Undergraduate Biology Courses Research Articles

Identifying factors associated with instructor implementation of three-dimensional assessment in undergraduate biology courses.

Recent national calls to transform undergraduate science education have centered on engaging students in scientific practices as a means to help them develop deeper insights into science. The three-dimensional framework for science education encapsulates the goals of these national calls by recommending that instructors integrate scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas throughout their courses. Prior research has found that introductory undergraduate biology exams contain few three-dimensional items suggesting that instructors likely face barriers in meeting the goals of national calls. To better understand these putative challenges, we explored factors potentially associated with three-dimensional alignment. Our generalized linear mixed model indicated that instructors who used three-dimensional items on their exams were more likely to use Bloom's Taxonomy when designing their exams and were more likely to write these items using a constructed-response format. We also found that professional development opportunities did not necessarily change the likelihood an instructor would employ three-dimensional items. We previously identified that few items in our sample fully aligned to scientific practices, making scientific practices the limiting dimension for three-dimensional alignment. Our subsequent analysis here revealed that most biology instructors had exam items that were at least partially aligned to scientific practices. Based on our results, we highlight the significant time and resources that instructors likely need to write and grade constructed-response assessments, suggest that instructors build on items that are mostly aligned to scientific practices to increase their three-dimensional alignment, and propose ways that professional development programs and communities might further support instructors in meeting national calls.

Assessing the Impact of an Undergraduate Biology Course for Non-Majors on Students’ Scientific Literacy, Perceptions of Science, and Confidence in Their Ability to Engage in Scientific Inquiry

Assessing the Impact of an Undergraduate Biology Course for Non-Majors on Students’ Scientific Literacy, Perceptions of Science, and Confidence in Their Ability to Engage in Scientific Inquiry

PSVII-28 A comparative analysis on student learning using DNA barcoding in undergraduate biology courses

Abstract DNA barcoding is a growing field and is increasingly used to identify animal and plant specimens down to the species level. This type of molecular work is beneficial for animal science students for its use in identifying insect pests or bacterial infections. However, it is equally important for students outside of STEM concentrations to be exposed to molecular work to develop a better understanding of science and combat the growing distrust in science. The overall goal of this project was to train non-molecular biologists in DNA barcoding using active learning techniques. The objectives of the present study were to 1) expose two groups of students (BSCI145 and BSCI467) to molecular lab work, particularly DNA barcoding, 2) effectively communicate how molecular methods can be applied to ecological purposes, and 3) demonstrate that this molecular method can be used for university-level education at two scales. We hypothesized that students at both the 100 and 400 level would exit this experience with a proportionally deeper understanding of how DNA barcoding works and an appreciation for its applications as a result of the hands-on module. We did not expect there to be a significant barrier between the ability to learn this molecular method of 100 and 400 level students. To assess these hypotheses, students in both courses were given a survey at the beginning and end of the semester with the same or very similar questions to observe how their knowledge of DNA barcoding did or did not change. One semester of BSCI145 and 2 semesters of BSCI467 were sampled (n = 24 100 level students, n = 84 400 level students). Surveys were collected anonymously and evaluated using rubrics to assess “correctness”. An ANOVA revealed statistically significant effects from both the course level (P = 0.004) and the survey scores (P = 0.001), indicating that both course level and basal knowledge contribute to explaining the variance in learning. Additionally, Tukey HSD test results displayed students in BSCI 145 exhibited a significantly greater mean learning change when compared with both BSCI 467 2022 and BSCI 467 2023 (P = 0.008 and P = 0.006 respectively). Finally, a linear regression analysis displayed a significant negative relationship between pre-survey scores and mean learning change (β = -0.850, P = 0.001). This means that students with a greater initial learning reference point will not increase in learning as much when compared with students with a decreased initial learning reference point. In conclusion, we accept our hypotheses that students at different academic levels with different backgrounds can successfully learn molecular techniques when provided hands-on modules. This is relevant to education and extension when working with individuals who may not know hard science.

Co‐designing enduring learning analytics prediction and support tools in undergraduate biology courses

AbstractEven highly motivated undergraduates drift off their STEM career pathways. In large introductory STEM classes, instructors struggle to identify and support these students. To address these issues, we developed co‐redesign methods in partnership with disciplinary experts to create high‐structure STEM courses that better support students and produce informative digital event data. To those data, we applied theory‐ and context‐relevant labels to reflect active and self‐regulated learning processes involving LMS‐hosted course materials, formative assessments, and help‐seeking tools. We illustrate the predictive benefits of this process across two cycles of model creation and reapplication. In cycle 1, we used theory‐relevant features from 3 weeks of data to inform a prediction model that accurately identified struggling students and sustained its accuracy when reapplied in future semesters. In cycle 2, we refit a model with temporally contextualized features that achieved superior accuracy using data from just two class meetings. This modelling approach can produce durable learning analytics solutions that afford scaled and sustained prediction and intervention opportunities that involve explainable artificial intelligence products. Those same products that inform prediction can also guide intervention approaches and inform future instructional design and delivery.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Learning analytics includes an evolving collection of methods for tracing and understanding student learning through their engagements with learning technologies. Prediction models based on demographic data can perpetuate systemic biases. Prediction models based on behavioural event data can produce accurate predictions of academic success, and validation efforts can enrich those data to reflect students' self‐regulated learning processes within learning tasks. What this paper adds Learning analytics can be successfully applied to predict performance in an authentic postsecondary STEM context, and the use of context and theory as guides for feature engineering can ensure sustained predictive accuracy upon reapplication. The consistent types of learning resources and cyclical nature of their provisioning from lesson to lesson are hallmarks of high‐structure active learning designs that are known to benefit learners. These designs also provide opportunities for observing and modelling contextually grounded, theory‐aligned and temporally positioned learning events that informed prediction models that accurately classified students upon initial and later reapplications in subsequent semesters. Co‐design relationships where researchers and instructors work together toward pedagogical implementation and course instrumentation are essential to developing unique insights for feature engineering and producing explainable artificial intelligence approaches to predictive modelling. Implications for practice and/or policy High‐structure course designs can scaffold student engagement with course materials to make learning more effective and products of feature engineering more explainable. Learning analytics initiatives can avoid perpetuation of systemic biases when methods prioritize theory‐informed behavioural data that reflect learning processes, sensitivity to instructional context and development of explainable predictors of success rather than relying on students' demographic characteristics as predictors. Prioritizing behaviours as predictors improves explainability in ways that can inform the redesign of courses and design of learning supports, which further informs the refinement of learning theories and their applications.

Development of the Quantitative Modelling Observation Protocol (QMOP) for undergraduate biology courses: validity evidence for score interpretation and uses

ABSTRACT Educational reform priorities such as emphasis on quantitative modelling (QM) have positioned undergraduate biology instructors as designers of QM experiences to engage students in authentic science practices that support the development of data-driven and evidence-based reasoning. Yet, little is known about how biology instructors adapt to the pedagogical movement towards incorporating QM opportunities for students in the courses they teach. This study presents the development of the Quantitative Modelling Observation Protocol (QMOP), a classroom observation instrument designed to support the need to characterise various approaches that instructors use to implement QM instruction in undergraduate biology. QMOP provides information about the breadth and depth of QM implementation across three dimensions – authentic instruction, teaching for understanding, and quantitative approach to teaching biology. We present an interpretive argument, the chain of assumptions we made in relation to the intended use of the instrument, and evidence to assess the validity of our assumptions and inferences about observation scores generated using the instrument. Strengths and weaknesses of evidence pertaining to assumptions about scoring, generalisability, extrapolation, and implications will be discussed to build a validity argument for observations and demonstrate how the instrument can be used for investigating QM instruction in undergraduate biology courses.

Evolution of an introductory undergraduate biology course through collaborative action research

Over the past few decades, we have witnessed an increasing emphasis on the significance of restructuring and revolutionizing undergraduate science education in achieving the goal of preparing a scientifically literate population and safeguarding our democracy and the future of STEM workforce. This paper reports on a collaborative action research conducted to reform and modify an introductory undergraduate biology course taught by the third author with professional support and feedback provided by the other authors. The findings will be discussed in the form of a case study focusing on the initial features of the course, continual feedback and professional growth, modifications to the course, and future plans for further revising the course.

Understanding operon architecture using LEGO bricks.

Many undergraduates struggle to interpret abstract concepts in molecular biology. Modeling can facilitate learning by making these abstract concepts tangible. Here, we present an exercise based on the lac operon designed for undergraduate students using LEGO bricks. The lac operon is a classic example of transcriptional regulation taught in a variety of undergraduate biology courses and is fundamental to understanding the regulation of gene expression. This easy-to-implement active learning exercise demonstrates how the various components of the lac operon are oriented under a variety of nutritional conditions to control gene expression. In addition, higher-order concepts, such as the effect of mutation on lac operon expression, can be readily modeled. Overall, students not only found this exercise to be enjoyable but also helpful as a tool to engage with this course material.

Christian Student Experiences During Peer Interactions in Undergraduate Biology Courses.

The tension between religion and science as a long-standing barrier to science education has led researchers to explore ways of improving the experiences of Christian students in biology who can experience their Christianity as stigmatized in academic biology environments. As undergraduate science classes become student-centered, interactions among students increase, and Christians may feel a need to conceal their religious identities during peer discussions. In this interview study, we used the social psychology framework of concealable stigmatized identities to explore 30 Christian students' experiences during peer interactions in undergraduate biology courses to find potential ways to improve those experiences. We found that students felt their religious identity was salient during peer interactions in biology, and students thought revealing their religious identity to peers in their biology courses could be beneficial, yet few actually did so. Additionally, though most students anticipated stigma, comparatively few had experienced stigma from other students in their biology courses, despite the prior documented cultural stigma against Christians in biology. These results indicate a need for future studies exploring the impact of learning environments in which students are given the opportunity to share their religious identities with one another, which could reduce their anticipated and perceived stigma.

Correction to: The Influence of Iterative Online Course Designs on Student Learning Outcomes in Large Undergraduate Biology Courses and Labs

Correction to: The Influence of Iterative Online Course Designs on Student Learning Outcomes in Large Undergraduate Biology Courses and Labs

The Influence of Iterative Online Course Designs on Student Learning Outcomes in Large Undergraduate Biology Courses and Labs

The Influence of Iterative Online Course Designs on Student Learning Outcomes in Large Undergraduate Biology Courses and Labs

Investigating the Influence of Assessment Question Framing on Undergraduate Biology Student Preference and Affect.

Nearly all undergraduate biology courses rely on quizzes and exams. Despite their prevalence, very little work has been done to explore how the framing of assessment questions may influence student performance and affect. Here, we conduct a quasi-random experimental study where students in different sections of the same course were given isomorphic questions that varied in their framing of experimental scenarios. One section was provided a description using the self-referential term "you", placing the student in the experiment; another section received the same scenario that used classmate names; while a third section's scenario integrated counterstereotypical scientist names. Our results demonstrate that there was no difference in performance throughout the semester between the sections, nor were there differences in students' self-reported stress and identity. However, students in all three sections indicated that they most preferred the self-referential framing, providing a variety of reasons that suggest that these variants may influence how well a student reads and processes the question. In addition, our results also indicate that the framing of these scenarios can also have a large impact on some students' affect and attitude toward the question. We conclude by discussing implications for the biology education research community and biology instructors.

Intersecting Identities: A Look at How Ethnic Identity Interacts With Science Identity in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Students.

Understanding the experiences of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) students in science courses can help us foster inclusivity and belonging for these often excluded and unacknowledged students. Using social influence theory as a framework, we investigated the intersection between ethnic-racial identity and science identity in NHPI students to better understand their experiences in undergraduate Biology courses. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data and used concurrent triangulation design in our mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data include measures of student pre- and post-course science identity, self-efficacy, alignment with science values, sense of belonging, environmental concern, strength of ethnic-racial identity, and the interaction between ethnic-racial and science identity. We measured environmental concern because NHPI cultures often have strong connections with the environment that may overlap well with environmental science values. Qualitative data included short responses to survey questions that asked students to describe the interaction between their science identity and their ethnicity. We found that NHPI and non-NHPI students do not significantly differ in any construct we measured, nor do they experience different gains across a semester when comparing pre- and post-scores. We also found that NHPI students' feelings concerning the intersection of their ethnic and science identities are varied and complex, with some students expressing feelings of conflict and many others expressing a strengthening relationship between those identities. We discuss implications for instructors and encourage them to acknowledge the community culture of wealth NHPI students bring to the classroom because of their ethnic-racial identities.

The Relationship of a Digital Storytelling Assignment in Introductory Biology and Comprehension of Course Competencies

This research shows that improved scientific reasoning and application of concepts occurred when creating and viewing student-crafted digital storytelling projects. By utilizing digital storytelling projects to showcase course competencies in an undergraduate biology course, students were able to apply subject matter outside the classroom. In this post hoc analysis of pretest and posttest scores from a two-year Florida college, significant results with medium effect sizes were shown for classes engaged in digital storytelling projects. It was determined that age was not a significant factor.

Boosting student performance with inclusive writing-to-learn assignments through graphic organizers in large enrollment undergraduate biology courses.

Logistical challenges in large enrollment classes are often mentioned as obstacles to active learning. Writing is an integral part of being a scientist and is often one of the first tools considered by STEM instructors to increase student engagement, but iterative writing assignments in large classes require creativity on the part of the instructor. We found an association between writing-to-learn assignments designed to be consistent with inclusive learning pedagogies and student performance measures in a large enrollment undergraduate biology course. They provide ample opportunity for deliberate practice and inclusive engagement, components of the "heads and hearts" hypothesis posed to explain the variation in active learning impacts on the performance of minoritized students.

Exploring Peer Learning Assistants’ Impact on Student Performance and Perceptions in an Undergraduate Biology Course

Exploring Peer Learning Assistants’ Impact on Student Performance and Perceptions in an Undergraduate Biology Course

Drawing your way to an A: Long-lasting improvements in classroom quiz performance following drawing.

Generating a visual representation of a concept through drawing has been established as a valuable strategy for improving memory. While this has been demonstrated in both the laboratory and the real world, the findings are mixed in educational settings, perhaps due to variable operationalization of the drawing task. Participants are often provided additional scaffolding for their drawings, including instructions, training, or pre-drawn backgrounds. In the current work, we investigated whether the drawing advantage persists when participants in an introductory university class (N = 145) were permitted to create free-form drawings without additional scaffolding, akin to the technique often studied in the laboratory. In addition, because the effect has only been established at relatively short timescales, we tested whether benefits persist over multiple weeks. In the tutorial sessions of an undergraduate Biology course, we asked participants to either draw or copy a set of definitions for terms derived from the course textbook. One and 3 weeks later we quizzed participants by showing them the definition and asking them to recall the associated term. The evidence indicated not only that there was better recall for drawn than copied items after 1 week (even with no training or scaffolding), but also that this effect persisted after a 3-week delay. Our results establish that no external guidance is necessary for drawing to enhance memory, and that the benefits are robust over time, providing a foundation for further research on the durability of the benefits of drawing in the laboratory and the real world.

It’s harder than it looks: How students identify original research articles in an undergraduate biology course

Biology students must develop a foundational understanding about the role information plays in the scientific research process. Key to this is understanding that original research articles are the primary method of communicating findings from original scientific research. We analyzed data from an information literacy tutorial and worksheet integrated in a core undergraduate biology course to investigate how students identify original research articles. Our results suggest that students conceptually comprehend original research, but they need practice at identifying original research articles in real time and benefit from librarian feedback when they are actively searching for and selecting articles.

Facilitating Scientific Literacy Through Writing: A Write-to-Learn Assignment for Large Introductory Undergraduate Biology Courses

Write-to-learn (WTL) assignments have been used in a variety of disciplines to encourage conceptual learning and critical thinking in undergraduate education. These assignments focus on facilitating rather than assessing learning. Conversely, write-to-communicate (WTC) assignments (<em>e.g.,</em> lab reports and exams), often with the goal of assessing learning, are more commonly employed in foundation STEM courses. We developed a WTL assignment that focuses on promoting curiosity driven learning, critical thinking, and metacognition; skills that promote students&rsquo; scientific literacy through writing. We integrated theoretical frameworks for scientific literacy, that include the sub-constructs of <strong>third space</strong>, <strong>authenticity</strong>, and <strong>multiple discourse</strong> as well as <strong>science as a human endeavour</strong>, and <strong>metacognition and self-direction</strong> (<a href="#1" rel="nofollow">1</a>, <a href="#2" rel="nofollow">2</a>) to develop this 3-part WTL assignment. In this assignment, students first select a topic of interest and write freely on their current understanding of the topic (Part 1). They then develop a research question based on their writing and seek answers to their question from published literature (Part 2). Finally, they reflect on their overall experience with the WTL process and propose further avenues of investigation for their research topic (Part 3). Student feedback suggests that they enjoyed the WTL process and their overall satisfaction with the structure of the assignment was high. As we continue to evolve the assignment based on student feedback, we are gratified that students reported high self-efficacy with regard to future writing as a result of participating in this assignment. We recommend use of this type of WTL assignment in large, introductory STEM courses, so as to facilitate rather than simply assess students&rsquo; learning. <em>Primary Image:</em>&nbsp;Scientific literacy through writing. Schematic depicting a write-to-learn assignment format implemented in an introductory undergraduate biology course, along with corresponding science literacy constructs.

How do digital textbook platforms promote active learning in undergraduate biology courses?

AbstractDiscipline‐based educational researchers and institutions that provide guidance on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics instruction have long documented the impact of active learning strategies on student learning and achievement, the lack of incorporation of active learning into undergraduate instruction, and the languishing rates of progression through and completion of undergraduate degree programs. Most research on improving active learning has been found to focus on instructors and the ways they have promoted active learning in their course design. Our aim was to consider the ways that textbook publishers and the online learning platforms they have produced have provided resources to promote active learning. This content analysis has documented the degree to which the digital platform companions to four highly subscribed introductory biology textbooks have provided resources that promote (1) highlighting of informational texts, (2) self‐testing, and (3) generative strategies for learning, including self‐explanation, summarization, and elaboration. Digital platforms largely supported highlighting and self‐testing, but the features of these tools could have been improved to promote more productive engagement in the learning strategies and to provide more explicit instruction about and scaffolding of the practices. Resources that promoted additional generative strategies were more limited. Implications relevant to developers and instructors who wish to leverage digital resources to promote active learning are included and are grounded via empirical support of design and implementation choices.

"It's completely erasure": A Qualitative Exploration of Experiences of Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender Nonconforming, and Questioning Students in Biology Courses.

Biology is the study of the diversity of life, which includes diversity in sex, gender, and sexual, romantic, and related orientations. However, a small body of literature suggests that undergraduate biology courses focus on only a narrow representation of this diversity (binary sexes, heterosexual orientations, etc.). In this study, we interviewed students with queer genders to understand the messages about sex, gender, and orientation they encountered in biology and the impact of these messages on them. We found five overarching themes in these interviews. Students described two narratives about sex, gender, and orientation in their biology classes that made biology implicitly exclusionary. These narratives harmed students by impacting their sense of belonging, career preparation, and interest in biology content. However, students employed a range of resilience strategies to resist these harms. Finally, students described the currently unrealized potential for biology and biology courses to validate queer identities by representing the diversity in sex and orientation in biology. We provide teaching suggestions derived from student interviews for making biology more queer-inclusive.