JoinResearch & Teaching
Using Fiction and Nonfiction Readings in Climate Change Education
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Alison Singer, Caitlin Kirby, and Eleanor Rappolee
Facts about climate change are often ineffective in impacting people’s climate change beliefs or environmentally related behaviors. Multiple theories of environmental behavior use norms to foster behavior change. Science fiction writers may also attempt to sway individuals’ perceptions of climate change through imaginings of a future affected by climate change. The impact of these fictional narratives on individuals’ climate change perceptions and related behaviors has not been widely studied. We examined the impact of (i) personal versus social norms and (ii) fiction versus nonfiction climate change readings on undergraduate students’ climate change perceptions and behaviors. On average, students’ climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and behavioral intentions increased across all intervention groups. Comparing fiction with nonfiction, personal with social norms, and interaction effects revealed no significant difference between changes in students’ behavioral intentions. However, trends in this exploratory research suggest that social norms and fiction writings are worth exploring as particularly effective ways to engage students in climate change discussions. These results reveal the potential for fictional narratives and social norms to encourage impactful discussion around climate change.
Facts about climate change are often ineffective in impacting people’s climate change beliefs or environmentally related behaviors. Multiple theories of environmental behavior use norms to foster behavior change. Science fiction writers may also attempt to sway individuals’ perceptions of climate change through imaginings of a future affected by climate change. The impact of these fictional narratives on individuals’ climate change perceptions and related behaviors has not been widely studied.
Facts about climate change are often ineffective in impacting people’s climate change beliefs or environmentally related behaviors. Multiple theories of environmental behavior use norms to foster behavior change. Science fiction writers may also attempt to sway individuals’ perceptions of climate change through imaginings of a future affected by climate change. The impact of these fictional narratives on individuals’ climate change perceptions and related behaviors has not been widely studied.
Research & Teaching
Low-Level Learning
Leaving Behind Nonscience Majors
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Austin Heil, Cara Gormally, and Peggy Brickman
More than 8 out of every 10 college students are not STEM majors, yet we have little understanding about learning expectations for them. We used the results of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute BioInteractive learning objectives survey of 38 instructors teaching nonscience major courses to characterize learning objectives (LOs) in these courses. The survey included demographics questions, and instructors were asked to contribute at least 10 LOs from their nonscience major introductory biology course. We coded the LOs (n = 872) for Bloom’s level, content area, and competencies related to Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education. As a comparison, we coded LOs (n = 1390) from three best-selling textbooks for nonscience majors. We found that most instructors report creating LOs themselves, and most share LOs with students. Overall, 80% of LOs focus on low-level thinking skills. Few LOs (11.5%) from instructors or textbooks focused on science process skills that students might use in everyday life to make science-informed decisions. Our findings indicate a need to revisit the goals of instruction for nonscience majors—the vast majority of people in our society.
More than 8 out of every 10 college students are not STEM majors, yet we have little understanding about learning expectations for them. We used the results of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute BioInteractive learning objectives survey of 38 instructors teaching nonscience major courses to characterize learning objectives (LOs) in these courses. The survey included demographics questions, and instructors were asked to contribute at least 10 LOs from their nonscience major introductory biology course.
More than 8 out of every 10 college students are not STEM majors, yet we have little understanding about learning expectations for them. We used the results of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute BioInteractive learning objectives survey of 38 instructors teaching nonscience major courses to characterize learning objectives (LOs) in these courses. The survey included demographics questions, and instructors were asked to contribute at least 10 LOs from their nonscience major introductory biology course.
point of view
Learning by Listing
Synthesizing Biological Concepts Using Groups of Four
Undergraduate STEM students may be overwhelmed by the complex information they are exposed to during their education. Even so, there are a handful of fundamental and powerful concepts that could be identified for each discipline. General education courses introduce students to the material and provide them with the habits of mind that will help them excel. Equally important is to not overwhelm students with details without a mechanism to learn the concepts, retain them, and use them in future classes. Students benefit when instructors chunk the information of those concepts and provide helpful strategies to recall them. Mnemonics are a proven device to accomplish that purpose. This article offers concepts that can be chunked together in biology to support student understanding.
Undergraduate STEM students may be overwhelmed by the complex information they are exposed to during their education. Even so, there are a handful of fundamental and powerful concepts that could be identified for each discipline. General education courses introduce students to the material and provide them with the habits of mind that will help them excel. Equally important is to not overwhelm students with details without a mechanism to learn the concepts, retain them, and use them in future classes.
Undergraduate STEM students may be overwhelmed by the complex information they are exposed to during their education. Even so, there are a handful of fundamental and powerful concepts that could be identified for each discipline. General education courses introduce students to the material and provide them with the habits of mind that will help them excel. Equally important is to not overwhelm students with details without a mechanism to learn the concepts, retain them, and use them in future classes.
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Student Self-Care in the Sciences
A Self-Care Intervention in an Undergraduate Physiological Psychology Course
Instructor support is associated with various positive outcomes for students. Self-care (taking care of one’s physical, mental, and emotional health) has become a mainstream concept. Self-care may be one way for students to increase wellness, particularly students enrolled in rigorous science courses. If self-care is facilitated or suggested by an instructor, it may lead to students’ feelings that they are supported by the instructor. In the study discussed in this article, 45 students enrolled in a physiological psychology course (an upper-level online course) participated in a control group section or an experimental group section that included an integrated self-care blog and supporting communication. Across both groups, a sense of classroom community and professor-student rapport were related to a variety of positive perceptions about the course and instructor. Students in the self-care section rated the course more positively across several variables, but this rating only nearly reached significance for instructor warmth. The self-care blog was easy to implement and well received by students. Integrated discussions about self-care may help students connect with their instructor and can facilitate skills that will benefit students in future semesters.
Instructor support is associated with various positive outcomes for students. Self-care (taking care of one’s physical, mental, and emotional health) has become a mainstream concept. Self-care may be one way for students to increase wellness, particularly students enrolled in rigorous science courses. If self-care is facilitated or suggested by an instructor, it may lead to students’ feelings that they are supported by the instructor.
Instructor support is associated with various positive outcomes for students. Self-care (taking care of one’s physical, mental, and emotional health) has become a mainstream concept. Self-care may be one way for students to increase wellness, particularly students enrolled in rigorous science courses. If self-care is facilitated or suggested by an instructor, it may lead to students’ feelings that they are supported by the instructor.
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Development and Implementation of an Undergraduate STEM Peer Coaching Program
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Laura E. Swann, Jonathan L. Hall, Katie Vaccaro-Garska, Samantha R. Seals, and Pamela P. Benz
Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences have academic, psychological, and social challenges that require additional support to navigate. This article explains the implementation of a STEM peer coaching program designed to provide such support. Through this program, undergraduate STEM students served as STEM peer coaches. Coaches facilitated one-on-one conversations focused on individualized support and skill development. Using carefully constructed planning and reflecting conversations, STEM peer coaches helped students clarify their goals and create plans for success. STEM peer coaches also served as accountability partners. Anecdotal evidence from students who participated in the program shows that STEM peer coaches provided meaningful academic support. The STEM peer coaching program is a model for how peer-led, individualized conversations can be a catalyst for helping students through challenges related to STEM. The article discusses key strategies for developing and implementing a STEM peer coaching program.
Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences have academic, psychological, and social challenges that require additional support to navigate. This article explains the implementation of a STEM peer coaching program designed to provide such support. Through this program, undergraduate STEM students served as STEM peer coaches. Coaches facilitated one-on-one conversations focused on individualized support and skill development.
Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences have academic, psychological, and social challenges that require additional support to navigate. This article explains the implementation of a STEM peer coaching program designed to provide such support. Through this program, undergraduate STEM students served as STEM peer coaches. Coaches facilitated one-on-one conversations focused on individualized support and skill development.
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Using a Socioscientific Issues Approach in an Undergraduate Environmental Science Course
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Mark H. Newton
A perennial goal of science educators is to develop functional scientific literacy in their students, especially those who will not become professional scientists. This article provides an example of implementing a socioscientific issues approach in an undergraduate environmental science course that enables students to develop the knowledge, reasoning, and skills requisite for resolving complex issues in a sustainable manner for people and the environment now and in the future. This example incorporates an interdisciplinary approach by leveraging traditional laboratory investigations and information from outside of science proper to facilitate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of gray wolves returning to Northern California.
A perennial goal of science educators is to develop functional scientific literacy in their students, especially those who will not become professional scientists. This article provides an example of implementing a socioscientific issues approach in an undergraduate environmental science course that enables students to develop the knowledge, reasoning, and skills requisite for resolving complex issues in a sustainable manner for people and the environment now and in the future.
A perennial goal of science educators is to develop functional scientific literacy in their students, especially those who will not become professional scientists. This article provides an example of implementing a socioscientific issues approach in an undergraduate environmental science course that enables students to develop the knowledge, reasoning, and skills requisite for resolving complex issues in a sustainable manner for people and the environment now and in the future.
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Emphasis on Quality in iNaturalist Plant Collections Enhances Learning and Research Utility
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Mason C. McNair, Chelsea M. Sexton, and Mark Zenoble
Following the switch to remote online teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant taxonomy course at the University of Georgia (UGA) switched to iNaturalist for the specimen collection portion of the course requirements. Building off extant rubrics, the instructors designed project guidelines for a fully online plant collection experience to alleviate plant awareness disparity. Researchers collected stratified samples from the UGA iNaturalist project along with four other institutions’ projects to determine if rubrics and project guidelines could improve the quality of observations to make them useful in plant science research. The specific rubric was shown to improve quality of iNaturalist observations. Researchers found that iNaturalist increased engagement as a student-centered tool but did not enhance students’ manual keying skills, as the app uses automatic identification. Instructors recommend continuing to use iNaturalist to supplement physical collection and keying along with a detailed rubric and guidelines for collection.
Following the switch to remote online teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant taxonomy course at the University of Georgia (UGA) switched to iNaturalist for the specimen collection portion of the course requirements. Building off extant rubrics, the instructors designed project guidelines for a fully online plant collection experience to alleviate plant awareness disparity.
Following the switch to remote online teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant taxonomy course at the University of Georgia (UGA) switched to iNaturalist for the specimen collection portion of the course requirements. Building off extant rubrics, the instructors designed project guidelines for a fully online plant collection experience to alleviate plant awareness disparity.
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Undergraduate Learning Assistants Foster Students’ Resilience During Transition to Online Learning in a Large Microbiology Classroom
Journal of College Science Teaching—Fall 2023 (Volume 52, Issue 7)
By Kathleen Hefferon and Esther Angert
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of emergency transitions to online learning for academic institutions around the world. Previous studies have shown that undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) improve student engagement in classroom activities and learning outcomes. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an LA program to support students in a large microbiology course during the transition to remote learning. We demonstrate that students were more likely to engage with LAs and participate in LA-led classroom activities. LAs promoted more help-seeking behavior from the students and, as a result, contributed to improvements in learning gains. Incorporating LAs into the classroom can thus foster students’ resilience in the face of the current and possible future pandemics.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of emergency transitions to online learning for academic institutions around the world. Previous studies have shown that undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) improve student engagement in classroom activities and learning outcomes. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an LA program to support students in a large microbiology course during the transition to remote learning. We demonstrate that students were more likely to engage with LAs and participate in LA-led classroom activities.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of emergency transitions to online learning for academic institutions around the world. Previous studies have shown that undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) improve student engagement in classroom activities and learning outcomes. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an LA program to support students in a large microbiology course during the transition to remote learning. We demonstrate that students were more likely to engage with LAs and participate in LA-led classroom activities.
methods & strategies
Family Science Clubs
Ideas to get families excited about science
Science and Children—Fall 2023 (Volume 60, Issue 7)
By M. Gail Jones and Megan Ennes
Educators are increasingly recognizing that significant amounts of science learning take place over the course of one’s lifetime and that much of this learning takes place outside of school settings (NRC 2009). Americans spend on average “less than 5 percent of their life in classrooms” (Falk and Dierking 2010, p. 486).
Educators are increasingly recognizing that significant amounts of science learning take place over the course of one’s lifetime and that much of this learning takes place outside of school settings (NRC 2009). Americans spend on average “less than 5 percent of their life in classrooms” (Falk and Dierking 2010, p. 486).
Educators are increasingly recognizing that significant amounts of science learning take place over the course of one’s lifetime and that much of this learning takes place outside of school settings (NRC 2009). Americans spend on average “less than 5 percent of their life in classrooms” (Falk and Dierking 2010, p. 486).
science 101
Q: What Can My Students See During the Upcoming Solar Eclipses?
Science and Children—Fall 2023 (Volume 60, Issue 7)
By Matt Bobrowsky
