{"title":"The Aspects of Active-Learning Science Courses That Exacerbate and Alleviate Depression in Undergraduates.","authors":"Tala Araghi, Carly A Busch, Katelyn M Cooper","doi":"10.1187/cbe.22-10-0199","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>College science courses continue to transition from traditional lecture to active learning, which has been shown to have both alleviating and exacerbating effects on undergraduate mental health. Notably, existing studies have primarily examined the relationship between active learning and anxiety, and no studies have specifically assessed the relationship between active learning and depression. To address this gap, we conducted hourlong exploratory interviews with 29 undergraduates from six institutions who identify as having depression and who had been enrolled in at least one active-learning college science course. We probed how undergraduates' depression affects their experiences in active learning, and in turn, what aspects of active-learning practices exacerbate or alleviate students' depressive symptoms. Students described that their depression negatively impacted their cognitive domains, which could make learning and social interactions challenging. Additionally, we found that the underlying aspects of active-learning practices that impact students' depression fall into four overarching categories: opportunities to compare oneself with others, socializing with others while learning, frequent formative evaluation, and engagement in learning. Each of these aspects of active learning could alleviate and/or exacerbate depressive symptoms. This work supports recommendations to create more inclusive active-learning courses for students with depression.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"22 2","pages":"ar26"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/b3/c5/cbe-22-ar26.PMC10228274.pdf","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-10-0199","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
College science courses continue to transition from traditional lecture to active learning, which has been shown to have both alleviating and exacerbating effects on undergraduate mental health. Notably, existing studies have primarily examined the relationship between active learning and anxiety, and no studies have specifically assessed the relationship between active learning and depression. To address this gap, we conducted hourlong exploratory interviews with 29 undergraduates from six institutions who identify as having depression and who had been enrolled in at least one active-learning college science course. We probed how undergraduates' depression affects their experiences in active learning, and in turn, what aspects of active-learning practices exacerbate or alleviate students' depressive symptoms. Students described that their depression negatively impacted their cognitive domains, which could make learning and social interactions challenging. Additionally, we found that the underlying aspects of active-learning practices that impact students' depression fall into four overarching categories: opportunities to compare oneself with others, socializing with others while learning, frequent formative evaluation, and engagement in learning. Each of these aspects of active learning could alleviate and/or exacerbate depressive symptoms. This work supports recommendations to create more inclusive active-learning courses for students with depression.
期刊介绍:
CBE—Life Sciences Education (LSE), a free, online quarterly journal, is published by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). The journal was launched in spring 2002 as Cell Biology Education—A Journal of Life Science Education. The ASCB changed the name of the journal in spring 2006 to better reflect the breadth of its readership and the scope of its submissions.
LSE publishes peer-reviewed articles on life science education at the K–12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. The ASCB believes that learning in biology encompasses diverse fields, including math, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, and the interdisciplinary intersections of biology with these fields. Within biology, LSE focuses on how students are introduced to the study of life sciences, as well as approaches in cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and proteomics.