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Swarthmore College

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Full-Text Articles in Biology

Resisting The Western Scientist Inside And Outside Of The Collegiate Biology Classroom, Dulce G. Ventura , '22 Apr 2022

Resisting The Western Scientist Inside And Outside Of The Collegiate Biology Classroom, Dulce G. Ventura , '22

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

In this thesis, I explore how conceptions of western science and scientists invade the Swarthmore Biology department and how it impacts BIPOC students inside and outside the classroom. The findings indicate that BIPOC students are routinely harmed by many ideas conceived from colonialism. However, both students and faculty demonstrate resistance inside and outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, faculty members build strong relationships with students in small communities and negate Western science's claim of objectivity. Outside of the classroom, programs like the Biology Big Sibling-Little Sibling program are recentering BIPOC students and their lived experiences, effectively creating a community where …


Active Learning Outside The Classroom: Implementation And Outcomes Of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops In Introductory Biology, Philip Kudish, Robin Shores, A. Mcclung, Lisa Smulyan , '76, Elizabeth Ann Vallen, Kathleen King Siwicki Sep 2016

Active Learning Outside The Classroom: Implementation And Outcomes Of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops In Introductory Biology, Philip Kudish, Robin Shores, A. Mcclung, Lisa Smulyan , '76, Elizabeth Ann Vallen, Kathleen King Siwicki

Biology Faculty Works

Study group meetings (SGMs) are voluntary-attendance peer-led team-learning workshops that supplement introductory biology lectures at a selective liberal arts college. While supporting all students’ engagement with lecture material, specific aims are to improve the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students and those with weaker backgrounds in biology. Peer leaders with experience in biology courses and training in science pedagogy facilitate work on faculty-generated challenge problems. During the eight semesters assessed in this study, URM students and those with less preparation attended SGMs with equal or greater frequency than their counterparts. Most agreed that SGMs enhanced their comprehension of biology and …


Cultivating Trust In Gmo Science: Moving Past The Deficit Model To Productive And Participatory Science Education, Kate Crowley , '16 Jan 2016

Cultivating Trust In Gmo Science: Moving Past The Deficit Model To Productive And Participatory Science Education, Kate Crowley , '16

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Most scientists believe GMOs are safe for human consumption, but a majority of the American public remains unconvinced. I argue that this lack of trust stems from scientists' outdated approach to science communication, namely the deficit model. Instead of seeing the public as empty vessels waiting to be filled with scientific knowledge, the scientific community must recognize that many strongly held beliefs about science issues are socially situated. Only through genuine attempts at participatory, two-way conversations with the public can the scientific community come to understand how public values influence GMO acceptance. While these actions will necessitate a redefining of …