Students need a strong understanding of how to represent chemical compounds in order to succeed in organic chemistry. This project set out to gain a better understanding of students’ difficulties with symbolic representations, by identifying the specific errors associated with drawing wedge-dash structures. The focus was on how students transformed a condensed formula into a wedge-dash structure. The types of errors were coded and analyzed to determine the proportion of students making each type of error between the quiz, exam and final. These errors were connected to the skill of information processing to determine which category of information processing had the most improvement. Information processing is an important skill in any STEM discipline where students are required to understand and transform information into a different format.

Students come into the classroom with a variety of background knowledge. Therefore, it is imperative that educators are able to help all students, regardless of their familiarity with the content. Since it can be challenging for some large enrollment classes to schedule recitation classes after lecture due to logistical constraints, this study attempts to determine if there are differences in performance based upon when content is introduced first, recitation or lecture. This study found that students who were introduced to content in recitation before lecture typically scored statistically higher across three mid-term exams, in a first term general chemistry course. This difference in performance suggests that students who are introduced to content in recitation, versus simply hearing about a topic in lecture, might get more out of the lecture, thus leading to higher performance on exams. Students who are introduced to topics that are tested by way of definition-based questions or basic calculations benefit from being introduced to this content in recitation before lecture. However, when introducing more challenging and abstract chemistry topics, our results indicate it may benefit students to be introduced to these topics in lecture first, so they can begin developing their conceptual understanding in lecture.

Rising tuition rates across colleges and universities contribute to the mounting financial strain on students. In response to rising costs, literature details that students would seek to bolster their financial security by working additional hours per week, consequently leading to less available time. Previous studies have focused on the negative associations with GPA but not in-class points. We observed this relationship within a 77-student 200-level Genetics course and associated lab. Students working 20+ hours per week (59.7% of students) fared significantly worse on exams. These students scored significantly fewer total class points (p = 0.0089), exam points (p = 0.0255, p = 0.0028, p = 0.0311), and were more likely to incur a failed assignment sooner during the class than their counterparts (p = 0.0025). We observed these trends again in a 34-student 400-level Immunology validation cohort (p = 0.0032). These findings represent the first quantitative analysis of employment vs. numerical Biology exam and course scores. They are an important step towards identifying and treating the underlying factors associated with reduced STEM performance, retention, well-being, and represent a forewarning of an approaching higher education crisis as institutions seek to retain and support underrepresented students.

Movies have long been used for teaching in undergraduate science courses. However, embedding movie references (EMR) in science videos is a new trend. This study explored how EMR in YouTube science videos might affect the nature of comments and the process of learning science. Using constructivist grounded theory, we compared comments on two videos. Up and Atom’s (UA) video presented quantum tunneling conventionally, while Because Science’s (BS) video used Harry Potter to illustrate the same concept. Content analysis revealed that comments on UA’s video are more formal and focused on specific scientific concepts, while comments on BS’s video are more casual and diverse, engaging more broadly with science and the video topic. Although conventional science videos may facilitate knowledge exchange and collaborative learning in the comments, these comments may spread misinformation when they lack context, authority, and expertise. Yet, science videos EMR connect scientific concepts with popular culture, and offer unique learning opportunities, including critique, creative thinking, and self-reflection. We argue, however, that EMR in science videos risks diverting attention away from the science content.

Mixed results have been reported on the correlation between clickers and performance. This study investigates the usage of clickers in a voluntary context. Scores on an internal chemistry placement exam were used to estimate cognitive ability, as a factor that students can no longer control, and average participation on clicker questions was considered as a behavioral aspect that students are able to change. While placement exam scores and clicker usage do not correlate with each other, both positively correlate with performance (midterm average grades and final course grades) in the cohorts of this study (2017, 2018, and 2019). Independent of placement exam scores, students who answered more clicker questions performed better on midterm exams and had a higher final course grade. Students who obtained course grades of A, B, or C answered more clicker questions on average (68% of questions) than students who earned course grades of D or F (51% of questions). Those who answered more than the average number of the clicker questions were at least 2.6 times more likely to achieve course proficiency. These results suggest that students who choose to engage by answering questions in class (answer correctness not required) are more likely to perform well in general chemistry courses, regardless of cognitive ability.

In this article, we report on a National Science Foundation-funded immersive international summer research program for biology students. Six students, representing Cohort 1 of a three-year program, spent nine weeks at one of three institutes in Japan, working on related molecular, cellular, and developmental research projects under the mentorship of a Japanese researcher. We describe the recruitment process, pre-departure activities, orientation week, research projects, and mentorship structure. Data were collected to determine the impact of the program on students’ views about science and to seek feedback about the structure of the program. The pre-, mid- and post-program interviews with the students as well as their weekly written reflections revealed that the program challenged their perspectives about science, broadened their understanding of what it means to engage in science research, and contributed to their growing confidence as budding scientists. The students mentioned that certain elements of the program, including the orientation week, weekly meetings, and individualized and hands-on mentorship they received, contributed to their rich experience in Japan. Suggestions are provided for adapting this model to develop other international opportunities for STEM students.

Gateway science courses are an ongoing obstacle to recruitment into STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Students come to these courses with a high cognitive load, making success in the course challenging. Instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load. Here we demonstrate that leveraging pre- and post-lecture quizzes has the capacity to reduce cognitive load. Over three semesters, we assessed 164 students taking SCB201 (General Biology I). Students in the treatment and control groups were given surveys to gauge the experiment's effectiveness. These surveys were given at the beginning, midterm, and end of the semester. The surveys collected student feedback concerning attendance habits, reading for knowledge, and course difficulty each semester. The treatment group findings showed favorable increases in attendance and reading for knowledge. Additionally, students in the treatment group found the quizzes to help them better understand core concepts as the semester progressed. We determined that these quizzes helped focus learning by causing a decrease in cognitive load for students. This methodology has universal application to any type of course needing to reduce cognitive load.

Evidence-based pedagogies to improve STEM student success are now recognized, but their successful incorporation can be hampered by STEM faculty wariness of novel pedagogical research. To support these pedagogies’ effective implementation, a research team at a southeastern Historically Black College and University (HBCU) provided its STEM faculty with long-term (2013-2020), incentivized professional development (PD), focused on faculty teaching development (TD). Over six years, PD/TD experts provided faculty participants with theoretical underpinnings and student outcome data, demonstrated hands-on strategies for under-prepared and differential learners, and addressed concerns that novel pedagogies could erode STEM standards. Participants reflected on their teaching and learning foundations, examined their approaches and assumptions, and implemented new strategies. Interview and survey findings showed long-term PD can help change STEM faculty teaching views, even among those initially resistant. Although beyond our study window, ICFAIM collaborations yielded two DOE-funded faculty-developed interventions and team cohesiveness during COVID’s shift to online instruction. ICFAIM evidence supports PD/TD that is: 1) designed to build on shared standards and knowledge; 2) provided incrementally over time; 3) focused on topics of concern to faculty alongside new ones; and 4) fairly incentivized.

Critical thinking is essential in academia and the workforce. Although writing can be used as a pedagogical tool for fostering deeper subject matter understanding, increased retention, and critical thinking, relatively few science courses are writing based. This writing-based introductory science course provided an opportunity for students to learn biology content through writing while also developing critical thinking skills. In this undergraduate introductory biology course, a learning progression framework was applied to writing assignments in order to promote critical thinking. Early course assignments focused on lower-order critical thinking, including information gathering and concept connecting activities, and served as the foundation for writing an evaluative research paper (REP) that required the application and analysis of biology content knowledge within different contexts. Based on the analysis of REP assignments using standardized criteria for assessing critical thinking, students were found to significantly increase their ability to demonstrate critical thinking. Students also became more aware of their critical thinking development, made stronger connections between concepts and applications in other contexts, and displayed measurable increases in critical thinking from their first to final drafts of their papers.

As introductory college science courses transition from large, passive lectures to more student-centered active learning environments, additional instructional support may be needed. Peer Learning Assistants (PLAs) can aid course transformations by helping facilitate active learning and peer engagement among students in the classroom. Pedagogical training prepares PLAs to guide student learning through a variety of evidence-based strategies. However, little is known about how PLAs enact these pedagogical strategies to promote learning during student interactions. In this qualitative study, we sought to understand the ways in which PLAs support student learning in introductory college biology courses. Thematic analysis of interviews with PLAs revealed they use both relational and cognitive strategies while interacting with students. Relational strategies included making students comfortable and attending to student differences to create an inclusive learning environment. Cognitive strategies related to building students’ understanding by asking guiding questions, eliciting student thinking, and providing alternative explanations. By engaging in these actions with PLAs, students may learn to adopt similar practices. Therefore, PLAs facilitate student-centered instruction by guiding student thinking and fostering student development of learning strategies.