Bringing Botany into Focus: Addressing Plant Blindness in Undergraduates Through an Immersive Botanical Experience

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 887-900
Author(s):  
Jessica Colon ◽  
Nichole Tiernan ◽  
Simone Oliphant ◽  
Ateev Shirajee ◽  
Jonathan Flickinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
College Major ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Career Trajectories ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Math Students ◽  
Plant Life Histories

Abstract Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math students (STEM) are usually not attuned to the intricacies of plant life histories or to the dynamic role plants play in ecosystems and human society, a phenomenon termed plant blindness. Botany education has declined in the past decades, whereas career paths that need and benefit from a workforce with botanical knowledge have increased. Consequently, there is a need to reduce plant blindness among undergraduate students, regardless of their career trajectories. We provide evidence that participation in a botanical experience as part of a general biology course can positively shift undergraduates’ perception of botany, the study of plants. Students participating in the botanical experience showed significant positive shifts in their ability to connect botany to their college major and future careers. In addition, we show qualitative data indicating a new respect for plants and a new appreciation for the diversity among plants.

scholarly journals Supporting Undergraduate STEMM Education: Perspectives from Faculty Mentors and Learning Assistants in Calculus II

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Rebecca Hite ◽  
Levi Johnson ◽  
Richard Carlos L. Velasco ◽  
G. Brock Williams ◽  
Ken Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Written Responses ◽  
Oral Responses ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Engineering Mathematics ◽  
Pedagogical Skills ◽  
Large Enrollment ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Faculty Mentors

In higher education, Learning Assistants (LAs)—a relatively recent evolution grounded in peer mentorship models—are gaining popularity in classrooms as universities strive to meet the needs of undergraduate learners. Unlike Teaching Assistants, LAs are undergraduate students who receive continuous training from faculty mentors in content-area coaching and pedagogical skills. As near-peers, they assist assigned groups of undergraduates (students) during class. Research on LAs suggests that they are significant in mitigating high Drop-Fail-Withdrawal rates of large enrollment undergraduate science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) courses. However, there is a dearth of description regarding the learning between LAs and STEMM faculty mentors. This paper reports on perspectives of faculty mentors and their cooperating LAs in regard to their learning relationships during a Calculus II at a research-oriented university during Spring of 2020. Using an exploratory-descriptive qualitative design, faculty (oral responses) and LAs (written responses) reflected on their relationship. Content analysis (coding) resulted in four salient categories (by faculty and LA percentages, respectively) in: Showing Care and Fostering Relationships (47%, 23%); Honing Pedagogical Skills (27%, 36%); Being Prepared for Class and Students (23%, 28%); and Developing Content Knowledge in Calculus (3%, 13%). Benefits of LAs to faculty and ways to commence LA programs at institutions are also discussed.

scholarly journals Crossing Boundaries: Steps Toward Measuring Undergraduates’ Interdisciplinary Science Understanding

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. ar8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brie Tripp ◽  
Sophia A. Voronoff ◽  
Erin E. Shortlidge
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Science ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Science Understanding ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
Undergraduate Science

A desired outcome of education reform efforts is for undergraduates to effectively integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to evaluate and address real-world issues. Yet there are few assessments designed to measure if and how students think interdisciplinarily. Here, a sample of science faculty were surveyed to understand how they currently assess students’ interdisciplinary science understanding. Results indicate that individual writing-intensive activities are the most frequently used assessment type (69%). To understand how writing assignments can accurately assess students’ ability to think interdisciplinarily, we used a preexisting rubric, designed to measure social science students’ interdisciplinary understanding, to assess writing assignments from 71 undergraduate science students. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 of those students to explore similarities and differences between assignment scores and verbal understanding of interdisciplinary science. Results suggest that certain constructs of the instrument did not fully capture this competency for our population, but instead, an interdisciplinary framework may be a better model to guide assessment development of interdisciplinary science. These data suggest that a new instrument designed through the lens of this model could more accurately characterize interdisciplinary science understanding for undergraduate students.

Fostering Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Creating an Equitable Environment That Addresses the Needs of Undergraduate Students

2022 ◽  
pp. 152102512110735
Author(s):  
Jennifer Louten
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
And Mathematics

Student retention is a critical issue for universities, and nearly half of the students who start degree programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) do not complete them. The current study tracks the progress of STEM students taking part in an entry-to-graduation program designed to build community, provide academic and social support, and promote engagement in academically purposeful activities. Although it had no effect on the number of students who changed their major, the program more than doubled the number of students who graduated in their original major. Black or Hispanic students taking part in the program also graduated at twice the rate of comparator students, largely attributable to the success of women in these groups. The results provide needed real-world insights into how to create an equitable environment that promotes the persistence and graduation of students, including those from groups historically underrepresented in STEM.

Sex, College Major, and Attribution of Responsibility in Empathic Responding to Persons with HIV Infection

2004 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laia Bécares ◽  
Castellano Turner
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
College Major ◽  
Unprotected Sex ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Attribution Of Responsibility ◽  
Men 2 ◽  
Demographic Questionnaire ◽  
Psychology Majors ◽  
Urban University

This investigation studied the influence of sex, college major, and attributed responsibility on college students' empathic responding towards persons infected with HIV. We hypothesized that (1) women would score higher on empathy than men; (2) nursing and psychology majors would score higher on empathy than business and computer science majors; and (3) participants would score higher on empathy towards a target who contracted HIV through blood transfusion (presented as a Nonresponsible target) rather than through unprotected sex (presented as a Responsible target). Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students (110 male, 148 female) attending a large urban university in the northeast filled out an anonymous demographic questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of Davis (1983), and an Empathy Reaction Scale that was developed by the authors. Results indicated a higher mean Empathy Reaction score from nursing and psychology students as compared to business and computer science students. There was no difference in Empathy Reaction scores between men and women. A higher Empathy Reaction score was found among participants who had read a diary from the target portrayed as Nonresponsible, as opposed to those who read a diary from the target portrayed as Responsible.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Knowledge in STEM: Solving Algebraic Problems

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Teoh Sian Hoon ◽  
Parmjit Singh Aperar Singh ◽  
Cheong Tau Han ◽  
Nurul Akmal Md Nasir ◽  
Nor Syazwani Mohd Rasid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Undergraduate Mathematics Education ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Analysis Of Knowledge

This study was conducted to assess the students’ level of abilities in solving algebraic word problems which is a main component in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It also aims to determine the students’ difficulties in solving these problems by using Newman’s Model of Error Analysis (NMEA). Furthermore, this study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of undergraduate students towards STEM and its relationship to the achievement of the test. The instruments are a test on algebraic problems and a set of questionnaire on attitudes towards STEM. The test which was validated by an expert from a university was adopted and adapted from a problem solving source. The test contained questions from one of the main areas of algebra which focused on two parts namely algebraic knowledge (AK) and algebraic knowledge in the context of science (AKCS).  There were a total of 63 undergraduate mathematics education students who took part in this study. This study was carried out using the mixed-methods qualitative approach. The result showed that the majority of the students have a low level of algebraic knowledge as well as algebraic knowledge in the context of science. For the attitude towards STEM, findings displayed that the majority of the students were interested and gave positive attitude towards STEM. Keywords: algebraic knowledge (AK), algebraic knowledge in the context of science (AKCS), Newman’s Model of Error Analysis (NMEA), attitudes towards STEM

Pathogens and Plant Life Histories

1999 ◽  
pp. 275-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Clay ◽  
Wim van der Putten
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
Plant Life Histories

scholarly journals Four Religious Education Teachers: Four Retrospective Career Trajectories

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Juha Luodeslampi ◽  
Arniika Kuusisto ◽  
Arto Kallioniemi
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
School Subject ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Lutheran Church ◽  
Career Trajectories ◽  
History Approach

This article examines the career paths of Finnish Religious Education (RE) teachers who were born in the 1930s, through a retrospective, self-autobiographical life history approach. The material reported here is a part of wider data of mainly written narratives (N = 62) from RE teachers who recount their career trajectories. In these career-focused life histories, the teachers outline their own professionalism as embedded in changing sociohistorical contexts, where to a great extent they tell about the active development of the school and the teaching of their particular subject to answer to the changing needs and challenges. Some teachers have, along with their teaching, also been actively involved in different communities or associations. Many of the Religious Education teachers here reflect on their career paths in relation to their profession as a teacher and often also with double qualifications as pastor trained theologians. At times, this constructs a possibility for tension between the roles of a teacher and that of a pastor, and in the perceptions of RE as a school subject and as something “preached” in the pulpit—some see their professionalism above all in relation to their religious life. This also includes a notable gender divide in the data, as at the time when these teachers gained their professional qualifications, it was only possible for men to be ordained in the Finnish Lutheran Church. Succeeding this, the male teachers in these data commonly have pastorhood as their first profession. For the purpose of this article, the career accounts of four teachers have been selected for further analysis, as they were perceived as telling examples of the wider material in terms of more or less typical career paths.

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