Rahmi Q Aini, Baylee A Edwards, Alexa Summersill, Casey Epting, Yi Zheng, Sara E Brownell, M Elizabeth Barnes
{"title":"Evidence for the Efficacy of Conflict-reducing Practices in Undergraduate Evolution Education in a Randomized Controlled Study.","authors":"Rahmi Q Aini, Baylee A Edwards, Alexa Summersill, Casey Epting, Yi Zheng, Sara E Brownell, M Elizabeth Barnes","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-05-0157","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-05-0157","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conflict-reducing practices during evolution instruction have been recommended to increase students' perceived compatibility between evolution and religion, increase evolution acceptance, and decrease stereotypes about religious students in science. However, the efficacy of these practices has not been demonstrated in a randomized controlled design making it uncertain whether they are causing the effects reported in less controlled studies. Further, we do not know the extent to which the religious identities of instructors may impact their effectiveness. In this study, we randomly assigned 2623 undergraduate students in 19 biology courses across different states to receive an evolution video with 1) no conflict-reducing practices, 2) conflict-reducing practices implemented by a non-religious instructor, or 3) conflict-reducing practices implemented by a Christian instructor. We found that the evolution videos with conflict-reducing practices led to decreased conflict, increased compatibility, and increased acceptance of human evolution compared with the video without conflict-reducing practices. Further, the Christian and non-religious instructor conditions were equally effective at improving all student outcomes, except the non-religious instructor was more effective for increasing perceived compatibility between religion and evolution among atheist students. These results illustrate that conflict-reducing practices, implemented by either Christian or non-religious instructors, can be effective in a controlled study.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 2","pages":"ar27"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286631/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144082429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beyond Technical Skills: The Value of Perspective-Taking in STEM Education.","authors":"Jason Xi, Sarah McLean","doi":"10.1187/cbe.22-05-0089","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.22-05-0089","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With the heavy focus institutions place on the content mastery of undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) students, qualitative skillsets equally important to the future success of STEM students, namely perspective-taking (PT), are being left at the wayside. In response, this essay will highlight reasons PT should be included in undergraduate STEM curricula. To further strengthen the rationale for the inclusion of PT in the curriculum, we will demonstrate that evidence suggests that PT skills can be taught and that there are sociocultural elements that educators should address to effectively implement PT into the curriculum. Finally, we suggest activities that educators can use to foster a learning environment that encourages strong PT skill development among undergraduate STEM learners.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 2","pages":"es2"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286626/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144058611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elise M Walck-Shannon, Heather D Barton, Shaina F Rowell, Douglas L Chalker, Angela Fink
{"title":"Students Don't Learn the Way They Think They Do in a Large, Active-Learning Genetics Course.","authors":"Elise M Walck-Shannon, Heather D Barton, Shaina F Rowell, Douglas L Chalker, Angela Fink","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-10-0251","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-10-0251","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recently, our course team transformed a large-enrollment introductory genetics course from being predominantly lecture based to active learning based. During class sessions, students engaged in problem solving, which occurs when a student attempts to solve a problem without knowing the path to complete it. We designed class activities incorporating three distinct pedagogies from cognitive psychology: inquiry-based prediction, tell-then-practice case studies, and worked examples. We used a within-subjects design to compare students' attitudes toward these activities and their learning gains. Postsurvey results indicated that students felt worked examples helped them perform well on exams (a performance goal) and understand the information (a mastery goal) significantly better than the other activity types. However, students reported that all activity types required similar effort. Interestingly, students exhibited larger learning gains from prediction activities compared with worked examples or tell-then-practice activities, as evidenced by a course pretest/posttest. We discuss potential reasons for this misalignment between perceived helpfulness and actual learning gains. Additionally, we evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each pedagogical approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 2","pages":"ar29"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286633/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144082430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robin A Costello, Sharday N Ewell, Paula E Adams, Maurina L Aranda, Aaron Curry, Maria Mercedes De Jesus, Ryan D P Dunk, Marcos E García-Ojeda, Stephanie J Gutzler, Linda R A Habersham, Melissa K Kjelvik, Myesha Mateen, Kelsey J Metzger, Kimberly X Mulligan, Melinda T Owens, Rachel M Pigg, Kim Quillin, Mallory M Rice, Selorm Sovi, Elizabeth H Schultheis, Jaidyn Schultz, Elli J Theobald, Erica Tracey, Brie Tripp, Suann Yang, Ash Zemenick, Cissy J Ballen, Dax Ovid
{"title":"Highlighting Counterstereotypical Scientists in Undergraduate Life Science Courses.","authors":"Robin A Costello, Sharday N Ewell, Paula E Adams, Maurina L Aranda, Aaron Curry, Maria Mercedes De Jesus, Ryan D P Dunk, Marcos E García-Ojeda, Stephanie J Gutzler, Linda R A Habersham, Melissa K Kjelvik, Myesha Mateen, Kelsey J Metzger, Kimberly X Mulligan, Melinda T Owens, Rachel M Pigg, Kim Quillin, Mallory M Rice, Selorm Sovi, Elizabeth H Schultheis, Jaidyn Schultz, Elli J Theobald, Erica Tracey, Brie Tripp, Suann Yang, Ash Zemenick, Cissy J Ballen, Dax Ovid","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0082","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0082","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Increasingly, curricular materials for undergraduate life science courses are designed to highlight scientists with identities and backgrounds that counter historical and stereotypical representation in science. In this essay, we characterize the wide variation in the development and implementation of these curricular materials featuring counterstereotypical scientists. Applying the Social Ecological Model of Behavior Change as a framework, we examine both personal and social elements of the benefits and costs related to designing and implementing curricula featuring counterstereotypical scientists from the perspective of three groups: students, instructors, and the featured scientists. The benefits of these materials for students are well documented, and we consider how these materials may likewise benefit instructors and the featured scientists themselves. However, we emphasize that, if not developed and implemented with attention to the diversity of personal, social, and contextual factors, such well-intentioned efforts may be ineffective or impact groups in inadvertent ways. Finally, we offer recommendations for highlighting counterstereotypical scientists in curricula. We call for additional research to effectively develop and implement materials featuring counterstereotypical scientists in ways that maximize benefits and limit possible costs to students, instructors, and the featured scientists.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 2","pages":"es1"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286632/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143782148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tess L Killpack, Carolyn L Sandoval, Bryan M Dewsbury
{"title":"The Role of Faculty in Cultivating Thriving Campus STEM Ecosystems.","authors":"Tess L Killpack, Carolyn L Sandoval, Bryan M Dewsbury","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0041","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>College and university campuses are complex ecosystems, and accounting for this complexity is crucial to understanding how to create conditions of equity and inclusion. Our academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) ecosystems are rooted in exclusionary norms and a false notion of being apolitical and fully objective, which has present-day negative consequences for our students. In this essay, we use a bioecological lens to better understand some of the factors that unfairly and disproportionately impact marginalized students in our STEM ecosystems. We focus our discussion on one component of the ecosystem, STEM faculty, and how they can serve as foundation species to direct our STEM ecosystems toward equity and empathy. We share how faculty can interrogate and take ownership for the ways that we perpetuate the exclusionary norms of STEM in our practice. We then propose specific strategies for faculty to nurture comprehensive niche-building to support students inside and outside of our classrooms. Although faculty instructional roles are the focus of this essay, we close with an acknowledgment of some additional opportunities for faculty to leverage their influence through research and institutional leadership to promote equity and inclusion in biology education and STEM ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 2","pages":"es3"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286628/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144182786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hannah C Ericson, Paula P Lemons, Erin L Dolan, Peggy Brickman, Sandhya Krishnan, Tessa C Andrews
{"title":"Are Department Heads Ready for Change? Leveraging a Leadership Action Team to Advance Teaching Evaluation Practices.","authors":"Hannah C Ericson, Paula P Lemons, Erin L Dolan, Peggy Brickman, Sandhya Krishnan, Tessa C Andrews","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-07-0175","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-07-0175","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Teaching evaluation at many institutions is insufficient to support, recognize, and reward effective teaching. We developed a long-term intervention to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) department heads in advancing teaching evaluation practices. We describe the intervention and systematically investigate its impact on departmental practices within a research-intensive university. The outcomes varied considerably by department, with four departments achieving extensive teaching evaluation reform and seven departments achieving more limited reform. We used qualitative content analysis of interviews and meetings to investigate department head readiness for change and how it related to the reforms they achieved. All department heads perceived inadequacies in their current evaluation practices, but this dissatisfaction did not reliably predict the changes they pursued. Heads only pursued changes that they perceived to have clear benefits. All heads worried that faculty might resist new practices, but heads who were most successful in facilitating change saw ways to work around resistance. Heads who led the most change questioned their own expertise for reforming teaching evaluation and delegated the work of developing new evaluation practices to knowledgeable colleagues. We discuss emergent hypotheses about factors that support heads in challenging the status quo with more robust and equitable evaluation practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 1","pages":"ar8"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11974521/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebecca R Lesnefsky, Jamie Elsner, Eric A Kirk, Jasmyne Yeldell, Li Ke, Troy D Sadler
{"title":"Exploring Resources and Reasoning Practices in Socioscientific System Modeling for Justice-Centered Science Education.","authors":"Rebecca R Lesnefsky, Jamie Elsner, Eric A Kirk, Jasmyne Yeldell, Li Ke, Troy D Sadler","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-01-0017","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-01-0017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Integrating science education with social justice is vital for preparing students to critically address significant societal issues like climate change and pandemics. This study examines the effectiveness of socioscientific system modeling as a tool within Justice-Centered Science Pedagogy (JCSP) to enhance middle school students' understanding of social justice science issues. It focuses on how system modeling can scaffold students' reasoning about complex social systems, informed by their lived experiences, cultural backgrounds, and social identities. Our research involved 27 middle school students using system models to explore the societal and scientific dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging the experiences and insights of students, educators can create transformative learning environments that not only recognize but also utilize students' unique knowledge bases as legitimate contributions to classroom discourse. The implications for instructional design highlight the need for multifaceted, responsive activities that align with the principles of JCSP and empower students as agents of societal transformation. The research contributes to the ongoing discourse on enhancing science education through justice-centered approaches that address the complexities of socioscientific context and the cultural relevance of scientific knowledge.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 1","pages":"ar10"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11974532/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David I Hanauer, Tong Zhang, Mark Graham, Graham Hatfull
{"title":"Who is in Our STEM Courses and How do We Know? Student Self-Descriptions, Intersectionality and Inclusive Education.","authors":"David I Hanauer, Tong Zhang, Mark Graham, Graham Hatfull","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0078","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of inclusive education is to provide a supportive space for students from every background. The theory of intersectionality suggests that multiple identities intersect within social spaces to construct specific positionalities. To support the heterogeneity of all students, there is a need to understand who is in our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses and how we would go about assessing this. This article problematizes the traditional approach to demographic data collection and presents the beginnings of an alternative approach. The study utilized qualitative and quantitative data in order to examine the way students self-describe within a large multi-institutional program. There were 2,082 students presented with 12 identity categories and asked to specify which of these identities were important to them for their own self-definition and then write an open self-description. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, comparative proportional usage analyses of identity categories by traditional demographic groupings, and hierarchical cluster analysis of identity variables. The results showed that the majority of students use multiple categories of identity in combination, that these identity preferences differ in relation to traditional demographic categories, and that there were four underpinning identity orientations consisting of a focus on heritage, health, self-expression, and career.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 1","pages":"ar9"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11974525/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142923697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vanessa Johnson-Ojeda, Lucas B Hill, SuYeong Shin, Alessandra M York, Regina F Frey
{"title":"Measuring STEM Instructors' Learning of and Growth in Inclusive Teaching: Development and Evaluation of the STEM Faculty Inclusive Teaching Survey (FITS).","authors":"Vanessa Johnson-Ojeda, Lucas B Hill, SuYeong Shin, Alessandra M York, Regina F Frey","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-01-0016","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-01-0016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is a growing emphasis for professional development programs that teach instructors about inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) practices and the impact of instructor and student identities on these practices. As instructors implement these practices, there is a need for instructors, departments, and faculty developers to measure instructor progress and to help identify next steps in improving inclusive STEM teaching. This study describes the development of the Faculty Inclusive Teaching Survey (FITS) using scale-development theory, frameworks using Clarke and Hollingsworth's interconnected model of professional growth and Dewsbury's Deep Teaching model, and higher-education STEM, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and professional development literature. Using data of three cohorts from an online national inclusive STEM teaching program, exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses and invariance measurements were conducted to evaluate the initial internal structure of the FITS, comprising four measures: <i>Awareness and Impact of Identity</i>, <i>Confidence in Inclusive Teaching</i>, <i>Reflection on Inclusive Teaching</i>, and <i>Likelihood to Implement Inclusive Teaching</i>. Our results provide initial evidence that the FITS could be used as one of the measurement approaches for instructor feedback and growth to support multidimensional and iterative learning about inclusive teaching in higher education. Implications and suggestions for practical use and future research are provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 1","pages":"ar13"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11974537/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sara E Grineski, Callie Avondet, Danielle X Morales, Timothy W Collins, Yolanda Chavez, Sergio Armendariz
{"title":"The Gendered Impact of Depression on Undergraduate Students' Research Gains: Can More Competent Mentors Help?","authors":"Sara E Grineski, Callie Avondet, Danielle X Morales, Timothy W Collins, Yolanda Chavez, Sergio Armendariz","doi":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0091","DOIUrl":"10.1187/cbe.24-02-0091","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There are serious concerns about mental health on college campuses. Depression negatively impacts college student success. Women and transgender/gender-nonconforming students suffer from depression at higher rates than men. While undergraduate research is a high-impact practice, we know little about how depression affects outcomes among undergraduate researchers with different gender identities. To investigate this, we use data from <i>n</i> = 516 students participating in <i>n</i> = 78 Summer 2022 NSF REU Sites programs via the NSF-sponsored Mentor-Relate project. We used gender-stratified generalized estimating equations that nest students within their REU Sites to predict research gains for men and women and transgender/gender-nonconforming students. Greater depression was negatively associated with personal and skills gains for women and transgender/gender-nonconforming students (<i>p</i> < 0.05), but not men. Having a more competent faculty mentor was associated with greater gains for women and transgender/gender-nonconforming students, as well as men. In an interaction model, having a more competent mentor reduced the negative effect of depression on personal gains for women and transgender/gender-nonconforming students (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Results suggest practical actions including cultivating mentors' mental health literacy and peer support networks, boosting mentor competency through mentor training programs, and changing institutional reward structures to incentivize high-quality mentoring.</p>","PeriodicalId":56321,"journal":{"name":"Cbe-Life Sciences Education","volume":"24 1","pages":"ar7"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11974527/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143017176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}