Audience Matters

There is growing attention to student assessments designed to reach beyond the classroom, including assessments with an immediate or future audience. The impact of audience, however, has not been examined in multimodal assessments across continents, institutions, disciplines, and teaching contexts. Using qualitative data, this article examines the impact on student learning of incorporating audience and awareness of audience in diverse settings through multimodal projects. These include a core assignment in an interdisciplinary, semester-long graduate class in the United States, a year-long capstone project for geography undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and a supplemental assignment for graduate and undergraduate biology students in Norway. This article investigates the impact of audience through multimodal assessments across these three settings and concludes that it can positively influence student learning, motivation, and skill development.

Bridging the Gap in Learning Differences Among Biology Students Using 4 Mode Application Techniques

This study is on bridging the gap in learning differences among biology students using 4MAT Application Techniques. We carried out the study in Abakaliki, Nigeria. We adopted a quasi-experimental design for the study. We used 138 SS-II students from two schools. Two hypotheses were tested. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and Hierarchical Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed that there was a significant main effect of instructional method on students' achievement in biology F (7, 121) = 12.654, p =.000, partial η2 =.39; there was no significant main effect of gender on students' achievement in biology F (1, 121) = 1.240, p =.268, partial η2 =.004. We highlighted the educational implications of the findings and the recommendations. We also made some limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies.

On the Possibilities of Using the Body Mass Index Index to Reveal Trends in Changing the Health Status of Student Youth

The article is devoted to the study of body mass index (BMI) indicators of biology students at Samara University in 20008-2020. For girls, against the background of fluctuations over the years, from 2015-2016 to 2020. there is a consistent decrease in the proportion of people with underweight, an increase in the proportion of people with normal weight. For young men, changes in the BMI structure are of a more pronounced oscillatory character. The negative features of the 2019 and 2020 contingent are the emergence of overweight and obese people. Key words: students, physical health, body weight, Samara region, body mass index.

Gamified lessons support molecular genetics education of first year biology students during COVID-19 lockdown

This study compared the associated impact of gamified molecular genetics lessons on undergraduate student grades for pre-COVID-19 blended delivery and COVID-19 online only delivery of a first-year biology course. When the molecular genetics gamified lessons were used by on- and off-campus students to support their learning, most students had successful learning outcomes in either blended or online only learning environments. In contrast, students who chose not to use these lessons had significantly greater failure rates for both the molecular biology and the genetics short answer questions in the final invigilated exams. Importantly, there was noticeable gamified lesson fatigue observed by both on- and off-campus students and therefore when incorporating gamified lessons into courses, curriculum design needs to be carefully considered. In conclusion, the use of gamified lessons was associated with significantly reduced student failure rates for molecular genetics concepts studied in a university foundational biology course.

Improving Academic Performance and Retention of First-Year Biology Students through a Scalable Peer Mentorship Program

This study evaluates the performance of a near-peer mentoring program for first-year biology majors. The program’s intention is to improve student retention generally, and academic and soft skills more specifically. The effect of the program was investigated via ethnographic methods, a program-specific survey, and regression analyses.

Core concepts in physiology: teaching homeostasis through pattern recognition

Homeostasis is a core concept in systems physiology that future clinicians and biomedical professionals will apply in their careers. Despite this, many students struggle to transfer the principles governing homeostasis to concrete examples. Precourse assessments conducted on 72 undergraduate biology students enrolled in an introductory systems physiology course at the University of Belgrade during the February–May semester of 2021 revealed that students had a vague, fragmentary understanding of homeostasis and its related concepts that was often conflated with topics touched on during their previous coursework. We formalized and implemented an approach to teaching homeostasis that focused heavily on consistent reinforcement of physiological reflex patterns throughout the course. To that end, we employed a variety of activities aimed at getting students to view organ system integration holistically. After the semester, postcourse assessment demonstrated that students were better able to provide concrete examples of organ system contributions to homeostasis and were more adept at applying basic principles to novel physiological scenarios. Comparison of final grades with previous semesters revealed that students outperformed their peers who had taken the course previously. In this article, we summarize the findings of pre- and postcourse assessments, describe the general approach we took to teaching homeostasis as well as the specific techniques used in the classroom, and compare student performance with previous semesters.

The effectiveness of a proposed strategy according to visual thinking in the achievement of physics and mental sharpness among fifth-grade biology students

The aim of the current research is to identify the effectiveness of a proposed strategy according to visual thinking in the achievement of physics and mental sharpness among fifth- grade biology student , by verifying the following null hypothesis : there is no difference or statistical significance at the level ( 0.05 ) average scores of the experimental group students which was studied according suggested strategy and the average scores of the students of the control group who studied in the usual way at the level of achievement in physics and mental sharpness . The research limited for fifth grade biology students in the middle and high schools of the day affiliated to the directorate of education Al-Diwaniyah center for the academic year ( 2020 – 2021 ) , the research chose Al-Zaytoun high school intentionally , then two division were chosen out of four divisions for the fifth grade biology were randomly selected , the sample number was ( 71 ) students , and by ( 35 ) students for the control group , which studied in the usual way and ( 36 ) students for the experimental group , which studied according to the proposed strategy , the pilot and officer groups have been equal in a number of variables are the time-old in the months of the semi-year test degree with physics and previous information , for the purpose of achieving my research goals , researchers adopted a threat to a multi-choice (35) paragraph , the test was verified and its stability was also verified as the discriminatory force was calculated for its paragraphs , the mental acuity test was also built , which consisted of (45) items distributed over 3 sub-dimensions , the validity and reliability of the test were verified , and the discriminatory power of the items was calculated , the results showed the superiority of the students of the experimental group that studied according to the proposed strategy over the students of the control group that studied in the usual away in achievement in physics and mental acuity for the fifth grade biology students , thus , the null hypothesis was rejected accordingly, the researchers recommended using the proposed strategy in teaching physics and suggested conducting other studies for other stages of study and different study subjects to know the effectiveness of the proposed .

Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students’ Academic Success: Comparing Two Workshop Interventions

When teaching college biology students to use effective learning strategies, does it help to address both the what and the when of studying? Findings indicated that students who learned about time management in addition to metacognition had higher exam grades and commitment to earning a college degree at the end of the semester.

Preparing for Class: Actions and Resources of Introductory Biology Students

Instructors want students to be prepared for class. There are several different resources and activities available to help students prepare for class, but very little is known about how students choose to prepare for class in the context of undergraduate biology.

Students’ Knowledge, Awareness, and Pro-Environmental Behavior in Urban to Design Climate Change Book Serials

Background and objective: Problems currently occurred in the environment are caused by a lack of environmental awareness of the community. Biology students learn the environment in ecological learning. Students must explore environmental knowledge (EK) and are expected to have high environmental awareness (EA) and then apply their knowledge in daily life with pro-environmental behavior (PEB). There is a need for designing climate-change book serials for university students (CCBS-US) towards contextualized learning. This study aimed to determine the relationship between EK and EA and the PEB of biology students as a baseline for designing CCBS-US. Methods: The study used a quantitative descriptive method with a correlational design. Total 136 biology students from a state university in Jakarta, Indonesia served as samples of the study. Results: Research results revealed a positive relationship between EK and PEB of biology students. There was a positive relationship between EA and PEB of biology students and between EK and EA and PEB of Biology students. Moreover, 77% of students reported their EK is very high, 55% of students reported their EA is medium, and 46% of students reported their PEB is medium. Ecological learning has a vital role in shaping the EK, EA, and PEB, thus CCBS-US needs to be developed. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was a relationship between EK, EA, and PEB. The study recommends the development of CCBS-US based on the survey results.