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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Overcoming The Barriers To Teaching Teamwork To Undergraduates In Stem, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Miranda L. Aiken, Hector M. Camarillo-Abad, Kamal Diki, Daniel L. Gardner, Mario Stipčić, Javier F. Espeleta Mar 2024

Overcoming The Barriers To Teaching Teamwork To Undergraduates In Stem, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Miranda L. Aiken, Hector M. Camarillo-Abad, Kamal Diki, Daniel L. Gardner, Mario Stipčić, Javier F. Espeleta

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

There is widespread recognition that undergraduate students in the life sciences must learn how to work in teams. However, instructors who wish to incorporate teamwork into their classrooms rarely have formal training in how to teach teamwork. This is further complicated by the application of synonymous and often ambiguous terminology regarding teamwork that is found in literature spread among many different disciplines. There are significant barriers for instructors wishing to identify and implement best practices. We synthesize key concepts in teamwork by considering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) necessary for success, the pedagogies and curricula for teaching those KSAs, …


Variations In Student Approaches To Problem Solving In Undergraduate Biology Education, Jeremy L. Hsu, Rou-Jia Sung, Su L. Swarat, Alexandra J. Gore, Stephanie Kim, Stanley M. Lo Mar 2024

Variations In Student Approaches To Problem Solving In Undergraduate Biology Education, Jeremy L. Hsu, Rou-Jia Sung, Su L. Swarat, Alexandra J. Gore, Stephanie Kim, Stanley M. Lo

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Existing research has investigated student problem-solving strategies across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; however, there is limited work in undergraduate biology education on how various aspects that influence learning combine to generate holistic approaches to problem solving. Through the lens of situated cognition, we consider problem solving as a learning phenomenon that involves the interactions between internal cognition of the learner and the external learning environment. Using phenomenography as a methodology, we investigated undergraduate student approaches to problem solving in biology through interviews. We identified five aspects of problem solving (including knowledge, strategy, intention, metacognition, and mindset) that define three …


Professional Development For Early Career Dber Scholars Through In-Person And Virtual Career Panel Workshops, Miranda M. Chen Musgrove, Elizabeth Genné-Bacon, Kelsey Gray, Ashley B. Heim, Anupriya Karippadath, Rita Margarida Magalhães, Brie Tripp, Anna J. Zelaya Feb 2022

Professional Development For Early Career Dber Scholars Through In-Person And Virtual Career Panel Workshops, Miranda M. Chen Musgrove, Elizabeth Genné-Bacon, Kelsey Gray, Ashley B. Heim, Anupriya Karippadath, Rita Margarida Magalhães, Brie Tripp, Anna J. Zelaya

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

In discipline-based education research (DBER), early career scholars, such as graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, observe a slew of possible career pathways. Yet, there is a lack of opportunities to learn about such pathways, particularly when transitioning from traditional science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) disciplinary training into a DBER position. Thus, the DBER Scholars-in-Training Professional Development subcommittee was created within the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) community to develop a collection of workshops that would serve the greatest professional development needs of early career scholars entering DBER. Through a series of surveys disseminated over multiple …


Facilitating Constructive Discussions Of Difficult Socio-Scientific Issues, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Rebecca M. Green, Aaron W. Harrison, Brian A. Hoover, Kenjiro W. Quides, Zachary Thammavongsy, Shana R. Welles, Bingjie Zhang, Kelsey M. Gray Jun 2021

Facilitating Constructive Discussions Of Difficult Socio-Scientific Issues, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Rebecca M. Green, Aaron W. Harrison, Brian A. Hoover, Kenjiro W. Quides, Zachary Thammavongsy, Shana R. Welles, Bingjie Zhang, Kelsey M. Gray

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Discussion can be an important and powerful tool in efforts to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future for STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). However, facilitating discussions on difficult, complex, and often uncomfortable issues, like racism and sexism, can feel daunting. We outline a series of steps that can be used by educators to facilitate productive discussions that empower everyone to listen, contribute, learn, and ultimately act to transform STEM.


Promoting Academic Integrity And Student Learning In Online Biology Courses, Jeremy L. Hsu Mar 2021

Promoting Academic Integrity And Student Learning In Online Biology Courses, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an abrupt shift in biology courses, with many transitioning to online instruction. This has led to an increased concern about academic integrity and cheating in online courses. Here, I draw upon the peer-reviewed literature to provide evidence-based answers to four questions concerning cheating and online biology courses: (i) What types of cheating are prevalent with the shift to online instruction? (ii) Should instructors make assessments open book and open notes? (iii) How does cheating occur in biology lab courses? (iv) Finally, what strategies can biology instructors take to uphold academic integrity with online learning? I …


Instructor Strategies To Alleviate Stress And Anxiety Among College And University Stem Students, Jeremy L. Hsu, Gregory R. Goldsmith Feb 2021

Instructor Strategies To Alleviate Stress And Anxiety Among College And University Stem Students, Jeremy L. Hsu, Gregory R. Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

While student stress and anxiety are frequently cited as having negative effects on students’ academic performance, the role that instructors can play in mitigating these challenges is often underappreciated. We provide summaries of different evidence-based strategies, ranging from changes in instructional strategies to specific classroom interventions, that instructors may employ to address and ameliorate student stress and anxiety. While we focus on students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the strategies we delineate may be more broadly applicable. We begin by highlighting ways in which instructors can learn about and prepare to act to alleviate stress and anxiety. We then …


Student Perceptions Of An Inquiry‐Based Molecular Biology Lecture And Lab Following A Mid‐Semester Transition To Online Teaching, Jeremy L. Hsu, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith Dec 2020

Student Perceptions Of An Inquiry‐Based Molecular Biology Lecture And Lab Following A Mid‐Semester Transition To Online Teaching, Jeremy L. Hsu, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The transition to online learning in spring 2020 was abrupt for both students and instructors. While many instructors moved to asynchronous classes, some institutions relied more heavily on synchronous online courses. Here, we evaluate student perceptions of an inquiry‐based molecular biology lecture and lab course following this transition by comparing student survey responses from spring 2019, when the lecture and lab were fully in person, to spring 2020, when the lecture and lab started in person before transitioning to a synchronous online format. Students were asked to identify the main factors that supported their learning in lecture and lab, characterize …


Using Primary Literature On Sars‐Cov‐2 To Promote Student Learning About Evolution, Jeremy L. Hsu Jul 2020

Using Primary Literature On Sars‐Cov‐2 To Promote Student Learning About Evolution, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 has caused widespread deaths, illnesses, and societal disruption. I describe here how I pivoted a discussion‐based senior biology capstone course to include a multiweek module surrounding one primary literature paper on the evolution of SARS‐CoV‐2 and the subsequent scientific discourse about the paper. Using a gradual reveal of the paper following the CREATE method (consider, read, elucidate, and think of the next experiment), I challenged students to learn new evolutionary principles and critically analyze the data surrounding the evolution and transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 presented in the paper. I also provide general advice for …


Concept Inventories As A Resource For Teaching Evolution, Robert E. Furrow, Jeremy L. Hsu Jan 2019

Concept Inventories As A Resource For Teaching Evolution, Robert E. Furrow, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding evolution is critical to learning biology, but few college instructors take advantage of the body of peer-reviewed literature that can inform evolution teaching and assessment. Here we summarize the peer-reviewed papers on tools to assess student learning of evolutionary concepts. These published concept inventories provide a resource for instructors to design courses, gauge student preparation, identify key misconceptions in their student population, and measure the impact of a lesson, course, or broader curriculum on student learning. Because these inventories vary in their format, target audience, and degree of validation, we outline and explain these features. In addition to summarizing …


The Explorations Program: Benefits Of Single-Session, Research- Focused Classes For Students And Postdoctoral Instructors, Jeremy L. Hsu, Anna M. Wrona, Sarah E. Brownell, Waheeda Khalfan Jul 2016

The Explorations Program: Benefits Of Single-Session, Research- Focused Classes For Students And Postdoctoral Instructors, Jeremy L. Hsu, Anna M. Wrona, Sarah E. Brownell, Waheeda Khalfan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We present an update to Explorations, a program at Stanford University that allows undergraduates in an introductory biology course to explore specialized topics in the biological sciences while providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars the unique opportunity to develop and teach single-session, research-focused classes. We provide an assessment of eight iterations of the program, using program attendance, student and instructor evaluations, senior exit surveys, course grades, and completion of undergraduate honors theses to assess the impact of our program on students and instructors. Students rated their experiences highly, and most reported that the program had a positive impact on their …