Using explicit teaching to improve how bioscience students write to the lay public

The media role model was recently developed to frame how science faculty members can teach their students to write more effectively to lay audiences (14). An Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) was introduced as a novel assignment for final-year physiology and pharmacology undergraduates. This second phase of this study, reported here, demonstrated the efficacy of explicit teaching of the Op-Ed, using a one-shot, pre-/posttest research design. Baseline writing skills of students were determined from a communication assignment. Students were then explicitly taught how to write an Op-Ed and subsequently wrote an Op-Ed based on a recent, relevant scientific article. Most students achieved higher grades for their Op-Ed following explicit teaching [mean (SD) = 84.4% (9.1%), n = 216] compared with their communication assignment [mean (SD) = 74.7% (11.9%), n = 218]. Improvement in student writing was also evident by an increase in text readability, which mirrored the features of Op-Eds written by professional journalists. A survey of students (n = 142) indicated that most believed that the assignments were valuable and that their ability to write to a lay audience had improved. Members of the lay public were then surveyed for their opinions on student writing. Two assignments were selected from one student whose grades had improved after explicit teaching. Respondents (n = 78) indicated that the Op-Ed was easier to read than the communication assignment. Thus, explicit teaching of the Op-Ed improved the ability of students to write to members of the lay public.     

The bench vs. the blackboard: learning to teach during graduate school

Many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students travel through the academic career pipeline without ever learning how to teach effectively, an oversight that negatively affects the quality of undergraduate science education and cheats trainees of valuable professional development. This article argues that all STEM graduate students and postdoctoral fellows should undergo training in teaching to strengthen their resumes, polish their oral presentation skills, and improve STEM teaching at the undergraduate level. Though this may seem like a large undertaking, the author outlines a three-step process that allows busy scientists to fit pedagogical training into their research schedules in order to make a significant investment both in their academic career and in the continuing improvement of science education.     

Problem-based writing with peer review improves academic performance in physiology

The aim of this study was to determine whether problem-based writing with peer review (PW-PR) improves undergraduate student performance on physiology exams. Didactic lectures were replaced with assignments to give students practice explaining their reasoning while solving qualitative problems, thus transferring the responsibility for abstraction and generalization to the students. Performance on exam items about concepts taught using PW-PR was compared with performance on concepts taught using didactic lectures followed by group work. Calibrated Peer Review, a Web-delivered program, was used to collect student essays and to manage anonymous peer review after students "passed" three calibration peer reviews. Results show that the students had difficulty relating concepts. Relationship errors were categorized as (1) problems recognizing levels of organization, (2) problems with cause/effect, and (3) overgeneralizations. For example, some described cells as molecules; others thought that vesicles transport materials through the extracellular fluid. With PW-PR, class discussion was used to confront and resolve such difficulties. Both multiple-choice and essay exam results were better with PW-PR instead of lecture.     

Teaching Scientific Core Ideas through Immersing Students in Argument: Using Density as an Example

Argumentation is one of the central practices in science learning and helps deepen students’ conceptual understanding. Students should learn how to communicate ideas including procedure tests, data interpretations, and investigation outcomes in verbal and written forms through argument structure. This article presents a negotiation model to show how argument can be a vehicle to drive students to learn core ideas of density. The negotiation model consists of five phases: (1) creating a testable question, (2) constructing an argument in groups, (3) critiquing arguments publicly, (4) advancing students’ arguments, and (5) writing and reflecting individually.     

Robert Chambers and Thomas Henry Huxley, Science Correspondents: The Popularization and Dissemination of Nineteenth Century Natural Science

Robert Chambers and Thomas Henry Huxley helped popularize science by writing for general interest publications when science was becoming increasingly professionalized. A non-professional, Chambers used his family-owned Chambers' Edinburgh Journal to report on scientific discoveries, giving his audience access to ideas that were only available to scientists who regularly attended professional meetings or read published transactions of such forums. He had no formal training in the sciences and little interest in advancing the professional status of scientists; his course of action was determined by his disability and interest in scientific phenomena. His skillful reporting enabled readers to learn how the ideas that flowed from scientific innovation affected their lives, and his series of article in the Journal presenting his rudimentary ideas on evolution, served as a prelude to his important popular work, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Huxley, an example of the new professional class of scientists, defended science and evolution from attacks by religious spokesmen and other opponents of evolution, informing the British public about science through his lectures and articles in such publications as Nineteenth Century. He understood that by popularizing scientific information, he could effectively challenge the old Tory establishment -- with its orthodox religious and political views -- and promote the ideas of the new class of professional scientists. In attempting to transform British society, he frequently came in conflict with theologians and others on issues in which science and religion seemed to contradict each other but refused to discuss matters of science with non-professionals like Chambers, whose popular writing struck a more resonant chord with working class readers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Broadening the voice of science: Promoting scientific communication in the undergraduate classroom

Effective and accurate communication of scientific findings is essential. Unfortunately, scientists are not always well trained in how to best communicate their results with other scientists nor do all appreciate the importance of speaking with the public. Here, we provide an example of how the development of oral communication skills can be integrated with research experiences at the undergraduate level. We describe our experiences developing, running, and evaluating a course for undergraduates that complemented their existing undergraduate research experiences with instruction on the nature of science and intensive training on the development of science communication skills. Students delivered science talks, research monologues, and poster presentations about the ecological and evolutionary research in which they were involved. We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach using the CURE survey and a focus group. As expected, undergraduates reported strong benefits to communication skills and confidence. We provide guidance for college researchers, instructors, and administrators interested in motivating and equipping the next generation of scientists to be excellent science communicators.     

Look who's talking too: graduates developing skills through communication

Greater opportunities for young scientists to present their doctoral research to large general audiences will encourage development of transferable skills and involvement in the scientific community. We look at ways students communicate their research and explore the benefits of student-led meetings. The organization of the first Sanger-Cambridge Ph.D. Symposium provides an example of how students can act to establish forums for their work and we call on other young scientists to do the same.     

Involving undergraduates in the annotation and analysis of global gene expression studies: creation of a maize shoot apical meristem expression database

Through a multi-university and interdisciplinary project we have involved undergraduate biology and computer science research students in the functional annotation of maize genes and the analysis of their microarray expression patterns. We have created a database to house the results of our functional annotation of >4400 genes identified as being differentially regulated in the maize shoot apical meristem (SAM). This database is located at http://sam.truman.edu and is now available for public use. The undergraduate students involved in constructing this unique SAM database received hands-on training in an intellectually challenging environment, which has prepared them for graduate and professional careers in biological sciences. We describe our experiences with this project as a model for effective research-based teaching of undergraduate biology and computer science students, as well as for a rich professional development experience for faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions.     

The Importance of the History of Science to the American Society of Zoologists

As the history of science has developed as a professional intellectualdiscipline, it has had and will continue to have an importantrole in defining science and its place in our culture. Suchdefinitions should be based on as much information as possible.Scientists can help supply some of this information throughparticipation in symposia on the history of science. In addition,scientists can learn much about the nature of their disciplineby becoming aware of the concepts of science which are derivedfrom the careful analysis of its history. Efforts should bemade to bring historians of science and scientists togetherfor their mutual benefit.     

How is Scientific Credibility Affected by Communicating Uncertainty? The Case of Endocrine Disrupter Effects on Male Fertility

Using the case of endocrine disrupter effects on male fertility, we explored how communicating uncertainty influences the credibility of the information that laypeople receive from scientists and how laypeople form judgments about the relationship between uncertainty and credibility. We found that laypeople assess the credibility of scientific information—whether or not it is accompanied by uncertainty—by referencing their “science model” and using non-scientific references (i.e., situations encountered in one's daily life, information received from other sources, one's own observations of the world, and one's education or professional experience). Scientific credibility is a mixture of (sometimes contradictory) considerations along these different axes. Previous studies have found that some scientists assume that communicating uncertainty will lower public credibility of science. Our results contradict this assumption for situations in which academic scientists communicate uncertainty, which is perceived as additional knowledge bringing a new perspective on certain information. People expect scientists to provide practical solutions and feel disillusionment when scientists lack straight answers. However, they accepted uncertainty as an intrinsic characteristic of science and a consequence of the limits to human beings’ capacity to understand the world. Further, the low credibility of industry scientists is further reinforced when they communicate uncertainty.     

The Physiology undergraduate major in the University of Arizona College of Medicine: past, present, and future

The American Physiological Society (APS) and APS Council encourage the teaching of physiology at the undergraduate, graduate, and medical school levels to support the continued prominence of this area of science. One area identified by the APS Council that is of particular importance for the development of future physiologists (the "physiology pipeline") is the teaching of physiology and physiology-related topics at the undergraduate level. In this article, we describe the historical development and implementation of an undergraduate program offered through the Department of Physiology, a basic science department in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona, culminating in a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree with a major in Physiology. Moreover, we discuss the current Physiology curriculum offered at our institution and explain how this program prepares our students for successful entry into a variety of postbaccalaureate professional programs, including medical school and numerous other programs in health professions, and in graduate study in the Masters and Doctoral programs in biomedical sciences. Finally, we cover the considerable challenges that we have faced, and continue to face, in developing and sustaining a successful physiology undergraduate major in a college of medicine. We hope that the information provided on the Physiology major offered by the Department of Physiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona will be helpful for individuals at other institutions who may be contemplating the development and implementation of an undergraduate program in Physiology.     

Sharing science: characteristics of effective scientist-teacher interactions

Despite national guidelines to reform K-12 science education, our students are not learning science any better. Conducted under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a symposium examined several programs where professional scientists interact with classroom teachers to improve science education. Symposium participants described their projects and discussed the factors that contribute or detract from each project's success. The events of this symposium are critically analyzed. Four themes emerged as issues that affect the successful implementation and continuation of science education reform projects: scientific literacy as a primary goal, personal characteristics and commitment of project partners, curricular change built on social and developmental goals, and the incentive/reward structures in universities and school systems. This review of the emergent themes places the opinions of the symposium participants into the larger context of a growing science education research literature to inform others about synergy between professional scientists and classroom teachers. Our aim is to help others learn about the characteristics of effective partnerships to improve science education.     

We're Going on a Fossil Hunt!

Scientists understand that scientific ideas are subject to change and improvement. Fourth- through eighth- graders develop this understanding about the nature of science as they gather and examine fossil evidence from the Paleozoic era, record their findings, and read and write about science for authentic purposes as scientists do. Students recognize the tentative nature of science and experience differences in interpretation of evidence. Students also learn that scientists use writing and sketching as tools of inquiry.     

A creative collaboration between the science of ecosystem restoration and art for sustainable stormwater management on an urban college campus

This article presents an interdisciplinary, on‐campus, student project, titled “The Rain Project” that I designed as an urban ecosystem restoration model as well as a collaborative pedagogical approach between ecological science and art at George Mason University (GMU), Virginia, U.S.A. A group of students from several disciplines (e.g. environmental science, art, civil engineering, biology, communication, and film/media) participated in designing and constructing a floating wetland for a campus stormwater pond as part of sustainable stormwater management. The Rain Project has numerous implications for college education, scholarship, and service while presenting a novel way of building a sense of community among undergraduate students for ecological awareness and literacy. The work of Jackie Brookner, a renowned eco‐artist who worked extensively on stormwater, and its relevance to the project is discussed. I strongly suggest the need for linking art and the science of ecosystem restoration to best obtain improvements in much‐needed communication for the success of community participatory restoration projects. I also believe that this kind of interdisciplinary, campus project can facilitate the changes we need to train higher education students to be able to both think differently and communicate effectively. The Rain Project introduced students to new learning strategies that connected “systems thinking” with art, ecological science, and restoration practices.     

Using a course-long theme for inquiry-based laboratories in a comparative physiology course

I developed an inquiry-based laboratory model that uses a central theme throughout the semester to develop in undergraduate biology majors the skills required for conducting science while introducing them to modern and classical physiological techniques. The physiology laboratory uses a goal-oriented approach, with students working cooperatively in small groups to answer basic biological questions. The student teams work to develop skills associated with experimental design, data analysis, written and oral communication, science literacy, and critical thinking. The laboratory curriculum is a research-based model that offers the advantage of students asking open-ended questions by use of a variety of techniques. For the students and instructor alike, this presents an exciting and challenging approach for learning physiology and basic biological principles. Another advantage of this laboratory model is that it is flexible and adaptable; the central theme can be any that the instructor chooses, and the goals and techniques developed are based on student and instructor needs and interests. Students who have completed this model at Loyola College in Maryland have become equipped with the skills essential for any area of the biological sciences and, most importantly, showed elevated excitement and commitment to learning.     

Producing scientific posters,using online scientific resources,improves applied scientific skills in undergraduates

ABSTRACT

To succeed, undergraduate science students need to both acquire knowledge, and learn to apply it effectively. Here a novel 1^st year undergraduate module (incorporating blended learning, applied bioinformatic skills and scientific posters) is described and its effectiveness evaluated (quantitatively and qualitatively). The aims were to engage students and teach applied skills through a process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) based project, utilising common online tools. Given a nucleotide entry and utilising the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) platform students had to identify a specific human syndrome. Students then retrieved and summarised key scientific data, presenting it as a scientific poster. The module effectiveness was demonstrated by the students ability to acquire knowledge (content) and apply it (process), by finding and extracting data from online databases. Assessment included evaluation of the students ability to analyse, visualise and explain acquired data as a scientific poster. Module evaluation used qualitative students surveys and quantitative assessment (pre- and post- module, multiple-choice quiz, assessing content or process specific knowledge). The module led to a significant increase in students applied, process specific, knowledge and enhanced their learning experience. This module demonstrates a successful method for incorporating applied learning into an undergraduate module, developing multiple applied professional skills.     

An at‐home laboratory in plant biology designed to engage students in the process of science

The COVID‐19 pandemic prompted a transition to remote delivery of courses that lack immersive hands‐on research experiences for undergraduate science students, resulting in a scientific research skills gap. In this report, we present an option for an inclusive and authentic, hands‐on research experience that all students can perform off‐campus. Biology students in a semester‐long (13 weeks) sophomore plant physiology course participated in an at‐home laboratory designed to study the impacts of nitrogen addition on growth rates and root nodulation by wild nitrogen‐fixing Rhizobia in Pisum sativum (Pea) plants. This undergraduate research experience, piloted in the fall semester of 2020 in a class with 90 students, was created to help participants learn and practice scientific research skills during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Specifically, the learning outcomes associated with this at‐home research experience were: (1) generate a testable hypothesis, (2) design an experiment to test the hypothesis, (3) explain the importance of biological replication, (4) perform meaningful statistical analyses using R, and (5) compose a research paper to effectively communicate findings to a general biology audience. Students were provided with an at‐home laboratory kit containing the required materials and reagents, which were chosen to be accessible and affordable in case students were unable to access our laboratory kit. Students were guided through all aspects of research, including hypothesis generation, data collection, and data analysis, with video tutorials and live virtual sessions. This at‐home laboratory provided students an opportunity to practice hands‐on research with the flexibility to collect and analyze their own data in a remote setting during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This, or similar laboratories, could also be used as part of distance learning biology courses.     

An integrated,modular approach to data science education in microbiology

We live in an increasingly data-driven world, where high-throughput sequencing and mass spectrometry platforms are transforming biology into an information science. This has shifted major challenges in biological research from data generation and processing to interpretation and knowledge translation. However, postsecondary training in bioinformatics, or more generally data science for life scientists, lags behind current demand. In particular, development of accessible, undergraduate data science curricula has the potential to improve research and learning outcomes as well as better prepare students in the life sciences to thrive in public and private sector careers. Here, we describe the Experiential Data science for Undergraduate Cross-Disciplinary Education (EDUCE) initiative, which aims to progressively build data science competency across several years of integrated practice. Through EDUCE, students complete data science modules integrated into required and elective courses augmented with coordinated cocurricular activities. The EDUCE initiative draws on a community of practice consisting of teaching assistants (TAs), postdocs, instructors, and research faculty from multiple disciplines to overcome several reported barriers to data science for life scientists, including instructor capacity, student prior knowledge, and relevance to discipline-specific problems. Preliminary survey results indicate that even a single module improves student self-reported interest and/or experience in bioinformatics and computer science. Thus, EDUCE provides a flexible and extensible active learning framework for integration of data science curriculum into undergraduate courses and programs across the life sciences.     

Interactive instruction of cellular physiology for remote learning.

The biomedical sciences are a rapidly changing discipline that have adapted to innovative technological advances. Despite these many advances, we face two major challenges: a) the number of experts in the field is vastly outnumbered by the number of students, many of whom are separated geographically or temporally and b) the teaching methods used to instruct students and learners have not changed. Today's students have adapted to technology--they use the web as a source of information and communicate via email and chat rooms. Teaching in the biomedical sciences should adopt these new information technologies (IT), but has thus far failed to capitalize on technological opportunity. Creating a "digital textbook" of the traditional learning material is not sufficient for dynamic processes such as cellular physiology. This paper describes innovative teaching techniques that incorporate familiar IT and high-quality interactive learning content with user-centric instruction design models. The Virtual Labs Project from Stanford University has created effective interactive online teaching modules in physiology (simPHYSIO) and delivered them over broadband networks to their undergraduate and medical students. Evaluation results of the modules are given as a measure of success of such innovative teaching method. This learning media strategically merges IT innovations with pedagogy to produce user-driven animations of processes and engaging interactive simulations.