitoring learning, and self-evaluation. Latent profiles document the emergence of motivation, and metacognition profiles and a 3-step process reveals how student demographics predict motivation profile membership, and how the motivation profiles are related to metacognition profiles. Four motivation profiles (High Cost, Moderately Motivated, High Goals and Values, Mastery-Driven) and 3 metacognitive learning profiles (Infrequent Metacognitive Processing; Planning and Self-Evaluation; Monitoring via Self-Assessment) emerged. Demographic information was found to predict motivation profile membership. Members of Mastery-Driven and High Cost groups were less likely to use tools that support metacognitive processing. Learners in High Goals and Values and Mastery-Driven groups outperformed those in other groups, and learners in Planning and Self-evaluation and Monitoring performance outperformed those with little metacognitive activity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Cinemeducation in clinical pharmacology: using cinema to help students learn about pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions.

Feature films are increasingly being used in teaching health sciences. However, few publications address the effectiveness of this approach. We hypothesized that using feature films could help students learn. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of using a feature film to teach students about adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance. The study population comprised third-, fifth-, and sixth-year undergraduate students of medicine, third-year undergraduate students of human biology, and graduate students in a master's degree program about the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Students watched clips from the film 150 Miligrams (La fille de Brest) and discussed them afterward. To measure learning, we administered a 10-question multiple-choice test about pharmacovigilance concepts. We assessed students' satisfaction with the activity through a questionnaire. An exploratory comparative analysis was performed. A total of 237 students participated. Postintervention assessment scores were significantly higher than preintervention scores for the entire population and for all subgroups. The mean number of correct answers was 4.41 on the preintervention assessment and 5.78 on the postintervention assessment (mean gain: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.10-1.65). Similar results were found when analyzing groups of students from each group. Student satisfaction with this teaching activity was high in all groups. Cinemeducation is a useful tool for teaching about adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance processes. Most students were highly satisfied.

CONCEPÇÕES EQUIVOCADAS SOBRE EVOLUÇÃO BIOLÓGICA: UM ESTUDO COMPARATIVO ENTRE GRADUANDOS EM CIÊNCIAS BIOLÓGICAS E PÓS-GRADUANDOS

Os desafios ao ensino de evolução são amplamente discutidos na literatura acadêmica. Quatro décadas de pesquisa revelaram uma prevalência surpreendentemente alta de concepções equivocadas sobre evolução em estudantes de diferentes níveis de ensino. Considerando a relevância deste tema, este trabalho pretende comparar a presença de concepções equivocadas sobre evolução entre estudantes brasileiros de ciências biológicas no início da graduação, avançados no curso e na pós-graduação. Um questionário de pesquisa com afirmações que expressam concepções equivocadas sobre evolução foi desenvolvido e validado, sendo aplicado em duas edições de um curso de extensão frequentado por alunos da área biológica de diferentes Universidades públicas e privadas. Obteve-se 46 respostas de graduandos em ciências biológicas no início do curso, 42 respostas de estudantes avançados na graduação e 34 respostas de pós-graduandos, totalizando 122 questionários preenchidos. A análise comparativa indicou uma redução média nas concepções equivocadas de acordo com o avanço na formação acadêmica dos estudantes. Diferenças significativas entre os graduandos de ciências biológicas e pós-graduandos foram encontradas em alguns itens, com os estudantes de pós-graduação apresentando uma frequência menor de concepções equivocadas sobre seleção natural e adaptação. No entanto, mesmo nestas questões, ainda há uma alta porcentagem de concordância em todos os grupos. Em conjunto, os dados analisados indicam a necessidade de uma atenção especial às concepções equivocadas relacionadas com seleção natural, adaptação e leitura de filogenias na formação de professores, biólogos e mesmo de pós-graduandos da área biológica.

A Hierarchical Mentoring Program Increases Confidence and Effectiveness in Data Analysis and Interpretation for Undergraduate Biology Students.

Science instructors are increasingly incorporating teaching techniques that help students develop core competencies such as critical-thinking and communication skills. These core competencies are pillars of career readiness that prepare undergraduate students to successfully transition to continuing education or the workplace, whatever the field. Course-based undergraduate research experiences that culminate in written research papers can be effective at developing critical-thinking and communication skills but are challenging to implement as class size (and student-to-instructor ratio) grows. We developed a hierarchical mentoring program in which graduate student mentors guided groups of four to five undergraduate students through the scientific process in an upper-level ecology course. Program effectiveness was evaluated by grading final research papers (including previous year papers, before the program was implemented) and surveys (comparing to a course that did not implement the program). Results indicated that primary benefits of hierarchical mentoring were improvements in perceived and demonstrated ability in data analysis and interpretation, leading to a median increase in paper score of ∼10% on a 100-point scale. Future directions indicated by our study were a need to incorporate more approaches (e.g., low-stakes writing exercises) and resources into a revised program to improve outcomes for students whose primary language is not English.

Virtual laboratories during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease is an emerging situation that brought challenges to all sectors, including academia and research. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology have been affected significantly due to the recent laboratory closures. Experiments have been suspended for long causing extreme stress to the students. Virtual laboratory is a powerful educational tool that enables students to conduct experiments at the comfort of their home. An excellent opportunity to engage students with technology and in parallel to avoid unforeseen disruptions, as happened recently due to pandemic.

The efficacy of Instagram on biology undergraduate students in University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Instagram is one of social media commonly used and has influential power among people for sharing ideas, instructional media, and social interaction. This study aimed at examining the efficacy of Instagram on Biology students in University of Ilorin. This quasi experimental study included 75 undergraduate students of University of Ilorin, Nigeria majoring in Biology and Biology Education. Instagram Learning Content Course ware, Instagram Biology Test, Instagram Biology Marking Guide, and Daily Lesson Plan were the instruments used in data collection process. Furthermore, the data gained were analyzed using t-test and ANCOVA. The results revealed that there was significant difference existed between biology Major and Biology Education students in their learning achievement [t(74) = 17.852, p<.05]. In contrast, there was no significant difference between male and female students in learning as they utilized Instagram in learning process [F(10,25) = 2.129, p>.05]. In conclusion, the more attention is crucial to be pain for students in their learning process, particularly in the media used.

Mushroom DNA barcoding project: Sequencing a segment of the 28S rRNA gene.

DNA barcoding is an important molecular methodology for species identification that was developed over the last two decades and it should be covered in the biology bachelor curriculum. Here, we present an example of DNA barcoding by sequencing a segment of the 28S nuclear ribosomal large subunit rRNA gene of wild mushrooms and framing the education in a project form for undergraduate students in biology. Students perform this project in 6–8 weeks, which also includes preparing a poster, writing a report and presenting a paper related to the work in a journal club format. First, fieldwork in the Netherlands was carried out, during which students collected mushrooms under supervision of a professional mycologist with the goal to (a) verify morphologically based identifications with a molecular method and (b) assess phylogenetic relationships of the different species collected. Next, DNA extractions and quantitation were performed, PCR amplification was done, and samples were sent out for Sanger sequencing. Students aligned and analyzed the sequences using BLAST and Geneious and subsequently created a phylogenetic tree. In case of collecting DNA barcodes of an earlier sequenced species, students could upload the data to a repository established for facilitation of future research projects. The method described is very robust, reagents and equipment are readily available, and costs are relatively low. In addition, the results can be compared to published fungal phylogenetic trees.

Spreadsheet Model of COVID-19 Transmission: Evaporation and Dispersion of Respiratory Droplets

A spreadsheet model of the projectile motion, evaporation and dispersion of respiratory droplets is presented to introduce students to mathematical modeling, computer simulations and important aspects of the science behind the COVID-19 pandemic. The model is simple enough to be implemented by undergraduate biology students, and enables students to explore the role of droplet size, proximity and environmental conditions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission. It is hoped that this model will help students to better understand the science behind the current pandemic, the practices implemented to mitigate outbreaks, and the seasonality of outbreaks.

A Comprehensive Physically Based Approach to Modeling in Bioengineering and Life Sciences,1st ed,

This text was written by three authors, two of whom have Ph.D. degrees and specialize in applied mathematics. The authors collectively have experience in computational biology, semiconductor device modeling, ophthalmology modeling, and several related fields, these experiences are reflected in the several examples in the text. The text itself consists of some 30 chapters, which are reported in eight sections. Part 1 of the text gives a quick overview of mathematical modeling, mathematical and computational modeling methods, and physics; Part 2 covers laws of mass and energy balances with a nonundergraduate use of strain and deformation tensors; Part 3 covers modeling of fluids, solids, and mixtures, as well as electromagnetism and ion electrodynamics; Part 4 of the text gives the reader Kirchhoff current laws and fluid flow modeling, including compliant and collapsible tubing discussions; Part 5 of the text presents a useful overview of neuron functions, action potentials, the Hodgkin–Huxley equations, cable models, and astrocyte mechanics; Part 6 gives an overview of function spaces, partial differential equations, and approximations of functions; Part 7 includes information on ion pumps; and Part 8 gives 49 MATLAB scripts used in the text, 51 MATLAB functions, and a series of exercises and projects for parts 1–7 above. The text then includes an appendix on curvilinear coordinate laws and a bibliography for the text (244 references, with no mention of the above Carson and Cobelli texts!). While this text is touted as being for “Biomedical engineers, life sciences researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Biology, and Medicine” , this reviewer suggests that the text be mainly considered as a reference text, to be used primarily by those with an adequate mathematical and MATLAB background.

Undergraduate Textbook Representations of Meiosis Neglect Essential Elements

The process of meiosis is an essential topic that secondary and postsecondary students struggle with. The important meiosis-related concepts of homology, ploidy, and segregation can be described using the DNA Triangle framework, which connects them to the multidimensional nature of DNA (chromosomal, molecular, and informational levels). We have previously established that undergraduate biology students typically fail to describe and/or link appropriate levels to their explanations of meiosis. We hypothesize that students' understanding mirrors the resources they are given – in other words, textbook figures often lack many of the important connections that experts include when talking about meiosis. Prior work showed that text in meiosis chapters typically fails to include many concepts that experts consider important, so we examined how textbook figures present meiosis concepts. We found that almost all textbook representations include the chromosomal level of DNA, but few include the other levels, even to illustrate concepts that are rooted in informational and/or molecular levels. In particular, the molecular level of DNA was absent from nearly all introductory textbook figures examined, and the informational level was seldom depicted in mid/upper-level textbook figures. The previously established deficits in text portions of textbooks are clearly not compensated by their accompanying illustrations.

Pickup of Causal Language and Inference During and After Reading Scientific Text

When reading scientific text, readers must draw inferences when the author does not make relations explicit; readers also need to pick up on causal relations that the author does make explicit. We collected think-aloud protocols from 86 undergraduate biology students reading 7 brief, illustrated passages about the immune system. After reading, participants typed a free recall. Both think-aloud and recall were transcribed and coded for two types of causal language—specific action verbs and explicit causal terms (forms of the word “cause”)—as well as inferences. Inferences in recalls were significantly related to action verbs picked up and during reading, as evidenced by the think-alouds. Action verbs in recalls were significantly facilitated by inferences and pick up of action verbs articulated by the participants while reading, as evidenced by the think-alouds. Explicit causal terms in recalls were significantly facilitated by pick up of action verbs while reading. Results suggest a very important role for pick-up of specific action verbs while reading, and risks associated with learners substituting vague verbs of class membership (“is a,” “has a”) for highly specific action verbs (“activates,” “binds”) when learning biology. One possible implication is that prompting students to pick up on specific action verbs while reading biology texts—in addition to making inferences during reading—could prompt more benefit from reading these types of texts.

The impact of student research anxiety on undergraduate biology students’ intentions to pursue a scientific research career

Participating in undergraduate research has been shown to lead to numerous benefits including increased persistence in science. However, there are still many undergraduate researchers who choose not to pursue a science‐related research career. While studies have shown that the increased length of a student’s research experience and a student’s positive relationship with their mentor are predictors of a student’s persistence in science, it is unclear what other elements of a student’s research experience influence their choice to pursue a science‐related research career.In this study, we explored to what extent student research anxiety influences undergraduate biology students’ intentions to pursue a science‐related research career. Specifically, our research questions were whether students’ demographics predicted their research anxiety and whether student/mentor rapport moderated the relationship between research anxiety and student intention to pursue scientific research. We used Yerkes‐Dodson Law which suggests that student performance in undergraduate research should increase with mental arousal, but only up to a certain level; high levels of anxiety negatively impact students. We designed a survey with closed and open‐ended questions. Questions were vetted using think aloud interviews and piloted with 126 biology students at a single R1 institution in Fall 2017. We revised the survey and sampled from 26 public R1 universities in Fall 2018. We measured student research anxiety using an adapted version of the Revised Attitudes Toward Research Scale and we measured student‐mentor rapport using the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory mentorship scale. Students also answered open‐ended questions about what elements of their research experience increased and decreased their anxiety.Our final dataset included 750 biology majors from 26 R1 institutions who had participated in an academic year research experience. Using structural equation modeling, we explored relationships between student demographics, student research anxiety, student/mentor rapport, research productivity, student‐perceived difficulty of the research project, and students’ current intentions to pursue a science‐related research career. We found that, compared to students with low research anxiety, students with high research anxiety were less likely to publish or expect to publish a paper from their undergraduate research experience and were less likely to report intentions to pursue a science‐related research career. We also identified that student/mentor rapport moderated the relationship between research anxiety and student intention to persist in a science‐related research career. Finally, using open‐coding methods, we coded students’ responses about what increased and decreased their research‐anxiety. We found that student confidence, perceived ability, mentorship, and relationships with others in the lab impacted their anxiety. Overall, this work identified research anxiety as important for biology students’ intentions to pursue a science‐related research career and identified ways in which research mentors can decrease research anxiety to create a more inclusive scientific community.Support or Funding InformationNSF LEAP Scholars Program

STUB Network: Statisticians and Biologists Improving Statistics Education in Introductory Biology

Introductory biology courses typically incorporate data collection and analysis into laboratory assignments, and therefore teach some basic statistics. However, these curricula are generally developed without input from statisticians and are taught by instructors, often graduate students, with a range of experience using statistics but no training in statistics education. Given the importance of statistical thinking and other quantitative approaches in biology, the Statistical Thinking in Undergraduate Biology (STUB) network was established to facilitate coordination of best practices and assessment of statistical thinking in introductory biology students. As an example of the network’s benefits, we present a case study involving redesign of laboratory activities in an Introduction to Organismal Form and Function course. Changes include alignment of language with that used in statistics courses, more thorough instruction about experimental design and statistical tests, and use of an online simulation tool shown to improve understanding of statistical inference in statistics courses. These changes are supported by statistics faculty participating in the training of biology teaching assistants. An assessment in progress compares conceptual understanding and attitudes toward statistics before and after the redesigned lab activity; the assessment tool is being used throughout the STUB network, providing comparable data across institutions. This kind of cross‐disciplinary collaboration has the potential to improve statistical thinking in undergraduate biology students, better preparing them for advanced coursework and for careers in modern biology.Support or Funding InformationNSF Research Coordination Network‐Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN‐UBE)

Taking Temperature with Leaves: A Semester-Long Structured-Inquiry Research Investigation for Undergraduate Plant Biology

Inquiry- and course-based research pedagogies have demonstrated effectiveness for preparing undergraduate biology students with authentic scientific skills and competencies, yet many students lack the experience to engage successfully in open-ended research activities without sufficient scaffolding and structure. Further, curricula for student-centered laboratory activities are lacking for several biological disciplines, including plant biology and botany. In this article, I describe a semester-long structured-inquiry research curriculum developed for a plant biology course taught to second-year biology students that integrates key elements of inquiry and discovery while providing a structured approach to gaining research skills. In the research project, students collect leaves from woody dicot plants across a range of environments that are characterized by different mean annual temperatures, and investigate the relationship between various leaf characteristics and temperature. Curricular materials are provided to teach skills in scientific paper reading, field data collection, data processing including microscopy and image analysis, quantitative data analysis in R, biological inference, and scientific writing. This comprehensive, ready-to-implement curriculum is suitable for plant biology, botany, and plant ecology courses and is particularly valuable for students with no prior research experience.

Differential Impacts of Religious Cultural Competence on Students' Perceived Conflict with Evolution at an Evangelical University

Evolution remains a controversial issue in the United States, particularly for evangelical Christians, who as a group have been a key player in anti-evolution education legislation. Religious cultural competence can be effective in decreasing undergraduate biology students' perceived conflict between religion and evolution. However, the impact on student populations who are particularly resistant to evolution is unknown. We explored the efficacy of culturally competent evolution education practices adapted for biology students in a genetics course at an evangelical Christian university. This included the presence of an instructor as a religious scientist role model who accepts evolution, and the use of the book The Language of God. We explored how this curriculum affected students' conceptions of religion and evolution using pre- and post-surveys. We found a differential impact of the curriculum: 31% of the students who indicated that there was a conflict between their religious beliefs and evolution changed their conceptions to be more in line with scientific evidence, but the remaining 69% did not. We describe reasons why, including students' perceptions of The Language of God. This research indicates the challenges of implementing culturally competent evolution education for evangelical students, given their strong commitment to biblical literalism and their lower likelihood of being convinced by scientific evidence for evolution.

Understanding Plant Blindness – Students’ Inherent Interest of Plants in Higher Education

‘Plant-blindness’ (PB) is the inability to see or notice plants in one’s own environment. There has been growing concerns amongst biologists that PB is becoming an increasing issue in young university students. However, currently we are still lacking detailed quantitative data that would allow us to determine the exact underlying causes for this trend. In order to contribute to our understanding of PB, we aimed to quantify PB in undergraduate university students by deriving a PB score from face-to-face quizzes. A total of 88 undergraduate students in Biology were surveyed. Students were more likely to correctly identify and recognize animals over plants in a series of picture tests. There was a weak positive correlation (p=0.03, r2=0.24) between the students’ awareness of plants in their natural environment and their exposure to plant biology during pre-university schooling. Most students (65.9%) believed that the inclusion of plants within university course contents increased their interest. Within this group, 30.6% indicated that because of this newly developed interest, they have chosen more relevant plant science modules. These results suggest that there is an inherent interest of plants in students surveyed in this study. However, this interest needs to be carefully nurtured throughout their educational progression. We proposed six areas to combat PB.

A Large-Class Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Activity on Microbial Diversity and Antimicrobial Resistance.

The investigation of microbial diversity and adaptation is essential to comprehend biological processes. Yet, teaching basic microbiology techniques to large groups of students in limited time is challenging, as most approaches are time-consuming or require special equipment. In this activity, students performed three laboratory exercises in three hours involving the analysis of inoculated agar plates they prepared by swabbing samples from an environment of their choice, the examination of antimicrobial effects on growth, and the assessment of microbial enzymatic activity in soil. The activity was field tested in two classes (70 and 76 students, respectively) of first-year undergraduate biology and zoology students at the Bangor University (UK) using pre- and post-tests (n = 84). Based on the answers, learning gain scores (G) were calculated for each learning objective (LO). For all LOs, the mean post-test scores were higher than the mean pre-test scores. The activity significantly improved students’ understanding of microbial diversity (G = 0.36, p = 0.010) and microbial detection and quantification (G = 0.18 to 0.773, p ≤ 0.004). The lack of significant differences in scores for questions targeting microbial growth (G = 0.31, p = 0.292) and antimicrobial resistance (G = 0.38, p = 0.052) suggested some existing knowledge amongst undergraduates. However, the extent of knowledge showed great variation. The results may suggest that the activity is suitable to introduce microbiology-related laboratory work to students with limited laboratory skills and knowledge. Furthermore, the pre- and post-test approach used here is suitable for both course evaluation and monitoring attainment and can be used for program validation and quality control.