JoinResearch & Teaching
Using Structured Decision-Making in the Classroom to Promote Information Literacy in the Context of Decision-Making
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Jenny M. Dauer, Amanda E. Sorensen, and P. Citlally Jimenez
An important facet of college students’ science literacy and job market preparation is developing skills for finding and applying information to decision-making about complex real-world problems. We developed a multidisciplinary science course to support development of these skills using a decision-making framework based on normative models of structured decision-making. Students practiced decision-making skills in the context of several socioscientific issue modules. We documented a postcourse increase in students’ self-efficacy for finding, evaluating, and using technical information in decision-making. We also review prior findings that articulate potential beneficial student learning outcomes as a result of this teaching approach. This course may provide a model for introductory courses to better align with institutional goals for science literacy and critical-thinking.
An important facet of college students’ science literacy and job market preparation is developing skills for finding and applying information to decision-making about complex real-world problems. We developed a multidisciplinary science course to support development of these skills using a decision-making framework based on normative models of structured decision-making. Students practiced decision-making skills in the context of several socioscientific issue modules.
An important facet of college students’ science literacy and job market preparation is developing skills for finding and applying information to decision-making about complex real-world problems. We developed a multidisciplinary science course to support development of these skills using a decision-making framework based on normative models of structured decision-making. Students practiced decision-making skills in the context of several socioscientific issue modules.
Research & Teaching
Impacts of Faculty Development on Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Amie S. Sommers, Holly White, Jenny M. Dauer, and Cory Forbes
To support undergraduate instruction and learning outcomes (i.e., systems thinking and decision-making in interdisciplinary contexts) grounded in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (FEW Nexus), we implemented a multiyear faculty development program around a new minor. In this article, we build on a previous study to investigate teaching in FEW Nexus minor courses, as well as student outcomes before and after participation in the faculty development program. We analyzed video recordings of courses to identify teaching style and scored pre- and postcourse student assessments of decision-making and systems thinking quantitatively. Post-program teaching was more student centered (50%) than pre-program (37.5%; p = 1.9e-6). Faculty who taught courses with longer class periods incorporated more active learning than in short class periods (pre: p = 2.2e-16; post: p = 2.2e-16). Despite changes in instruction, we did not observe changes in decision-making and systems thinking outcomes. However, results indicate that providing faculty with resources and time can facilitate implementation of best practices and that further support and research are needed to connect these practices with positive outcomes.
To support undergraduate instruction and learning outcomes (i.e., systems thinking and decision-making in interdisciplinary contexts) grounded in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (FEW Nexus), we implemented a multiyear faculty development program around a new minor. In this article, we build on a previous study to investigate teaching in FEW Nexus minor courses, as well as student outcomes before and after participation in the faculty development program.
To support undergraduate instruction and learning outcomes (i.e., systems thinking and decision-making in interdisciplinary contexts) grounded in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (FEW Nexus), we implemented a multiyear faculty development program around a new minor. In this article, we build on a previous study to investigate teaching in FEW Nexus minor courses, as well as student outcomes before and after participation in the faculty development program.
Research & Teaching
An Argumentative Writing Prompt Model to Support Nonscience Major Students’ Learning in an Introductory Chemistry Course
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Claudia Aguirre-Mendez and Ying-Chih Chen
An argumentative writing prompt model is presented for use in a general chemistry class designed for nonscience major students. The purpose of this instructional model is to support students with rich experiences to strengthen their conceptual understanding, critical-thinking skills, and scientific literacy. Research in science education at the college level mainly focuses on creating great academic environments for science majors but is less focused on nonscience majors. Pedagogical strategies using argumentative writing prompts involve students in the context of applying essential scientific practices, such as answering questions, collecting and analyzing data, using and creating models, engaging in argument from evidence, and communicating information with peers. An open-ended questionnaire was used to examine students’ perspectives after engaging in this assignment. Most of the students who answered the questionnaire found the argumentative writing assignments helpful and appreciated their design. Students believed the writing assignments helped them improve their conceptual understanding, their understanding of argumentative components, and the connection with their future career. This study contributes to the evidence-based understanding of the connections between students’ perceptions and improved engagement in argumentative writing.
An argumentative writing prompt model is presented for use in a general chemistry class designed for nonscience major students. The purpose of this instructional model is to support students with rich experiences to strengthen their conceptual understanding, critical-thinking skills, and scientific literacy. Research in science education at the college level mainly focuses on creating great academic environments for science majors but is less focused on nonscience majors.
An argumentative writing prompt model is presented for use in a general chemistry class designed for nonscience major students. The purpose of this instructional model is to support students with rich experiences to strengthen their conceptual understanding, critical-thinking skills, and scientific literacy. Research in science education at the college level mainly focuses on creating great academic environments for science majors but is less focused on nonscience majors.
Research & Teaching
First Do No Harm
In-Class Computer-Based Exams Do Not Disadvantage Students
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Deena Wassenberg, J.D. Walker, Kalli-Ann Binkowski, and Evan Peterson
Computer-delivered exams are attractive due to ease of delivery, lack of waste, and immediate results. But before moving to computer-based assessments, instructors should consider whether they affect student performance and the student exam experience, particularly for underrepresented student groups and students with exam anxiety. In this study, we gave students in an introductory biology class alternating computer and paper examinations and compared their performance and exam anxiety. On average, students did not perform differently on the two exam types. Additionally, the performance of different subgroups (e.g., non-native English speakers, White students, non-White students, first-generation college students, male and female students, and students who have exam anxiety) was not affected by exam type. Students overall and in different subgroups reported nearly identical amounts of test anxiety during paper and electronic exams. The average time to complete the exam was shorter for computer exams. Students were relatively evenly split as to expressed exam-type preference and did not indicate that one format facilitated cheating more than the other. Based on these results, we believe computer-based exams can be an efficient and equitable approach to assessment.
Computer-delivered exams are attractive due to ease of delivery, lack of waste, and immediate results. But before moving to computer-based assessments, instructors should consider whether they affect student performance and the student exam experience, particularly for underrepresented student groups and students with exam anxiety. In this study, we gave students in an introductory biology class alternating computer and paper examinations and compared their performance and exam anxiety. On average, students did not perform differently on the two exam types.
Computer-delivered exams are attractive due to ease of delivery, lack of waste, and immediate results. But before moving to computer-based assessments, instructors should consider whether they affect student performance and the student exam experience, particularly for underrepresented student groups and students with exam anxiety. In this study, we gave students in an introductory biology class alternating computer and paper examinations and compared their performance and exam anxiety. On average, students did not perform differently on the two exam types.
Research & Teaching
From Science in the Art Gallery to Art in the Science Classroom
Using Arts-Integrated Professional Development to Enhance Environmental Education
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Lauren Madden, Carolina Blatt, Louise Ammentorp, Eileen Heddy, Dana Kneis, and Nicole Stanton
In this study, 26 teachers for kindergarten through Grade 8 in six schools participated in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary professional development (PD) effort focused on integrating environmental education across the curriculum. One focus of the PD was to encourage the teachers to use arts-integration strategies for environmental education. Using a qualitative approach to analyze the degree to which teachers shifted instruction to include arts integration or planned to make shifts in the future, we found that participants engaged in arts-based activities for four purposes: communication, creative expression, content explanation, and community building. Data sources included post-PD surveys, site visits and observations, and email communication with teachers. We found that arts-based strategies were well received by teachers, and, following the PD, the teachers applied the art-based strategies to their science teaching through the four purposes listed.
In this study, 26 teachers for kindergarten through Grade 8 in six schools participated in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary professional development (PD) effort focused on integrating environmental education across the curriculum. One focus of the PD was to encourage the teachers to use arts-integration strategies for environmental education.
In this study, 26 teachers for kindergarten through Grade 8 in six schools participated in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary professional development (PD) effort focused on integrating environmental education across the curriculum. One focus of the PD was to encourage the teachers to use arts-integration strategies for environmental education.
Feature
The STEM Faculty Experience at West Point
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Carolann Koleci, Eileen M. Kowalski, and Kenneth J. McDonald
At conferences or meetings, West Point faculty are often asked, “What’s it like to teach at West Point?” Previously, we reported on this question within the context of the cadet’s West Point experience and how STEM courses and opportunities are integrated. Now we turn our focus to the West Point faculty and their unique position of both educating cadets in a traditional sense and helping with the cadets’ character development. In this article, we discuss who the West Point faculty are; what is expected of each faculty member; and how faculty members within chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering educate and develop future leaders of character for the U.S. Army.
At conferences or meetings, West Point faculty are often asked, “What’s it like to teach at West Point?” Previously, we reported on this question within the context of the cadet’s West Point experience and how STEM courses and opportunities are integrated. Now we turn our focus to the West Point faculty and their unique position of both educating cadets in a traditional sense and helping with the cadets’ character development.
At conferences or meetings, West Point faculty are often asked, “What’s it like to teach at West Point?” Previously, we reported on this question within the context of the cadet’s West Point experience and how STEM courses and opportunities are integrated. Now we turn our focus to the West Point faculty and their unique position of both educating cadets in a traditional sense and helping with the cadets’ character development.
feature
A Human-Centered Design Tool Kit for STEM-Based Capstone Courses
General Design and Implementation in a Food Science Curriculum
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Lucas O’Bryan, Dawn Bohn, and Saadeddine Shehab
In fall 2019, a food science instructor partnered with the design center at a large Midwestern university to create a student activity tool kit for integrating the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)–based undergraduate capstone experience. This article shows how HCD can provide a student-centered approach to a capstone course and offers practical preparation, implementation, and evaluation materials for lectures, discussions, and laboratory sessions, all of which were used to guide instructors as they integrated HCD into a STEM capstone course. While a food product development course served as the model for other STEM capstone courses, the HCD approach is not discipline-specific; the activities and assessments conducted in this course can be applied across departments, from food science to bioengineering to chemistry and beyond.
In fall 2019, a food science instructor partnered with the design center at a large Midwestern university to create a student activity tool kit for integrating the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)–based undergraduate capstone experience.
In fall 2019, a food science instructor partnered with the design center at a large Midwestern university to create a student activity tool kit for integrating the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)–based undergraduate capstone experience.
feature
Science, Society, and Self
An Undergraduate Course for Imparting Social Context to STEM
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Marcus Aldredge, Sunghee Lee, and Josh Klein
A formal pedagogical push emerged and later blossomed in designing integrated curriculum between STEM and non-STEM areas in secondary and higher education. A growing cadre of research identifies positive learning outcomes for students participating in an integrated curriculum who apply basic STEM knowledge to investigate social problems and justice issues within social contexts. Research indicates STEM students demonstrate fewer concerns with social issues, often placing a greater interest in the value of individualism. This article outlines a new integrative course, Science, Society and Self, which was supported by a National Science Foundation grant to Iona College in the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. The Development of Excellence in Science through Intervention, Resilience, and Enrichment (DESIRE) program seeks to increase retention and graduation rates for economically disadvantaged and high-aptitude STEM majors. Skills important for success in STEM courses are reviewed, as are service-learning and policy applications. We also explore the intersections between nature of science (NOS) and sociological concepts. This culminates in distinguishing public science issues by connecting the intersections of human biographies, history, and societal structures through the sociological imagination, as conceived by C. Wright Mills.
A formal pedagogical push emerged and later blossomed in designing integrated curriculum between STEM and non-STEM areas in secondary and higher education. A growing cadre of research identifies positive learning outcomes for students participating in an integrated curriculum who apply basic STEM knowledge to investigate social problems and justice issues within social contexts. Research indicates STEM students demonstrate fewer concerns with social issues, often placing a greater interest in the value of individualism.
A formal pedagogical push emerged and later blossomed in designing integrated curriculum between STEM and non-STEM areas in secondary and higher education. A growing cadre of research identifies positive learning outcomes for students participating in an integrated curriculum who apply basic STEM knowledge to investigate social problems and justice issues within social contexts. Research indicates STEM students demonstrate fewer concerns with social issues, often placing a greater interest in the value of individualism.
Special Feature
The Impact of Online STEM Teaching and Learning During COVID-19 on Underrepresented Students’ Self-Efficacy and Motivation
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Sami Kahn, Janet Vertesi, Sigrid Adriaenssens, Julia Byeon, Mona Fixdal, Kelly Godfrey, Jérémie Lumbroso, and Kasey Wagoner
Female students, students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students face considerable barriers in access to STEM education, leading to their underrepresentation in STEM fields. Ensuring that these students develop strong self-efficacy and motivation in STEM during the college years is key to addressing the “leaky” STEM pipeline. To determine whether the rapid shift to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated or mitigated inequities for college-level STEM students, we examined correlations between demographic and sociocultural factors and students’ self-assessments on indicators of self-efficacy and motivation. Our findings suggest that students from underrepresented groups were differentially negatively impacted by the shift to online teaching and learning, particularly with regard to access to study spaces, the internet, and peers. However, we found that the loss of traditional laboratories was not particularly impactful on any students’ motivation or self-efficacy, regardless of a course’s levels of dependence on such labs, as students were generally more impacted by concerns about family members’ health and loss of social and structural supports than academic experiences. We discuss these results in light of psychosocial theory and suggest pedagogical and structural changes that can support more equitable outcomes in online and in-person college-level STEM education.
Female students, students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students face considerable barriers in access to STEM education, leading to their underrepresentation in STEM fields. Ensuring that these students develop strong self-efficacy and motivation in STEM during the college years is key to addressing the “leaky” STEM pipeline.
Female students, students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students face considerable barriers in access to STEM education, leading to their underrepresentation in STEM fields. Ensuring that these students develop strong self-efficacy and motivation in STEM during the college years is key to addressing the “leaky” STEM pipeline.
Point of View
Operationalizing the Duty of Care Through Rubrics
Journal of College Science Teaching—July/August 2022 (Volume 51, Issue 6)
By Emily Faulconer
Laboratory experiments are a key aspect of science education. However, they do have risks, and accidents do happen. Science educators have a duty of care, which includes duty of instruction. One tool that can be leveraged for duty of instruction is course rubrics. Including clear safety criteria in the rubric operationalizes the duty of care and allows students to clearly understand safety expectations and competencies. Specifically, the use of organizing schemes such as RAMP (recognize hazards, assess risks, minimize risks, prepare for emergencies) in rubrics can provide clear communication to students.