Student engagement in direct instruction,undergraduate microbiology laboratories

Introductory laboratory courses are a standard component of undergraduate science programmes and historically taught using direct instruction/confirmatory lab models. Previous studies have shown that inquiry-based labs enhance student engagement in science courses. However, research on how direct instruction introductory lab courses effectively engage undergraduate students is lacking. This study, therefore, using a mixed model design, examined student engagement in an introductory direct instruction microbiology lab. Data was collected through self-report surveys, classroom observations, and interviews at a Midwestern, post-secondary institution in the USA. The findings suggest that students found the lab activities engaging. This study provides baseline data which describes student engagement and student perspectives in a direct instruction undergraduate microbiology lab course. This baseline data can be used in further research against which comparisons can be made when studying other types of lab teaching interventions.     

The teacher writing toolkit: enhancing undergraduate teaching of scientific writing in the biological sciences

ABSTRACT

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both teachers and students. This article offers and reviews several useful ‘toolkit’ items that instructors of science writing can use to improve college student success. The tools in this kit are both conceptual and practical, and include: 1) Understanding the role of student metacognition, cognitive instruction, and strategic teaching, 2) Recognition of different student writing levels, 3) Applying the writing process, 4) Demonstrational classroom revision and editing, 5) Student-teacher sentence editing, 6) Student peer editing and guided student editing, 7) Student copy-editing, 8) Reflective writing, 9) Addressing plagiarism, paraphrasing, and proper in-text citations and referencing, and 10) Using external, on campus and online resources. Additionally, we discuss the new challenges of teaching scientific writing online versus face-to-face. The discussions, approaches, and exercises presented in this paper empower teachers in assisting students in their development of a personal writing style, while simultaneously building student confidence. The tools we present augment our previous presentation of the student writing toolkit, and can improve and enhance the teaching of scientific writing to undergraduate students.     

Using a module-based laboratory to incorporate inquiry into a large cell biology course

Because cell biology has rapidly increased in breadth and depth, instructors are challenged not only to provide undergraduate science students with a strong, up-to-date foundation of knowledge, but also to engage them in the scientific process. To these ends, revision of the Cell Biology Lab course at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was undertaken to allow student involvement in experimental design, emphasize data collection and analysis, make connections to the "big picture," and increase student interest in the field. Multiweek laboratory modules were developed as a method to establish an inquiry-based learning environment. Each module utilizes relevant techniques to investigate one or more questions within the context of a fictional story, and there is a progression during the semester from more instructor-guided to more open-ended student investigation. An assessment tool was developed to evaluate student attitudes regarding their lab experience. Analysis of five semesters of data strongly supports the module format as a successful model for inquiry education by increasing student interest and improving attitude toward learning. In addition, student performance on inquiry-based assignments improved over the course of each semester, suggesting an improvement in inquiry-related skills.     

Planning a lab lesson on the law of thermal conduction with learning by preparing to teach design

Lab activities have been innovated and progressed to fulfill the purpose that students need to experience physics concepts through hands-on and minds-on interactions. However, student-centered and conceptual activities in physics labs are challenged with time and material constraints that degrades the merits of the learning environment. This study adopts a pedagogical design, “learning by preparing to teach”, to address the challenges with conducting a satisfactory number of activities in physics labs and therefore promoting student hands-on and minds-on experiences with the activities. Eight activities covering the conceptual variables of thermal conduction in a two-hour lab session were studied by freshmen students at a university. To implement the pedagogical design, the students were arranged into the learning and teaching groups that paved way to a lab design that student was first learners and then teachers. Lab activities were configured that each group studied a certain set of activities. Upon completing the activities, members of the learning groups were designated to the teaching groups in which students cooperated to achieve conceptual objectives of the lab. The results showed that a usual lab duration becomes effective to cover numerous activities.     

Crayfish Investigations: Inquiry in Action for Grades 4-8

The authors created a lab that introduces agarose electrophoresis techniques and basic information about proteins to middle school and high school students. Built around a scenario in which the students must solve a “crime,” the lab has real-world applications that should spark student interest.     

Carrying BioMath Education in a Leaky Bucket

In this paper, we describe a project-based mathematical lab implemented in our Applied Mathematics in Biology course. The Leaky Bucket Lab allows students to parameterize and test Torricelli's law and develop and compare their own alternative models to describe the dynamics of water draining from perforated containers. In the context of this lab students build facility in a variety of applied biomathematical tools and gain confidence in applying these tools in data-driven environments. We survey analytic approaches developed by students to illustrate the creativity this encourages as well as prepare other instructors to scaffold the student learning experience. Pedagogical results based on classroom videography support the notion that the Biology-Applied Math Instructional Model, the teaching framework encompassing the lab, is effective in encouraging and maintaining high-level cognition among students. Research-based pedagogical approaches that support the lab are discussed.     

Evaluating the impact of physical renovation, computerization, and use of an inquiry approach in an undergraduate, allied health human anatomy and physiology lab

This paper describes and evaluates a major renovation of a human anatomy and physiology lab for allied health students. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute award funded an extensive collaboration between faculty involved in teaching the course and faculty with expertise in industrial and furniture design. The resulting physical lab has unique features designed to improve work in groups, student movement, and integration of computers with wet laboratories. The anatomy curriculum was switched from fetal pig dissections to the use of human cadavers, computer animations, and plastic models. An inquiry approach was integrated into the physiology curriculum. Student attitude surveys suggest that the physical and curricular changes resulted in a significant increase in student learning. An experiment designed to specifically test the effect of new vs. old equipment did not support a benefit to new equipment independent of changes in the lab physical environment and curriculum. Because the improvements in student attitude surveys occurred in the physiology but not the anatomy labs, we suggest that at least a portion of the increase is due to the institution of the inquiry approach.     

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.     

UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHIATRIC EDUCATION—Senior Medical Students Study Patients with the Clinical Team

A course in psychiatry for senior medical students, designed to give all members of the class some direct experience, particularly in therapeutic interviewing as well as in total psychiatric study of patients by the clinically integrated work of medical specialists, psychiatric social workers, and clinical psychologists in collaboration with psychotherapeutically trained and experienced psychiatrists is conducted in the following manner: A third of the class, about 25 students, is divided into four sections of six or seven members, and each section attends five hours one forenoon a week for approximately three months. Each student, after an initial demonstration interview by the instructor, sees weekly the same two clinic patients alone, for 45-minute individual interviews, followed by a one and a half hour supervisory session. After this a 50-minute seminar or treatment review conference is followed by a similar period for writing records of interviews and summaries of the therapeutic work. Of four seminars, two are conducted by the psychiatric faculty, and one each by the social worker and the psychologist. Each student reads a written summary of all his interviews with one patient for discussion by his colleagues in the section and by the faculty from all three disciplines.     

Addressing Undergraduate Student Misconceptions about Natural Selection with an Interactive Simulated Laboratory

Although evolutionary theory is considered to be a unifying foundation for biological education, misconceptions about basic evolutionary processes such as natural selection inhibit student understanding. Even after instruction, students harbor misconceptions about natural selection, suggesting that traditional teaching methods are insufficient for correcting these confusions. This has spurred an effort to develop new teaching methods and tools that effectively confront student misconceptions. In this study, we designed an interactive computer-based simulated laboratory to teach the principles of evolution through natural selection and to correct common student misconceptions about this process. We quantified undergraduate student misconceptions and understanding of natural selection before and after instruction with multiple-choice and open-response test questions and compared student performance across gender and academic levels. While our lab appeared to be effective at dispelling some common misconceptions about natural selection, we did not find evidence that it was as successful at increasing student mastery of the major principles of natural selection. Student performance varied across student academic level and question type, but students performed equally across gender. Beginner students were more likely to use misconceptions before instruction. Advanced students showed greater improvement than beginners on multiple-choice questions, while beginner students reduced their use of misconceptions in the open-response questions to a greater extent. These results suggest that misconceptions can be effectively addressed through computer-based simulated laboratories. Given the level of misconception use by beginner and advanced undergraduates and the gains in performance recorded after instruction at both academic levels, natural selection should continue to be reviewed through upper-level biology courses.     

The puncta enigma

This Editor's Corner may sound like the title of a mystery novel, but it actually reflects a question I have about the puncta articles that appear in Autophagy (or rather, the ones that do not appear). In particular, I am surprised by the number of solicitations sent out for puncta that are either ignored, or, less frequently, declined. It is not that I expect the principal investigator (PI) to find the invitation to write a punctum undeniably attractive. Rather, it is the unilateral decision that it is not worthwhile for graduate students or postdocs who performed the work—and likely wrote at least the first draft of the paper—to write the punctum. In fact, time spent drafting a punctum yields considerable benefits: puncta provide more exposure for the lab, offer opportunities for young scientists to gain additional writing experience, and make a nice (albeit small) addition to a curriculum vitae. It is for the latter reason that I find it particularly disappointing that PIs decide to dismiss the opportunity to write a punctum. I fully understand that for many PIs, adding a punctum will not have a significant impact on a curriculum vitae. Yet for a student or a postdoc who might have a relatively small number of publications at this stage of their career, a punctum (even though it is not a full-fledged research article) can have a more meaningful impact on their C.V.     

Fostering critical thinking, reasoning, and argumentation skills through bioethics education

Developing a position on a socio-scientific issue and defending it using a well-reasoned justification involves complex cognitive skills that are challenging to both teach and assess. Our work centers on instructional strategies for fostering critical thinking skills in high school students using bioethical case studies, decision-making frameworks, and structured analysis tools to scaffold student argumentation. In this study, we examined the effects of our teacher professional development and curricular materials on the ability of high school students to analyze a bioethical case study and develop a strong position. We focused on student ability to identify an ethical question, consider stakeholders and their values, incorporate relevant scientific facts and content, address ethical principles, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of alternate solutions. 431 students and 12 teachers participated in a research study using teacher cohorts for comparison purposes. The first cohort received professional development and used the curriculum with their students; the second did not receive professional development until after their participation in the study and did not use the curriculum. In order to assess the acquisition of higher-order justification skills, students were asked to analyze a case study and develop a well-reasoned written position. We evaluated statements using a scoring rubric and found highly significant differences (p<0.001) between students exposed to the curriculum strategies and those who were not. Students also showed highly significant gains (p<0.001) in self-reported interest in science content, ability to analyze socio-scientific issues, awareness of ethical issues, ability to listen to and discuss viewpoints different from their own, and understanding of the relationship between science and society. Our results demonstrate that incorporating ethical dilemmas into the classroom is one strategy for increasing student motivation and engagement with science content, while promoting reasoning and justification skills that help prepare an informed citizenry.     

Profiling First-Year Students in STEM Programs Based on Autonomous Motivation and Academic Self-Concept and Relationship with Academic Achievement

The low success rate of first-year college students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs has spurred many academic achievement studies in which explanatory factors are studied. In this study, we investigated from a person-oriented perspective whether different motivational and academic self-concept profiles could be discerned between male and female first-year college students in STEM and whether differences in early academic achievement were associated with these student groups. Data on autonomous motivation, academic self-concept, and early academic achievement of 1,400 first-year STEM college students were collected. Cluster analyses were used to distinguish motivational profiles based on the relative levels of autonomous motivation and academic self-concept for male and female students. Differences in early academic achievement of the various profiles were studied by means of ANCOVA. Four different motivational profiles were discerned based on the dimensions of autonomous motivation (A) and academic self-concept (S): students scoring high and respectively low on both dimensions (HA-HS or LA-LS), and students scoring high on one dimension and low on the other (HA-LS or LA-HS). Also gender differences were found in this study: male students with high levels of academic self-concept and autonomous motivation had higher academic achievement compared to male students with low levels on both motivational dimensions. For female students, motivational profiles were not associated with academic achievement. The findings partially confirm the internal and external validity of the motivational theories underpinning this study and extend the present insights on identifying subgroup(s) of at risk students in contemporary STEM programs at university level.     

Grip force variability and its effects on children's handwriting legibility, form, and strokes

A comprehensive understanding of the underlying biomechanical processes during handwriting is needed to accurately guide clinical interventions. To date, quantitative measurement of such biomechanical processes has largely excluded measurements of the forces exerted radially on the barrel of the writing utensil (grip forces) and how they vary over time during a handwriting task. An instrumented writing utensil was deployed for a direct measurement of kinematic and temporal information during a writing task, as well as forces exerted on the writing surface and on the barrel of the pen. The writing utensil was used by a cohort of 35 students (19 males), 16 in first grade and 19 in second grade, as they performed the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment (MHA) test. Quantitative grip force variability measures were computed and tested as correlates of handwriting legibility, form, and strokes. Grip force variability was shown to correlate strongly with handwriting quality, in particular for students classified by the MHA as nonproficient writers. More specifically, static grip force patterns were shown to result in poor handwriting quality and in greater variation in handwriting stroke durations. Grip force variability throughout the writing task was shown to be significantly lower for nonproficient writers (t-test, p<0.01) while the number of strokes and per-stroke durations were shown to be higher (p<0.03). The results suggest that grip force dynamics play a key role in determining handwriting quality and stroke characteristics. In particular, students with writing difficulties exhibited more static grip force patterns, lower legibility and form scores, as well as increased variation in stroke durations. These findings shed light on the underlying processes of handwriting and grip force modulation and may help to improve intervention planning.     

Little intervention,big results: intentional integration of information literacy into an introductory-level biology lab course

Abstract

Information literacy refers to a set of skills that allow its user to find appropriate resources and use them to develop, define and defend arguments. In many undergraduate programms, including biology and STEM related fields, students are expected to utilise these skills in writing lab reports, paper analyses, and in developing testable hypotheses. Here, we describe the development of a formalised information literacy module for an introductory biology laboratory course and a rubric to measure the effectiveness of this module, including suggestions for implementation. Our data show that while short-term gains were not made using previously published IL tests, application of a tailored rubric to writing assignments did show significant improvement in the students’ ability to find relevant sources, define the purpose of their work and explore that focus. The results of our evaluation demonstrate that even modest additions of formal instruction in information literacy to a course can significantly improve student gains in this area.     

Innovations in human genetics education. Medical student elective in clinical genetics.

The fourth-year medical student elective in clinical genetics has been enhanced by the addition of a problem-solving project. The assignment requires students to pose and answer a practical question about a professionally relevant genetic problem. Exemplary questions and the details of the exercise are given. Six of 10 students choosing an elective in clinical genetics have undertaken the project. Their feedback suggests that the requirements of decision making, library research, discussion with consultants, and medical writing in a limited time period are beneficial additions to the standard elective.     

An Avida-ED digital evolution curriculum for undergraduate biology

We present an inquiry-based curriculum based on the digital evolution platform Avida-ED (http://avida-ed.msu.edu). We designed an instructional sequence and lab book consisting of an introduction to Avida-ED and a set of three lessons focused on specific evolutionary concepts. These served to familiarize students with experimental evolution and Avida-ED. Students then developed independent Avida-ED research projects to test their own questions. Curriculum design and implementation occurred over the course or two semesters, with a pilot implementation in the first semester, followed by curriculum revision and full implementation in the second semester. The curriculum was implemented in an undergraduate Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology course at a major research university. Full implementation of the curriculum in semester two involved the use of Avida-ED mainly in the teaching lab in parallel with a bacterial antibiotic resistance experimental research stream, allowing students to draw connections between Avidian digital evolution and the evolution of antibiotic resistance in microbial populations. After carrying out the introductory exercises, students developed independent Avida-ED projects to test their own research questions, and presented their data to researchers in the NSF-funded BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. Preliminary results of our studies to assess the impacts of an Avida-ED curriculum indicate a positive effect on student learning of evolutionary concepts, particularly in increasing the level of complexity of student explanations about the random nature of mutation.