Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education最新文献

Modeling meiosis through story: a narrative-driven, low-cost virtual laboratory for introductory biology. 通过故事模拟减数分裂：一个叙事驱动的，低成本的入门生物学虚拟实验室。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-20 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00171-26

Cristina M Cummings

{"title":"Modeling meiosis through story: a narrative-driven, low-cost virtual laboratory for introductory biology.","authors":"Cristina M Cummings","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00171-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00171-26","url":null,"abstract":"Options for flexible online learning are essential because they remove barriers to education and make learning accessible to a much wider range of people. A greater demand for flexible online instruction highlights a critical need for accessible, active-learning science curricula. Teaching complex, dynamic cellular processes like meiosis and non-disjunction is notoriously difficult in independent or asynchronous environments due to high student cognitive load and frequent misconceptions regarding these processes. To address this, a flexible, low-cost virtual laboratory was developed using tactile modeling embedded in a relatable, pop-culture zombie narrative. This study evaluated the pedagogical efficacy and student perceptions of this exercise across multiple undergraduate-level introductory biology laboratory sections (n = 48 paired responses). Paired pre- and post-assessment data demonstrated a statistically significant increase in overall conceptual knowledge, with average student scores rising from 66.88% to 75.73%. Granular item analysis revealed that while rote vocabulary scores remained unchanged, students achieved significant learning gains in process-driven mechanics, phase identification, and mid-level cognitive skills within Bloom's taxonomy. Qualitative survey data showed high student self-efficacy, with over half reporting the lab significantly aided their understanding, despite baseline affective ambivalence typical of independent active learning. Furthermore, multi-instructor deployment demonstrated that while designed for asynchronous delivery, this curriculum possesses the structural flexibility to adapt seamlessly to synchronous, hybrid, or in-person flipped classrooms, offering an equitable and adaptable framework for modern multimodal STEM education.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0017126"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149228897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Study buddy learning is associated with academic success in undergraduate science courses. 同伴学习与本科理科课程的学业成功有关。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-16 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00158-26

Achol Jones, Veronica Dudarev, Gabrielle Reznik, Al Rohet Hossain, Bowen Hui, Patrice Belleville, Warren Williams, Eden Fussner-Dupas, James T Enns

{"title":"Study buddy learning is associated with academic success in undergraduate science courses.","authors":"Achol Jones, Veronica Dudarev, Gabrielle Reznik, Al Rohet Hossain, Bowen Hui, Patrice Belleville, Warren Williams, Eden Fussner-Dupas, James T Enns","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00158-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00158-26","url":null,"abstract":"This study reports on the outcomes of a peer-learning program called study buddy for undergraduate science students. The study tested three hypotheses: (i) Do students benefit academically from a formalized study buddy peer learning program? (ii) Do mentors and protégés benefit equally from participation in the study buddy program? (iii) Does heterogeneity in group members' initial academic performance have an effect on benefits from participation in the study buddy program? To test these hypotheses, we implemented a cohort-based study buddy program in which high-scoring students (mentors) and lower-scoring peers (protégés), following their first assessment scores in a given course, were invited to form study groups. We compared the performance of participants versus non-participants on subsequent assessments, while examining separately the effects for mentors and protégés. Results showed (i) significant grade benefits for participants over non-participants, (ii) similar participation benefits for students in mentor and protégé roles, and (iii) no interaction of competence-based heterogeneity on these effects. Although this study design was unable to assess the nature of the study buddy interactions, the grade performance data highlight the program as a cost-effective and scalable approach to enhance students' educational experiences. The data also emphasize the value of reducing barriers to collaborative learning in higher education.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0015826"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Promoting active learning and student engagement through critical analysis of scientific illustrations. 通过科学插图的批判性分析促进积极学习和学生参与。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-14 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00219-26

Michael I Zimmer

{"title":"Promoting active learning and student engagement through critical analysis of scientific illustrations.","authors":"Michael I Zimmer","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00219-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00219-26","url":null,"abstract":"Figures and illustrations are central tools for communicating complex biological concepts, yet they necessarily simplify structures and processes, which can obscure important details or introduce misconceptions. This article describes a low-preparation, flexible instructional strategy that leverages these simplifications to promote active learning and student engagement through the critical analysis of scientific illustrations. Instructors prompt students to examine existing figures from textbooks, lectures, or primary literature and identify what is missing, oversimplified, or potentially misleading, as well as how an image could be improved to better represent biological complexity. By modeling this type of analysis and incorporating brief, low-stakes discussions during class, instructors encourage students to view figures as interpretive models rather than complete representations of reality. The approach can be implemented spontaneously, adapted across biological subdisciplines and course levels, and used in lectures or laboratory settings. This strategy shifts students from passive consumption of visuals to active engagement with content, provides opportunities to apply and reinforce conceptual understanding, and provides instructors with real-time insight into student thinking. Overall, using scientific illustrations as prompts for critique provides an accessible strategy to strengthen critical thinking, visual literacy, and understanding of how biological knowledge is communicated.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0021926"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149185370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Developing a generative AI chatbot to support students' higher-order thinking in STEM education. 开发生成式AI聊天机器人，支持STEM教育中学生的高阶思维。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-14 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00101-26

Lindsey Engle Richland, Shuyuan Yu, Banu Karyagdi, Hongyang Zhao, Shayan Doroudi, Joseph T Wong, Ella Rose, Maryam Cheraghi, Katherine Trieste Rhodes

{"title":"Developing a generative AI chatbot to support students' higher-order thinking in STEM education.","authors":"Lindsey Engle Richland, Shuyuan Yu, Banu Karyagdi, Hongyang Zhao, Shayan Doroudi, Joseph T Wong, Ella Rose, Maryam Cheraghi, Katherine Trieste Rhodes","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00101-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00101-26","url":null,"abstract":"Higher-order thinking is a key component of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) reasoning and supports students' ability to reflect on their ideas, make connections, and generalize across contexts. We report a new approach to the use of generative AI in STEM education, in which we are developing a chatbot that aims to engage students in higher-order thinking, rather than giving instructional content. We describe a proof of concept test of whether interaction with our generative artificial intelligence chatbot could elicit students' higher-order thinking talk (HOTT) in conversation as they reflected on their solutions to proportional reasoning problems. Thirty-three fifth- and sixth-grade students received a 30-min lesson on symbolic and number line strategies for comparing ratios and completed an assessment following the lesson. Students then engaged in dialog with the UCI Math ThinkBot (afterward Math ThinkBot) to explain their solutions and compare strategies. These transcripts were examined qualitatively and quantitatively for HOTT, revealing that HOTT appeared in both chatbot prompts and children's responses-which is important because eliciting student HOTT can be a challenge in classroom discourse. In addition, children's HOTT was positively associated with the HOTT produced by the chatbot. These findings suggest that human-artificial intelligence dialog can lead to instructional HOTT discourse and may offer a promising approach for supporting higher-order thinking and STEM reasoning.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0010126"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149185349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

An instructional workflow for interdisciplinary prototype design in biology and engineering. 生物学与工程学跨学科原型设计的教学工作流程。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-13 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00164-26

Tom D'Elia, Natalia Chekhovskaya, Claudia Martinez, Robert G Shatters

{"title":"An instructional workflow for interdisciplinary prototype design in biology and engineering.","authors":"Tom D'Elia, Natalia Chekhovskaya, Claudia Martinez, Robert G Shatters","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00164-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00164-26","url":null,"abstract":"Interdisciplinary collaboration between biology and engineering students can be difficult to implement within traditional undergraduate coursework, despite increasing demand for students to develop collaborative technical skills. To address this challenge, we developed an instructional workflow that connected introductory biology and engineering students through the design, fabrication, and testing of field-delivery prototypes inspired by agricultural research relevant to the local community. Directly linking the project to a regional issue and to interactions with collaborating scientists strengthened student engagement and investment in the work. Coordinating the initial interactions between the groups of students was supported by implementing an onboarding activity designed to identify disciplinary perspectives, knowledge gaps, and collaborative challenges prior to prototype development. Students were also introduced to the importance of developing simple, minimum viable prototypes that allowed for more rapid design and testing iterations. Reciprocal peer instruction throughout the workflow required students to share their discipline-specific knowledge to overcome challenges related to biological constraints, field application considerations, microscopy, computer-aided design, and 3D printing. Accountability measures gauged student progress and included weekly progress updates, laboratory and design notebooks, and final presentations to collaborating scientists. Overall, the workflow provided students with experience working across disciplines while developing communication, teamwork, and prototype development skills.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0016426"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149185248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Data-driven learning: a qPCR lab module that incorporates quantitative feedback to encourage technical problem solving. 数据驱动学习：qPCR实验室模块，包含定量反馈，以鼓励解决技术问题。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-12 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00255-26

Nancy D Shi, Cassie Tong-Zhou, Kenjiro W Quides

引用次数: 0

Better roughly right than precisely wrong: Fermi problems in biology curricula. 大致正确总比完全错误好：生物学课程中的费米问题。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-12 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00141-26

Roland Hatzenpichler

引用次数: 0

Expanding the role of large language models in biology assessment. 扩展大型语言模型在生物学评估中的作用。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-09 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00235-26

Jordan Smink

引用次数: 0

Using ASM's Meet the Microbiologist podcast to expose students to current research, the diversity of the field of microbiology, and professional development. 使用ASM的Meet the Microbiologist播客，让学生了解当前的研究、微生物学领域的多样性和专业发展。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-08 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00046-26

Justin A Pruneski

引用次数: 0

Evaluating the effects of documentary clips on student learning outcomes and attitudes in an animal behavior course. 评估动物行为学课程中纪录片片段对学生学习成果和态度的影响。

IF 1.6

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Pub Date : 2026-10-07 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00208-26

Austen J Ehrie, Courtney L Fitzpatrick

{"title":"Evaluating the effects of documentary clips on student learning outcomes and attitudes in an animal behavior course.","authors":"Austen J Ehrie, Courtney L Fitzpatrick","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00208-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00208-26","url":null,"abstract":"Animal behavior courses that focus on how and why animals behave as they do in nature can benefit from opportunities for direct observation. While some university animal behavior courses include lab components that allow students to observe behavior first-hand, the logistical considerations for animal behavior labs are considerable, and therefore in many cases animal behavior courses consist only of lecture. We hypothesized that showing documentary clips in lecture, an inexpensive and easily implemented tool, would enhance student learning. To test this hypothesis, we showed selected documentary clips illustrating specific concepts during lecture and compared student performance on quiz questions covering those concepts with performance on control questions covering concepts without associated clips. In addition, we conducted a qualitative survey to evaluate student enjoyment and perceived usefulness of the clips. We found no relationship between lecture content presented with documentary clips and student performance, but these results should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample size and other study design limitations. On the other hand, students reported positive perceptions of the clips and believed they supported their learning. Consequently, documentary clips may represent a low-cost, accessible tool for increasing student engagement.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0020826"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149128642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0