Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education最新文献

{"title":"Not just an afterthought: the essentiality of professional development for STEM teaching assistants.","authors":"Emma C Goodwin, Karen A Santillan, Petra Kranzfelder, Jeffrey T Olimpo","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00161-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00161-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs) have become increasingly responsible for facilitating coursework in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Yet, they often receive limited, if any, professional development (PD) to support them in this endeavor and to accelerate their growth as educators. This themed issue on STEM TA PD reflects a concerted effort to address this concern, with the articles comprising the issue representing a wide array of topical contributions by authors with a diversity of roles across institutions/organizations.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0016125"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144973786","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}

{"title":"An interdisciplinary approach in teaching RNA secondary structure prediction to first-year undergraduate students using an automated deep learning RNA 3D model prediction tool.","authors":"Kamanasish Bhattacharjee, Adi Idris","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00139-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00139-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in biologics drug design is interlaced into the fabric of the drug discovery pipeline for many in the biotechnology industry. The use of AI tools in RNA therapeutic drug design has gained traction in recent years to develop more effective therapeutics in a short period of time, revolutionizing rapid-response therapeutics. Indeed, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) are streamlining RNA therapeutic design in ways we never thought were possible just a decade ago. These advances are accompanied by a plethora of new AI tools for drug design that continue to barrage the research space at unprecedented speed. As biology educators, we bear the responsibility for keeping up with technological advances in the biotechnology space, as it is up to us to prepare and equip the next generation of scientists with the use of AI platforms in this space. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic design remains a complex challenge, despite several of them being currently in clinical use for various genetic diseases. The application of AI and ML models can predict potent and longer-lasting siRNA drug candidates for therapeutic development. Additionally, it is imperative that siRNA candidates are screened for their propensity to form secondary structures, as this can reduce targeting efficacy and result in unwanted immune responses. Though siRNA technology is commonly taught at the undergraduate level across life sciences disciplines, there remains a disconnect between the use of AI and siRNA design in the teaching curriculum. We previously described an innovative approach for teaching students the use of a generative AI tool called Biomod AI to design siRNAs. Here, we designed an inquiry-based non-wet-lab workshop for students to explore the use of an automated DL-based RNA 3D structure prediction tool called trRosettaRNA to determine the secondary structures of siRNAs. Importantly, the interdisciplinary design of this activity amalgamates both AI and RNA science concepts in a simplified format in a single workshop tailored for first-year health sciences undergraduate students.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0013925"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144973761","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}

{"title":"One million more: assessing a decade of progress in undergraduate STEM education.","authors":"Haider Ali Bhatti","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00155-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00155-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As recent policy decisions in the United States threaten the infrastructure for educational data collection and analysis, evidence-based assessment of higher education outcomes is increasingly vital. This analysis evaluates progress in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education against national priorities established in the 2012 President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) <i>Engage to Excel</i> report. Using data over the last decade, I examined outcomes related to three key goals of the report: producing one million additional STEM graduates, improving retention rates, and increasing demographic representation. Annual STEM degree production grew substantially, with cumulative totals exceeding PCAST's target of \"one million more\" by 16%. The proportion of STEM degrees among all degrees conferred increased over the decade, reversing previous declining trends. STEM employment expanded correspondingly, with growth surpassing the report's projections. Recent longitudinal cohort analyses demonstrate bachelor's-level STEM students now complete degrees at rates comparable to or higher than non-STEM peers. Demographic representation showed mixed progress, with substantial gains for Hispanic students and women, while representation gaps persist for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students. These findings demonstrate successes in degree production, retention, and representation for several demographic groups, providing an evidence-based foundation for evaluating investments and guiding future strategies to strengthen America's STEM talent development. To maintain America's scientific leadership position in an increasingly competitive global landscape, continued collection of and access to robust national educational data remains essential for monitoring progress toward these critical national goals.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0015525"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144973814","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}

{"title":"Tools for coordinating measurement use in science education and training.","authors":"Fátima Sancheznieto, Christine M Pribbenow, Christine Pfund","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00060-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00060-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The improvement of existing science education interventions and the development of new ones requires cohesive, large-scale evaluation and testing that inform what works, for whom, and in what context. Systems approaches to design, implement, and evaluate interventions require knowledge, skills, and expertise in studying humans alongside the lived experiences and positionality of biological science leaders and practitioners who may not have the necessary social science background to do so. Developing a shared understanding of evaluation design and measurement use is an important component toward fostering interdisciplinary collaboration for the improvement of our education and training interventions. In this perspective, we argue that the coordinated use of common measures benefits individual interventions, as well as consortia and collaborative groups that make use of them. We provide examples of consortia and partnerships that make use of common measures within and across programs for evaluation and research. We then describe existing common measure tools and libraries that foster the coordination of common measures. Finally, we suggest next steps to improve tools for use by the broader science education and training research community.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0006025"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369332/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144039280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Insights from an instructional team model focused on formative assessment with the support of learning researchers.","authors":"Patricia Moreira, Paul Blowers, Lisa Elfring, Vicente Talanquer","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00043-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00043-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Formative assessment is a key instructional practice for implementing evidence-based teaching, with research demonstrating its potential to enhance student learning. However, conducting formative assessments in large college classrooms with hundreds of students poses significant challenges, particularly in noticing, interpreting, and addressing students' thinking in real-time. To address these challenges, we designed, implemented, and studied a specialized instructional team model (ITM) consisting of the instructor and a team of learning assistants (LAs), including a dedicated learning researcher (LR). The LR plays a central role in supporting formative assessment by collecting and interpreting evidence of student understanding in large classroom settings. Over 7 years, the ITM influenced the teaching practices of 44 instructors, 48 LRs, and 974 LAs across 21 departments and eight colleges at our institution, positively impacting the learning experiences of more than 20,000 undergraduate students. Through this work, we learned that meaningful and productive engagement in formative assessment requires long-term training for both learning assistants and instructors. This training should focus on developing their ability to elicit, notice, interpret, and respond to student thinking. These key lessons are informed by insights from three stakeholder groups: learning researchers (LRs), participating instructors, and the management team. This perspective aims to inform Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educators and researchers interested in advancing formative assessment through the support of specialized instructional teams.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0004325"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369314/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144019961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A modified Kiss, Marry, Kill game, a novel game-based learning activity for biology and anatomy and physiology students to learn and retain complex scientific concepts.","authors":"Roberto Mariani, Emral Devany","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00055-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00055-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study introduces how a series of fun and interactive discussion board activities can enhance student engagement and understanding of important chemical and biological concepts in college biology and anatomy and physiology courses. The activity is a novel game-based learning approach based on a modified version of the \"Kiss, Marry, Kill\" (KMK) game, where students choose between course content-related choices provided (e.g., three types of cellular organelles-mitochondria, ribosomes, and nucleus) and explain their choices. By requiring students to evaluate and justify their choices, this method promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning in biology education. Participants also engage in discussions about these choices, fostering collaborative learning. This article details the implementation process, anticipated outcomes, and pedagogical benefits of this innovative approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0005525"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369323/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144555232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unlocking potential: mentorship training perspectives from undergraduate peer mentors in course-based undergraduate research experiences.","authors":"Joseph E Panzik, Tevin Flom, Vincent M Pinnavaia, Abigail M Natoli, Sean F Notley, Caitlin J Light","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00007-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00007-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are high-impact educational practices designed to engage students in authentic research while fostering the development of critical skills for persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). A key, yet underappreciated, component of successful CUREs is the role of undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs). Despite their significance, there is a notable gap in training and professional development opportunities tailored to these undergraduates, potentially undermining the effectiveness and inclusivity of CUREs. This paper highlights the essential contributions of UTAs in CUREs. Specifically, this paper explores the specialized role of undergraduate peer mentors (UGPM, type of UTA) in a three-semester CURE program at Binghamton University and examines their experiences through four unique student perspectives. These accounts highlight the benefits and impacts of the UGPM role in CUREs and emphasize the need for both formal and informal training approaches to equip UGPMs with technical and interpersonal skills necessary for mentoring and teaching in CUREs. By drawing on UGPM perspectives, we identify some best practices for their professional development and advocate for more structured approaches to UTA or UGPM training. These recommendations aim to ensure that UTAs and UGPMs not only thrive as mentors but also enhance the learning outcomes and research experiences of their peers in CUREs.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0000725"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369326/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Student perceptions of supports and barriers for transferring quantitative reasoning in introductory biology lab courses.","authors":"Joelle Prate, Jeremy L Hsu","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00229-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00229-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Quantitative reasoning is a critical skill in biology and has been highlighted as a core competency by <i>Vision and Change</i>. Despite its importance, students often struggle to apply mathematical skills in new contexts in biology, a process called transfer of knowledge. However, the supports and barriers that students perceive for this process remain unclear. To explore this further, we interviewed undergraduate students in an introductory biology lab course about how they understand and report the transfer of quantitative skills in these courses. We then applied these themes to the Step Back, Translate, and Extend (SBTE) framework to examine student perceptions of the supports and barriers to their knowledge transfer. Students reported different supports and barriers at each level of the transfer process. At the first step of the framework, the recognition level, students reported reflecting on previous chemistry, statistics, and physics learning as helpful cues to indicate a transfer opportunity. Others, however, reported perceiving math and science as separate subjects without overlap, causing a disconnect in their recognition of transferable knowledge. In the second level of the framework, students recall previous learning. Students reported repetition and positive dispositions toward science and math as supportive factors. In contrast, gaps of time between initial learning and new contexts and negative dispositions hindered recall ability. The final level of the SBTE framework focuses on application. Students reported being better able to apply previous learning to new contexts in the biology lab when they could relate their applied skills to \"real-world\" applications, external motivating factors, and future career goals. These students also reported proactively seeking outside resources to fill gaps in their understanding. Generating data in a lab setting was also mentioned by students as both a supportive factor of application when they felt confident in their answers and a hindrance to application when they felt unsure about its accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0022924"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144039962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A discipline-specific pedagogical professional development graduate program fosters development of integrated scholars: an evaluation of the Future Undergraduate Science Educators (FUSE) program.","authors":"Marina L Ellefson, Mona M Monfared","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00044-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00044-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Here, we present a model for a decentralized, discipline-specific pedagogical professional development program for STEM PhD students interested in teaching and learning careers in higher education. The FUSE (Future Undergraduate Science Educators) program at UC Davis follows the structure of the University of California's Graduate Academic Certificate. FUSE scholars take 12 units of coursework, which span a variety of teaching-related topics, such as an introduction to Scientific Teaching, teaching portfolio development, and an authentic mentored teaching experience. By providing formal training in Scientific Teaching and offering a mentored teaching practicum, FUSE aims to decrease the time it takes between attaining a PhD and getting a teaching position. The FUSE program is unique in that it offers decentralized pedagogical training within the same academic unit in which students receive their research training. This positioning of FUSE has the potential to affect cultural change that elevates the value of teaching and integrated scholarship within the traditional graduate research training environment. Launched in Fall 2021, this program was designed to be modular and easily adaptable by other disciplinary units. This paper describes the process of developing the FUSE program, details of the program structure, and data on student perceptions of the value and impact of the program on their development of pedagogical, research, and professional skills. Student feedback on positive and negative aspects of the program was also collected. Student responses to closed-ended and open-ended questions revealed positive perceived impacts on the development of a wide range of pedagogical, career, interpersonal/personal, and research skills. The majority of students reported that the program had either no impact or a positive impact on their research productivity, supporting previous work that developing teaching expertise in graduate school does not oppose disciplinary research progress. The FUSE program serves as a model for an adaptable graduate curriculum in scientific teaching and evidence-based practices that fosters the development of integrated STEM scholars and takes advantage of the pedagogical expertise of teaching-focused faculty in research-intensive universities.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0004425"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369324/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144227180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An exploratory mixed-methods sentiment analysis of a social-emotional learning (SEL)-informed grant writing workshop in the biosciences.","authors":"Miroslav Suzara, Courtney Peña, Crystal Botham","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00219-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00219-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Grant writing is an important component of academic research success across disciplines, especially in the biosciences. It also tends to be an activity that is perceived with significant anxiety and stress. Typical grant writing training programs focus on the mechanical aspects of grant writing, but what is often left out of the conversation on how to support grant writers is the potential importance of the social and emotional factors related to grant writing training. To address this, we conducted a grant writing workshop that explicitly incorporated social-emotional learning (SEL) into its delivery. Through a comparative sentiment analysis, we used pre-post survey data (<i>n</i> = 31) to understand what effect the workshop had on participants' perceptions and attitudes toward grant writing. The survey analysis revealed that negative attitudes and perceptions about grant writing were proportionately reduced by 89% post-intervention, and positive attitudes increased proportionately by 143%. This mixed-methods study highlights the importance of incorporating SEL in grant writing support to combat the many challenges scientists face in the grant writing process.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0021924"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369350/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144217238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}