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Research & Teaching

Connecting pH and Molarity to Health Care

A Qualitative Assessment of BSN Student Responses to an Online Lab Exercise

Journal of College Science Teaching—November/December 2022 (Volume 52, Issue 2)

By Angela L. Mahaffey

Given the recent state of social distancing, the online lab experience discussed in this article offers an economical and versatile approach to online undergraduate chemistry lab instruction. With videoconferencing software, this experience is easily adaptable to a socially distanced learning environment, although it was initially designed for a classroom (nonlaboratory) setting with an instructor present. The chemistry for health professions lab course described was designed with electronic prelab testing, postlab testing, and lab report submission via an online learning management system for each of the nearly dozen online lab exercises. This article assesses qualitative student responses to the online Urinalysis, pH, and Molarity virtual lab exercise offered in this lab course for health sciences majors. Students anonymously surveyed in the fall 2019 semester course (n = 161) noted the “student-friendly” and cognitively promoting characteristic of the online lab experience. The virtual workbench and online pre- and postlab testing and lab report submission (with data sets) provided an immersive chemical laboratory experience for the students enrolled, and more than 90% of the 138 fall 2019 semester students noted that they would recommend this lab experience to future undergraduate health sciences students enrolled in the Chemistry for Health Professions lab course.

 

Given the recent state of social distancing, the online lab experience discussed in this article offers an economical and versatile approach to online undergraduate chemistry lab instruction. With videoconferencing software, this experience is easily adaptable to a socially distanced learning environment, although it was initially designed for a classroom (nonlaboratory) setting with an instructor present.
Given the recent state of social distancing, the online lab experience discussed in this article offers an economical and versatile approach to online undergraduate chemistry lab instruction. With videoconferencing software, this experience is easily adaptable to a socially distanced learning environment, although it was initially designed for a classroom (nonlaboratory) setting with an instructor present.
 

Research & Teaching

Intentionally Addressing Equity in the Classroom

An Initial Look at Inclusive Practices in Major and Nonmajor Courses in Biology and Geology

Journal of College Science Teaching—November/December 2022 (Volume 52, Issue 2)

By Jessica Kansman*, Makenzie E. Mabry*, Aaron Morrison*, Stephanie Rosbach*, and Marcelle A. Siegel

Equity, as we define it, means striving to serve the needs of others and enhancing belonging by focusing on “whole humans” in emotional, sociocultural, and personal contexts. Integrating equitable practices in STEM classrooms has advantages ranging from helping students grasp concepts to better fostering student transitions into STEM culture. Through class observations, teacher interviews, and open-ended student surveys, we explore differences in perceptions of equity between major and nonmajor biology and geology courses. We uncover several themes, including that students’ science identity may determine course enjoyment and that students have a variable understanding of equity. Professors acknowledge the need for equitable practices but face challenges when implementing them, especially when their teaching is perceived as undervalued in the promotion and tenure process. We provide practical applications for instructors to incorporate equity into their classrooms. Our observations highlight the importance of recognizing students’ identities, intentionally discussing inclusive practices with students to promote equity, and designing lessons to meet the needs of a diverse classroom, regardless of the perceived diversity that exists. We argue that if universities value equitable instructional practices, they must increase the weight of teaching in the tenure and promotion process and provide support for faculty to incorporate equitable teaching methodologies.

 

Equity, as we define it, means striving to serve the needs of others and enhancing belonging by focusing on “whole humans” in emotional, sociocultural, and personal contexts. Integrating equitable practices in STEM classrooms has advantages ranging from helping students grasp concepts to better fostering student transitions into STEM culture. Through class observations, teacher interviews, and open-ended student surveys, we explore differences in perceptions of equity between major and nonmajor biology and geology courses.
Equity, as we define it, means striving to serve the needs of others and enhancing belonging by focusing on “whole humans” in emotional, sociocultural, and personal contexts. Integrating equitable practices in STEM classrooms has advantages ranging from helping students grasp concepts to better fostering student transitions into STEM culture. Through class observations, teacher interviews, and open-ended student surveys, we explore differences in perceptions of equity between major and nonmajor biology and geology courses.
 

Research & Teaching

STEM Graduate Students’ Development at the Intersection of Research, Leadership, and Innovation

Journal of College Science Teaching—November/December 2022 (Volume 52, Issue 2)

By Cindy Lenhart, Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Douglas A. Keszler, Judith Giordan, Rich Carter, and Michelle Dolgos

Researcher innovation and leadership skills are fundamental for creating implementable solutions to pressing societal and market-based global problems. The Research to Innovation to Society (R2I2S) program is a transformative approach to graduate education, training students at the intersection of research, innovation, and leadership. In this article, we detail the design of the program and a 3-year exploratory investigation of its impact at one research university in the western United States. We found that, overall, students who participated in the program realized the value of thinking about their scientific research from a market-need perspective. Students had an enhanced interest in and understanding of societal and market insights related to their own and others’ research. Students also developed professional skills in communication, collaboration, and innovation, as well as entrepreneurial skills. We situate our findings in frameworks concerning the development of emerging professionals and argue for programming for STEM graduate students that extends the deep discipline knowledge-based model of professional development into one inclusive of leadership, communication, and innovation goals.

 

Researcher innovation and leadership skills are fundamental for creating implementable solutions to pressing societal and market-based global problems. The Research to Innovation to Society (R2I2S) program is a transformative approach to graduate education, training students at the intersection of research, innovation, and leadership. In this article, we detail the design of the program and a 3-year exploratory investigation of its impact at one research university in the western United States.
Researcher innovation and leadership skills are fundamental for creating implementable solutions to pressing societal and market-based global problems. The Research to Innovation to Society (R2I2S) program is a transformative approach to graduate education, training students at the intersection of research, innovation, and leadership. In this article, we detail the design of the program and a 3-year exploratory investigation of its impact at one research university in the western United States.
 

Research & Teaching

Interactive, Physical Course Materials as Formative Assessment Opportunities to Improve Student Learning of Molecular Structure-Function Relationships

Journal of College Science Teaching—November/December 2022 (Volume 52, Issue 2)

By Robin Forbes-Lorman, Michele Korb, Amy Moser, Margaret A. Franzen, and Michelle A. Harris

Physical and life science disciplines emphasize how basic structural units influence function, yet it is challenging for students to understand structure-function relationships, particularly at molecular scales. Undergraduates in our biology capstone course struggled to connect mutations in a gene encoding a key protein in a cell development regulation pathway to the function of that protein. We hypothesized that physical molecular models and interactive activities exploring the pathway would help students overcome this learning challenge. Four years of iterative assessment cycles, curricular revisions, and assessment rubrics based on these classroom strategies allowed us to pinpoint students’ struggles to make specific connections between genetic structural mutations and protein function. Student scores on summative assessments and self-reports of learning improved over the 4 years. Furthermore, student comments both supported the summative data and helped us understand how these curricular materials are helpful. We present an evidence-based example in which STEM educators successfully incorporate a novel teaching material by integrating scaffolds that allow students to see how experts make sense of complex and dynamic systems.

 

Physical and life science disciplines emphasize how basic structural units influence function, yet it is challenging for students to understand structure-function relationships, particularly at molecular scales. Undergraduates in our biology capstone course struggled to connect mutations in a gene encoding a key protein in a cell development regulation pathway to the function of that protein. We hypothesized that physical molecular models and interactive activities exploring the pathway would help students overcome this learning challenge.
Physical and life science disciplines emphasize how basic structural units influence function, yet it is challenging for students to understand structure-function relationships, particularly at molecular scales. Undergraduates in our biology capstone course struggled to connect mutations in a gene encoding a key protein in a cell development regulation pathway to the function of that protein. We hypothesized that physical molecular models and interactive activities exploring the pathway would help students overcome this learning challenge.
 

Is p53 a Smoking Gun?

How Mutational Signatures Forced Big Tobacco to Change

By Michèle I. Shuster, Joann Mudge, Meghan Hill, Katelynn James, Gabriella A. DeFrancesco, Maria P. Chadiarakou, Anitha Sundararajan

Is p53 a Smoking Gun?

 

Feature

There and Back: How a Global Pandemic Shaped Youth Programming

Connected Science Learning November–December 2022 (Volume 4, Issue 6)

By Marti Lindsey, Ben Richmond, Alex Benavides, Graciela "Zonnie" Olivas, Kelle Hyland, Leesa Lyons, Lexy Havunen, Mayra Vargas, Brook Moreno, and Bob Mittan

There and Back: How a Global Pandemic Shaped Youth Programming

 

Feature

Fingerprint Spoofing: Exploring Cybersecurity With Limited Technology

Connected Science Learning November–December 2022 (Volume 4, Issue 6)

By Patrick Burton, Kristin Cook, Rob Kelley, Jessica Ivy, and Kevin Thomas

Fingerprint Spoofing: Exploring Cybersecurity With Limited Technology

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