2020 NABT Biology Education Research Symposium

Friday, November 6, 2020 (ONLINE)

Presentations for the 12th Annual NABT Biology Education Research Symposium were accepted through a double-blind peer-review process that was open to biology educators and researchers at all levels. The NABT Four-Year University & College Section Research Committee Co-Chairs were Suann Yang, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY and William Heyborne, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT

We extend a special thank you to our reviewers for their time and detailed feedback.

Watch the research presentations at 2020 Biology Education Research Symposium.

2020 Presentations

Living Organisms and The Life Science Class: A Case Study

Cole Entress, Teachers College - Columbia University, New York, NY

ABSTRACT: Biology teachers, especially at the secondary level, have largely traded their touchstone experiences—investigations that feature living organisms—for so-called “dry labs” and simulations. This trade has been driven by well-known changes to education policy and funding, but also by something else: the quiet disappearance of laboratory and field-based work from biology teacher education. Nonetheless, some biology teachers manage to routinely incorporate direct engagement with living organisms into their classes. How these teachers develop the expertise and the professional identity needed to sustain such difficult, largely unsupported work remains unknown. This case study, therefore, investigated how Mr. Dewlap—an early-career biology teacher with an unusually deep knowledge of natural history—learned about living organisms, and how this knowledge informed his identity and practice as a science teacher. Mr. Dewlap's story reveals how activities like animal-keeping can provide both teachers and students with a deep, personal connection to the natural world and to science. However, it also illustrates how knowledge about live organisms has been marginalized within formal education. Indeed, Mr. Dewlap's knowledge came almost exclusively from informal sources. This case suggests that the "lost art" of caring for and studying living organisms deserves renewed attention within biology (teacher) education.

Initial Development and Validation of the Plant Awareness Disparity Index

Kathryn M. Parsley, Bernie J. Daigle, and Jaime L. Sabel, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

ABSTRACT: Plant awareness disparity (PAD, formerly plant blindness) is the tendency not to notice plants in one's environment (Wandersee & Schussler, 1999). This can lead to a host of misconceptions regarding how important plants are to the biosphere and human affairs. Many interventions have been proposed to alleviate PAD, but it is difficult to determine how effective these interventions are due to a lack of a valid and reliable measure of PAD. To address this, we developed the plant awareness disparity index (PADI). The PADI is a likert-style survey that measures all four components of PAD as described by Dr. Elisabeth Schussler: attention, attitude, knowledge, and relative interest. We report the initial development, validation process, and factor structure of the instrument in biology students at the university level. This research will be of interest to botanical, ecological, and environmental educators, as well as anyone interested in the development and validation of new instruments. Our research also highlights the importance of valid assessments in education research and intervention design, which has implications for education research and instructors at all levels.

A Nationwide Study Exploring the Religious Backgrounds and Evolution Perceptions of Black and Hispanic Biology Students

Elizabeth Barnes, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN; Sara Brownell and K. Supriya, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

ABSTRACT: The evolution education experiences of underrepresented minority (URM) students is an emerging area of research because past inquiries indicate they have differential outcomes, such as lower evolution acceptance. Further, URM students are on average more religious, which is also associated with lower evolution acceptance. However, we do not know the extent to which strong religiosity among URM biology students can explain their lower evolution acceptance. We surveyed 8,192 students in 60 college biology courses across 15 states and examined how their racial/ethnic identity and religiosity were related to their acceptance of evolution. We found that Hispanic students are, on average, slightly more religious than Asian and White students and are slightly less accepting of evolution. However, Black students were more religious and less accepting of evolution than any other racial/ethnic identity group. The higher average religiosity of Hispanic and Black students mediated their lower evolution acceptance. This study highlights the importance of considering student religiosity in creating inclusive evolution education for Black and Hispanic biology students. We discuss how our results have implications for the underrepresentation of Black individuals within evolutionary biology.

Instructor Conceptions of Diversity in Higher Education

Stanley M. Lo, Nicole Suarez, and Stacey Brydges, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

ABSTRACT: Institutions have increasingly made the commitment to diversify higher education, and instructors play integral roles in creating an inclusive environment. This study asks: How do instructors conceptualize diversity in higher education, and how do these conceptions influence curriculum and instruction? Using phenomenography as the theoretical framework, we examined the qualitatively different ways in which individual instructors experience and understand diversity. These ways of understanding are organized into an outcome space with specific aspects that describe the phenomenon of diversity and variations within each aspect that distinguish the individual experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 32 instructors from two-year and four-year minority-serving institutions. Transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory, and data were coded by two researchers to ensure reliability. Five aspects were identified from our data: student features, legitimized membership, intelligence mindset, faculty role, and learning environment. Variations among experiences were organized into an outcome space with three distinct conceptions of diversity, which we termed essentialist, functionalist, and existentialist. Overall, our results indicate that faculty acknowledge different student features and have varying understanding for what diversity means and why it is important in higher education, and some conceptions of diversity do not necessarily suggest an inclusive culture.

Special Guest Presenter: Amanda Glaze - Crampes, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA. Recipient of the 2020 NABT Four-Year College Section Research in Biology Education Award

Barriers, Beliefs, and Border Crossings: Worldview and the Pursuit of Scientific Literacy

ABSTRACT: Scientific literacy is arguably the ultimate goal of science education across levels. However, for many in the United States, barriers are present that hinder and obfuscate attempts to build literacy and lead to science denial. While we are fighting this battle in public forums, we must also be aware that the same misinformation, misconceptions, and conflict are also present among university students, science majors, and future teachers. Understanding the worldviews connected to our lived experiences and those of our students is a foundation for improving scientific literacy that transcends the classroom. Approaching controversy and question from that place of understanding is a powerful tool in bridging gaps and opening discourse where communication has been otherwise stifled by conflict, fear, and distrust. While content mediums such as evolution are critical hinge points where these interactions occur, intentional acknowledgment of worldviews, responsive teaching, and outreach are essential tools across science education and public engagement in science. These tools are the key to combating science denialism and preparing the next generation of scientific thinkers in the United States.