scholarly journals Cognitive Construal-Consistent Instructor Language in the Undergraduate Biology Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. ar63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Betz ◽  
Jessica S. Leffers ◽  
Emily E. Dahlgaard Thor ◽  
Michal Fux ◽  
Kristin de Nesnera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Science Classroom ◽  
Biological Science ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Biological World ◽  
The University ◽  
University Science

Researchers have identified patterns of intuitive thinking that are commonly used to understand and reason about the biological world. These cognitive construals (anthropic, teleological, and essentialist thinking), while useful in everyday life, have also been associated with misconceptions about biological science. Although construal-based thinking is pervasive among students, we know little about the prevalence of construal-consistent language in the university science classroom. In the current research, we characterized the degree to which construal-consistent language is present in biology students’ learning environments. To do so, we coded transcripts of instructor’s speech in 90 undergraduate biology classes for the presence of construal-consistent language. Classes were drawn from two universities with very different student demographic profiles and represented 18 different courses aimed at nonmajors and lower- and upper-division biology majors. Results revealed construal-consistent language in all 90 sampled classes. Anthropic language was more frequent than teleological or essentialist language, and frequency of construal-consistent language was surprisingly consistent across instructor and course level. Moreover, results were surprisingly consistent across the two universities. These findings suggest that construal-consistent language is pervasive in the undergraduate classroom and highlight the need to understand how such language may facilitate and/or interfere with students learning biological science.

scholarly journals Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE)

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. ar66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Stanhope ◽  
Laura Ziegler ◽  
Tabassum Haque ◽  
Laura Le ◽  
Marcelo Vinces ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Biological Science ◽  
Quantitative Reasoning ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Quantitative Skills ◽  
Using Data

Multiple reports highlight the increasingly quantitative nature of biological research and the need to innovate means to ensure that students acquire quantitative skills. We present a tool to support such innovation. The Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE) is an assessment instrument designed to measure the quantitative skills of undergraduate students within a biological context. The instrument was developed by an interdisciplinary team of educators and aligns with skills included in national reports such as BIO2010, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, and Vision and Change. Undergraduate biology educators also confirmed the importance of items included in the instrument. The current version of the BioSQuaRE was developed through an iterative process using data from students at 12 postsecondary institutions. A psychometric analysis of these data provides multiple lines of evidence for the validity of inferences made using the instrument. Our results suggest that the BioSQuaRE will prove useful to faculty and departments interested in helping students acquire the quantitative competencies they need to successfully pursue biology, and useful to biology students by communicating the importance of quantitative skills. We invite educators to use the BioSQuaRE at their own institutions.

scholarly journals Visualizing Cancer: A Transdisciplinary Art and Biology Collaborative

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla McComb ◽  
Gretchen Otto ◽  
Deborah Omans ◽  
Jennifer Garvey ◽  
Philip J Smaldino
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Collaborative Teams ◽  
Art Students ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Visual Model ◽  
Scientific Accuracy ◽  
Thinking Processes ◽  
The University

It would be safe to say that nearly every student enrolled in college knows someone who has been impacted by cancer. After all, cancer killed nearly 8.2 million people worldwide in 2012 (World Cancer Report, 2014). Using this fact as the impetus for change we decided to make cancer the focus of a “transdisciplinary” (Marshall, 2014) collaborative effort to simulate a reciprocal-learning experience between undergraduate biology and visual art students attending a university in Southeastern Michigan. The goal of the 2015 project was to create an active and authentic collaboration utilizing the university visual art and biology curricula. By engaging and connecting scientific and artistic critical thinking processes, we wanted to know: Could we design a class structure that would enable collaborative teams of art and biology students to create a visual model that represents a hallmark of cancer designed so that the model could also stand alone on artistic merit? In other words, could cancer visualization be transformed into works worthy of gallery display while maintaining scientific accuracy? In this paper we discuss the planning, implementation, results, and impact this work has had upon the way we now envision transdisciplinary collaboration.

scholarly journals Developing a Virtual Lab to Teach Essential Biology Laboratory Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mao Miyamoto ◽  
Deborah M. Milkowski ◽  
Christine D. Young ◽  
Leah A. Lebowicz
Keyword(s):  
Group Testing ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Laboratory Techniques ◽  
Virtual Lab ◽  
The University ◽  
Biology Laboratory ◽  
Phosphate Buffered Saline

Laboratory classes have consistently played a crucial role in science education for many years. Common to all labs is the need to understand essential lab techniques. Students often lack this foundational understanding, and this can lead to poor performance or confidence (Gallagher et al. 2008).Virtual labs have been found to be effective in promoting active learning and increasing performance (Lewis 2014). In this project, a virtual lab for preparing a phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) was created to educate undergraduate biology students on essential laboratory techniques. The virtual lab included animations and interactive elements to visually communicate each step.Content experts provided input on the accuracy of the scientific content throughout development. Focus group testing with biology teaching assistants (TAs) at the University of Illinois at Chicago was conducted to assess the potential effectiveness of the virtual lab.

Being Aware of Your Thinking: Examining Mindfulness and Metacognition in Undergraduate Biology Students

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikah J. Pritchard ◽  
Trisha A. Turner ◽  
Ellen L. Usher ◽  
Faith L. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students

scholarly journals What are the factors influencing the aversion of students towards reptiles?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moacyr Xavier Gomes da Silva ◽  
Franciany Braga-Pereira ◽  
Mikaela Clotilde da Silva ◽  
José Valberto de Oliveira ◽  
Sérgio de Faria Lopes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Society ◽  
Mathematics Students ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Paraphyletic Group ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
The University

Abstract Background Reptiles form a paraphyletic group with significant roles for human society, including species that are considered important for food, medicinal and mystical use and as pets. Some species are considered to be aversive, whereas others are captivating among people. Aversion is an important factor which should be considered in the conservation policies of these animals. As such, here, we investigate the demographic, educational, perceptives and behavioural factors of students related to their aversion and non-conservationist attitudes directed towards different reptile species and evaluated the effect of educational exhibition of animals as a strategy of mitigating these attitudes. Methods The data were obtained through forms on the aversion and conservation of reptiles represented by three species, a chelonian, a snake and a lizard. The form was given in two instances, before and after a visit to a private zoo (Museu Vivo Répteis da Caatinga), where the students had contact with the aforementioned species. A total of 133 students participated in the study, among these, 43 from elementary school (21 females and 22 males), 29 from high school (16 females and 13 males), 37 from university biology students (22 females and 15 males) and 24 university mathematics students (6 females and 18 males). Results Among all evaluated species, snakes were considered to be the most aversive species. The aversion attitudes differed between the three evaluated species when correlated to age and type of university courses. However, this pattern did not differ between student sexes. Older students had a lower aversion to the chelonian compared to the younger ones, but for snakes and lizards, the aversion was high among students of all ages. The university biology students had a lower aversion compared to the university mathematics students for the three species. The recognition and handle of the tested species and previous visits to educational exhibitions of animals were negatively related to aversion. The comparative analysis of the forms applied before and after the visit to the Museu Vivo Répteis da Caatinga showed that this visit influenced the decrease of aversion, but not in non-conservationist attitudes, for which the attitude scores had always been low. Conclusions We conclude that reptile aversion varies in accordance with the taxon, being snakes the most disliked by students. The visit to the educational exhibition of animals contributed to the reduction of the observed aversion. This is especially true when the acquisition of educational information about species is associated with practical activities which includes contact with the animals. Finally, the fact that non-conservationist attitudes had been low towards all species perhaps demonstrates a conservationist tendency even for the most aversive species.

scholarly journals Investigating Novice and Expert Conceptions of Genetically Modified Organisms

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. ar52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Potter ◽  
Sarah A. Bissonnette ◽  
Jonathan D. Knight ◽  
Kimberly D. Tanner
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Modification ◽  
Real World ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Molecular Behavior ◽  
Biology Majors

The aspiration of biology education is to give students tools to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to everyday life. Genetic modification is a real-world biological concept that relies on an in-depth understanding of the molecular behavior of DNA and proteins. This study investigated undergraduate biology students’ conceptions of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) when probed with real-world, molecular and cellular, and essentialist cues, and how those conceptions compared across biology expertise. We developed a novel written assessment tool and administered it to 120 non–biology majors, 154 entering biology majors, 120 advanced biology majors (ABM), and nine biology faculty. Results indicated that undergraduate biology majors rarely included molecular and cellular rationales in their initial explanations of GMOs. Despite ABM demonstrating that they have much of the biology knowledge necessary to understand genetic modification, they did not appear to apply this knowledge to explaining GMOs. Further, this study showed that all undergraduate student populations exhibited evidence of essentialist thinking while explaining GMOs, regardless of their level of biology training. Finally, our results suggest an association between scientifically accurate ideas and the application of molecular and cellular rationales, as well as an association between misconceptions and essentialist rationales.

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