Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education最新文献

{"title":"Declaration of Fermentation: community-embedded wild yeast bioprospecting as a model for place-based CURE design.","authors":"Spencer J Gray, Kaitlyn Taylor, Kennadi A Shumaker, Matthew L Bochman","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00180-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00180-26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are widely recognized as a high-impact practice in biology education, yet most existing CURE frameworks treat the research organism as an interchangeable teaching prop rather than a genuine scientific contribution. We argue that place-based, community-embedded CUREs-in which students isolate, characterize, and publicly deploy a locally meaningful wild organism-constitute a qualitatively distinct model warranting broader adoption. As proof of concept, we present the Declaration of Fermentation project at Indiana University Bloomington: graduate researchers isolated a wild <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> strain from the bark of a campus landmark tree, confirmed its wild provenance by whole-genome sequencing and phylogenomics, and partnered with local craft breweries to produce a colonial-era inspired ale released publicly for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Volunteer sensory panels at two independent public tasting events (combined <i>n</i> = 33-34 per attribute) confirmed a fruity-funky profile consistent with wild-strain fermentation, with no significant differences between events (Mann-Whitney U, Benjamini-Hochberg-corrected <i>P</i> > 0.05 for all 11 attributes). We describe three design principles-genomically confirmed strain identity, mandatory community partnership, and place-based historical narrative-that distinguish this model from prior wild yeast brewing CUREs, discuss how these principles generalize to other institutions and fermentation vehicles, and identify the next steps for formal learning assessment. Complete implementation protocols are provided as supplemental Appendices 1-6, and the bioinformatics pipeline is freely available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20679384.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0018026"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148867345","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":"From fandom to inquiry: what game studies reveals about biology learning at the Pokémon Fossil Museum.","authors":"Alexander Eden","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00189-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00189-26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Popular culture is increasingly used in biology education, but its value is often explained primarily through a narrow account of engagement: learners recognize a reference, enjoy the activity, and participate more readily. This Perspective argues that game studies offer biology education research (BER) a vocabulary for examining the deeper mechanisms that can make such engagement educationally meaningful, including fan expertise, fictional world knowledge, affect, and identity. I use the Pokémon Fossil Museum at Chicago's Field Museum as a generative case, informed by a reflective visit rather than a study of visitor outcomes. Four lenses-transmedia learning, worldbuilding and procedural systems, affect and reflective nostalgia, and epistemic role-taking-make visible how the exhibit organized movement between Pokémon and paleontology. Its design maintained clear boundaries between fictional and scientific claims, paired imagined organisms with real fossils, surfaced tensions such as Pokémon \"evolution\" versus biological evolution, and invited visitors into paleontological practices. From this case, I propose six iterative design moves for game-informed biology education: orient, differentiate, bridge, disrupt, enact, and extend. I also propose a learner pathway for translating cultural recognition into biological reasoning through comparison, explanation, evidence evaluation, critique, and application. Engagement is an entry point, not the endpoint. By studying how knowledge developed through play can be reorganized through disciplinary evidence and practice, BER can better understand authentic engagement in biology learning, including contexts beyond games or Pokémon.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0018926"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148867267","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":"Participation versus points: examining the impact of grading conditions on student resource use during an out-of-class biology concept assessment.","authors":"Tiffany J Burgess, Crystal Uminski, Brian A Couch","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00145-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00145-26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Instructors use concept assessments to collect diagnostic information regarding student learning and to inform decisions surrounding instructional interventions and course modifications. Administering concept assessments out-of-class helps preserve already limited instructional time, but instructors still must consider whether to apply a lower-stakes (i.e., participation) versus higher-stakes (i.e., correctness) grading scheme. An increase in stakes is likely to prompt additional effort, but it may also increase undesired behaviors and inadvertently prompt external resource use, such as students leveraging their notes, the internet, or their peers. In the present study, we compared student self-reported resource use on a biology concept assessment administered under lower-stakes versus higher-stakes out-of-class conditions. We found that students received higher scores under the higher-stakes condition, but based on their increased resource use and broader course exam performance, these scores are unlikely to be representative of their unaided molecular and cellular biology knowledge. These findings help inform instructors of how out-of-class administration conditions impact student behaviors and score validity. Furthermore, we discuss how expectations for success and subjective task value might help explain how students complete concept assessments, as well as other assignments outside of dedicated class time.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0014526"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148841593","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":"Grounded relevance: how exploring soil data can promote perceptions of data relevance, data literacy, learning, and motivation.","authors":"Ian Thacker, Rebecca Schroeder, Sara Shields-Menard, Sandrina Ramirez, Corina Lopez","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00332-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00332-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ability to analyze, interpret, and draw insights from data and data visualizations is quickly becoming a necessary skill for success across multiple disciplines and careers. However, people struggle to make meaning from data, and traditional data science curricula fall short of emphasizing its relevance to underrepresented students. To create opportunities for meaningful applications of data science for racially/ethnically diverse students, we developed and implemented an online learning module focused on engaging <i>N</i> = 298 undergraduate students at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in an analysis of place-based soil data focused on identifying factors related to antibiotic-producing bacteria. Using a pretest-posttest study design, we found that students' perceptions of data science relevance (Cohen's <i>d</i> = 0.33) and microbiology knowledge (<i>d</i> = 0.39) significantly improved. We also inductively coded qualitative survey responses to explore how students framed \"relevance\" and how their perceptions changed from pretest to posttest, revealing that students perceived data tools as offering new scientific insights and applications across multiple disciplines, although changes over time were not significant. Automated text analysis of students' analytical thinking using LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) revealed that students tended to use significantly less \"discrepant\" (<i>d</i> =-0.22) and \"tentative\" (<i>d</i> = -0.19) language over time, suggesting that they increased their level of certainty from pretest to posttest. We also found that students identified more relevant and specific environmental- and soil-specific variables for data investigations at posttest compared to pretest. Overall, our findings provide evidence that interdisciplinary and place-based approaches to microbiology and data literacy instruction support learning and motivation for racially/ethnically diverse groups of students.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0033225"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520657/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147983814","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":"Leveraging generative artificial intelligence errors to teach appropriate citation usage.","authors":"Rishita Shah, Jj L Miranda","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00195-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00195-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Educators would benefit from developing course material that increases understanding of generative artificial intelligence (AI). General-purpose large language models (LLMs) popular among students often handle citations incorrectly. These LLMs produce fabricated references referred to as hallucinations and often cite even real citations erroneously. These citation hallucinations and errors offer an opportunity to correct mistakes, understand reference interpretation, and learn appropriate source type usage. Here we repurpose generative AI errors as examples for teaching the rigorous citation of primary and secondary sources in scientific writing. The designed exercise simultaneously achieves learning objectives with regard to AI and information literacy. Seeing the factual errors in writing and citation usage firsthand demonstrates a key weakness in generative AI. Also, our exercise gives students a structure in which to practice appropriate source type usage. The errors produced by generative AI provide opportunities to practice and improve scientific writing skills. Our article proposes a conceptual framework within which to implement this approach in the classroom.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0019525"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520711/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148036446","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":"From AI anxiety to educational opportunity: equitable and practical uses of artificial intelligence in STEM education.","authors":"Sofía Espinosa-Hernández, Miriam E Rodríguez-Pérez, Carlos J Ramírez-Flores","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00344-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00344-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into higher education has generated both enthusiasm and concern among STEM educators. Current discourse has largely emphasized risks related to academic integrity, student overreliance, and assessment validity. While these concerns are justified, an exclusive focus on restriction risks overlooking the potential of artificial intelligence as a constructive pedagogical implement, particularly in resource-limited academic environments. In this perspective, we argue that generative artificial intelligence, when integrated transparently and ethically, can function as an equity-enhancing tool in STEM education by extending mentorship, supporting scientific communication, and facilitating active learning. Drawing on graduate-level teaching and laboratory mentoring experiences in life sciences disciplines within a Global South context, we illustrate how artificial intelligence can help address structural constraints such as limited faculty time, language barriers, and uneven access to academic support. We also examine challenges associated with artificial intelligence adoption, including dependency, unequal access, and institutional resistance, and outline practical strategies for responsible integration. Rather than framing artificial intelligence as a threat to learning, we propose that STEM educators view it as an opportunity to modernize pedagogy, foster artificial intelligence literacy, and better prepare students for contemporary biological research.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0034425"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520700/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148057525","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":"Tailoring pedagogical methods to enhance student engagement through a student-faculty partnership in an undergraduate immunology course.","authors":"Mustafa G Mujtaba, Dayhana Justiniano","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00328-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00328-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Getting real-time feedback on pedagogical methods used in the classroom can be a challenge due to a variety of reasons, including the classroom format, instructor lecturing styles, as well as weariness of students to engage instructors. However, a structured semester-long student-faculty partnership can serve as a powerful tool to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement. We describe here our version of a student-faculty partnership program (SFPP) model in an upper-level undergraduate Immunology course where a student from a non-science major was embedded in the course to observe classroom dynamics between students and instructor and provide formative feedback to the instructor throughout the semester. This collaboration led to several pedagogical adjustments suggested by the student-partner, including increased use of flipped classroom sessions, integration of lab experiments within lecture sessions, and the use of interactive tools, such as clickers for concept reinforcement and game apps for exam reviews. As a result, the course section implementing the SFPP model had high engagement in lectures and labs, increased performance on lab assignment submitted, and better satisfaction with the revised course format. The end of the semester student surveys and comments indicated student enthusiasm and comfort with the course content as a result of the revised instructional strategies. Thus, the SFPP model offers an adaptable approach for instructors seeking to create a more responsive, real-time, and student-centered learning environment in immunology and biology education.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0032825"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520706/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148057568","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":"Impact of metacognitive interventions on student performance and confidence in introductory biology courses.","authors":"Benedicta Donkor, John D Willford, Ruth E Buskirk, Jonathan F Prather, Naomi L Ward, Jordan Harshman, Min Zhong","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00333-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00333-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the impact of a metacognitive intervention on student content performance and confidence across three key biology content modules: protein, respiration, and cell division. The intervention, conducted in Fall 2021 across six large classrooms at three institutions, included two treatment groups and one control group, alternating by module. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and <i>post hoc</i> analyses were used to identify group differences. Results show that metacognitive strategies significantly enhanced student performance in the protein module, the first to receive the intervention, with notable score gains in the treatment group. Students with metacognitive training performed significantly better on higher-order questions (HOQs) than the control, suggesting a greater benefit for tackling complex tasks in some contexts. Confidence was also significantly boosted, especially among low-confidence students, but the impact varied by module. The effects in the respiration and cell division modules were less pronounced. Overall, the study highlights the effectiveness of metacognitive strategies in promoting both content understanding and confidence, especially for students with low initial confidence, but their effectiveness appears to depend on contextual factors. The results underscore the importance of tailoring these strategies to diverse topics or content, and individual learning needs to maximize their effectiveness.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0033325"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520665/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148206511","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":"Using issues of water to CURE your teaching: STEM education is civic education.","authors":"Davida S Smyth","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00110-26","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00110-26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Today's faculty are under enormous pressure, expected to balance teaching, research, and service as time and resources shrink, public trust in science erodes, and the return on university investment is being challenged. As the 2025 Carski Award recipient, I argue that a single pedagogical approach can simultaneously address and alleviate all these pressures. Drawing on Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), Classroom Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), and Project-Based Learning (PBL), I describe three practical tips that use issues of water to reorganize your microbiology courses that leverage living laboratories in your neighborhood, the civic issues of sanitation access, and student engagement and training in wastewater-based epidemiology. Each approach helps develop disciplinary knowledge, enhances students' communication skills, and hones technical competencies in high demand among public health authorities, environmental agencies, and beyond. Teaching this way generates authentic scientific data and broadens participation in research. Critically, it demonstrates the value and uniqueness of a university education.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0011026"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520681/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148158509","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":"Environmental load in biology classrooms: attention, technology, and cognitive access in science education.","authors":"Christopher Morales","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00137-26","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00137-26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biology educators increasingly teach in classrooms shaped by digital devices, projected media, bright artificial lighting, dense visual displays, and frequent movement between lecture, laboratory, and online learning tasks. These conditions are often treated as background features rather than as factors that may affect attention, engagement, and cognitive access. Cognitive load theory has helped educators analyze how instructional design can support or overload working memory; however, science educators have fewer practical frameworks for examining the combined sensory, physical, and technological demands of the learning environment. This Perspective uses the term environmental load to describe task-irrelevant cognitive demand produced by the physical, sensory, spatial, and technological conditions of biology learning environments, including lighting, noise, temperature, visual clutter, screen exposure, device interruptions, room arrangement, and limited opportunities for movement. The article situates this concept within prior work on cognitive load, student engagement, classroom design, lighting, and educational technology. It then argues that environmental load is particularly relevant in biology and laboratory learning because students must coordinate terminology, diagrams, models, procedures, safety expectations, and abstract systems while managing the physical space around them. Practical next steps include classroom environment audits, intentional screen breaks, reduced visual complexity during cognitively demanding tasks, research on sensory conditions in science classrooms, and professional development that treats cognitive access as both an instructional and environmental concern.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":" ","pages":"e0013726"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13520667/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362705","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}