2012 NABT Biology Education Research Symposium

Thursday, November 1, 2012
Dallas,Texas

Teddie Phillipson-Mower, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 
Kristy Halverson, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

We would like to thank our reviewers for their time and detailed feedback.

Presentations

Transforming an Undergraduate Introductory Biology Course Through Cinematic Lectures and Inverted Classes: An Assessment of the CLIC Model of the Flipped Classroom

David Marcey (marcey@clunet.edu) and Michael Brint
California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA

ABSTRACT: Two sections of an undergraduate introductory Biology lecture course were run in parallel as a pedagogical experiment. One section (32 students) was taught in a long-established, traditional manner, with lectures delivered during class, readings assigned in a textbook, and access to lecture graphics/slides provided via the online syllabus. The other, "flipped" section (16 students) lacked both required reading assignments and in-class lectures. Instead, students were assigned online cinematic lectures (cinelectures) for viewing outside of class. These cinelectures, delivered via YouTube, incorporate multimedia elements. In class, students were broken into small groups and engaged in active learning assignments. Accounting for all sources of content, the subject material covered was the same for both sections and assessments of learning were identical quizzes and examinations. Statistically significant differences in learning were observed during the first half of the semester, with the flipped-class students performing better on all tests and quizzes. These differences disappeared in the second half of the semester, coincident with a large increase in the number of views of cinelectures recorded on the course YouTube channel. Survey of the traditional class revealed that approximately 3/4 of the students had learned of the cinelectures at this time and had added viewing of these to their study, providing an internal, if initially unintended, control sample to the experiment. These results, along with other analyses, provide strong evidence that supports the conversion of traditional Biology lecture classes to a flipped model.

Engaging Undergraduates in Introductory Biology and Chemistry Laboratories: Relevance Through Disciplinary Connections and Active Strategies 

Renee Schwartz (r.schwartz@wmich.edu)1, John Geiser2, Leonard Ginsberg2, Jacinta Mutambuki1, Donald Schreiber3, and Robert Ruhf4,
1Western Michigan University, Department of Biological Sciences and the Mallinson Institute for Science Education, 2Western Michigan University, Department of Biological Sciences; 3Western Michigan University, Department of Chemistry; and 4 Western Michigan University, Science and Mathematics Program Improvement, Kalamazoo, MI

ABSTRACT: Project Engage is an interdisciplinary team of biology, chemistry and science education faculty that aims to increase progression of undergraduate STEM students towards advanced courses in biology and chemistry by improving instruction in introductory-level chemistry and biology laboratory courses. The project focuses on designing and pilot testing laboratory investigations and developing instructional expertise that (1) engage students with common, real-world materials and situations relevant to key biological and chemical concepts; (2) demonstrate the interdependence of biology and chemistry disciplines; and (3) promote active learning in an investigative environment. We employ a quasi-experimental approach to test the effects of revised laboratory lessons for both courses that utilize food or food-related exercises as a context for learning core concepts of chemistry and biology. The lessons include explicit connections between core concepts (e.g. gas production, energy) and real world applications (i.e. food industry) to improve student awareness of the interdependence of biology and chemistry; thus demonstrating relevance and connections between two introductory level science courses. The project includes professional development for teaching assistants. Results indicate a positive effect on student conceptual knowledge and attitudes toward STEM majors. The professional development model demonstrated positive impacts on teaching assistants’ abilities to actively engage students in laboratory investigations and discussion.

Students’ Systemic Reasoning of Food Webs at Lower Elementary Level (Grades 1-4)

Hayat Hokayem (hayathokayem@gmail.com), Texas Christian University, Forth Worth, TX
Amelia Wenk Gotwals, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

ABSTRACT: The framework for the new National Science Education Standards identified ecology as a key topic in the life sciences (NRC, 2011). Several studies have investigated students’ ecological reasoning in upper elementary, middle and high school, but there is paucity of research that investigates students’ reasoning at lower elementary level which is what we attempt to do in this study. Taking a systems approach to the food web, 40 students from grades 1 till 4 were interviewed in order to investigate students’ reasoning and find out the consistency of their thinking. The results showed that students’ causal reasoning about the food web system was classified into four levels with the first considering aesthetic or anthropomorphic reasoning and the last being branching causal reasoning that considered the influence on several branching food chains. Those categorical levels were similar to the ones identified with elder students. However, students’ levels were not consistent with the various interview questions, rendering the influence of some populations more important than others. Those results have practical implications for construction of appropriate instructional approaches to foster students’ systemic reasoning at early grades.

Implementation of Critical Thinking Exercises in Introductory Biology

M. Addy (tracie.addy@quinnipiac.edu) and Maura Stevenson 
Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT 

ABSTRACT: Critical thinking allows an individual to make wise decisions by identifying illogical conclusions or other fallacies in arguments. While it is important for undergraduate students to develop good critical thinking capabilities, they are often not taught such skills in the university setting. Not only are these skills important for making good choices in life, they can also encourage deeper and more meaningful learning in the academic setting. Within the biological sciences, critical thinking is inherent to hypothesis testing and theory formation in the scientific method. The goal of this research was to determine whether incorporation of explicit critical thinking-based modules within an introductory biology course would improve students’ skills. The results suggest an improvement in students’ critical thinking skills as exhibited by increased critical thinking test scores and effectiveness in evaluating scientific claims by the end of the module. These findings are significant in providing a framework through which introductory courses can encourage higher-order thinking in addition to a foundation in biological content.

Using Inquiry-based Activities to "Transform" Undergraduate Science Education: A Model for Understanding Cell Growth and Viability

Swathi A. Kumar1, Missy Coyle2, Logan Bonner2, and Jacqueline McLaughlin2 (jxm57@psu.edu)
1Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; 2Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, Lehigh Valley, PA 

ABSTRACT: Improving undergraduate biology teaching practices requires aligning pedagogy with inquiry-based research. This paper describes a model lab activity for teaching cell growth and differentiation using living cells in culture in a guided-inquiry based format (Herron, 1971). The key objective in this lab is to have students critically think about, and understand life at the cellular level, using cell culture research-based parameters and techniques to guide their critical thinking and understanding. Students were asked to collaboratively and independently set-up and carry-out an experiment over a three-week period which entailed growing a specific cell line in cell culture and plotting its “growth curve” after being taught standard techniques and given a “guiding question” to generate a hypothesis. We used a survey-based approach to assess the analytical and experimental learning of biology majors who carried out this lab. We found that over 60% of the undergraduate students who participated in this study felt that in addition to learning laboratory techniques, they also gained a robust understanding of scientific literature in the area of study as well as hypothesis generation, critical thinking and writing skills. Further, through this inquiry-based lab assessment, evidence is given to support the importance of a “guiding question” and the need to integrate experimental techniques and independence into the laboratory in order to facilitate learning.

Citizen Science Improves Scientific Literacy in Pre-service Elementary Teachers

Tyler Orr, Division of Teacher Education, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR 
Erin Baumgartner (baumgarte@wou.edu), Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR

ABSTRACT: Citizen science programs have the potential to build scientific literacy by engaging participants in authentic scientific research. One group who can benefit from the inquiry-based training and scientific experience provided by citizen science are pre-service elementary teachers. We examined scientific literacy gains in pre-service elementary teachers by comparing their gains in content knowledge and self-efficacy to those made by upper-division biology majors participating in the same citizen science project monitoring macroinvertebrates in the Salmon River Estuary. Both groups of students were surveyed prior to participation, following training, and following research experience. Statistical analysis via ANOVA indicates that both groups made gains in content knowledge and in scientific self-efficacy by participating in citizen science. The biology students had consistently higher levels of content knowledge and scientific self-efficacy, but the education students made greater overall gains in knowledge and self-efficacy, erasing self-efficacy gaps in specific skills like macroinvertebrate identification. Since scientific confidence is correlated with the likelihood that a teacher will effectively teach science, we recommend that citizen science programs be included in the training experiences offered to future teachers, particularly at the elementary level where training often does not emphasize science. 

Investigating the validity and reliability of the Questionaire Assessing the Learning Environment and Student Attitudes (QuALESA)

George Sirrakos (GS1404@gmail.com), Science & Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to pilot the use of the Questionnaire Assessing the Learning Environment and Student Attitudes (QuALESA) and subsequently investigate its’ validity and reliability. The QuALESA is an instrument that includes modified scales from the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), the What Is Happening In this Class? questionnaire, and the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA). The QuALESA can be used to assess students’ perceptions of their learning environment and their attitudes toward science, which in turn can be used by biology educators to assess the effectiveness of an educational innovation. Data collected through the QuALESA underwent a series of statistical analyses. Results of these analyses indicated the factor structure is sound. The reliability and validity of the QuALESA were also found to be satisfactory as each of the scales were able to measure a different construct. Thus, biology educators and future researchers can confidently use the learning environment and attitudinal scales of the QuALESA to evaluate the effectiveness of educational innovations in their particular classrooms.

Human Genetics and Ethical Issues: Helping Students Bridge the Gap Between Science and the Humanities

Kerry L. Cheesman (kcheesma@capital.edu) and Ian Cheesman 
Capital University, Columbus, OH

ABSTRACT: At many universities, humanities majors wait until late in their academic career to take required science general education classes. At our institution this pattern holds true, and according to student surveys this is in part due to presumptions that a) science is hard, and b) science conflicts with their values and ethics. Students come to their science classes with ethical values firmly embedded, and having formulated answers to many genetic technology issues based upon presumption, word of mouth, and the advertising of television personalities. Attempting to change these presumptions and ground students in proper scientific knowledge can be tricky; understanding why they believe what they do is an important starting point. We have succeeded in helping students learn the science they need to understand in order to make informed ethical choices about genetic issues, by creating a human genetics course for non-science majors, and using a variety of instructional techniques. Assessment of student learning has indicated that knowledge of genetics increased, attitudes toward science learning increased, and the instructional methods employed were successful.

Research on Excursions and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Life Sciences

Josef De Beer (josefdb@uj.ac.za), University of Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa
Recipient of the 2012 Research in Biology Education Award 

ABSTRACT: Field trips or excursions not only act as motivational experiences to complement the classroom pedagogy of the life sciences teacher, but are also powerful cooperative learning opportunities in which the social ecology of the group features strongly. In my research I explore a theoretical view of learning in the dynamic sociocultural environment of an activity system.” This metaphor (Engeström, 1987) is used to view activity in groups and it is also the unit of analysis for research on such activity. From this perspective I compare and contrast the classroom as a system with that of a field trip. I suggest that the latter holds promise for the development of creative tensions and healthy disequilibrium, which can lead to accelerated learning. To this end I forward ideas for a specific games-based pedagogy in a mini curriculum during a field trip for the study of ecology, in which the social ecology itself becomes an object of learning, along with the natural ecology. In forwarding ideas for “disruptive” or “discomforting” games, I show how social and natural environmental awareness can be blended in the “field camp curriculum.”