Student world view as a framework for learning genetics and evolution in high school biology

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McCoy, Roger Wesley

Statement of the problem. Few studies in biology education have examined the underlying presuppositions which guide thinking and concept learning in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the biological world views of a variety of high school students before they take biology courses. Specifically, the study examined student world views in the domains of Classification, Relationship and Causation related to the concepts of heredity, evolution and biotechnology. The following served as guiding questions: (1) What are the personal world views of high school students entering biology classes, related to the domain of Classification, Relationship and Causality? (2) How do these student world views confound or enhance the learning of basic concepts in genetics and evolution? Methods. An interpretive method was chosen for this study. The six student participants were ninth graders and represented a wide range of world view backgrounds. A series of three interviews was conducted with each participant, with a focus group used for triangulation of data. The constant comparative method was used to categorize the data and facilitate the search for meaningful patterns. The analysis included a thick description of each student's personal views of classification, evolution and the appropriate use of biotechnology. Results. The study demonstrates that world view is the basis upon which students build knowledge in biology. The logic of their everyday thinking may not match that of scientists. The words they use are sometimes inconsistent with scientific terminology. This study provides evidence that students voice different opinions depending on the social situation, since they are strongly influenced by peers. Students classify animals based on behaviors. They largely believe that the natural world is unpredictable, and that humans are not really part of that world. Half are unlikely to accept the evolution of humans, but may accept it in other

Attitudes towards Mathematics of the students who enter University of Granada

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Patricia Pérez-Tyteca

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Affective answers play an essential role in the process of teaching-learning mathematics. Within this field, the more studied construct in the last three decades is the attitude towards mathematics. This construct have been frequently related to gender differences between the students population as well as the students´ election of mathematics courses and university degrees depending on the level of mathematics that they present. For this reason, we have analyzed, using an adaptation of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (1976, the attitudes towards mathematics of the students who enter the University of Granada, in a global way and classifying the subjects by gender and by the fields of knowledge of their degrees.

Student Perceptions of Their Biology Teacher's Interpersonal Teaching Behaviors and Student Achievement

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Madike, Victor N.

Inadequate student-teacher interactions in undergraduate courses have been linked to poor student performance. Researchers have noted that students' perceptions of student-teacher relationships may be an important factor related to student performance. The administration of a Mid-Atlantic community college prioritized increasing undergraduate biology student performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between students' biology achievement and their perceptions of interpersonal teaching behaviors and student-teacher interactions in introductory biology courses. Leary's theory on interpersonal communication and the systems communication theory of Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson served as the theoretical foundation. The Wubbel's Likert-scale questionnaire on student-teacher interactions was administered to 318 undergraduate biology students. Non-parametric Spearman's rank correlations revealed a significant direct correlation between students' grades and their perceptions of teachers' interpersonal teaching behaviors. The relationship between student achievement and students' perceptions of student-teacher interactions prompted the recommendation for additional study on the importance of student-teacher interactions in undergraduate programs. A recommendation for local practice included faculty development on strategies for improving student-teacher interactions. The study's implications for positive social change include increased understanding for administrators and instructors on the importance of teacher-student interactions at the community college level.

Entering research: A course that creates community and structure for beginning undergraduate researchers in the STEM disciplines.

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Balster, Nicholas; Pfund, Christine; Rediske, Raelyn; Branchaw, Janet

2010-01-01

Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to enhance the educational experience and retention of college students, especially those from underrepresented populations. However, many challenges still exist relative to building community among students navigating large institutions. We developed a novel course called Entering Research that creates a learning community to support beginning undergraduate researchers and is designed to parallel the Entering Mentoring course for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty serving as mentors of undergraduate researchers. The course serves as a model that can be easily adapted for use across the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines using a readily available facilitator's manual. Course evaluations and rigorous assessment show that the Entering Research course helps students in many ways, including finding a mentor, understanding their place in a research community, and connecting their research to their course work in the biological and physical sciences. Students in the course reported statistically significant gains in their skills, knowledge, and confidence as researchers compared with a control group of students, who also were engaged in undergraduate research but not enrolled in this course. In addition, the faculty and staff members who served as facilitators of the Entering Research course described their experience as rewarding and one they would recommend to their colleagues.

The Relationships between Epistemic Beliefs in Biology and Approaches to Learning Biology among Biology-Major University Students in Taiwan

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Lin, Yi-Chun; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' epistemic beliefs in biology and their approaches to learning biology. To this end, two instruments, the epistemic beliefs in biology and the approaches to learning biology surveys, were developed and administered to 520 university biology students, respectively. By and…

Experiences of Judeo-Christian Students in Undergraduate Biology

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Barnes, M. Elizabeth; Truong, Jasmine M.; Brownell, Sara E.

2017-01-01

A major research thrust in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is focused on how to retain students as STEM majors. The accumulation of seemingly insignificant negative experiences in STEM classes can, over time, lead STEM students to have a low sense of belonging in their disciplines, and this can lead to lower retention. In this paper, we explore how Judeo-Christian students in biology have experiences related to their religious identities that could impact their retention in biology. In 28 interviews with Judeo-Christian students taking undergraduate biology classes, students reported a religious identity that can conflict with the secular culture and content of biology. Some students felt that, because they are religious, they fall within a minority in their classes and would not be seen as credible within the biology community. Students reported adverse experiences when instructors had negative dispositions toward religion and when instructors were rigid in their instructional practices when teaching evolution. These data suggest that this may be a population susceptible to experiences of cultural conflict between their religious identities and their STEM identities, which could have implications for retention. We argue that more research should explore how Judeo-Christian students’ experiences in biology classes influence their sense of belonging and retention. PMID:28232586

Osteopathic Medical Students Entering Family Medicine and Attitudes Regarding Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment: Preliminary Findings of Differences by Sex.

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Baker, Helen H; Linsenmeyer, Machelle; Ridpath, Lance C; Bauer, Laurie J; Foster, Robert W

2017-06-01

Factors distinguishing osteopathic physicians from their allopathic counterparts include the use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), application of osteopathic principles and practice (OPP), and a greater likelihood of entering primary care, specifically family medicine (FM). In the United States, the percentage of entering osteopathic medical students who were female rose from 14.3% in fall 1977 to 44.3% in fall 2015. To investigate the perspectives of female osteopathic medical students as they relate to osteopathic distinctiveness. Students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine who were eligible to participate in graduation exercises in 2014 or 2015 were asked to complete the school's standard Exit Survey. The research team chose 5 items from the survey to include in the current analysis. Sex had been self-identified at admission, and residency in first postgraduate year was categorized as FM or other specialty. Graduates entering a transitional year or traditional internship were removed from analysis. Analysis was conducted for 308 of the 375 students (82%) expected to graduate in 2014 or 2015. χ2 analysis found no difference by sex in the number of graduates entering FM residencies vs other specialties (P=.727). Statistically significant differences were found in 2 survey items: "Use of OMT will enhance my practice" (P=.005) and "What emphasis do you believe OMT will have in your practice?" (P<.001). Graduating female students responded more favorably to OMT on both items. For the latter item, 91.4% of female and 80.3% of male students indicated OMT would have at least some role in their practices. Sex differences remained after statistically controlling for entry into FM. Female graduating osteopathic medical students were more likely to report that OMT will have at least some role in their practices. Future studies of the attitudes and practice patterns of osteopathic physicians should analyze for differences by sex.

The molecular biology capstone assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students.

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Couch, Brian A; Wood, William B; Knight, Jennifer K

2015-03-02

Measuring students' conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in novel scenarios. Targeted at graduating students, the MBCA consists of 18 multiple-true/false (T/F) questions. Each question consists of a narrative stem followed by four T/F statements, which allows a more detailed assessment of student understanding than the traditional multiple-choice format. Questions were iteratively developed with extensive faculty and student feedback, including validation through faculty reviews and response validation through student interviews. The final assessment was taken online by 504 students in upper-division courses at seven institutions. Data from this administration indicate that the MBCA has acceptable levels of internal reliability (α=0.80) and test-retest stability (r=0.93). Students achieved a wide range of scores with a 67% overall average. Performance results suggest that students have an incomplete understanding of many molecular biology concepts and continue to hold incorrect conceptions previously documented among introductory-level students. By pinpointing areas of conceptual difficulty, the MBCA can provide faculty members with guidance for improving undergraduate biology programs. © 2015 B. A. Couch et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Student Misconceptions in Introductory Biology.

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Fisher, Kathleen M.; Lipson, Joseph I.

Defining a "misconception" as an error of translation (transformation, correspondence, interpolation, interpretation) between two different kinds of information which causes students to have incorrect expectations, a Taxonomy of Errors has been developed to examine student misconceptions in an introductory biology course for science…

Student Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching Biology

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Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

2014-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate prospective biology teachers' conceptions of teaching biology and identify how these conceptions revealed their strategies for helping their future students' learning of biology. The study utilized drawings, narratives and interviews to investigate the nature of the prospective biology…

Biological Dialogues: How to Teach Your Students to Learn Fluency in Biology

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May, S. Randolph; Cook, David L.; May, Marilyn K.

2013-01-01

Biology courses have thousands of words to learn in order to intelligently discuss the subject and take tests over the material. Biological fluency is an important goal for students, and practical methods based on constructivist pedagogies can be employed to promote it. We present a method in which pairs of students write dialogues from…

On the Cultivation of Students' Interests in Biology Teaching

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Li, Yan

2011-01-01

This paper introduces the importance of middle school students' interests in learning biology. Considering the psychological characteristics of middle school students, this paper suggests several practical ways for inspiring students' interests in learning biology.

pClone: Synthetic Biology Tool Makes Promoter Research Accessible to Beginning Biology Students

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Campbell, A. Malcolm; Eckdahl, Todd; Cronk, Brian; Andresen, Corinne; Frederick, Paul; Huckuntod, Samantha; Shinneman, Claire; Wacker, Annie; Yuan, Jason

2014-01-01

The "Vision and Change" report recommended genuine research experiences for undergraduate biology students. Authentic research improves science education, increases the number of scientifically literate citizens, and encourages students to pursue research. Synthetic biology is well suited for undergraduate research and is a growing area…

The experimental teaching reform in biochemistry and molecular biology for undergraduate students in Peking University Health Science Center.

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Yang, Xiaohan; Sun, Luyang; Zhao, Ying; Yi, Xia; Zhu, Bin; Wang, Pu; Lin, Hong; Ni, Juhua

2015-01-01

Since 2010, second-year undergraduate students of an eight-year training program leading to a Doctor of Medicine degree or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) have been required to enter the "Innovative talent training project." During that time, the students joined a research lab and participated in some original research work. There is a critical educational need to prepare these students for the increasing accessibility of research experience. The redesigned experimental curriculum of biochemistry and molecular biology was developed to fulfill such a requirement, which keeps two original biochemistry experiments (Gel filtration and Enzyme kinetics) and adds a new two-experiment component called "Analysis of anti-tumor drug induced apoptosis." The additional component, also known as the "project-oriented experiment" or the "comprehensive experiment," consists of Western blotting and a DNA laddering assay to assess the effects of etoposide (VP16) on the apoptosis signaling pathways. This reformed laboratory teaching system aims to enhance the participating students overall understanding of important biological research techniques and the instrumentation involved, and to foster a better understanding of the research process all within a classroom setting. Student feedback indicated that the updated curriculum helped them improve their operational and self-learning capability, and helped to increase their understanding of theoretical knowledge and actual research processes, which laid the groundwork for their future research work. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

They Do Not Buy It: Exploring the Extent to Which Entering First-Year Students View Themselves as Customers

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Saunders, Daniel B.

2015-01-01

While a number of scholars have discussed the pervasiveness of the conceptualization of students as customers, to date there has been limited reliable research examining the extent to which students actually view themselves as customers. Using a survey that was administered to a census of entering first-year students at a large public research…

pClone: Synthetic Biology Tool Makes Promoter Research Accessible to Beginning Biology Students

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Eckdahl, Todd; Cronk, Brian; Andresen, Corinne; Frederick, Paul; Huckuntod, Samantha; Shinneman, Claire; Wacker, Annie; Yuan, Jason

2014-01-01

The Vision and Change report recommended genuine research experiences for undergraduate biology students. Authentic research improves science education, increases the number of scientifically literate citizens, and encourages students to pursue research. Synthetic biology is well suited for undergraduate research and is a growing area of science. We developed a laboratory module called pClone that empowers students to use advances in molecular cloning methods to discover new promoters for use by synthetic biologists. Our educational goals are consistent with Vision and Change and emphasize core concepts and competencies. pClone is a family of three plasmids that students use to clone a new transcriptional promoter or mutate a canonical promoter and measure promoter activity in Escherichia coli. We also developed the Registry of Functional Promoters, an open-access database of student promoter research results. Using pre- and posttests, we measured significant learning gains among students using pClone in introductory biology and genetics classes. Student posttest scores were significantly better than scores of students who did not use pClone. pClone is an easy and affordable mechanism for large-enrollment labs to meet the high standards of Vision and Change. PMID:26086659

Varied Student Perception of E-Text Use among Student Populations in Biology Courses

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McDaniel, Kerrie; Daday, Jerry

2018-01-01

The faculty in a biology department at a four-year public comprehensive university adopted e-texts for all 100 and 200 level biology courses with the primary motivation of reducing textbook costs to students. This study examines the students' perceptions of the e-texts adopted for these 100 and 200 level biology courses. An online questionnaire…

Learning Partnerships Between Undergraduate Biology Students and Younger Learners

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Lee Abrahamsen

2009-12-01

Full Text Available In two upper-level elective biology courses and one beginning-level general biology course, college students participated in Learning Partnerships with middle or high school classes to study some aspect of biology. The goals were to enhance learning by providing resources to middle and high school students and teachers and by encouraging college students to consider teaching as a learning tool and a possible career goal. The college students designed lessons, activities, and laboratories that were done at the schools and at Bates College. Feedback and data suggest that the partnerships have helped teachers enrich their curricula, enhanced student learning, encouraged additional high school students to consider applying to college, and encouraged college students to consider teaching science.

Biology Student Teachers' Cognitive Structure about "Living Thing"

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Kurt, Hakan

2013-01-01

The current study aims to determine biology student teachers' cognitive structure on the concept of "living thing" through revealing their conceptual framework. Qualitative research method was applied in this study. The data were collected from 44 biology student teachers. A free word association test was used as a data collection…

Stories of staying and leaving: A mixed methods analysis of biology undergraduate choice, persistence, and departure

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Lang, Sarah Adrienne

Using a sequential, explanatory mixed methods design, this dissertation study compared students who persist in the biology major (persisters) with students who leave the biology major (switchers) in terms of how their pre-college experiences, college biology experiences, and biology performance figured into their choice of biology and their persistence in or departure from the biology major. This study combined (1) quantitative comparisons of biology persisters and switchers via a questionnaire developed for the study and survival analysis of a larger population of biology freshmen with (2) qualitative comparison of biology switchers and persisters via semi-structured life story interviews and homogenous focus groups. 319 students (207 persisters and 112 switchers) participated in the questionnaire and 36 students (20 persisters and 16 switchers) participated in life story and focus group interviews. All participants were undergraduates who entered The University of Texas at Austin as biology freshmen in the fall semesters of 2000 through 2004. Findings of this study suggest: (1) Regardless of eventual major, biology students enter college with generally the same suite of experiences, sources of personal encouragement, and reasons for choosing the biology major; (2) Despite the fact that they have also had poor experiences in the major, biology persisters do not actively decide to stay in the biology major; they simply do not leave; (3) Based upon survival analysis, biology students are most at-risk of leaving the biology major during the first two years of college and if they are African-American or Latino, women, or seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree (rather than a Bachelor of Science); (4) Biology switchers do not leave biology due to preference for other disciplines; they leave due to difficulties or dissatisfaction with aspects of the biology major, including their courses, faculty, and peers; (5) Biology performance has a differential effect on persistence in

Evaluating High School Students' Anxiety and Self-Efficacy towards Biology

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Çimen, Osman; Yilmaz, Mehmet

2015-01-01

Anxiety and self-efficacy are among the factors that impact students' performance in biology. The current study aims to investigate high school students' perception of biology anxiety and self-efficacy, in relation to gender, grade level, interest in biology, negative experience associated with biology classes, and teachers' approaches in the…

Development of biology student worksheets to facilitate science process skills of student

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Rahayu, Y. S.; Pratiwi, R.; Indana, S.

2018-01-01

This research aims to describe development of Biology student worksheets to facilitate science process skills of student, at the same time to facilitate thinking skills of students in senior high school are equipped with Assesment Sheets. The worksheets development refers to cycle which includes phase analysis (analysis), planning (planning), design (design), development (development), implementation (implementation), evaluation and revision (evaluation and revision). Phase evaluation and revision is an ongoing activity conducted in each phase of the development cycle. That is, after the evaluation of the results of these activities and make revisions at any phase, then continue to the next phase. Based on the test results for grade X, XI, and XII in St. Agnes Surabaya high school, obtained some important findings. The findings are as follows. (1) Developed biology student worksheets could be used to facilitate thinking ability of students in particular skills integrated process that includes components to formulate the problem, formulate hypotheses, determine the study variables, formulate an operational definition of variables, determine the steps in the research, planning data tables, organizing Data in the form of tables/charts, drawing conclusions, (2) Developed biology student worksheets could also facilitate the development of social interaction of students such as working together, listening/respect the opinions of others, assembling equipment and materials, discuss and share information and facilitate the upgrading of skills hands-on student activity. (3) Developed biology worksheets basically could be implemented with the guidance of the teacher step by step, especially for students who have never used a similar worksheet. Guidance at the beginning of this need, especially for worksheets that require special skills or understanding of specific concepts as a prerequisite, such as using a microscope, determine the heart rate, understand the mechanism of

The relationship of parental influence on student career choice of biology and non-biology majors enrolled in a freshman biology course

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Sowell, Mitzie Leigh

Recent declines in science literacy and inadequate numbers of individuals entering science careers has heightened the importance of determining why students major in science or do not major in science and then choose a science-related career. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parental influences and student career choices of both males and females majoring and not majoring in science. This study specifically examined the constructs of parental occupation, parental involvement, and parental education levels. Aspects indicated by the participants as being influencers were also examined. In addition, differences between males and females were examined. A total of 282 students participated in the study; 122 were science majors and 160 were non-science majors. The data was collected through the use of a student information survey and the Modified Fennema-Sherman Attitude Scale. The findings suggest that students indicated the desire to help others, peers, salary, and skills as influencing their career choice. In regard to the various parental influences, mother's occupation was the only construct found as a statistically significant influencer on a student's decision to major in science. The results of this study can help educators, administrators, and policy makers understand what influences students to pursue science-related careers and possibly increase the number of students entering science-related careers. The results of the study specifically provide information that may prove useful to administrators and educators in the health science fields, particularly nursing fields. The findings provide insight into why students may choose to become nurses.

Cognitive profile of students who enter higher education with an indication of dyslexia.

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Maaike Callens

Full Text Available For languages other than English there is a lack of empirical evidence about the cognitive profile of students entering higher education with a diagnosis of dyslexia. To obtain such evidence, we compared a group of 100 Dutch-speaking students diagnosed with dyslexia with a control group of 100 students without learning disabilities. Our study showed selective deficits in reading and writing (effect sizes for accuracy between d = 1 and d = 2, arithmetic (d≈1, and phonological processing (d>0.7. Except for spelling, these deficits were larger for speed related measures than for accuracy related measures. Students with dyslexia also performed slightly inferior on the KAIT tests of crystallized intelligence, due to the retrieval of verbal information from long-term memory. No significant differences were observed in the KAIT tests of fluid intelligence. The profile we obtained agrees with a recent meta-analysis of English findings suggesting that it generalizes to all alphabetic languages. Implications for special arrangements for students with dyslexia in higher education are outlined.

Six Classroom Exercises to Teach Natural Selection to Undergraduate Biology Students

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Kalinowski, Steven T.; Leonard, Mary J.; Andrews, Tessa M.; Litt, Andrea R.

2013-01-01

Students in introductory biology courses frequently have misconceptions regarding natural selection. In this paper, we describe six activities that biology instructors can use to teach undergraduate students in introductory biology courses how natural selection causes evolution. These activities begin with a lesson introducing students to natural…

High school and college biology: A multi-level model of the effects of high school biology courses on student academic performance in introductory college biology courses

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Loehr, John Francis

The issue of student preparation for college study in science has been an ongoing concern for both college-bound students and educators of various levels. This study uses a national sample of college students enrolled in introductory biology courses to address the relationship between high school biology preparation and subsequent introductory college biology performance. Multi-Level Modeling was used to investigate the relationship between students' high school science and mathematics experiences and college biology performance. This analysis controls for student demographic and educational background factors along with factors associated with the college or university attended. The results indicated that high school course-taking and science instructional experiences have the largest impact on student achievement in the first introductory college biology course. In particular, enrollment in courses, such as high school Calculus and Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, along with biology course content that focuses on developing a deep understanding of the topics is found to be positively associated with student achievement in introductory college biology. On the other hand, experiencing high numbers of laboratory activities, demonstrations, and independent projects along with higher levels of laboratory freedom are associated with negative achievement. These findings are relevant to high school biology teachers, college students, their parents, and educators looking beyond the goal of high school graduation.

Effect of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning on Non-majors Biology Students' Understanding of Biological Classification

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Wozniak, Breann M.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in BIOL 100 Summer Session. One section was taught with the traditional curriculum (n = 6) and the other section in the POGIL curriculum (n = 10) developed by the researcher. Three students from each section were selected to take part in pre and post interviews. There were no significant differences within each teaching method (p familiar animal categories and aquatic habitats, unfamiliar organisms, combining and subdividing initial groupings, and the hierarchical nature of classification. The POGIL students were the only group to surpass these challenges after the teaching intervention. This study shows that POGIL is an effective technique at eliciting students' misconceptions, and addressing these misconceptions, leading to an increase in student understanding of biological classification.

Entering Freshman Transfer and Career Students: A Comparison of Selected Educational Objectives with Recommendations for Transfer and Academic Advisement.

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Padula, Mary S.

The descriptive study investigated the extent to which entering freshman students and transfer students at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) are enrolled in degree programs that are compatible with their stated educational objectives, transfer intents, and degree intents. Subjects (N=376) enrolled in a mandatory orientation course were…

Teaching Tree-Thinking to Undergraduate Biology Students.

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Meisel, Richard P

2010-07-27

Evolution is the unifying principle of all biology, and understanding how evolutionary relationships are represented is critical for a complete understanding of evolution. Phylogenetic trees are the most conventional tool for displaying evolutionary relationships, and "tree-thinking" has been coined as a term to describe the ability to conceptualize evolutionary relationships. Students often lack tree-thinking skills, and developing those skills should be a priority of biology curricula. Many common student misconceptions have been described, and a successful instructor needs a suite of tools for correcting those misconceptions. I review the literature on teaching tree-thinking to undergraduate students and suggest how this material can be presented within an inquiry-based framework.

Neutron Scattering in Biology Techniques and Applications

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Fitter, Jörg; Katsaras, John

2006-01-01

The advent of new neutron facilities and the improvement of existing sources and instruments world wide supply the biological community with many new opportunities in the areas of structural biology and biological physics. The present volume offers a clear description of the various neutron-scattering techniques currently being used to answer biologically relevant questions. Their utility is illustrated through examples by some of the leading researchers in the field of neutron scattering. This volume will be a reference for researchers and a step-by-step guide for young scientists entering the field and the advanced graduate student.

On the Concept "Microscope": Biology Student Teachers' Cognitive Structure

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Kurt, Hakan; Ekici, Gulay; Aktas, Murat; Aksu, Ozlem

2013-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to determine biology student teachers' cognitive structures on the concept of microscope. Qualitative research methodology has been applied in the study. The data were collected from biology student teachers. Free word association test and drawing-writing test were used to collect data. The data collected were…

The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: A Concept Assessment for Upper-Division Molecular Biology Students

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Couch, Brian A.; Wood, William B.; Knight, Jennifer K.

2015-01-01

Measuring students' conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in…

Trends in Algebra II Completion and Failure Rates for Students Entering Texas Public High Schools. REL 2018-289

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Stoker, Ginger; Mellor, Lynn; Sullivan, Kate

2018-01-01

This study examines Algebra II completion and failure rates for students entering Texas public high schools from 2007/08 through 2014/15. This period spans the time when Texas students, beginning with the 2007/08 grade 9 cohort, were required to take four courses each in English, math (including Algebra II), science, and social studies (called the…

Selected factors associated with achievement of biology preparatory students and their follow-up to higher level biology courses

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Biermann, Carol A.; Sarinsky, Gary B.

This study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary for them to successfully complete follow-up courses in biology. A group of students who enrolled in a biology preparatory course, and subsequently, a follow-up anatomy and physiology or general biology course (experimental group) was compared to a group of students who should have registered for the preparatory course, but who enrolled directly into the anatomy and physiology or general biology course (control group). It was shown that there was no significant difference in their anatomy and physiology or general biology grades. Furthermore, only 16% of the initial group of preparatory students enrolled in and passed a follow-up biology course. Examination of the preparatory group using discriminant analysis ascertained that mathematics score was the principle discriminator between pass/fail groups. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the variables explaining the preparatory grade showed that mathematics score, reading score, and type of high school degree explained 33% of the variance. Of the students who did pass the preparatory course and enrolled in a follow-up biology class, their preparatory grade was a good predictor of their achievement (measured by follow-up course grade), as determined by multiple regression.

pGLO Mutagenesis: A Laboratory Procedure in Molecular Biology for Biology Students

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Bassiri, Eby A.

2011-01-01

A five-session laboratory project was designed to familiarize or increase the laboratory proficiency of biology students and others with techniques and instruments commonly used in molecular biology research laboratories and industries. In this project, the EZ-Tn5 transposon is used to generate and screen a large number of cells transformed with…

Students' perceptions of difficult concepts in biology in senior ...

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Students' perceptions of difficult concepts in biology in senior secondary schools in ... that students in Senior Secondary School Two (SSII) have difficulties in learning, the ... However, teaching strategies, students' attitude, inadequate learning ...

Dental anxiety: a comparison of students of dentistry, biology, and psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Storjord HP

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Helene Persen Storjord,1 Mari Mjønes Teodorsen,1 Jan Bergdahl,1 Rolf Wynn,2,3 Jan-Are Kolset Johnsen1 1Department of Clinical Dentistry, 2Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, 3Division of Addictions and Specialized Psychiatric Services, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway Introduction: Dental anxiety is an important challenge for many patients and clinicians. It is thus of importance to know more about dental students' own experiences with dental anxiety and their understanding of dental anxiety. The aim was to investigate differences in dental anxiety levels between dental students, psychology students, and biology students at a Norwegian university. Materials and methods: A total of 510 students of dentistry, psychology, and biology at the University of Tromsø received a questionnaire consisting of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale, demographic questions, and questions relating to their last visit to the dentist/dental hygienist; 169 students gave complete responses. Nonparametric tests were used to investigate differences between the student groups. Results: The respondents were 78% female and 22% male; their mean age was 24 years. The dental students showed a significantly lower degree of dental anxiety than the psychology (P<0.001 and biology students (P<0.001. A significant decrease in dental anxiety levels was found between novice and experienced dentistry students (P<0.001. Discussion: The dental students had less dental anxiety compared to psychology students and biology students. Experienced dental students also had less dental anxiety than novice dental students. This could indicate that the dentistry program structure at the university may influence dental anxiety levels. Conclusion: Dental anxiety seemed to be less frequent in dentistry students compared to students of biology or clinical psychology. The practice-oriented dentistry education at the university might contribute to

Student Perceived and Determined Knowledge of Biology Concepts in an Upper-Level Biology Course

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Ziegler, Brittany; Montplaisir, Lisa

2014-01-01

Students who lack metacognitive skills can struggle with the learning process. To be effective learners, students should recognize what they know and what they do not know. This study examines the relationship between students' perception of their knowledge and determined knowledge in an upper-level biology course utilizing a pre/posttest…

Improving Students' Critical Thinking Skills through Remap NHT in Biology Classroom

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Mahanal, Susriyati; Zubaidah, Siti; Bahri, Arsad; Syahadatud Dinnurriya, Maratusy

2016-01-01

Previous studies in Malang, Indonesia, showed that there were the failure biology learning caused by not only the low students' prior knowledge, but also biology learning model has not improved the students' critical thinking skills yet, which affected the low of cognitive learning outcomes. The learning model is required to improve students'…

The ISCB Student Council Internship Program: Expanding computational biology capacity worldwide.

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Anupama, Jigisha; Francescatto, Margherita; Rahman, Farzana; Fatima, Nazeefa; DeBlasio, Dan; Shanmugam, Avinash Kumar; Satagopam, Venkata; Santos, Alberto; Kolekar, Pandurang; Michaut, Magali; Guney, Emre

2018-01-01

Education and training are two essential ingredients for a successful career. On one hand, universities provide students a curriculum for specializing in one's field of study, and on the other, internships complement coursework and provide invaluable training experience for a fruitful career. Consequently, undergraduates and graduates are encouraged to undertake an internship during the course of their degree. The opportunity to explore one's research interests in the early stages of their education is important for students because it improves their skill set and gives their career a boost. In the long term, this helps to close the gap between skills and employability among students across the globe and balance the research capacity in the field of computational biology. However, training opportunities are often scarce for computational biology students, particularly for those who reside in less-privileged regions. Aimed at helping students develop research and academic skills in computational biology and alleviating the divide across countries, the Student Council of the International Society for Computational Biology introduced its Internship Program in 2009. The Internship Program is committed to providing access to computational biology training, especially for students from developing regions, and improving competencies in the field. Here, we present how the Internship Program works and the impact of the internship opportunities so far, along with the challenges associated with this program.

The ISCB Student Council Internship Program: Expanding computational biology capacity worldwide.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jigisha Anupama

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Education and training are two essential ingredients for a successful career. On one hand, universities provide students a curriculum for specializing in one's field of study, and on the other, internships complement coursework and provide invaluable training experience for a fruitful career. Consequently, undergraduates and graduates are encouraged to undertake an internship during the course of their degree. The opportunity to explore one's research interests in the early stages of their education is important for students because it improves their skill set and gives their career a boost. In the long term, this helps to close the gap between skills and employability among students across the globe and balance the research capacity in the field of computational biology. However, training opportunities are often scarce for computational biology students, particularly for those who reside in less-privileged regions. Aimed at helping students develop research and academic skills in computational biology and alleviating the divide across countries, the Student Council of the International Society for Computational Biology introduced its Internship Program in 2009. The Internship Program is committed to providing access to computational biology training, especially for students from developing regions, and improving competencies in the field. Here, we present how the Internship Program works and the impact of the internship opportunities so far, along with the challenges associated with this program.

Has Modern Biology Entered the Mouth? The Clinical Impact of Biological Research.

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Baum, Bruce J.

1991-01-01

Three areas of biological research that are beginning to have an impact on clinical medicine are examined, including molecular biology, cell biology, and biotechnology. It is concluded that oral biologists and educators must work cooperatively to bring rapid biological and biomedical advances into dental training in a meaningful way. (MSE)

Student perceptions of their biology teacher's interpersonal teaching behaviors and student achievement and affective learning outcomes

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Smith, Wade Clay, Jr.

The primary goals of this dissertation were to determine the relationships between interpersonal teaching behaviors and student achievement and affective learning outcomes. The instrument used to collect student perceptions of teacher interpersonal teaching behaviors was the Questionnaire on Teacher Interactions (QTI). The instrument used to assess student affective learning outcomes was the Biology Student Affective Instrument (BSAI). The interpersonal teaching behavior data were collected using students as the observers. 111 students in an urban influenced, rural high school answered the QTI and BSAI in September 1997 and again in April 1998. At the same time students were pre and post tested using the Biology End of Course Examination (BECE). The QTI has been used primarily in European and Oceanic areas. The instrument was also primarily used in educational stratified environment. This was the first time the BSAI was used to assess student affective learning outcomes. The BECE is a Texas normed cognitive assessment test and it is used by Texas schools districts as the end of course examination in biology. The interpersonal teaching behaviors model was tested to ascertain if predictive power in the USA and in a non-stratified educational environment. Findings indicate that the QTI is an adequate predictor of student achievement in biology. The results were not congruent with the non-USA data and results, this indicates that the QTI is a society/culturally sensitive instrument and the instrument needs to be normed to a particular society/culture before it is used to affect teachers' and students' educational environments.

Improving creative thinking skills and scientific attitude through inquiry-based learning in basic biology lecture toward student of biology education

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Bayu Sandika

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Inquiry-based learning is one of the learning methods which can provide an active and authentic scientific learning process in order students are able to improve the creative thinking skills and scientific attitude. This study aims at improving creative thinking skills and scientific attitude through inquiry-based learning in basic biology lecture toward students of biology education at the Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN Jember, Indonesia. This study is included in a descriptive quantitative research. The research focused on the topic of cell transport which was taught toward 25 students of Biology 2 class from 2017 academic year of Biology Education Department at the IAIN Jember. The learning process was conducted in two meetings in November 2017. The enhancement of students' creative thinking skills was determined by one group pre-test and post-test research design using test instrument meanwhile the scientific attitude focused on curiosity and objectivity were observed using the non-test instrument. Research result showed that students' creative thinking skills enhanced highly and students' scientific attitude improved excellently through inquiry-based learning in basic biology lecture.

Entry to medical schools with 'A' level in mathematics rather than biology.

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Spurgin, C B

1975-09-01

The majority of British medical schools now accept for their shortest courses students who have mathematics at A level in place of the former requirement of biology A level. Only a small fraction of the entry, less than one-fifth, enters this way, in spite of statements by most medical schools that they make no distinction between those with mathematics and those with biology when making conditional offers of places. There is no evidence that those without biology are at a disadvantage in the courses. If the prospects of entry without A level biology were better publicized medical schools would have a wider field of possibly abler entrants, and pupils entering sixth forms could defer for a year a choice between a medical (or dental) career and one involving physical science, engineering, or other mathematics-based university education.

Student Interpretations of Phylogenetic Trees in an Introductory Biology Course

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Dees, Jonathan; Momsen, Jennifer L.; Niemi, Jarad; Montplaisir, Lisa

2014-01-01

Phylogenetic trees are widely used visual representations in the biological sciences and the most important visual representations in evolutionary biology. Therefore, phylogenetic trees have also become an important component of biology education. We sought to characterize reasoning used by introductory biology students in interpreting taxa…

Context dependence of students' views about the role of equations in understanding biology.

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Watkins, Jessica; Elby, Andrew

2013-06-01

Students' epistemological views about biology--their ideas about what "counts" as learning and understanding biology--play a role in how they approach their courses and respond to reforms. As introductory biology courses incorporate more physics and quantitative reasoning, student attitudes about the role of equations in biology become especially relevant. However, as documented in research in physics education, students' epistemologies are not always stable and fixed entities; they can be dynamic and context-dependent. In this paper, we examine an interview with an introductory student in which she discusses the use of equations in her reformed biology course. In one part of the interview, she expresses what sounds like an entrenched negative stance toward the role equations can play in understanding biology. However, later in the interview, when discussing a different biology topic, she takes a more positive stance toward the value of equations. These results highlight how a given student can have diverse ways of thinking about the value of bringing physics and math into biology. By highlighting how attitudes can shift in response to different tasks, instructional environments, and contextual cues, we emphasize the need to attend to these factors, rather than treating students' beliefs as fixed and stable.

Students' perceptions of motivation in high school biology class: Informing current theories

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McManic, Janet A.

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of motivation to achieve while participating in general level high school biology classes. In a national poll of teacher's attitudes, student's motivation was a top concern of teachers (Elam, 1989). The student's perceptions of motivation are important to understand if improvements and advancements in motivation are to be implemented in the science classroom. This qualitative study was conducted in an urban high school that is located in a major metropolitan area in the southeast of the United States. The student body of 1100 is composed of Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students. The focus question of the study was: What are students' perceptions of their motivation in biology class? From general level biology classes, purposeful sampling narrowed the participants to fifteen students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants having varying measurements of motivation on the Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom (Harter, 1980). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. After transcription, the interviews were coded by the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The coded data of students' responses were analyzed and compared to current theories of motivation. The current theories are the social-cognitive model (Bandura, 1977), attribution theory (Weiner, 1979), basic needs theory (Maslow, 1954) and choice theory (Glasser, 1986). The results of this study support the social cognitive model of motivation (Bandura, 1977) through the description of family structure and its relationship to motivation (Gonzalez, 2002). The study upheld previous research in that extrinsic orientation was shown to be prevalent in older students (Harter, 1981; Anderman & Maehr, 1994). In addition, the students' responses disclosed the difficulties encountered in studying biology. Students expressed the opinion that biology terms are

Increasing the Use of Student-Centered Pedagogies from Moderate to High Improves Student Learning and Attitudes about Biology.

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Connell, Georgianne L; Donovan, Deborah A; Chambers, Timothy G

2016-01-01

Student-centered strategies are being incorporated into undergraduate classrooms in response to a call for reform. We tested whether teaching in an extensively student-centered manner (many active-learning pedagogies, consistent formative assessment, cooperative groups; the Extensive section) was more effective than teaching in a moderately student-centered manner (fewer active-learning pedagogies, less formative assessment, without groups; the Moderate section) in a large-enrollment course. One instructor taught both sections of Biology 101 during the same quarter, covering the same material. Students in the Extensive section had significantly higher mean scores on course exams. They also scored significantly higher on a content postassessment when accounting for preassessment score and student demographics. Item response theory analysis supported these results. Students in the Extensive section had greater changes in postinstruction abilities compared with students in the Moderate section. Finally, students in the Extensive section exhibited a statistically greater expert shift in their views about biology and learning biology. We suggest our results are explained by the greater number of active-learning pedagogies experienced by students in cooperative groups, the consistent use of formative assessment, and the frequent use of explicit metacognition in the Extensive section. © 2016 G. L. Connell, D. A. Donovan, and T. G. Chambers. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Generalizability of Students' Interests in Biology Across Gender, Country and Religion

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Hagay, G.; Baram-Tsabari, A.; Ametller, J.; Cakmakci, G.; Lopes, B.; Moreira, A.; Pedrosa-de-Jesus, H.

2013-06-01

In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology, a strategy for identifying students' interest based on their questions and integrating them into the curriculum was developed. To characterize the level of generalizability of students' science interests over 600 high school students from Portugal, Turkey, England and Israel, who chose biology as an advanced subject, their interest level was ranked in 36 questions that were originally raised by Israeli students. Results indicate that students from four different countries show interest in similar science questions. The most intriguing questions were the ones that dealt with human health and new developments in reproduction and genetics. Religious affiliation had the strongest effect on students' interest level, followed by national affiliation and gender. The findings suggest that students' interest in one context is relevant to the development of interest-based learning materials in a different context. However, despite these similarities, cultural and sociological differences need to be taken into account.

Comparison of biological and genomic characteristics between a newly isolated mink enteritis parvovirus MEV-LHV and an attenuated strain MEV-L.

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Mao, Yaping; Wang, Jigui; Hou, Qiang; Xi, Ji; Zhang, Xiaomei; Bian, Dawei; Yu, Yongle; Wang, Xi; Liu, Weiquan

2016-06-01

A virus isolated from mink showing clinical signs of enteritis was identified as a high virulent mink enteritis parvovirus (MEV) based on its biological characteristics in vivo and in vitro. Mink, challenged with this strain named MEV-LHV, exhibited severe pathological lesions as compared to those challenged with attenuated strain MEV-L. MEV-LHV also showed higher infection and replication efficiencies in vitro than MEV-L. Sequence of the complete genome of MEV-LHV was determined and analyzed in comparison with those in GenBank, which revealed that MEV-LHV shared high homology with virulent strain MEV SD12/01, whereas MEV-L was closely related to Abashiri and vaccine strain MEVB, and belonged to a different branch of the phylogenetic tree. The genomes of the two strains differed by insertions and deletions in their palindromic termini and specific unique mutations (especially VP2 300) in coding sequences which may be involved in viral replication and pathogenicity. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the biological and genomic characteristics of MEV and identify certain regions and sites that may be involved in viral replication and pathogenicity.

An Examination of Science High School Students' Motivation towards Learning Biology and Their Attitude towards Biology Lessons

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Kisoglu, Mustafa

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine motivation of science high school students towards learning biology and their attitude towards biology lessons. The sample of the study consists of 564 high school students (308 females, 256 males) studying at two science high schools in Aksaray, Turkey. In the study, the relational scanning method, which is…

A Bioethics Course for Biology and Science Education Students.

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Bryant, John; la Velle, Linda Baggott

2003-01-01

Points out the importance of awareness among biologists and biology teachers of the ethical and social implications of their work. Describes the bioethics module established at the University of Exeter mainly targeting students majoring in biology and science education. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/YDS)

Test of Science Process Skills of Biology Students towards Developing of Learning Exercises

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Judith S. Rabacal

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This is a descriptive study aimed to determine the academic achievement on science process skills of the BS Biology Students of Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Philippines with the end view of developing learning exercises which will enhance their academic achievement on basic and integrated science process skills. The data in this study were obtained using a validated questionnaire. Mean was the statistical tool used to determine the academic achievement on the above mentioned science process skills; t-test for independent means was used to determine significant difference on the academic achievement of science process skills of BS Biology students while Pearson Product Moment of Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the significant relationship between basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students. A 0.05 level of significance was used to determine whether the hypothesis set in the study will be rejected or accepted. Findings revealed that the academic achievement on basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students was average. Findings revealed that there are no significant differences on the academic performance of the BS Biology students when grouped according to year level and gender. Findings also revealed that there is a significant difference on the academic achievement between basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between academic achievement on the basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students.

Boosting Students' Attitudes & Knowledge about Evolution Sets Them up for College Success

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Carter, B. Elijah; Infanti, Lynn M.; Wiles, Jason R.

2015-01-01

Students who enter college with a solid grounding in, and positive attitudes toward, evolutionary science are better prepared for and achieve at higher levels in university-level biology courses. We found highly significant, positive relationships between student knowledge of evolution and attitudes toward evolution, as well as between…

Communication Skill Attributes Needed for Vocational Education enter The Workplace

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Wahyuni, L. M.; Masih, I. K.; Rejeki, I. N. Mei

2018-01-01

Communication skills are generic skills which need to be developed for success in the vocational education entering the workforce. This study aimed to discover the attributes of communication skill considered important in entering the workforce as perceived by vocational education students. The research was conducted by survey method using questionnaire as data collecting tool. The research population is final year student of D3 Vocational education Program and D4 Managerial Vocational education in academic year 2016/2017 who have completed field work practice in industry. The sampling technique was proportional random sampling. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and independent sampel t-test. Have ten communication skills attributes with the highest important level required to enter the workplace as perceived by the vocational education diploma. These results indicate that there was the same need related communication skills to enter the workforce

Increasing the Use of Student-Centered Pedagogies from Moderate to High Improves Student Learning and Attitudes about Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Connell, Georgianne L.; Donovan, Deborah A.; Chambers, Timothy G.

2016-01-01

Student-centered strategies are being incorporated into undergraduate classrooms in response to a call for reform. We tested whether teaching in an extensively student-centered manner (many active-learning pedagogies, consistent formative assessment, cooperative groups; the Extensive section) was more effective than teaching in a moderately student-centered manner (fewer active-learning pedagogies, less formative assessment, without groups; the Moderate section) in a large-enrollment course. One instructor taught both sections of Biology 101 during the same quarter, covering the same material. Students in the Extensive section had significantly higher mean scores on course exams. They also scored significantly higher on a content postassessment when accounting for preassessment score and student demographics. Item response theory analysis supported these results. Students in the Extensive section had greater changes in postinstruction abilities compared with students in the Moderate section. Finally, students in the Extensive section exhibited a statistically greater expert shift in their views about biology and learning biology. We suggest our results are explained by the greater number of active-learning pedagogies experienced by students in cooperative groups, the consistent use of formative assessment, and the frequent use of explicit metacognition in the Extensive section. PMID:26865643

Scientific Conceptions of Photosynthesis among Primary School Pupils and Student Teachers of Biology

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Darja Skribe Dimec

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Photosynthesis is the most important biochemical process on Earth. Most living beings depend on it directly or indirectly. Knowledge about photosynthesis enables us to understand how the world functions as an ecosystem and how photosynthesis acts as a bridge between the non-living and living worlds. It is, therefore, understandable that photosynthesis is included in national curricula around the world. The practice unfortunately shows that students at all school levels mostly learn about photosynthesis by rote. Consequently, they have difficulties understanding this vital process. Research also shows many misconceptions in relation to photosynthesis among students of different ages. Based on these, the main aim of our study was to explore the scientific conceptions about photosynthesis held by primary school pupils and student teachers of biology. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing seven biology content questions. The sample consisted of 634 participants, 427 primary school pupils (aged 11–14, and 207 student teachers of biology (aged 20–23. We found that the populations of primary school pupils and student teachers of biology differ greatly concerning scientific conceptions of photosynthesis. The student teachers showed good and complex understanding of photosynthesis, while pupils showed some misconceptions (location of chlorophyll and photosynthesis in a plant, transformation of energy in photosynthesis. Analysis of the development of scientific conceptions about photosynthesis with age showed that there is very little progress among primary school pupils and none among biology student teachers. More involvement of student teachers of biology in practical work at primary schools during their study was suggested to make student teachers aware of, and better understand pupils’ misconceptions.

Evolution Acceptance and Epistemological Beliefs of College Biology Students

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Borgerding, Lisa A.; Deniz, Hasan; Anderson, Elizabeth Shevock

2017-01-01

Evolutionary theory is central to biology, and scientifically accurate evolution instruction is promoted within national and state standards documents. Previous literature has identified students' epistemological beliefs as potential predictors of evolution acceptance. The present work seeks to explore more directly how student views of evolution…

Traditional Versus Online Biology Courses: Connecting Course Design and Student Learning in an Online Setting.

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Biel, Rachel; Brame, Cynthia J

2016-12-01

Online courses are a large and growing part of the undergraduate education landscape, but many biology instructors are skeptical about the effectiveness of online instruction. We reviewed studies comparing the effectiveness of online and face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate biology courses. Five studies compared student performance in multiple course sections at community colleges, while eight were smaller scale and compared student performance in particular biology courses at a variety of types of institutions. Of the larger-scale studies, two found that students in F2F sections outperformed students in online sections, and three found no significant difference; it should be noted, however, that these studies reported little information about course design. Of the eight smaller scale studies, six found no significant difference in student performance between the F2F and online sections, while two found that the online sections outperformed the F2F sections. In alignment with general findings about online teaching and learning, these results suggest that well-designed online biology courses can be effective at promoting student learning. Three recommendations for effective online instruction in biology are given: the inclusion of an online orientation to acclimate students to the online classroom; student-instructor and student-student interactions facilitated through synchronous and asynchronous communication; and elements that prompt student reflection and self-assessment. We conclude that well-designed online biology courses can be as effective as their traditional counterparts, but that more research is needed to elucidate specific course elements and structures that can maximize online students' learning of key biology skills and concepts.

Traditional Versus Online Biology Courses: Connecting Course Design and Student Learning in an Online Setting

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Rachel Biel

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Online courses are a large and growing part of the undergraduate education landscape, but many biology instructors are skeptical about the effectiveness of online instruction. We reviewed studies comparing the effectiveness of online and face-to-face (F2F undergraduate biology courses. Five studies compared student performance in multiple course sections at community colleges, while eight were smaller scale and compared student performance in particular biology courses at a variety of types of institutions. Of the larger-scale studies, two found that students in F2F sections outperformed students in online sections, and three found no significant difference; it should be noted, however, that these studies reported little information about course design. Of the eight smaller scale studies, six found no significant difference in student performance between the F2F and online sections, while two found that the online sections outperformed the F2F sections. In alignment with general findings about online teaching and learning, these results suggest that well-designed online biology courses can be effective at promoting student learning. Three recommendations for effective online instruction in biology are given: the inclusion of an online orientation to acclimate students to the online classroom; student-instructor and student-student interactions facilitated through synchronous and asynchronous communication; and elements that prompt student reflection and self-assessment. We conclude that well-designed online biology courses can be as effective as their traditional counterparts, but that more research is needed to elucidate specific course elements and structures that can maximize online students’ learning of key biology skills and concepts.

Student Teachers' Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

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Borgerding, Lisa A.; Klein, Vanessa A.; Ghosh, Rajlakshmi; Eibel, Albert

2015-01-01

Evolution is fundamental to biology and scientific literacy, but teaching high school evolution is often difficult. Evolution teachers face several challenges including limited content knowledge, personal conflicts with evolution, expectations of resistance, concerns about students' conflicts with religion, and curricular constraints. Evolution…

Lack of Evolution Acceptance Inhibits Students' Negotiation of Biology-Based Socioscientific Issues

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Fowler, S. R.; Zeidler, D. L.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore science content used during college students' negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students' conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. The Socioscientific Issues Questionnaire (SSI-Q) was developed to measure depth of evolutionary…

Biology Students Building Computer Simulations Using StarLogo TNG

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Smith, V. Anne; Duncan, Ishbel

2011-01-01

Confidence is an important issue for biology students in handling computational concepts. This paper describes a practical in which honours-level bioscience students simulate complex animal behaviour using StarLogo TNG, a freely-available graphical programming environment. The practical consists of two sessions, the first of which guides students…

Assessing Student Behaviors and Motivation for Actively Learning Biology

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Moore, Michael Edward

Vision and Change states that one of the major changes in the way we design biology courses should be a switch in approach from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning and identifies active learning as a recommended methods. Studies show performance benefits for students taking courses that use active learning. What is unknown is why active learning is such an effective instructional tool and the limits of this instructional method’s ability to influence performance. This dissertation builds a case in three steps for why active learning is an effective instructional tool. In step one, I assessed the influence of different types of active learning (clickers, group activities, and whole class discussions) on student engagement behavior in one semester of two different introductory biology courses and found that active learning positively influenced student engagement behavior significantly more than lecture. For step two, I examined over four semesters whether student engagement behavior was a predictor of performance and found participation (engagement behavior) in the online (video watching) and in-class course activities (clicker participation) that I measure were significant predictors of performance. In the third, I assessed whether certain active learning satisfied the psychological needs that lead to students’ intrinsic motivation to participate in those activities when compared over two semesters and across two different institutions of higher learning. Findings from this last step show us that student’s perceptions of autonomy, competency, and relatedness in doing various types of active learning are significantly higher than lecture and consistent across two institutions of higher learning. Lastly, I tie everything together, discuss implications of the research, and address future directions for research on biology student motivation and behavior.

Assessment of the effects of student response systems on student learning and attitudes over a broad range of biology courses.

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Preszler, Ralph W; Dawe, Angus; Shuster, Charles B; Shuster, Michèle

2007-01-01

With the advent of wireless technology, new tools are available that are intended to enhance students' learning and attitudes. To assess the effectiveness of wireless student response systems in the biology curriculum at New Mexico State University, a combined study of student attitudes and performance was undertaken. A survey of students in six biology courses showed that strong majorities of students had favorable overall impressions of the use of student response systems and also thought that the technology improved their interest in the course, attendance, and understanding of course content. Students in lower-division courses had more strongly positive overall impressions than did students in upper-division courses. To assess the effects of the response systems on student learning, the number of in-class questions was varied within each course throughout the semester. Students' performance was compared on exam questions derived from lectures with low, medium, or high numbers of in-class questions. Increased use of the response systems in lecture had a positive influence on students' performance on exam questions across all six biology courses. Students not only have favorable opinions about the use of student response systems, increased use of these systems increases student learning.

Graduate student training and creating new physics labs for biology students, killing two birds with one stone.

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Jones, Barbara

2001-03-01

At UCSD biology majors are required to take 3 quarters of a calculus based physics course. This is taught in a standard format large lecture class partly by faculty and partly by freeway flyers. We are working with physics graduate students who are also participating in our PFPF (Preparing Future Physics Faculty) program to write, review, and teach new weekly labs for these biology students. This provides an experience for the grad student that is both rewarding to them and useful to the department. The grad students participate in curriculum development, they observe the students behaviour in the labs, and assess the effectiveness of different lab formats. The labs are intended to provide an interactive, hands on experience with a wide variety of equipment which is mostly both simple and inexpensive. Both students and grads find the labs to be engaging and fun. Based on group discussions the labs are modified to try to try to create the best teaching environment. The biology students benefit from the improvements both in the quality of the labs they do, and from the enthusiasm of the TAs who take an active interest in their learning. The ability to make significant changes to the material taught maintains the interest of the grad students and helps to make the labs a stable and robust environment.

Motivations to nurse: an exploration of what motivates students in Pacific Island countries to enter nursing.

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Usher, Kim; West, Caryn; Macmanus, Mary; Waqa, Silina; Stewart, Lee; Henry, Renee; Lindsay, David; Conaglen, Jo; Hall, Julianne; McAuliffe, Marie; Redman-MacLaren, Michelle

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to explore the motivations of student nurses enrolled in nursing courses across a variety of Pacific Island countries. The image of nursing, the desire to help others, family and friends in the profession, personal experience, security, travel opportunities and flexibility have all been identified as motivators for people to enter nursing. To date, what motivates students in Pacific Island countries to enrol in a nursing course has not been investigated. An exploratory qualitative approach using focus group interviews with 152 nursing students was undertaken. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis, revealing four themes: (i) helping others; (ii) 'making a difference for my people'; (iii) following in the footsteps of others; and (iv) financial and professional gain. In a time of health and nursing workforce shortages, developing a deeper understanding of what drives people can be used to improve recruitment strategies in the future. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Biology Students' and Teachers' Religious Beliefs and Attitudes towards Theory of Evolution

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Ozay Kose, Esra

2010-01-01

Evolution has not being well addressed in schools partly because it is a controversial topic in religious views. In the present study, it is explored to what extent Turkish secondary school biology teachers and students accommodate the theory of biological evolution with their religious beliefs. Two-hundred fifty secondary school students and…

Campus Eco Tours: An Integrative & Interactive Field Project for Undergraduate Biology Students

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Boes, Katie E.

2013-01-01

Outdoor areas within or near college campuses offer an opportunity for biology students to observe the natural world and apply concepts from class. Here, I describe an engaging and integrative project where undergraduate non-major biology students work in teams to develop and present professional "eco tours." This project takes place over multiple…

Calculus, Biology and Medicine: A Case Study in Quantitative Literacy for Science Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Rheinlander

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a course designed to enhance the numeracy of biology and pre-medical students. The course introduces students with the background of one semester of calculus to systems of nonlinear ordinary differential equations as they appear in the mathematical biology literature. Evaluation of the course showed increased enjoyment and confidence in doing mathematics, and an increased appreciation of the utility of mathematics to science. Students who complete this course are better able to read the research literature in mathematical biology and carry out research problems of their own.

EFFECTS OF 5E LEARNING CYCLE ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY

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Patrick Osawaru Ajaja,

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The major purpose of this study was to determine the effects of learning cycle as an instructional strategy on biology andchemistry students achievement. To guide this study, six research hypotheses were stated and tested at 0.05 level ofsignificance. The design of this study was 2x2x3x6 Pre-test Post-test non-equivalent control group quasi experimental design.These included two instructional groups (experimental and control groups, sex (male and female, repeated testing (Pre,Post and follow-up tests, and six weeks of experience. The samples of the study included six senior secondary schools, 112science students, and 12 biology and chemistry teachers. The instruments used for this study were: teacher’s questionnaireon knowledge and use of learning cycle (KULC; and Biology and Chemistry Achievement Test (BCAT. The data collected wereanalyzed with simple percentage, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA and student t-test statistics. The major findings of thestudy included that only 30.43% and 26.31% of biology and chemistry teachers have the knowledge that learning cycle is aninstructional method; all the biology and chemistry teachers sampled have never used learning cycle as an instructionalmethod; learning cycle had a significant effect on students achievement in biology and chemistry; students taught withlearning cycle significantly achieved better in biology/chemistry Post-test than those taught with lecture method; the posttestscores of students in the learning cycle group increased over the period of experience; non-significant difference in Posttestscores between males and females taught with learning cycle; non-significant interaction effect between method andsex on achievement; and a significant higher retention of biology and chemistry knowledge by students taught with learningcycle than those taught with lecture method. It was concluded that the method seems an appropriate instructional modelthat could be used to solve the problems of

Preparedness and Practice Management Skills of Graduating Dental Students Entering the Work Force

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Jane Manakil

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Dental education aims to produce competent graduates with the ability to provide quality care to the patients and facilitate the smooth integration into professional practice. The objective of this study was to explore the overall preparedness of graduands for integrating into professional practice. The survey was tested for reliability and analysed the career paths, learning preferences, overall knowledge, and confidence amongst graduating dentists in integrating and managing a dental practice on graduation. Sixty-nine students (89.6% in age group of 20–50 years participated in the study. Students indicated a high level of confidence in their skills and ability to work in a team in a practice or collaboratively with other colleagues and specialists but expressed some reservation on their practice management skills (73.1%. Challenges in gaining employment and pressures to repay educational debts are amongst the reasons for graduands preferring a paid job immediately on graduation regardless of demographics. Students indicated that an increase in speciality training and clinical/outreach placements could enhance employability. This study explores the students’ perception of their confidences, knowledge, learning preferences, and practice management skills as a method of evaluating their preparedness to practice on graduation and provides a base line for curriculum structuring to prepare graduands to enter the competitive dental work force.

Assessing Student Behaviors and Motivation for Actively Learning Biology

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Moore, Michael Edward

2017-01-01

Vision and Change states that one of the major changes in the way we design biology courses should be a switch in approach from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning and identifies active learning as a recommended methods. Studies show performance benefits for students taking courses that use active learning. What is unknown is…

Biology Student Teachers' Conceptual Frameworks regarding Biodiversity

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Dikmenli, Musa

2010-01-01

In recent years, biodiversity has received a great deal of attention worldwide, especially in environmental education. The reasons for this attention are the increase of human activities on biodiversity and environmental problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate biology student teachers' conceptual frameworks regarding biodiversity.…

Intestinal endocrine cells in radiation enteritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pietroletti, R.; Blaauwgeers, J.L.; Taat, C.W.; Simi, M.; Brummelkamp, W.H.; Becker, A.E.

1989-01-01

In this study, the intestinal endocrine cells were investigated in 13 surgical specimens affected by radiation enteritis. Endocrine cells were studied by means of Grimelius' silver staining and immunostaining for chromogranin, a general marker of endocrine cells. Positively stained cells were quantified by counting their number per unit length of muscularis mucosa. Results in radiation enteritis were compared with matched control specimens by using Student's t test. Chromogranin immunostaining showed a statistically significant increase of endocrine cells in radiation enteritis specimens compared with controls both in small and large intestine (ileum, 67.5 +/- 23.5 cells per unit length of muscularis mucosa in radiation enteritis versus 17.0 +/- 6.1 in controls; colon, 40.9 +/- 13.7 cells per unit length of muscularis mucosa in radiation enteritis versus 9.5 +/- 4.1 in controls--p less than 0.005 in both instances). Increase of endocrine cells was demonstrated also by Grimelius' staining; however, without reaching statistical significance. It is not clear whether or not the increase of endocrine cells in radiation enteritis reported in this study is caused by a hyperplastic response or by a sparing phenomenon. We should consider that increased endocrine cells, when abnormally secreting their products, may be involved in some of the clinical features of radiation enteropathy. In addition, as intestinal endocrine cells produce trophic substances to the intestine, their increase could be responsible for the raised risk of developing carcinoma of the intestine in long standing radiation enteritis

Comparing Entering Freshmen's Perceptions of Campus Marijuana and Alcohol Use to Reported Use

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Gold, Gregg J.; Nguyen, Alyssa T.

2009-01-01

Use of marijuana and alcohol among current college students (N = 1101) was compared to the perceptions and use of entering freshmen (N = 481) surveyed before the start of classes. Entering freshmen significantly misperceived campus norms for marijuana use, over-estimating that almost every student used in the last 30 days, p less than 0.001.…

Using the Scientific Method to Motivate Biology Students to Study Precalculus

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Fulton, James P.; Sabatino, Linda

2008-01-01

During the last two years we have developed a precalculus course customized around biology by using the scientific method as a framework to engage and motivate biology students. Historically, the precalculus and calculus courses required for the Suffolk County Community College biology curriculum were designed using examples from the physical…

The integration of computerised accounting in the accounting curriculum as an educational learning curve for students entering the business world

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Elmarie Papageorgiou

2014-06-01

Full Text Available At universities, educating students on real-life practices is one of the key drivers in a changing academic environment. Academic institutions encourage the study of the learning environment and ensure that appropriate strategies are in place for educating students. A first-year Accounting I student stated the importance of computerised accounting: ‘Computerised accounting is used in the workplace and therefore using it in varsity, grants students a view on how things will be after completion of their respective degrees.’ Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the perceived acquisition of information technology (IT knowledge and determine the skills required for students to convert the knowledge gained into actions as a learning curve for accounting students entering the business world. The results indicated that students’ knowledge of Accounting I increased with the integration of computerised Accounting in the Accounting I Curriculum.

Student Perceived and Determined Knowledge of Biology Concepts in an Upper-Level Biology Course

OpenAIRE

Ziegler, Brittany; Montplaisir, Lisa

2014-01-01

Students who lack metacognitive skills can struggle with the learning process. To be effective learners, students should recognize what they know and what they do not know. This study examines the relationship between students’ perception of their knowledge and determined knowledge in an upper-level biology course utilizing a pre/posttest approach. Significant differences in students’ perception of their knowledge and their determined knowledge exist at the beginning (pretest) and end (postte...

Motivating Students to Learn Biology Vocabulary with Wikipedia

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Boriana Marintcheva

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Timely learning of specialized science vocabulary is critical for building a solid knowledge base in any scientific discipline. To motivate students to dedicate time and effort mastering biology vocabulary, I have designed a vocabulary exercise utilizing the popular web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The exercise creates an opportunity for students to connect the challenge of vocabulary learning to a prior positive experience of self-guided learning using a content source they are familiar and comfortable with.

Who Wants a Job in Biology? Student Aspirations and Perceptions

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Henderson, Danielle; Stanisstreet, Martin; Boyes, Edward

2007-01-01

This paper describes the results of a questionnaire survey of UK Year 3 biology undergraduates' career aspirations, and their perceptions of employment in teaching, research and conservation. Although most students sought material benefits in their potential careers, even more wished to gain job satisfaction. None of the careers in biology was…

Engagement and skill development in biology students through analysis of art.

Science.gov (United States)

Milkova, Liliana; Crossman, Colette; Wiles, Stephanie; Allen, Taylor

2013-01-01

An activity involving analysis of art in biology courses was designed with the goals of piquing undergraduates' curiosity, broadening the ways in which college students meaningfully engage with course content and concepts, and developing aspects of students' higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. To meet these learning outcomes, the activity had three key components: preparatory readings, first-hand visual analysis of art during a visit to an art museum, and communication of the analysis. Following a presentation on the methodology of visual analysis, students worked in small groups to examine through the disciplinary lens of biology a selection of approximately 12 original artworks related in some manner to love. The groups then developed and presented for class members a mini-exhibition of several pieces addressing one of two questions: 1) whether portrayals of love in art align with the growing understanding of the biology of love or 2) whether the bodily experience of love is universal or, alternatively, is culturally influenced, as is the experience of depression. Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative assessment data revealed that the assignment engaged students, supported development of higher-level thinking skills, and prompted meaningful engagement with course material.

Level of Awareness of Biology and Geography Students Related to Recognizing Some Plants

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Aladag, Caner; Kaya, Bastürk; Dinç, Muhittin

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the awareness of the geography and biology students about recognizing some plants which they see frequently around them in accordance with the information they gained during their education process. The sample of the study consists of 37 biology and 40 geography students studying at the Ahmet Kelesoglu…

Water Quality Monitoring: An Environmental Studies Unit for Biology 20/30. Student Manual.

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Alberta Environment, Edmonton. Environmental Education Resources Branch.

The objective of this environmental studies unit is to establish a water quality monitoring project for high school students in Alberta while simultaneously providing a unit which meets the objectives of the Biology 20 program (and which may also be used in Biology 10 and 30). Through this project, students assist in the collection,…

Enteric glia.

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Rühl, A; Nasser, Y; Sharkey, K A

2004-04-01

The enteric nervous system is composed of both enteric neurones and enteric glia. Enteric glial cells were first described by Dogiel and are now known to outnumber neurones approximately 4 : 1. In the past, these cells were assumed to subserve a largely supportive role; however, recent evidence indicates that enteric glial cells may play a more active role in the control of gut function. In transgenic mouse models, where enteric glial cells are selectively ablated, the loss of glia results in intestinal inflammation and disruption of the epithelial barrier. Enteric glia are activated specifically by inflammatory insults and may contribute actively to inflammatory pathology via antigen presentation and cytokine synthesis. Enteric glia also express receptors for neurotransmitters and so may serve as intermediaries in enteric neurotransmission. Thus, enteric glia may serve as a link between the nervous and immune systems of the gut and may also have an important role in maintaining the integrity of the mucosal barrier and in other aspects of intestinal homeostasis.

Effects of biology teachers' professional knowledge and cognitive activation on students' achievement

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Förtsch, Christian; Werner, Sonja; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2016-11-01

This study examined the effects of teachers' biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge - pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) - and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students' learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on the topic neurobiology were videotaped twice. Teachers' instruction was coded with regard to cognitive activation using a rating manual. Multilevel path analysis results showed a positive significant effect of cognitive activation on students' learning and an indirect effect of teachers' PCK on students' learning mediated through cognitive activation. These findings highlight the importance of PCK in preservice biology teachers' education. Items of the rating manual may be used to provide exemplars of concrete teaching situations during university seminars for preservice teacher education or professional development initiatives for in-service teachers.

Gender Inequality in Biology Classes in China and Its Effects on Students' Short-Term Outcomes

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Liu, Ning; Neuhaus, Birgit

2014-01-01

This study investigated gender inequality in biology lessons and analysed the effects of the observed inequality on students' short-term knowledge achievement, situational interest and students' evaluation of teaching (SET). Twenty-two biology teachers and 803 7th-grade students from rural and urban classrooms in China participated in the study.…

Using Simple Manipulatives to Improve Student Comprehension of a Complex Biological Process: Protein Synthesis

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Guzman, Karen; Bartlett, John

2012-01-01

Biological systems and living processes involve a complex interplay of biochemicals and macromolecular structures that can be challenging for undergraduate students to comprehend and, thus, misconceptions abound. Protein synthesis, or translation, is an example of a biological process for which students often hold many misconceptions. This article…

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF DIDACTIC SPEECH OF A BIOLOGY TEACHER AND HIS INFLUENCE IN THE MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS FOR BIOLOGY

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Lorena Bejarano Beltrán

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Pedagogic practice is the staging of knowledge for consideration and recognition of acquired understanding in the academic and personal level that took place in the Commercial Technical School Manuela Beltran, showing that students present lack of motivation to learn Biology , which is expressed in the limited relationship between reality, scientific concepts together with the technical language. The experiments and innovation are left aside. This is why there is a question in relation to the didactic speech and motivation of seventh and eighth grade students towards Biology. In this way the didactic speech of the teacher has been characterized to allow the identification of elements that facilitate the teaching in terms of motivation. In the same way the space for recognizing the factors that generate in the students pleasure for the subject given, in which the games, the participation and the experiments were aspects that they will like to have in their classes. The present investigation had and interpretative paradigm and a qualitative perspective, such instruments like the nonparticipant observation,six recordings of Biology classes making analyses of information units where categories emerged, as well as a questionnaire applied to 25 students.

Student Teachers' Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

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Borgerding, Lisa A.; Klein, Vanessa A.; Ghosh, Rajlakshmi; Eibel, Albert

2015-06-01

Evolution is fundamental to biology and scientific literacy, but teaching high school evolution is often difficult. Evolution teachers face several challenges including limited content knowledge, personal conflicts with evolution, expectations of resistance, concerns about students' conflicts with religion, and curricular constraints. Evolution teaching can be particularly challenging for student teachers who are just beginning to gain pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge related to evolution teaching and who seek approval from university supervisors and cooperating teachers. Science teacher educators need to know how to best support student teachers as they broach the sometimes daunting task of teaching evolution within student teaching placements. This multiple case study report documents how three student teachers approached evolution instruction and what influenced their approaches. Data sources included student teacher interviews, field note observations for 4-5 days of evolution instruction, and evolution instructional artifacts. Data were analyzed using grounded theory approaches to develop individual cases and a cross-case analysis. Seven influences (state exams and standards, cooperating teacher, ideas about teaching and learning, concerns about evolution controversy, personal commitment to evolution, knowledge and preparation for teaching evolution, and own evolution learning experiences) were identified and compared across cases. Implications for science teacher preparation and future research are provided.

Introductory biology students' conceptual models and explanations of the origin of variation.

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Speth, Elena Bray; Shaw, Neil; Momsen, Jennifer; Reinagel, Adam; Le, Paul; Taqieddin, Ranya; Long, Tammy

2014-01-01

Mutation is the key molecular mechanism generating phenotypic variation, which is the basis for evolution. In an introductory biology course, we used a model-based pedagogy that enabled students to integrate their understanding of genetics and evolution within multiple case studies. We used student-generated conceptual models to assess understanding of the origin of variation. By midterm, only a small percentage of students articulated complete and accurate representations of the origin of variation in their models. Targeted feedback was offered through activities requiring students to critically evaluate peers' models. At semester's end, a substantial proportion of students significantly improved their representation of how variation arises (though one-third still did not include mutation in their models). Students' written explanations of the origin of variation were mostly consistent with their models, although less effective than models in conveying mechanistic reasoning. This study contributes evidence that articulating the genetic origin of variation is particularly challenging for learners and may require multiple cycles of instruction, assessment, and feedback. To support meaningful learning of the origin of variation, we advocate instruction that explicitly integrates multiple scales of biological organization, assessment that promotes and reveals mechanistic and causal reasoning, and practice with explanatory models with formative feedback. © 2014 E. Bray Speth et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Gifted and Talented Students' Views about Biology Activities in a Science and Art Center

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Özarslan, Murat; Çetin, Gülcan

2018-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine gifted and talented students' views about biology activities in a science and art center. The study was conducted with 26 gifted and talented students who studied at a science and art center in southwestern Turkey. Students studied animal and plant genus and species in biology activities. Data were collected…

Student Perceived and Determined Knowledge of Biology Concepts in an Upper-Level Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Montplaisir, Lisa

2014-01-01

Students who lack metacognitive skills can struggle with the learning process. To be effective learners, students should recognize what they know and what they do not know. This study examines the relationship between students’ perception of their knowledge and determined knowledge in an upper-level biology course utilizing a pre/posttest approach. Significant differences in students’ perception of their knowledge and their determined knowledge exist at the beginning (pretest) and end (posttest) of the course. Alignment between student perception and determined knowledge was significantly more accurate on the posttest compared with the pretest. Students whose determined knowledge was in the upper quartile had significantly better alignment between their perception and determined knowledge on the pre- and posttest than students in the lower quartile. No difference exists between how students perceived their knowledge between upper- and lower-quartile students. There was a significant difference in alignment of perception and determined knowledge between males and females on the posttest, with females being more accurate in their perception of knowledge. This study provides evidence of discrepancies that exist between what students perceive they know and what they actually know. PMID:26086662

Relational Analysis of High School Students' Cognitive Self-Regulated Learning Strategies and Conceptions of Learning Biology

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Sadi, Özlem

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between students' cognitive learning strategies and conceptions of learning biology. The two scales, "Cognitive Learning Strategies" and "Conceptions of Learning Biology", were revised and adapted to biology in order to measure the students' learning strategies and…

Supporting students in building interdisciplinary connections across physics and biology

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Turpen, Chandra

2014-03-01

Our research team has been engaged in the iterative redesign of an Introductory Physics course for Life Science (IPLS) majors to explicitly bridge biology and physics in ways that are authentic to the disciplines. Our interdisciplinary course provides students opportunities to examine how modeling decisions (e.g. knowing when and how to use different concepts, identifying implicit assumptions, making and justifying assumptions) may differ depending on canonical disciplinary aims and interests. Our focus on developing students' interdisciplinary reasoning skills requires 1) shifting course topics to focus on core ideas that span the disciplines, 2) shifting epistemological expectations, and 3) foregrounding typically tacit disciplinary assumptions. In working to build an authentic interdisciplinary course that bridges physics and biology, we pay careful attention to supporting students in constructing these bridges. This course has been shown to have important impacts: a) students seek meaningful connections between the disciplines, b) students perceive relevance and utility of ideas from different disciplines, and c) students reconcile challenging disciplinary ideas. Although our focus has been on building interdisciplinary coherence, we have succeeded in maintaining strong student learning gains on fundamental physics concepts and allowed students to deepen their understanding of challenging concepts in thermodynamics. This presentation will describe the shifts in course content and the modern pedagogical approaches that have been integrated into the course, and provide an overview of key research results from this project. These results may aid physicists in reconsidering how they can meaningfully reach life-science students. This work is supported by NSF-TUES DUE 11-22818, the HHMI NEXUS grant, and a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE 0750616).

Assessing Students' Performances in Decision-Making: Coping Strategies of Biology Teachers

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Steffen, Benjamin; Hößle, Corinna

2017-01-01

Decision-making in socioscientific issues (SSI) constitutes a real challenge for both biology teachers and learners. The assessment of students' performances in SSIs constitutes a problem, especially for biology teachers. The study at hand was conducted in Germany and uses a qualitative approach following the research procedures of grounded theory…

ESL students learning biology: The role of language and social interactions

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Jaipal, Kamini

This study explored three aspects related to ESL students in a mainstream grade 11 biology classroom: (1) the nature of students' participation in classroom activities, (2) the factors that enhanced or constrained ESL students' engagement in social interactions, and (3) the role of language in the learning of science. Ten ESL students were observed over an eight-month period in this biology classroom. Data were collected using qualitative research methods such as participant observation, audio-recordings of lessons, field notes, semi-structured interviews, short lesson recall interviews and students' written work. The study was framed within sociocultural perspectives, particularly the social constructivist perspectives of Vygotsky (1962, 1978) and Wertsch (1991). Data were analysed with respect to the three research aspects. Firstly, the findings showed that ESL students' preferred and exhibited a variety of participation practices that ranged from personal-individual to socio-interactive in nature. Both personal-individual and socio-interactive practices appeared to support science and language learning. Secondly, the findings indicated that ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions was most likely influenced by the complex interactions between a number of competing factors at the individual, interpersonal and community/cultural levels (Rogoff, Radziszewska, & Masiello, 1995). In this study, six factors that appeared to enhance or constrain ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions were identified. These factors were socio-cultural factors, prior classroom practice, teaching practices, affective factors, English language proficiency, and participation in the research project. Thirdly, the findings indicated that language played a significant mediational role in ESL students' learning of science. The data revealed that the learning of science terms and concepts can be explained by a functional model of language that includes: (1

First-Year Biology Students' Understandings of Meiosis: An Investigation Using a Structural Theoretical Framework

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Quinn, Frances; Pegg, John; Panizzon, Debra

2009-01-01

Meiosis is a biological concept that is both complex and important for students to learn. This study aims to explore first-year biology students' explanations of the process of meiosis, using an explicit theoretical framework provided by the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) model. The research was based on responses of 334…

The Effects of 3D Computer Simulation on Biology Students' Achievement and Memory Retention

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Elangovan, Tavasuria; Ismail, Zurida

2014-01-01

A quasi experimental study was conducted for six weeks to determine the effectiveness of two different 3D computer simulation based teaching methods, that is, realistic simulation and non-realistic simulation on Form Four Biology students' achievement and memory retention in Perak, Malaysia. A sample of 136 Form Four Biology students in Perak,…

Learning can be all Fun and Games: Constructing and Utilizing a Biology Taboo Wiktionary to Enhance Student Learning in an Introductory Biology Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey T. Olimpo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Most introductory courses in the biological sciences are inherently content-dense and rich with jargon—jargon that is often confusing and nonsensical to novice students. These characteristics present an additional paradox to instructors, who strive to achieve a balance between simply promoting passive, rote memorization of facts and engaging students in developing true, concrete understanding of the terminology. To address these concerns, we developed and implemented a Biology Taboo Wiktionary that provided students with an interactive opportunity to review and describe concepts they had encountered during their first semester of introductory biology. However, much like the traditional Taboo game, the rules were such that students could not use obvious terms to detail the main term. It was our belief that if the student could synthesize a thoughtful, scientific explanation of the term under these conditions, he or she demonstrated a true understanding of the conceptual context and meaning of the term.

Student-generated illustrations and written narratives of biological science concepts: The effect on community college life science students' achievement in and attitudes toward science

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Robert Christopher

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two conceptually based instructional strategies on science achievement and attitudes of community college biological science students. The sample consisted of 277 students enrolled in General Biology 1, Microbiology, and Human Anatomy and Physiology 1. Control students were comprised of intact classes from the 2005 Spring semester; treatment students from the 2005 Fall semester were randomly assigned to one of two groups within each course: written narrative (WN) and illustration (IL). WN students prepared in-class written narratives related to cell theory and metabolism, which were taught in all three courses. IL students prepared in-class illustrations of the same concepts. Control students received traditional lecture/lab during the entire class period and neither wrote in-class descriptions nor prepared in-class illustrations of the targeted concepts. All groups were equivalent on age, gender, ethnicity, GPA, and number of college credits earned and were blinded to the study. All interventions occurred in class and no group received more attention or time to complete assignments. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) via multiple regression was the primary statistical strategy used to test the study's hypotheses. The model was valid and statistically significant. Independent follow-up univariate analyses relative to each dependent measure found that no research factor had a significant effect on attitude, but that course-teacher, group membership, and student academic characteristics had a significant effect (p < .05) on achievement: (1) Biology students scored significantly lower in achievement than A&P students; (2) Microbiology students scored significantly higher in achievement than Biology students; (3) Written Narrative students scored significantly higher in achievement than Control students; and (4) GPA had a significant effect on achievement. In addition, given p < .08: (1

The Experimental Teaching Reform in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for Undergraduate Students in Peking University Health Science Center

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Yang, Xiaohan; Sun, Luyang; Zhao, Ying; Yi, Xia; Zhu, Bin; Wang, Pu; Lin, Hong; Ni, Juhua

2015-01-01

Since 2010, second-year undergraduate students of an eight-year training program leading to a Doctor of Medicine degree or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) have been required to enter the "Innovative talent training project." During that time, the students joined a research lab and…

Dynamic Open Inquiry Performances of High-School Biology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Zion, Michal; Sadeh, Irit

2010-01-01

In examining open inquiry projects among high-school biology students, we found dynamic inquiry performances expressed in two criteria: "changes occurring during inquiry" and "procedural understanding". Characterizing performances in a dynamic open inquiry project can shed light on both the procedural and epistemological…

Engagement and Skill Development in Biology Students through Analysis of Art

Science.gov (United States)

Milkova, Liliana; Crossman, Colette; Wiles, Stephanie; Allen, Taylor

2013-01-01

An activity involving analysis of art in biology courses was designed with the goals of piquing undergraduates’ curiosity, broadening the ways in which college students meaningfully engage with course content and concepts, and developing aspects of students’ higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. To meet these learning outcomes, the activity had three key components: preparatory readings, firsthand visual analysis of art during a visit to an art museum, and communication of the analysis. Following a presentation on the methodology of visual analysis, students worked in small groups to examine through the disciplinary lens of biology a selection of approximately 12 original artworks related in some manner to love. The groups then developed and presented for class members a mini-exhibition of several pieces addressing one of two questions: 1) whether portrayals of love in art align with the growing understanding of the biology of love or 2) whether the bodily experience of love is universal or, alternatively, is culturally influenced, as is the experience of depression. Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative assessment data revealed that the assignment engaged students, supported development of higher-level thinking skills, and prompted meaningful engagement with course material. PMID:24297295

Core personal competencies important to entering students' success in medical school: what are they and how could they be assessed early in the admission process?

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Koenig, Thomas W; Parrish, Samuel K; Terregino, Carol A; Williams, Joy P; Dunleavy, Dana M; Volsch, Joseph M

2013-05-01

Assessing applicants' personal competencies in the admission process has proven difficult because there is not an agreed-on set of personal competencies for entering medical students. In addition, there are questions about the measurement properties and costs of currently available assessment tools. The Association of American Medical College's Innovation Lab Working Group (ILWG) and Admissions Initiative therefore engaged in a multistep, multiyear process to identify personal competencies important to entering students' success in medical school as well as ways to measure them early in the admission process. To identify core personal competencies, they conducted literature reviews, surveyed U.S and Canadian medical school admission officers, and solicited input from the admission community. To identify tools with the potential to provide data in time for pre-interview screening, they reviewed the higher education and employment literature and evaluated tools' psychometric properties, group differences, risk of coaching/faking, likely applicant and admission officer reactions, costs, and scalability. This process resulted in a list of nine core personal competencies rated by stakeholders as very or extremely important for entering medical students: ethical responsibility to self and others; reliability and dependability; service orientation; social skills; capacity for improvement; resilience and adaptability; cultural competence; oral communication; and teamwork. The ILWG's research suggests that some tools hold promise for assessing personal competencies, but the authors caution that none are perfect for all situations. They recommend that multiple tools be used to evaluate information about applicants' personal competencies in deciding whom to interview.

The Effect of Knowledge Linking Levels in Biology Lessons upon Students' Knowledge Structure

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Wadouh, Julia; Liu, Ning; Sandmann, Angela; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2014-01-01

Knowledge structure is an important aspect for defining students' competency in biology learning, but how knowledge structure is influenced by the teaching process in naturalistic biology classroom settings has scarcely been empirically investigated. In this study, 49 biology lessons in the teaching unit "blood and circulatory system" in…

Qualities of effective secondary science teachers: Perspectives of university biology students

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McCall, Madelon J.

This research was an attempt to hear the student voice concerning secondary science teacher effectiveness and to share that voice with those who impact the educational process. It was a snapshot of university freshmen biology students' opinions of the qualities of effective secondary science teachers based on their high school science experiences. The purpose of this study was to compile a list of effective secondary science teacher qualities as determined through a purposeful sampling of university second semester biology students and determine the role of the secondary science teacher in promoting interest and achievement in science, as well as the teacher's influence on a students' choice of a science career. The research was a mixed methods design using both quantitative and qualitative data obtained through the use of a 24 question electronic survey. There were 125 participants who provided information concerning their high school science teachers. Respondents provided information concerning the qualities of effective secondary science teachers and influences on the students' present career choice. The quantitative data was used to construct a hierarchy of qualities of effective secondary science teachers, divided into personal, professional, and classroom management qualities. The qualitative data was used to examine individual student responses to questions concerning secondary science teacher effectiveness and student career choice. The results of the research indicated that students highly value teachers who are both passionate about the subject taught and passionate about their students. High school science students prefer teachers who teach science in a way that is both interesting and relevant to the student. It was determined that the greatest influence on a secondary student's career choice came from family members and not from teachers. The secondary teacher's role was to recognize the student's interest in the career and provide encouragement

Traditional Versus Online Biology Courses: Connecting Course Design and Student Learning in an Online Setting

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Biel, Rachel; Brame, Cynthia J.

2016-01-01

Online courses are a large and growing part of the undergraduate education landscape, but many biology instructors are skeptical about the effectiveness of online instruction. We reviewed studies comparing the effectiveness of online and face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate biology courses. Five studies compared student performance in multiple course sections at community colleges, while eight were smaller scale and compared student performance in particular biology courses at a variety of types ...

An investigation on the level of awareness, attitude, and interest among medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy students toward their majors on entering university: The case of Islamic Azad University, Tehran medical sciences branch

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Farhad Adhami Moghadam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Having awareness, interest, and positive attitude toward one's fields of study leads to the development of a compatibility between demands and expectations on the one hand and future career on the other hand. This study was carried out to determine the level of awareness, attitude, and interest of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch toward their own field of study on entering university. Materials and Methods: This research is a basic descriptive study conducted on 273 students who had just entered university. This study was performed using census. Data collection instrument was a four-part questionnaire which included demographic information, and questions measuring students' awareness, attitude, and interest. Results: With regard to their field of study, there was no statistically significant difference in the average of students' awareness (P = 0.731. The attitude of medicine students was significantly more positive than pharmacy and dentistry students (P < 0.001, and the attitude of dentistry students was significantly more positive than that of pharmacy students (P = 0.460. Medical students' interest level was significantly higher than that of pharmacy and dentistry students (P < 0.05, and the interest level of dentistry students was significantly greater than the interest level of pharmacy students (P = 024/0. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between awareness and attitude and between awareness and interest in all of the study subjects (P < 0.001. Conclusion: The study results indicated that having a high level of awareness toward one's major led students studying in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy to experience a more positive attitude and a higher level of interest. Thus, before entering the university, academic counseling will be beneficial for acquiring a better understanding of most majors, a goal which could be provided

Direction discovery: A science enrichment program for high school students.

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Sikes, Suzanne S; Schwartz-Bloom, Rochelle D

2009-03-01

Launch into education about pharmacology (LEAP) is an inquiry-based science enrichment program designed to enhance competence in biology and chemistry and foster interest in science careers especially among under-represented minorities. The study of how drugs work, how they enter cells, alter body chemistry, and exit the body engages students to conceptualize fundamental precepts in biology, chemistry, and math. Students complete an intensive three-week course in the fundamentals of pharmacology during the summer followed by a mentored research component during the school year. Following a 5E learning paradigm, the summer course captures student interest by introducing controversial topics in pharmacology and provides a framework that guides them to explore topics in greater detail. The 5E learning cycle is recapitulated as students extend their knowledge to design and to test an original research question in pharmacology. LEAP students demonstrated significant gains in biology and chemistry knowledge and interests in pursuing science. Several students earned honors for the presentation of their research in regional and state science fairs. Success of the LEAP model in its initial 2 years argues that coupling college-level coursework of interest to teens with an authentic research experience enhances high school student success in and enthusiasm for science. Copyright © 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Comparison of the perceived relevance of oral biology reported by students and interns of a Pakistani dental college.

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Farooq, I; Ali, S

2014-11-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse and compare the perceived relevance of oral biology with dentistry as reported by dental students and interns and to investigate the most popular teaching approach and learning resource. A questionnaire aiming to ask about the relevance of oral biology to dentistry, most popular teaching method and learning resource was utilised in this study. Study groups encompassed second-year dental students who had completed their course and dental interns. The data were obtained and analysed statistically. The overall response rate for both groups was 60%. Both groups reported high relevance of oral biology to dentistry. Perception of dental interns regarding the relevance of oral biology to dentistry was higher than that of students. Both groups identified student presentations as the most important teaching method. Amongst the most important learning resources, textbooks were considered most imperative by interns, whereas lecture handouts received the highest importance score by students. Dental students and interns considered oral biology to be relevant to dentistry, although greater relevance was reported by interns. Year-wise advancement in dental education and training improves the perception of the students about the relevance of oral biology to dentistry. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Does the nature of science influence college students' learning of biological evolution?

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Butler, Wilbert, Jr.

This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study assessed the influence of the nature of science (NOS) instruction on college students' learning of biological evolution. In this research, conducted in two introductory biology courses, in each course the same instruction was employed, with one important exception: in the experimental section students were involved in an explicit, reflective treatment of the nature of science (Explicit, reflective NOS), in the traditional treatment section, NOS was implicitly addressed (traditional treatment). In both sections, NOS aspects of science addressed included is tentative, empirically based, subjective, inferential, and based on relationship between scientific theories and laws. Students understanding of evolution, acceptance of evolution, and understanding of the nature of science were assessed before, during and after instruction. Data collection entailed qualitative and quantitative methods including Concept Inventory for Natural Selection (CINS), Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) survey, Views of nature of Science (VNOS-B survey), as well as interviews, classroom observations, and journal writing to address understand students' views of science and understanding and acceptance of evolution. The quantitative data were analyzed via inferential statistics and the qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory. The data analysis allowed for the construction and support for four assertions: Assertion 1: Students engaged in explicit and reflective NOS specific instruction significantly improved their understanding of the nature of science concepts. Alternatively, students engaged in instruction using an implicit approach to the nature of science did not improve their understanding of the nature of science to the same degree. The VNOS-B results indicated that students in the explicit, reflective NOS class showed the better understanding of the NOS after the course than students in the implicit NOS class

Accidents with biological material among undergraduate nursing students in a public Brazilian university.

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Reis, Renata Karina; Gir, Elucir; Canini, Silvia Rita M S

2004-02-01

During their academic activities, undergraduate nursing students are exposed to contamination by bloodborne pathogens, as well as by others found in body fluids, among which are the Human Immunodeficiency (HIV), Hepatitis B and C viruses. We developed a profile of victimized students, characterizing accidents with biological material occurring among undergraduate nursing students at a public university in São Paulo State, Brazil. We identified the main causes and evaluated the conduct adopted by students and their reactions and thoughts concerning the accidents. Seventy-two accidents were identified, of which 17% involved potentially contaminated biological material. Needles were the predominant cause of accidents. The most frequently involved topographic areas were the fingers. Only five students reported the accidents and sought medical care. Among these, two students were advised to begin prophylactic treatment against HIV infection by means of antiretroviral drugs. It was found that the risk of accidents is underestimated and that strategies such as formal teaching and continual training are necessary in order to make students aware of biosafety measures.

Accidents with biological material among undergraduate nursing students in a public Brazilian university

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Renata Karina Reis

Full Text Available During their academic activities, undergraduate nursing students are exposed to contamination by bloodborne pathogens, as well as by others found in body fluids, among which are the Human Immunodeficiency (HIV, Hepatitis B and C viruses. We developed a profile of victimized students, characterizing accidents with biological material occurring among undergraduate nursing students at a public university in São Paulo State, Brazil. We identified the main causes and evaluated the conduct adopted by students and their reactions and thoughts concerning the accidents. Seventy-two accidents were identified, of which 17% involved potentially contaminated biological material. Needles were the predominant cause of accidents. The most frequently involved topographic areas were the fingers. Only five students reported the accidents and sought medical care. Among these, two students were advised to begin prophylactic treatment against HIV infection by means of antiretroviral drugs. It was found that the risk of accidents is underestimated and that strategies such as formal teaching and continual training are necessary in order to make students aware of biosafety measures.

Coming Out in Class: Challenges and Benefits of Active Learning in a Biology Classroom for LGBTQIA Students.

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Cooper, Katelyn M; Brownell, Sara E

As we transition our undergraduate biology classrooms from traditional lectures to active learning, the dynamics among students become more important. These dynamics can be influenced by student social identities. One social identity that has been unexamined in the context of undergraduate biology is the spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) identities. In this exploratory interview study, we probed the experiences and perceptions of seven students who identify as part of the LGBTQIA community. We found that students do not always experience the undergraduate biology classroom to be a welcoming or accepting place for their identities. In contrast to traditional lectures, active-learning classes increase the relevance of their LGBTQIA identities due to the increased interactions among students during group work. Finally, working with other students in active-learning classrooms can present challenges and opportunities for students considering their LGBTQIA identity. These findings indicate that these students' LGBTQIA identities are affecting their experience in the classroom and that there may be specific instructional practices that can mitigate some of the possible obstacles. We hope that this work can stimulate discussions about how to broadly make our active-learning biology classes more inclusive of this specific population of students. © 2016 K. M. Cooper and S. E. Brownell. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Practices and exploration on competition of molecular biological detection technology among students in food quality and safety major.

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Chang, Yaning; Peng, Yuke; Li, Pengfei; Zhuang, Yingping

2017-07-08

With the increasing importance in the application of the molecular biological detection technology in the field of food safety, strengthening education in molecular biology experimental techniques is more necessary for the culture of the students in food quality and safety major. However, molecular biology experiments are not always in curricula of Food quality and safety Majors. This paper introduced a project "competition of molecular biological detection technology for food safety among undergraduate sophomore students in food quality and safety major", students participating in this project needed to learn the fundamental molecular biology experimental techniques such as the principles of molecular biology experiments and genome extraction, PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis analysis, and then design the experiments in groups to identify the meat species in pork and beef products using molecular biological methods. The students should complete the experimental report after basic experiments, write essays and make a presentation after the end of the designed experiments. This project aims to provide another way for food quality and safety majors to improve their knowledge of molecular biology, especially experimental technology, and enhances them to understand the scientific research activities as well as give them a chance to learn how to write a professional thesis. In addition, in line with the principle of an open laboratory, the project is also open to students in other majors in East China University of Science and Technology, in order to enhance students in other majors to understand the fields of molecular biology and food safety. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(4):343-350, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[Injury rate and incidence of accidents with biological risk among infirmary students].

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Rodríguez Martín, A; Novalbos Ruiz, J P; Costa Alonso, M J; Zafra Mezcua, J A

2000-09-09

A study of the incidence and characteristics of biological accidents among infirmary students during their practicals at the hospital. A retrospective study carried out at five centres by means of two questionnaires, one on the duration of the training and the rate of accidents and the other on the characteristics, precautions and ports exposure behaviour. Out of 397 students, 70,5% had accidents at a rate of 64% (CI 95%, 59-68). Of these, 15% were accidents with biological risk, the majority being jabs (39%) and splashes (32,5%). It is worth note that 49,2% occurred while putting away the material and 58% in the absence of any individual protective measures. One out of 8 accidents implied a biological risk. A very high rate of accidents was observed with important deficiencies in security.

Measuring the Outcome of At-Risk Students on Biology Standardized Tests When Using Different Instructional Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Dana

Over the last two decades, online education has become a popular concept in universities as well as K-12 education. This generation of students has grown up using technology and has shown interest in incorporating technology into their learning. The idea of using technology in the classroom to enhance student learning and create higher achievement has become necessary for administrators, teachers, and policymakers. Although online education is a popular topic, there has been minimal research on the effectiveness of online and blended learning strategies compared to the student learning in a traditional K-12 classroom setting. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in standardized test scores from the Biology End of Course exam when at-risk students completed the course using three different educational models: online format, blended learning, and traditional face-to-face learning. Data was collected from over 1,000 students over a five year time period. Correlation analyzed data from standardized tests scores of eighth grade students was used to define students as "at-risk" for failing high school courses. The results indicated a high correlation between eighth grade standardized test scores and Biology End of Course exam scores. These students were deemed "at-risk" for failing high school courses. Standardized test scores were measured for the at-risk students when those students completed Biology in the different models of learning. Results indicated significant differences existed among the learning models. Students had the highest test scores when completing Biology in the traditional face-to-face model. Further evaluation of subgroup populations indicated statistical differences in learning models for African-American populations, female students, and for male students.

Biotechnology by Design: An Introductory Level, Project-Based, Synthetic Biology Laboratory Program for Undergraduate Students.

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Beach, Dale L; Alvarez, Consuelo J

2015-12-01

Synthetic biology offers an ideal opportunity to promote undergraduate laboratory courses with research-style projects, immersing students in an inquiry-based program that enhances the experience of the scientific process. We designed a semester-long, project-based laboratory curriculum using synthetic biology principles to develop a novel sensory device. Students develop subject matter knowledge of molecular genetics and practical skills relevant to molecular biology, recombinant DNA techniques, and information literacy. During the spring semesters of 2014 and 2015, the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project was delivered to sophomore genetics courses. Using a cloning strategy based on standardized BioBrick genetic "parts," students construct a "reporter plasmid" expressing a reporter gene (GFP) controlled by a hybrid promoter regulated by the lac-repressor protein (lacI). In combination with a "sensor plasmid," the production of the reporter phenotype is inhibited in the presence of a target environmental agent, arabinose. When arabinose is absent, constitutive GFP expression makes cells glow green. But the presence of arabinose activates a second promoter (pBAD) to produce a lac-repressor protein that will inhibit GFP production. Student learning was assessed relative to five learning objectives, using a student survey administered at the beginning (pre-survey) and end (post-survey) of the course, and an additional 15 open-ended questions from five graded Progress Report assignments collected throughout the course. Students demonstrated significant learning gains (p Biology Laboratory Project enhanced their understanding of molecular genetics. The laboratory project is highly adaptable for both introductory and advanced courses.

Fostering Students' Conceptual Knowledge in Biology in the Context of German National Education Standards

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Förtsch, Christian; Dorfner, Tobias; Baumgartner, Julia; Werner, Sonja; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2018-04-01

The German National Education Standards (NES) for biology were introduced in 2005. The content part of the NES emphasizes fostering conceptual knowledge. However, there are hardly any indications of what such an instructional implementation could look like. We introduce a theoretical framework of an instructional approach to foster students' conceptual knowledge as demanded in the NES (Fostering Conceptual Knowledge) including instructional practices derived from research on single core ideas, general psychological theories, and biology-specific features of instructional quality. First, we aimed to develop a rating manual, which is based on this theoretical framework. Second, we wanted to describe current German biology instruction according to this approach and to quantitatively analyze its effectiveness. And third, we aimed to provide qualitative examples of this approach to triangulate our findings. In a first step, we developed a theoretically devised rating manual to measure Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in videotaped lessons. Data for quantitative analysis included 81 videotaped biology lessons of 28 biology teachers from different German secondary schools. Six hundred forty students completed a questionnaire on their situational interest after each lesson and an achievement test. Results from multilevel modeling showed significant positive effects of Fostering Conceptual Knowledge on students' achievement and situational interest. For qualitative analysis, we contrasted instruction of four teachers, two with high and two with low student achievement and situational interest using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Qualitative analysis revealed five main characteristics describing Fostering Conceptual Knowledge. Therefore, implementing Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in biology instruction seems promising. Examples of how to implement Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in instruction are shown and discussed.

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap for First-Generation Students in Undergraduate Biology

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Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Canning, Elizabeth A.; Tibbetts, Yoi; Giffen, Cynthia J.; Blair, Seth S.; Rouse, Douglas I.; Hyde, Janet S.

2014-01-01

Many students start college intending to pursue a career in the biosciences, but too many abandon this goal because they struggle in introductory biology. Interventions have been developed to close achievement gaps for underrepresented minority students and women, but no prior research has attempted to close the gap for first-generation students,…

Analysis of undergraduate students' conceptual models of a complex biological system across a diverse body of learners

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Dirnbeck, Matthew R.

Biological systems pose a challenge both for learners and teachers because they are complex systems mediated by feedback loops; networks of cause-effect relationships; and non-linear, hierarchical, and emergent properties. Teachers and scientists routinely use models to communicate ideas about complex systems. Model-based pedagogies engage students in model construction as a means of practicing higher-order reasoning skills. One such modeling paradigm describes systems in terms of their structures, behaviors, and functions (SBF). The SBF framework is a simple modeling language that has been used to teach about complex biological systems. Here, we used student-generated SBF models to assess students' causal reasoning in the context of a novel biological problem on an exam. We compared students' performance on the modeling problem, their performance on a set of knowledge/comprehension questions, and their performance on a set of scientific reasoning questions. We found that students who performed well on knowledge and understanding questions also constructed more networked, higher quality models. Previous studies have shown that learners' mental maps increase in complexity with increased expertise. We wanted to investigate if biology students with varying levels of training in biology showed a similar pattern when constructing system models. In a pilot study, we administered the same modeling problem to two additional groups of students: 1) an animal physiology course for students pursuing a major in biology (n=37) and 2) an exercise physiology course for non-majors (n=27). We found that there was no significant difference in model organization across the three student populations, but there was a significant difference in the ability to represent function between the three populations. Between the three groups the non-majors had the lowest function scores, the introductory majors had the middle function scores, and the upper division majors had the highest function

Interest, Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs Explaining Upper-Secondary School Students' Orientation Towards Biology-Related Careers

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Uitto, Anna

2014-01-01

The aim of the study was to discover the contribution of students' interest in school biology, as well as their self-efficacy and attitudes towards different science subjects and mathematics when explaining students' orientation towards biology-related careers at upper-secondary school. The data of 321 K-11 students (49% women) were…

Students Mental Representation of Biology Diagrams/Pictures Conventions Based on Formation of Causal Network

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Sampurno, A. W.; Rahmat, A.; Diana, S.

2017-09-01

Diagrams/pictures conventions is one form of visual media that often used to assist students in understanding the biological concepts. The effectiveness of use diagrams/pictures in biology learning at school level has also been mostly reported. This study examines the ability of high school students in reading diagrams/pictures biological convention which is described by Mental Representation based on formation of causal networks. The study involved 30 students 11th grade MIA senior high school Banten Indonesia who are studying the excretory system. MR data obtained by Instrument worksheet, developed based on CNET-protocol, in which there are diagrams/drawings of nephron structure and urinary mechanism. Three patterns formed MR, namely Markov chain, feedback control with a single measurement, and repeated feedback control with multiple measurement. The third pattern is the most dominating pattern, differences in the pattern of MR reveal the difference in how and from which point the students begin to uncover important information contained in the diagram to establish a causal networks. Further analysis shows that a difference in the pattern of MR relate to how complex the students process the information contained in the diagrams/pictures.

The essence of student visual-spatial literacy and higher order thinking skills in undergraduate biology.

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Milner-Bolotin, Marina; Nashon, Samson Madera

2012-02-01

Science, engineering and mathematics-related disciplines have relied heavily on a researcher's ability to visualize phenomena under study and being able to link and superimpose various abstract and concrete representations including visual, spatial, and temporal. The spatial representations are especially important in all branches of biology (in developmental biology time becomes an important dimension), where 3D and often 4D representations are crucial for understanding the phenomena. By the time biology students get to undergraduate education, they are supposed to have acquired visual-spatial thinking skills, yet it has been documented that very few undergraduates and a small percentage of graduate students have had a chance to develop these skills to a sufficient degree. The current paper discusses the literature that highlights the essence of visual-spatial thinking and the development of visual-spatial literacy, considers the application of the visual-spatial thinking to biology education, and proposes how modern technology can help to promote visual-spatial literacy and higher order thinking among undergraduate students of biology.

Introductory physics in biological context: An approach to improve introductory physics for life science students

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Crouch, Catherine H.; Heller, Kenneth

2014-05-01

We describe restructuring the introductory physics for life science students (IPLS) course to better support these students in using physics to understand their chosen fields. Our courses teach physics using biologically rich contexts. Specifically, we use examples in which fundamental physics contributes significantly to understanding a biological system to make explicit the value of physics to the life sciences. This requires selecting the course content to reflect the topics most relevant to biology while maintaining the fundamental disciplinary structure of physics. In addition to stressing the importance of the fundamental principles of physics, an important goal is developing students' quantitative and problem solving skills. Our guiding pedagogical framework is the cognitive apprenticeship model, in which learning occurs most effectively when students can articulate why what they are learning matters to them. In this article, we describe our courses, summarize initial assessment data, and identify needs for future research.

Sequencing Genetics Information: Integrating Data into Information Literacy for Undergraduate Biology Students

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MacMillan, Don

2010-01-01

This case study describes an information literacy lab for an undergraduate biology course that leads students through a range of resources to discover aspects of genetic information. The lab provides over 560 students per semester with the opportunity for hands-on exploration of resources in steps that simulate the pathways of higher-level…

Effects of socioscientific issues-based instruction on argumentation ability and biology concepts of upper secondary school students

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Faelt, Surasak; Samiphak, Sara; Pattaradilokrat, Sittiporn

2018-01-01

Argumentation skill is an essential skill needed in students, and one of the competencies in scientific literacy. Through arguing on socioscientific issues, students may gain deeper conceptual understanding. The purpose of this research is to examine the efficacy of a socioscientific issues-based instruction compared with an inquirybased instruction. This is to determine which one is better in promoting 10th grade students' argumentation ability and biology concepts of digestive system and cellular respiration. The forty 10th grade students included in this study were from two mathematics-science program classes in a medium-sized secondary school located in a suburb of Buriram province, Thailand. The research utilizes a quasi-experimental design; pre-test post-test control group design. We developed and implemented 4 lesson plans for both socioscientific issues-based instruction and inquiry-based instruction. Ten weeks were used to collect the data. A paper-based questionnaire and informal interviews were designed to test students' argumentation ability, and the two-tier multiple-choice test was designed to test their biology concepts. This research explore qualitatively and quantitatively students' argumentation abilities and biology concepts, using arithmetic mean, mean of percentage, standard deviation and t-test. Results show that there is no significant difference between the two group regarding mean scores of the argumentation ability. However, there is significant difference between the two groups regarding mean scores of the biology concepts. This suggests that socioscientific issues-based instruction could be used to improve students' biology concepts.

Attributions of Academic Performance among Third Year and Fourth Year Biology Major Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nick John B. Solar

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This is a descriptive study aimed to determine the attributions of academic performance of third year and fourth year biology major students in the College of Education, West Visayas State University, School Year 2013-2014. The academic performance were categorized or measured in terms of test, projects, workbooks, and laboratory experiments, class participation, and attendance. The Attributions in academic performance were evaluated using the closed-form questionnairechecklist,categorized intoin termsof ability, effort, luck, or task difficulty. Mean frequency, mean percentage, Mann-Whitney U-test, two-sampled test set at 0.05 level of significance were used to determine if there were significant difference in the attribution when the students were taken according to their year level. The result of the study revealed that the Third Year biology majors attributed their academic performance to effort which is shown to have the highest percentage attribution in overall rank. There was no significant difference in the attributions of academic performance for third year and fourth year biology major students in termsof test, whilethe result forprojects, workbooks, and laboratory experiment and class participation and attendance categories,was found out to havea significant difference in the attributionfor the third and fourth years biology Major students’ academic performances.

Biology and physics competencies for pre-health and other life sciences students.

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Hilborn, Robert C; Friedlander, Michael J

2013-06-01

The recent report on the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians (SFFP) and the revised Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) reframe the preparation for medical school (and other health professional schools) in terms of competencies: what students should know and be able to do with that knowledge, with a strong emphasis on scientific inquiry and research skills. In this article, we will describe the thinking that went into the SFFP report and what it says about scientific and quantitative reasoning, focusing on biology and physics and the overlap between those fields. We then discuss how the SFFP report set the stage for the discussion of the recommendations for the revised MCAT, which will be implemented in 2015, again focusing the discussion on biology and physics. Based on that framework, we discuss the implications for undergraduate biology and physics education if students are to be prepared to demonstrate these competencies.

Policy implications of select student characteristics and their influence on the Florida biology end-of-course assessment

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Bertolotti, Janine Cecelia

In an attempt to improve student achievement in science in Florida, the Florida Department of Education implemented end-of-course (EOC) assessments in biology during the 2011-2012 academic school year. Although this first administration would only account for 30% of the student's overall final course grade in biology, subsequent administrations would be accompanied by increasing stakes for students, teachers, and schools. Therefore, this study sought to address gaps in empirical evidence as well as discuss how educational policy will potentially impact on teacher evaluation and professional development, student retention and graduation rates, and school accountability indicators. This study explored four variables- reading proficiency, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender- to determine their influence and relationship on biology achievement on the Biology I EOC assessment at a Title 1 school. To do so, the results of the Biology I EOC assessment administered during the Spring 2012 school year was obtained from a small, rural Title 1 high school in North Florida. Additional data regarding each student's qualification for free and reduced-price lunch, FCAT Reading developmental scale scores, FCAT Reading level, grade level, gender, and ethnicity were also collected for the causal-comparative exploratory study. Of the 178 students represented, 48% qualified for free and reduced-price lunch, 54% were female, and 55% scored at FCAT Reading level 3 or higher. Additionally, 59% were White and 37% Black. A combination of descriptive statistics and other statistical procedures such as independent samples one-tailed t-test, one-way ANOVAs, ANCOVAs, multipleregression, and a Pearson r correlation was utilized in the analysis, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results indicate that of all four variables, FCAT Reading proficiency was the sole variable, after adjusting for other variables; that had a significant impact on biology achievement. Students with higher

The Use of Textbooks for Advanced-Level GCE Courses in Physics, Chemistry and Biology by Sixth-Form Students.

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Newton, D. P.

1984-01-01

A survey of sixth-form students to determine the level of A-level textbook use in physics, chemistry, and biology in English schools found that texts are used primarily after the lesson, at the student's discretion, and with great variations between students. Biology texts were used most, and physics texts used least. (MBR)

Active learning and student-centered pedagogy improve student attitudes and performance in introductory biology.

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Armbruster, Peter; Patel, Maya; Johnson, Erika; Weiss, Martha

2009-01-01

We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the course content in an attempt to teach specific content within the context of broad conceptual themes, 2) incorporating active and problem-based learning into every lecture, and 3) adopting strategies to create a more student-centered learning environment. Assessment of our instructional design consisted of a student survey and comparison of final exam performance across 3 years-1 year before our course redesign was implemented (2006) and during two successive years of implementation (2007 and 2008). The course restructuring led to significant improvement of self-reported student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance. We discuss the successes and ongoing challenges of our course restructuring and consider issues relevant to institutional change.

Science Teacher Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy as Predictors of Students' End-of-Instruction (EOI) Biology I Test Scores

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Angle, Julie; Moseley, Christine

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the statewide End-of-Instruction (EOI) Biology I test met or exceeded the state academic proficiency level (Proficient Group) to teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the…

Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Wiles, Jason R.

This investigation explored scientific, religious, and otherwise nonscientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution and related concepts, how students perceived these factors to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution and changes therein, and what patterns arose among students' articulations of how their levels of acceptance of evolution may have changed. This exploration also measured the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following a treatment designed to address factors identified as potentially affecting student acceptance of evolution. Acceptance of evolution was measured using the MATE instrument (Rutledge and Warden, 1999; Rutledge and Sadler, 2007) among participants enrolled in a secondary-level academic program during the summer prior to their final year of high school and as they transitioned to the post-secondary level. Student acceptance of evolution was measured to be significantly higher than pre-treatment levels both immediately following and slightly over one year after treatment. Qualitative data from informal questionnaires, from formal course evaluations, and from semi-structured interviews of students engaged in secondary level education and former students at various stages of post-secondary education confirmed that the suspected factors were perceived by participants to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution. Furthermore, participant reports provided insight regarding the relative effects they perceived these factors to have had on their evolution acceptance levels. Additionally, many participants reported that their science teachers in public schools had avoided, omitted, or denigrated evolution during instruction, and several of these students expressed frustration regarding what they perceived to have been a lack of education of an important scientific principle. Finally, no students expressed feelings of being offended by having been taught about

Family factors in shaping parental attitudes in young students at the stage of entering adulthood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga A. Karabanova

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Parenthood is a process of promoting the child’s progressive development and achieving personal autonomy. Social, family and psychological factors of formation of parental attitudes of the person at the stage of entering adulthood are considered. The mechanisms of the parental family influence on parental attitudes are analyzed. Parenting and children raising are recognized by modern young students as a significant family value with priority of professional and social activity. The revealed gender differences prove a higher assessment of the importance of parenthood and the upbringing of children among males rather than females, who have strongly prioritize their professional careers as compared to parenthood. Young women’s expectations of difficulties in the future of family life are related to child birth and upbringing. The experience of emotional relations in one’s own parent family is proved to determine the importance of parenting for young adults. Positive expectations of student youth regarding future family life and a certain underestimation of the difficulties of the transitional periods of the family life cycle are revealed. The greatest difficulties are predicted by students in connection with the period of child expectation and the first year of child life. The beginning of parental function realization, child raising, economic and household functioning of the family and mutual adaptation of the spouses are listed as the most difficulties in family life cycle. Family factors that determine expectations about difficulties and subjective satisfaction with family life include gender, experience of romantic partnership, full or incomplete family in origin, chronological age.

Features of Knowledge Building in Biology: Understanding Undergraduate Students' Ideas about Molecular Mechanisms.

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Southard, Katelyn; Wince, Tyler; Meddleton, Shanice; Bolger, Molly S

2016-01-01

Research has suggested that teaching and learning in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) is difficult. We used a new lens to understand undergraduate reasoning about molecular mechanisms: the knowledge-integration approach to conceptual change. Knowledge integration is the dynamic process by which learners acquire new ideas, develop connections between ideas, and reorganize and restructure prior knowledge. Semistructured, clinical think-aloud interviews were conducted with introductory and upper-division MCB students. Interviews included a written conceptual assessment, a concept-mapping activity, and an opportunity to explain the biomechanisms of DNA replication, transcription, and translation. Student reasoning patterns were explored through mixed-method analyses. Results suggested that students must sort mechanistic entities into appropriate mental categories that reflect the nature of MCB mechanisms and that conflation between these categories is common. We also showed how connections between molecular mechanisms and their biological roles are part of building an integrated knowledge network as students develop expertise. We observed differences in the nature of connections between ideas related to different forms of reasoning. Finally, we provide a tentative model for MCB knowledge integration and suggest its implications for undergraduate learning. © 2016 K. Southard et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Interest in STEM is contagious for students in biology, chemistry, and physics classes.

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Hazari, Zahra; Potvin, Geoff; Cribbs, Jennifer D; Godwin, Allison; Scott, Tyler D; Klotz, Leidy

2017-08-01

We report on a study of the effect of peers' interest in high school biology, chemistry, and physics classes on students' STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)-related career intentions and course achievement. We define an interest quorum as a science class where students perceive a high level of interest for the subject matter from their classmates. We hypothesized that students who experience such an interest quorum are more likely to choose STEM careers. Using data from a national survey study of students' experiences in high school science, we compared the effect of five levels of peer interest reported in biology, chemistry, and physics courses on students' STEM career intentions. The results support our hypothesis, showing a strong, positive effect of an interest quorum even after controlling for differences between students that pose competing hypotheses such as previous STEM career interest, academic achievement, family support for mathematics and science, and gender. Smaller positive effects of interest quorums were observed for course performance in some cases, with no detrimental effects observed across the study. Last, significant effects persisted even after controlling for differences in teaching quality. This work emphasizes the likely importance of interest quorums for creating classroom environments that increase students' intentions toward STEM careers while enhancing or maintaining course performance.

How to use Hydra as a model system to teach biology in the classroom.

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Bossert, Patricia; Galliot, Brigitte

2012-01-01

As scientists it is our duty to fight against obscurantism and loss of rational thinking if we want politicians and citizens to freely make the most intelligent choices for the future generations. With that aim, the scientific education and training of young students is an obvious and urgent necessity. We claim here that Hydra provides a highly versatile but cheap model organism to study biology at any age. Teachers of biology have the unenviable task of motivating young people, who with many other motivations that are quite valid, nevertheless must be guided along a path congruent with a 'syllabus' or a 'curriculum'. The biology of Hydra spans the history of biology as an experimental science from Trembley's first manipulations designed to determine if the green polyp he found was plant or animal to the dissection of the molecular cascades underpinning, regeneration, wound healing, stemness, aging and cancer. It is described here in terms designed to elicit its wider use in classrooms. Simple lessons are outlined in sufficient detail for beginners to enter the world of 'Hydra biology'. Protocols start with the simplest observations to experiments that have been pretested with students in the USA and in Europe. The lessons are practical and can be used to bring 'life', but also rational thinking into the study of life for the teachers of students from elementary school through early university.

Effect Of Oligomeric Enteral Nutrition On Symptoms Of Acute Radiation Enteritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubinsky, P.

2008-01-01

Radiotherapy of abdominal and pelvic tumours is frequently associated with acute radiation enteritis. Predominant symptoms include diarrhea, watery stools, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. There are very few effective interventions available for this condition. Enteral oligomeric nutrition has been used in bowel diseases with functional failure similar to radiation enteritis. The aim of presented work was to observe occurrence of symptoms of radiation enteritis in patients undergoing abdominal or pelvic radiotherapy. Apart from diet and pharmacological therapy, oral oligomeric enteral nutrition (Peptisorb Powder Nutricia) at the dose of 1000 - 2000 ml per day was administered for minimum of 4 days. Planned period of administration was 14 days and longer. Symptoms of radiation enteritis were evaluated at the beginning and in the end of administration. Prevalence of all evaluated symptoms of radiation enteritis was decreased and difference was statistically significant for diarrhea, watery stools, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The use of evaluated oligomeric nutritional support might, in conjunction with pharmacotherapy and diet, alleviate symptoms of acute radiation enteritis and maintain nutritional status of patients. (author)

Inquiry-based laboratory investigations and student performance on standardized tests in biological science

Science.gov (United States)

Patke, Usha

Achievement data from the 3rd International Mathematics and Sciences Study and Program for International Student Assessment in science have indicated that Black students from economically disadvantaged families underachieve at alarming rates in comparison to White and economically advantaged peer groups. The study site was a predominately Black, urban school district experiencing underachievement. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between students' use of inquiry-based laboratory investigations and their performance on the Biology End of Course Test, as well as to examine the relationship while partialling out the effects of student gender. Constructivist theory formed the theoretical foundation of the study. Students' perceived levels of experience with inquiry-based laboratory investigations were measured using the Laboratory Program Variable Inventory (LPVI) survey. LPVI scores of 256 students were correlated with test scores and were examined by student gender. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a small direct correlation between students' experience in inquiry-based laboratory investigation classes and standardized test scores on the Biology EOCT. A partial correlational analysis indicated that the correlation remained after controlling for gender. This study may prompt a change from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy at the local site in order to increase academic achievement for all students. The results of this study may also influence administrators and policy makers to initiate local, state, or nationwide curricular development. A change in curriculum may promote social change as students become more competent, and more able, to succeed in life beyond secondary school.

The Use of Group Activities in Introductory Biology Supports Learning Gains and Uniquely Benefits High-Achieving Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gili Marbach-Ad

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study describes the implementation and effectiveness of small-group active engagement (GAE exercises in an introductory biology course (BSCI207 taught in a large auditorium setting. BSCI207 (Principles of Biology III—Organismal Biology is the third introductory core course for Biological Sciences majors. In fall 2014, the instructors redesigned one section to include GAE activities to supplement lecture content. One section (n = 198 employed three lectures per week. The other section (n = 136 replaced one lecture per week with a GAE class. We explored the benefits and challenges associated with implementing GAE exercises and their relative effectiveness for unique student groups (e.g., minority students, high- and low-grade point average [GPA] students. Our findings show that undergraduates in the GAE class exhibited greater improvement in learning outcomes than undergraduates in the traditional class. Findings also indicate that high-achieving students experienced the greatest benefit from GAE activities. Some at-risk student groups (e.g., two-year transfer students showed comparably low learning gains in the course, despite the additional support that may have been afforded by active learning. Collectively, these findings provide valuable feedback that may assist other instructors who wish to revise their courses and recommendations for institutions regarding prerequisite coursework approval policies.

Diagnostic Tests for Entering and Departing Undergraduate Students

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Waltham, Chris; Kotlicki, A.

2006-12-01

A diagnostic test administered at the start of a class should test basic concepts which are recognized as course prerequisites. The questions should not be over-packaged: e.g. students should be required to create models, rather than this being done for them each time. Students should be allowed great latitude in their answers, so we can discover what they are thinking. When administered at the end of a class the goals should be similar: testing concepts taught in the class itself and the retention of necessary concepts from previous classes. Great care has to be taken to avoid teaching to the test. In assessing an entire program, for example an undergraduate majors degree in physics, then one looks for very general skills and knowledge not specific to any one course. The purpose of an undergraduate degree in physics (or indeed any science) is to equip the students with a set of problem-solving skills and basic knowledge which can be applied in a large variety of workplace settings and to allow that student to contribute to civic society as a science-literate person. The creator of any diagnostic test should always have these big goals in mind. We have developed a set of questions which we think fulfill these criteria, yet are not specific to any particular level of science education. They have been administered to students in secondary schools across Canada, incoming first-year science students and final-year physics students at the University of British Columbia. The results will be presented.

Student anxiety in introductory biology classrooms: Perceptions about active learning and persistence in the major

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Many researchers have called for implementation of active learning practices in undergraduate science classrooms as one method to increase retention and persistence in STEM, yet there has been little research on the potential increases in student anxiety that may accompany these practices. This is of concern because excessive anxiety can decrease student performance. Levels and sources of student anxiety in three introductory biology lecture classes were investigated via an online survey and student interviews. The survey (n = 327) data revealed that 16% of students had moderately high classroom anxiety, which differed among the three classes. All five active learning classroom practices that were investigated caused student anxiety, with students voluntarily answering a question or being called on to answer a question causing higher anxiety than working in groups, completing worksheets, or answering clicker questions. Interviews revealed that student anxiety seemed to align with communication apprehension, social anxiety, and test anxiety. Additionally, students with higher general anxiety were more likely to self-report lower course grade and the intention to leave the major. These data suggest that a subset of students in introductory biology experience anxiety in response to active learning, and its potential impacts should be investigated. PMID:28771564

The Climate Experiences of Students in Introductory Biology

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Ramón S. Barthelemy

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Understanding course climate is important for improving students’ experiences and increasing the likelihood of their persistence in STEM fields. This study presents climate survey results from 523 students taking introductory biology at the University of Michigan. Principal component analysis revealed that a student’s climate experience is comprised of five main elements: comfort, school avoidance, relationship to course, academic stress, and discomfort. Of these climate factors, comfort, school avoidance, and relationship to course were significant predictors of course satisfaction, and academic stress was a significant predictor of persistence. The results indicated the importance of a positive climate that is facilitated by the instructor in order to promote a positive student experience. Climate may be an important metric for institutions to track across time and course.

Coming out in Class: Challenges and Benefits of Active Learning in a Biology Classroom for LGBTQIA Students

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Cooper, Katelyn M.; Brownell, Sara E.

2016-01-01

As we transition our undergraduate biology classrooms from traditional lectures to active learning, the dynamics among students become more important. These dynamics can be influenced by student social identities. One social identity that has been unexamined in the context of undergraduate biology is the spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual,…

Active Learning Not Associated with Student Learning in a Random Sample of College Biology Courses

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Andrews, T. M.; Leonard, M. J.; Colgrove, C. A.; Kalinowski, S. T.

2011-01-01

Previous research has suggested that adding active learning to traditional college science lectures substantially improves student learning. However, this research predominantly studied courses taught by science education researchers, who are likely to have exceptional teaching expertise. The present study investigated introductory biology courses randomly selected from a list of prominent colleges and universities to include instructors representing a broader population. We examined the relationship between active learning and student learning in the subject area of natural selection. We found no association between student learning gains and the use of active-learning instruction. Although active learning has the potential to substantially improve student learning, this research suggests that active learning, as used by typical college biology instructors, is not associated with greater learning gains. We contend that most instructors lack the rich and nuanced understanding of teaching and learning that science education researchers have developed. Therefore, active learning as designed and implemented by typical college biology instructors may superficially resemble active learning used by education researchers, but lacks the constructivist elements necessary for improving learning. PMID:22135373

Helping struggling students in introductory biology: a peer-tutoring approach that improves performance, perception, and retention.

Science.gov (United States)

Batz, Zachary; Olsen, Brian J; Dumont, Jonathan; Dastoor, Farahad; Smith, Michelle K

2015-01-01

The high attrition rate among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors has long been an area of concern for institutions and educational researchers. The transition from introductory to advanced courses has been identified as a particularly "leaky" point along the STEM pipeline, and students who struggle early in an introductory STEM course are predominantly at risk. Peer-tutoring programs offered to all students in a course have been widely found to help STEM students during this critical transition, but hiring a sufficient number of tutors may not be an option for some institutions. As an alternative, this study examines the viability of an optional peer-tutoring program offered to students who are struggling in a large-enrollment, introductory biology course. Struggling students who regularly attended peer tutoring increased exam performance, expert-like perceptions of biology, and course persistence relative to their struggling peers who were not attending the peer-tutoring sessions. The results of this study provide information to instructors who want to design targeted academic assistance for students who are struggling in introductory courses. © 2015 Z. Batz et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Problem-solving activities in Biology for Open University students [poster session

OpenAIRE

Ash, P.; Robinson, D.

2006-01-01

Problem-based learning is a valuable tool for enhancing student learning and for providing remedial help in grasping difficult concepts in Biology. Most teaching at the Open University is by course texts, DVDs and television. Teaching material is written by academics and\\ud expert consultants. An important feature of the material is that it includes interactive in-text and self-assessed questions, and also activities which may be home experiments or computer-based.\\ud Students are provided wi...

Learning Styles of the Students of Biology Department and Prospective Biology Teachers in Turkey and Their Relationship with Some Demographic Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Günes, M. Handan

2018-01-01

This study has been carried out with the aim of researching dominant learning styles of the students studying at the biology departments of the faculty of science or the faculty of arts and sciences as well as the dominant learning styles of the prospective biology teachers studying at the faculty of education of universities in Turkey, by taking…

Tracking the Resolution of Student Misconceptions about the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Amy G; Morgan, Stephanie K; Sanderson, Seth K; Schulting, Molly C; Wieseman, Laramie J

2016-12-01

The goal of our study was to track changes in student understanding of the central dogma of molecular biology before and after taking a genetics course. Concept maps require the ability to synthesize new information into existing knowledge frameworks, and so the hypothesis guiding this study was that student performance on concept maps reveals specific central dogma misconceptions gained, lost, and retained by students. Students in a genetics course completed pre- and posttest concept mapping tasks using terms related to the central dogma. Student maps increased in complexity and validity, indicating learning gains in both content and complexity of understanding. Changes in each of the 351 possible connections in the mapping task were tracked for each student. Our students did not retain much about the central dogma from their introductory biology courses, but they did move to more advanced levels of understanding by the end of the genetics course. The information they retained from their introductory courses focused on structural components (e.g., protein is made of amino acids) and not on overall mechanistic components (e.g., DNA comes before RNA, the ribosome makes protein). Students made the greatest gains in connections related to transcription, and they resolved the most prior misconceptions about translation. These concept-mapping tasks revealed that students are able to correct prior misconceptions about the central dogma during an intermediate-level genetics course. From these results, educators can design new classroom interventions to target those aspects of this foundational principle with which students have the most trouble.

Tracking the Resolution of Student Misconceptions about the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy G. Briggs

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The goal of our study was to track changes in student understanding of the central dogma of molecular biology before and after taking a genetics course. Concept maps require the ability to synthesize new information into existing knowledge frameworks, and so the hypothesis guiding this study was that student performance on concept maps reveals specific central dogma misconceptions gained, lost, and retained by students. Students in a genetics course completed pre- and posttest concept mapping tasks using terms related to the central dogma. Student maps increased in complexity and validity, indicating learning gains in both content and complexity of understanding. Changes in each of the 351 possible connections in the mapping task were tracked for each student. Our students did not retain much about the central dogma from their introductory biology courses, but they did move to more advanced levels of understanding by the end of the genetics course. The information they retained from their introductory courses focused on structural components (e.g., protein is made of amino acids and not on overall mechanistic components (e.g., DNA comes before RNA, the ribosome makes protein. Students made the greatest gains in connections related to transcription, and they resolved the most prior misconceptions about translation. These concept-mapping tasks revealed that students are able to correct prior misconceptions about the central dogma during an intermediate-level genetics course. From these results, educators can design new classroom interventions to target those aspects of this foundational principle with which students have the most trouble.

Science Identity's Influence on Community College Students' Engagement, Persistence, and Performance in Biology

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Riccitelli, Melinda

In the United States (U.S.), student engagement, persistence, and academic performance levels in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs have been unsatisfactory over the last decade. Low student engagement, persistence, and academic performance in STEM disciplines have been identified as major obstacles to U.S. economic goals and U.S. science education objectives. The central and salient science identity a college student claims can influence his engagement, persistence, and academic achievement in college science. While science identity studies have been conducted on four-year college populations there is a gap in the literature concerning community college students' science identity and science performance. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between community college students claimed science identities and engagement, persistence, and academic performance. A census sample of 264 community college students enrolled in biology during the summer of 2015 was used to study this relationship. Science identity and engagement levels were calculated using the Science Identity Centrality Scale and the Biology Motivation Questionnaire II, respectively. Persistence and final grade data were collected from institutional and instructor records. Engagement significantly correlated to, r =.534, p = .01, and varied by science identity, p < .001. Percent final grade also varied by science identity (p < .005), but this relationship was weaker (r = .208, p = .01). Results for science identity and engagement and final grade were consistent with the identity literature. Persistence did not vary by science identity in this student sample (chi2 =2.815, p = .421). This result was inconsistent with the literature on science identity and persistence. Quantitative results from this study present a mixed picture of science identity status at the community college level. It is suggested, based on the findings

Perceived stress scores among Saudi students entering universities: a prospective study during the first year of university life.

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Al-Daghri, Nasser M; Al-Othman, Abdulaziz; Albanyan, Abdulmajeed; Al-Attas, Omar S; Alokail, Majed S; Sabico, Shaun; Chrousos, George P

2014-04-10

In this prospective study we wanted to determine whether perceived stress over time among students in the Preparatory Year of King Saud University (KSU) predisposes them to cardiometabolic abnormalities. A total of 110 apparently healthy Saudi students (35 men and 75 women enrolled during the 2010-2011 academic year) were included. Perceived stress was determined at baseline and 1 year later. Anthropometrics were obtained and morning fasting serum glucose, lipid profile and cortisol were measured at both times. Perceived stress was noted among 48.2% of subjects at baseline and was not significantly different after follow-up, with 45.4% scoring high. In men, the prevalence of perceived stress was 48.6% at baseline (13 out of 35) and 37.1% at follow-up (13 out of 35), while in women it was 48% at baseline and 49.3% at follow-up. Interestingly, significant improvements in the blood pressure and lipid profiles, with the exception of HDL-cholesterol, were observed in both men and women, while fasting glucose also improved in women. Serum cortisol was inversely associated to fasting glucose, and total- and LDL-cholesterol (p-values 0.007, 0.04 and 0.04, respectively). These data are opposite to findings in students entering Western universities, in whom increasing stress and a deteriorating cardiometabolic profile have been repeatedly noted. Perceived stress and morning cortisol levels among students of the Preparatory Year in KSU remained constant for both genders over time, yet an improved cardiometabolic profile was observed, suggesting good adaptation among our pre-college students in their first year of university life.

Visual Literacy Skills of Students in College-Level Biology: Learning Outcomes Following Digital or Hand-Drawing Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Justine C.

2014-01-01

To test the claim that digital learning tools enhance the acquisition of visual literacy in this generation of biology students, a learning intervention was carried out with 33 students enrolled in an introductory college biology course. This study compared learning outcomes following two types of learning tools: a traditional drawing activity, or…

High school teachers' perspectives on effective approaches for teaching biology to students with special needs

Science.gov (United States)

Kos, Agnieszka

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 15 high school teachers in a Midwestern school district. The data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding procedures in accordance with the grounded theory approach. Essential model components included skills and training for teachers, classroom management strategies, teaching strategies, and student skills. The emergent substantive theory indicated that that teacher preparation and acquired skills greatly influence the effectiveness of inclusion implementation. Key findings also indicated the importance of using of a variety of instructional strategies and classroom management strategies that address students' special needs and their learning styles. This study contributes to social change by providing a model for teaching students and effectively implementing inclusion in regular science classrooms. Following further study, this model may be used to support teacher professional development and improve teaching practices that in turn may improve science literacy supported by the national educational reforms.

The effect of student-centered and teacher-centered instruction with and without conceptual advocacy on biology students' misconceptions, achievement, attitudes toward science, and cognitive retention

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Gallop, Roger Graham

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of student-centered and teacher-centered instructional strategies with and without conceptual advocacy (CA) on ninth-grade biology students' misconceptions (MIS), biology achievement (ACH), attitudes toward science (ATT), and cognitive retention of scientific method and measurement, spontaneous generation, and characteristics of living things. Students were purposively selected using intact classes and assigned to one of four treatment groups (i.e., student-centered instruction without CA, student-centered instruction with CA, teacher-centered instruction with CA, and teacher-centered instruction without CA). A modified quasi-experimental design was used in which students were not matched in the conventional sense but instead, groups were shown to be equivalent on the dependent measure via a pretest. A 5-day treatment implementation period addressed science conceptions under investigation. The treatment period was based on the number of class periods teachers at the target school actually spend teaching the biological concepts under investigation using traditional instruction. At the end of the treatment period, students were posttested using the Concepts in Biology instrument and Science Questionnaire. Eight weeks after the posttest, these instruments were administered again as a delayed posttest to determine cognitive retention of the correct biological conceptions and attitudes toward science. MANCOVA and follow-up univariate ANCOVA results indicated that student-centered instruction without CA (i.e., Group 1) did not have a significant effect on students' MIS, ACH, and ATT (F = .029, p = .8658; F = .002, p =.9688, F = .292, p = .5897, respectively). On the other hand, student-centered instruction with CA (i.e., Group 2) had a significant effect on students' MIS and ACH (F =10.33, p = .0016 and F = 10.17, p = .0017, respectively), but did not on ATT (F = .433, p = .5117). Teacher-centered instruction with

MD/MBA Students: An Analysis of Medical Student Career Choice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, Ph.D., MBA

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Background: An increasing number of medical schools are offering dual degree MD/MBA programs. Career choices and factors influencing students to enter these programs provide an indicator of the roles in which dual degree students will serve in health care as well as the future of dual degree programs. Purpose: Using career choice theory as a conceptual framework, career goals and factors influencing decisions to enter dual degree programs were assessed among dual degree medical students. Methods: Students enrolled at dual degree programs at six medical schools were surveyed and interviewed. A control group of traditional medical students was also surveyed. Results: Factors influencing students to seek both medical and business training are varied but are often related to a desire for leadership opportunities, concerns about change in medicine and job security and personal career goals. Most students expect to combine clinical and administrative roles. Conclusions: Students entering these programs do so for a variety of reasons and plan diverse careers. These findings can provide guidance for program development and recruitment for dual degree medical education programs

MD/MBA Students: An Analysis of Medical Student Career Choice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, Ph.D., MBA

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Background: An increasing number of medical schools are offering dual degree MD/MBA programs. Career choices and factors influencing students to enter these programs provide an indicator of the roles in which dual degree students will serve in health care as well as the future of dual degree programs. Purpose: Using career choice theory as a conceptual framework, career goals and factors influencing decisions to enter dual degree programs were assessed among dual degree medical students. Methods: Students enrolled at dual degree programs at six medical schools were surveyed and interviewed. A control group of traditional medical students was also surveyed. Results: Factors influencing students to seek both medical and business training are varied but are often related to a desire for leadership opportunities, concerns about change in medicine and job security and personal career goals. Most students expect to combine clinical and administrative roles. Conclusions: Students entering these programs do so for a variety of reasons and plan diverse careers. These findings can provide guidance for program development and recruitment for dual degree medical education program

MD/MBA Students: An Analysis of Medical Student Career Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrill, Windsor Westbrook

2004-12-01

An increasing number of medical schools are offering dual degree MD/MBA programs. Career choices and factors influencing students to enter these programs provide an indicator of the roles in which dual degree students will serve in health care as well as the future of dual degree programs. Using career choice theory as a conceptual framework, career goals and factors influencing decisions to enter dual degree programs were assessed among dual degree medical students. Students enrolled at dual degree programs at six medical schools were surveyed and interviewed. A control group of traditional medical students was also surveyed. Factors influencing students to seek both medical and business training are varied but are often related to a desire for leadership opportunities, concerns about change in medicine and job security and personal career goals. Most students expect to combine clinical and administrative roles. Students entering these programs do so for a variety of reasons and plan diverse careers. These findings can provide guidance for program development and recruitment for dual degree medical education programs.

Factors Influencing Academic Performance of Students Enrolled in a Lower Division Cell Biology Core Course

Science.gov (United States)

Soto, Julio G.; Anand, Sulekha

2009-01-01

Students' performance in two semesters of our Cell Biology course was examined for this study. Teaching strategies, behaviors, and pre-course variables were analyzed with respect to students' performance. Pre-semester and post-semester surveys were administered to ascertain students' perceptions about class difficulty, amount of study and effort…

Video and HTML: Testing Online Tutorial Formats with Biology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Cindy L.; Friehs, Curt G.

2013-01-01

This study compared two common types of online information literacy tutorials: a streaming media tutorial using animation and narration and a text-based tutorial with static images. Nine sections of an undergraduate biology lab class (234 students total) were instructed by a librarian on how to use the BIOSIS Previews database. Three sections…

How Should I Study for the Exam? Self-Regulated Learning Strategies and Achievement in Introductory Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebesta, Amanda J; Bray Speth, Elena

2017-01-01

In college introductory science courses, students are challenged with mastering large amounts of disciplinary content while developing as autonomous and effective learners. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is the process of setting learning goals, monitoring progress toward them, and applying appropriate study strategies. SRL characterizes successful, "expert" learners, and develops with time and practice. In a large, undergraduate introductory biology course, we investigated: 1) what SRL strategies students reported using the most when studying for exams, 2) which strategies were associated with higher achievement and with grade improvement on exams, and 3) what study approaches students proposed to use for future exams. Higher-achieving students, and students whose exam grades improved in the first half of the semester, reported using specific cognitive and metacognitive strategies significantly more frequently than their lower-achieving peers. Lower-achieving students more frequently reported that they did not implement their planned strategies or, if they did, still did not improve their outcomes. These results suggest that many students entering introductory biology have limited knowledge of SRL strategies and/or limited ability to implement them, which can impact their achievement. Course-specific interventions that promote SRL development should be considered as integral pedagogical tools, aimed at fostering development of students' lifelong learning skills. © 2017 A. J. Sebesta and E. Bray Speth. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Teacher and student actions to construct biology literacy at a community college: A bounded case study

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Griesel, Patricia

2000-10-01

Science content area literacy, particularly literacy development in college level biology, is the focus of this study. The study investigates the actions and activities of an instructor and six students over the course of 16 weeks. The study is in response to interest in the literate practices in science classes (NSES, 1996) and to the call for contextual studies that facilitate the learning of science (Borasi & Siegel, 1999; Moje, 1996; Nist & Holschuh, 1996; Prentiss, 1998). A collaborative study between the biology teacher and the researcher, this study investigates the practices believed to be effective for the development of biology literacy. Data sources, in the qualitative bounded case study (Bogdin & Biklin, 1982; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994), include: field notes of classroom observations, in-depth interviews (Seidman, 1992), class surveys, and literate artifacts. The data were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The six students reveal similarities and differences regarding the actions, patterns, practices and use of materials and their beliefs about effective practice in the development of biology literacy. The results indicate that a variety of actions and activities are needed to facilitate the development of biology literacy. The common themes to develop from the students' data about effective teacher actions are the following: (a) involves and engages students in inquiry learning through group projects, hands-on, and group discussions; (b) relates examples, experiences, and stories; (c) exhibits expertise; (d) encourages a relaxed classroom atmosphere; (e) facilitates and coaches students; and (f) credits creativity. Further, students report their teacher to be an expert, in terms of science knowledge and literate practices, and that her expertise contributes to their understanding of biology literacy. The teachers' data reveals three themes embedded in her classroom actions: science as

The Student Writing Toolkit: Enhancing Undergraduate Teaching of Scientific Writing in the Biological Sciences

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Dirrigl, Frank J., Jr.; Noe, Mark

2014-01-01

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both students and instructors. This article offers and reviews several useful "toolkit" items that improve student writing. These include sentence and paper-length templates, funnelling and compartmentalisation, and preparing compendiums of corrections. In addition,…

Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition in the Perioperative Period: State of the Art

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Abunnaja, Salim; Cuviello, Andrea; Sanchez, Juan A.

2013-01-01

Nutritional support of surgical and critically ill patients has undergone significant advances since 1936 when Studley demonstrated a direct relationship between pre-operative weight loss and operative mortality. The advent of total parenteral nutrition followed by the extraordinary progress in parenteral and enteral feedings, in addition to the increased knowledge of cellular biology and biochemistry, have allowed clinicians to treat malnutrition and improve surgical patient’s outcomes. We reviewed the literature for the current status of perioperative nutrition comparing parenteral nutrition with enteral nutrition. In a surgical patient with established malnutrition, nutritional support should begin at least 7–10 days prior to surgery. Those patients in whom eating is not anticipated beyond the first five days following surgery should receive the benefits of early enteral or parenteral feeding depending on whether the gut can be used. Compared to parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition is associated with fewer complications, a decrease in the length of hospital stay, and a favorable cost-benefit analysis. In addition, many patients may benefit from newer enteral formulations such as Immunonutrition as well as disease-specific formulations. PMID:23429491

The perspectives of nonscience-major students on success in community college biology

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Kim-Rajab, Oriana Sharon

With more than 36% of nonscience-major community college students unable to successfully complete their general life science courses, graduation and transfer rates to four-year universities are negatively affected. Many students also miss important opportunities to gain some level of science proficiency. In an effort to address the problem of poor science achievement, this research project determined which factors were most significantly related to student success in a community college biology course. It also aimed to understand the student perspectives on which modifications to the course would best help them in the pursuit of success. Drawing heavily on the educational psychology schools of thought on motivation and self-efficacy of science learning, this study surveyed and interviewed students on their perceptions of which factors were related to success in biology and the changes they believed were needed in the course structure to improve success. The data revealed that the primary factors related to student success are the students' study skills and their perceived levels of self-efficacy. The findings also uncovered the critical nature of the professor's role in influencing the success of the students. After assessing the needs of the community college population, meaningful and appropriate curriculum and pedagogical reforms could be created to improve student learning outcomes. This study offered recommendations for reforms that can be used by science practitioners to provide a more nurturing and inspiring environment for all students. These suggestions revolved around the role of the instructor in influencing the self-efficacy and study skills of students. Providing more opportunities for students to interact in class, testing more frequently, establishing peer assistance programs, managing better the course material, and making themselves more available to students were at the forefront of the list. Examples of the potential benefits of increasing

Shaping scientific attitude of biology education students through research-based teaching

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Firdaus, Darmadi

2017-08-01

Scientific attitude is need of today's society for peaceful and meaningful living of every person in a multicultural world. A case study was conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Riau, Pekanbaru in order to describe the scientific attitude that shaped by research-based teaching (RBT). Eighteen students of English for Biology bilingual program were selected from 88 regular students as a subject of the study. RBT designed consists of 9 steps: 1) field observations, 2) developing research proposals, 3) research proposal seminar, 4) field data collecting, 5) data analyzing & ilustrating, 6) writing research papers, 7) preparing power point slides, 8) creating a scientific poster, 9) seminar & poster session. Data were collected by using check list observation instuments during 14 weeks (course sessions), then analyzed by using descriptive-quantitative method. The results showed that RBT were able to shape critical-mindedness, suspended judgement, respect for evidence, honesty, objectivity, and questioning attitude as well as tolerance of uncertainty. These attitudes which shaped were varies according to every steps of learning activities. It's seems that the preparation of scientific posters and research seminar quite good in shaping the critical-mindedness, suspended judgment, respect for evidence, honesty, objectivity, and questioning attitude, as well as tolerance of uncertainty. In conclusion, the application of research-based teaching through the English for Biology courses could shape the students scientific attitudes. However, the consistency of the appearance of a scientific attitude in every stage of Biology-based RBT learning process need more intensive and critical assessment.

Promoting Student Learning through the Integration of Lab and Lecture: The Seamless Biology Curriculum

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Burrowes, Patricia; Nazario, Gladys

2008-01-01

The authors engaged in an education experiment to determine if the integration of lab and lecture activities in zoology and botany proved beneficial to student learning and motivation toward biology. Their results revealed that this strategy positively influenced students' academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and ability to apply…

"Toward High School Biology": Helping Middle School Students Understand Chemical Reactions and Conservation of Mass in Nonliving and Living Systems

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Herrmann-Abell, Cari F.; Koppal, Mary; Roseman, Jo Ellen

2016-01-01

Modern biology has become increasingly molecular in nature, requiring students to understand basic chemical concepts. Studies show, however, that many students fail to grasp ideas about atom rearrangement and conservation during chemical reactions or the application of these ideas to biological systems. To help provide students with a better…

Physical health, lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and mental health of entering graduate health professional students: Evidence to support screening and early intervention.

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Mazurek Melnyk, Bernadette; Slevin, Caitlin; Militello, Lisa; Hoying, Jacqueline; Teall, Alice; McGovern, Colleen

2016-04-01

Little is known about the physical health, lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and mental health among first-year health professional graduate students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe these attributes as well as to explore the relationships among them. A descriptive correlational study was conducted on the baseline data from a wellness onboarding intervention study with 93 health sciences students from seven different colleges within a large public land grant university in the Midwest United States. Nearly 40% of the sample was overweight/obese, and 19% of students had elevated total cholesterol levels. Only 44% met the recommended 30 min of exercise 5 days per week. Forty-one percent reported elevated depressive symptoms and 28% had elevated anxiety. Four students reported suicidal ideation. Inverse relationships existed among depression/anxiety and healthy lifestyle beliefs/behaviors. Students entering health professional schools are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and unhealthy behaviors, which could be averted through screening and early evidence-based interventions. Assessing the physical health, lifestyle behaviors, and mental health of first-year health sciences professional students is important to identify health problems and modifiable at-risk behaviors so that early interventions can be implemented to improve outcomes. ©2016 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Clinical and nutritional implications of radiation enteritis

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Beer, W.H.; Fan, A.; Halsted, C.H.

1985-01-01

The clinical and nutritional significance of radiation enteritis was assessed in eight patients with chronic diarrhea which followed curative doses of radiotherapy for pelvic malignancies. Steatorrhea, found in seven malnourished patients, was ascribed to ileal disease or previous surgery, or to bacterial contamination of the small intestine. Lactose intolerance, assessed by breath hydrogen excretion after oral lactose and by jejunal lactase levels, was found in six patients. In a subgroup of five patients, the administration of two different defined formula liquid diets by nasoduodenal infusion decreased fecal fluid and energy losses by about one-half. Compared to Vivonex-HN, the infusion of Criticare-HN was associated with greater likelihood of intestinal gas production but a three-fold greater utilization of protein. Intestinal malabsorption and malnutrition in radiation enteritis has diverse etiologies. Whereas nutritional support by liquid diet limits fecal fluid and energy losses, these diets differ significantly in clinical tolerance and biologic value.

Clinical and nutritional implications of radiation enteritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beer, W.H.; Fan, A.; Halsted, C.H.

1985-01-01

The clinical and nutritional significance of radiation enteritis was assessed in eight patients with chronic diarrhea which followed curative doses of radiotherapy for pelvic malignancies. Steatorrhea, found in seven malnourished patients, was ascribed to ileal disease or previous surgery, or to bacterial contamination of the small intestine. Lactose intolerance, assessed by breath hydrogen excretion after oral lactose and by jejunal lactase levels, was found in six patients. In a subgroup of five patients, the administration of two different defined formula liquid diets by nasoduodenal infusion decreased fecal fluid and energy losses by about one-half. Compared to Vivonex-HN, the infusion of Criticare-HN was associated with greater likelihood of intestinal gas production but a three-fold greater utilization of protein. Intestinal malabsorption and malnutrition in radiation enteritis has diverse etiologies. Whereas nutritional support by liquid diet limits fecal fluid and energy losses, these diets differ significantly in clinical tolerance and biologic value

Gender Inequality in Biology Classes in China and Its Effects on Students' Short-Term Outcomes

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Liu, Ning; Neuhaus, Birgit

2014-07-01

This study investigated gender inequality in biology lessons and analysed the effects of the observed inequality on students' short-term knowledge achievement, situational interest and students' evaluation of teaching (SET). Twenty-two biology teachers and 803 7th-grade students from rural and urban classrooms in China participated in the study. Each teacher was videotaped for 1 lesson on the topic blood and circulatory system. Before and after the lessons, the students completed tests and questionnaires. Chi-square analysis was conducted to compare the boys' and girls' participation rates of answering teachers' questions in the lessons. The findings revealed that in the urban classrooms the boys had a significantly higher rate of participation than did the girls, and hence also a higher situational interest. However, no such gender inequity was found among the rural students. The study also revealed that urban students answered more complicated questions compared with the rural students in general. The findings of this study suggest that the teachers should try to balance boys' and girls' participation and involve more students in answering questions in their lessons. The study also raises questions about long-term effects of students' participation in answering teachers' questions on their outcomes-knowledge achievement, situational interest and SET.

Perceived Stress Scores among Saudi Students Entering Universities: A Prospective Study during the First Year of University Life

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Al-Daghri, Nasser M.; Al-Othman, Abdulaziz; Albanyan, Abdulmajeed; Al-Attas, Omar S.; Alokail, Majed S.; Sabico, Shaun; Chrousos, George P.

2014-01-01

In this prospective study we wanted to determine whether perceived stress over time among students in the Preparatory Year of King Saud University (KSU) predisposes them to cardiometabolic abnormalities. A total of 110 apparently healthy Saudi students (35 men and 75 women enrolled during the 2010−2011 academic year) were included. Perceived stress was determined at baseline and 1 year later. Anthropometrics were obtained and morning fasting serum glucose, lipid profile and cortisol were measured at both times. Perceived stress was noted among 48.2% of subjects at baseline and was not significantly different after follow-up, with 45.4% scoring high. In men, the prevalence of perceived stress was 48.6% at baseline (13 out of 35) and 37.1% at follow-up (13 out of 35), while in women it was 48% at baseline and 49.3% at follow-up. Interestingly, significant improvements in the blood pressure and lipid profiles, with the exception of HDL-cholesterol, were observed in both men and women, while fasting glucose also improved in women. Serum cortisol was inversely associated to fasting glucose, and total- and LDL-cholesterol (p-values 0.007, 0.04 and 0.04, respectively). These data are opposite to findings in students entering Western universities, in whom increasing stress and a deteriorating cardiometabolic profile have been repeatedly noted. Perceived stress and morning cortisol levels among students of the Preparatory Year in KSU remained constant for both genders over time, yet an improved cardiometabolic profile was observed, suggesting good adaptation among our pre-college students in their first year of university life. PMID:24727357

From access to success in science: An academic-student affairs intervention for undergraduate freshmen biology students

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Aldridge, Jacqueline Nouvelle

The first year experience is known to present an array of challenges for traditional college students. In particular, freshmen who major in a STEM discipline have their own unique set of challenges when they transition from high school science and math to college science and math; especially chemistry. As a result, students may encounter negative experiences which lower academic and social confidence. This project was designed as a pilot study intervention for a small group of freshmen biology students who were considered academically at-risk due their math SAT scores. The study occurred during the fall semester involving an enhanced active learning component based on the Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) general chemistry supplemental pedagogy model, and a biology-focused First Year Experience (FYE). PLTL workshops took place in freshmen residence halls, creating a live-n-learn community environment. Mid-term and final chemistry grades and final math grades were collected to measure academic progress. Self-reporting surveys and journals were used to encourage participants to reconstruct their experiences and perceptions of the study. Descriptive analysis was performed to measure statistical significance between midterm and final grade performance, and a general inductive qualitative method was used to determine academic and social confidence as well as experiences and perceptions of the project. Findings of this project revealed a statistically significant improvement between chemistry midterm and final grades of the sample participants. Although academic confidence did not increase, results reveal that social confidence progressed as the majority of students developed a value for studying in groups.

Using clickers in nonmajors- and majors-level biology courses: student opinion, learning, and long-term retention of course material.

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Crossgrove, Kirsten; Curran, Kristen L

2008-01-01

Student response systems (clickers) are viewed positively by students and instructors in numerous studies. Evidence that clickers enhance student learning is more variable. After becoming comfortable with the technology during fall 2005-spring 2006, we compared student opinion and student achievement in two different courses taught with clickers in fall 2006. One course was an introductory biology class for nonmajors, and the other course was a 200 level genetics class for biology majors. Students in both courses had positive opinions of the clickers, although we observed some interesting differences between the two groups of students. Student performance was significantly higher on exam questions covering material taught with clickers, although the differences were more dramatic for the nonmajors biology course than the genetics course. We also compared retention of information 4 mo after the course ended, and we saw increased retention of material taught with clickers for the nonmajors course, but not for the genetics course. We discuss the implications of our results in light of differences in how the two courses were taught and differences between science majors and nonmajors.

Learning-style preferences of Latino/Hispanic community college students enrolled in an introductory biology course

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Sarantopoulos, Helen D.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify, according to the Productivity Environment Preference Survey (PEPS) instrument, which learning-style domains (environmental, emotional, sociological, and physiological) were favored among Latino/Hispanic community college students enrolled in introductory biology classes in a large, urban community college. An additional purpose of this study was to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between the learning-style preferences and the demographic variables of age, gender, number of prior science courses, second language learner status, and earlier exposure to scientific information. Methodology. The study design was descriptive and ex post facto. The sample consisted of a total of 332 Latino/Hispanic students enrolled in General Biology 3. Major findings. The study revealed that Latino/Hispanic students enrolled in introductory biology at a large urban community college scored higher for the learning preference element of structure. Students twenty-five years and older scored higher for the learning preference elements of light, design, persistence, responsibility, and morning time (p learning-style preferences were found between second English language learners and those who learned English as their primary language (p tactile (p learning-style model and instruments and on recent learning-style research articles on ethnically diverse groups of adult learners; and (2) Instructors should plan their instruction to incorporate the learning-style preferences of their students.

The Effects of Using Concept Mapping for Improving Advanced Level Biology Students' Lower- and Higher-Order Cognitive Skills

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Bramwell-Lalor, Sharon; Rainford, Marcia

2014-01-01

This paper reports on teachers' use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy in advanced level biology classes and its effects on students' cognitive skills on selected biology concepts. Using a mixed methods approach, the study employed a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design involving 156 students and 8 teachers from…

Which Type of Inquiry Project Do High School Biology Students Prefer: Open or Guided?

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Sadeh, Irit; Zion, Michal

2012-01-01

In teaching inquiry to high school students, educators differ on which method of teaching inquiry is more effective: Guided or open inquiry? This paper examines the influence of these two different inquiry learning approaches on the attitudes of Israeli high school biology students toward their inquiry project. The results showed significant…

A Course in Evolutionary Biology: Engaging Students in the "Practice" of Evolution. Research Report.

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Passmore, Cynthia; Stewart, James

Recent education reform documents emphasize the need for students to develop a rich understanding of evolution's power to integrate knowledge of the natural world. This paper describes a nine-week high school course designed to help students understand evolutionary biology by engaging them in developing, elaborating, and using Charles Darwin's…

Integrative assessment of Evolutionary theory acceptance and knowledge levels of Biology undergraduate students from a Brazilian university

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Tavares, Gustavo Medina; Bobrowski, Vera Lucia

2018-03-01

The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers' and students' perceptions towards evolution, and studies can help to reveal those factors. We used a conceptual questionnaire, the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument, and a Knowledge test to assess (1) the level of acceptance and understanding of 23 undergraduate Biology students nearing the end of their course, (2) other factors that could affect these levels, including course structure, and (3) the most difficult topics regarding evolutionary biology. The results of this study showed that the students, on average, had a 'Very High Acceptance' (89.91) and a 'Very Low Knowledge' (59.42%) of Evolutionary theory, and also indicated a moderate positive correlation between the two (r = 0.66, p = .001). The most difficult topics were related to the definition of evolution and dating techniques. We believe that the present study provides evidence for policymakers to reformulate current school and university curricula in order to improve the teachers' acceptance and understanding of evolution and other biological concepts, consequently, helping students reduce their misconceptions related to evolutionary biology.

Using Mini-Reports to Teach Scientific Writing to Biology Students

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Simmons, Alexandria D.; Larios-Sanz, Maia; Amin, Shivas; Rosell, Rosemarie C.

2014-01-01

Anyone who has taught an introductory biology lab has sat at their desk in front of a towering stack of lengthy lab reports and wondered if there was a better way to teach scientific writing. We propose the use of a one-page format that we have called a "mini-report," which we believe better allows students to understand the structure…

Student selection: are the school-leaving A-level grades in biology and chemistry important?

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Green, A; Peters, T J; Webster, D J

1993-01-01

This study determined the relationships of grades in A-level biology and chemistry with examination success or failure during the medical course. By inspection of medical student records, A-level grades at entry to medical school and examination performance were obtained for 128 (91%) of the students who sat their final MBBCh examination at the University of Wales College of Medicine in June 1988. The majority, 92 (72%), completed their medical school careers with no professional examination failures; 15 failed examinations just in the period up to 2nd MB; 11 failed examinations in the clinical period only and 10 failed examinations in both periods. Whereas grade achieved in A-level chemistry was not associated with undergraduate examination performance, students with a grade A or B in A-level biology were less likely to have problems than the others (21% compared with 47%; the difference of 26% has a 95% confidence interval of 7% to 44%). Specifically, there appears to be a strong relationship between a low grade in biology and difficulties in the preclinical examinations. Moreover, for those who have difficulties at this stage, this association continues later in the course.

Breaking down Barriers: A Bridge Program Helps First-Year Biology Students Connect with Faculty

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Cooper, Katelyn M.; Ashley, Michael; Brownell, Sara E.

2018-01-01

Summer bridge programs often aim to build social connections for first-year students to ease their transition into college, yet few studies have reported on bridge programs successfully leading to these outcomes. We backward designed a summer bridge program for incoming biology majors to increase the comfort and connections among students and…

Cohort Graduation Rate: Policy and Technical Manual. 2016-17 Graduation Rates Based on Students First Entering High School during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 School Years

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Oregon Department of Education, 2017

2017-01-01

High School graduation rates are key indicators of accountability for high schools and school districts in Oregon. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) implemented the cohort method of calculating graduation rates. The cohort method identifies the year the student entered high school for the first time…

Enteric Diseases of Poultry with Special Attention to Clostridium perfringens

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Hafez Mohamed Hafez

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The enteric heath of growing poultry is imperative to success of the production. The basic role of poultry production is turning feed stuffs into meat. Any changes in this turning process, due to mechanical, chemical or biological disturbance of digestive system (enteric disorders is mostly accompanied with high economic losses due to poor performance, increased mortality rates and increased medication costs. The severity of clinical signs and course of the disorders are influenced several factors such as management, nutrition and the involved agent(s. Several pathogens (viruses, bacteria and parasites are incriminated as possible cause of enteric disorders either alone (mono-causal, in synergy with other micro-organisms (multi-causal, or with non-infectious causes such as feed and /or management related factors. In addition, excessive levels of mycotoxins and biogenic amines in feed lead to enteric disorders. Also factors such as high stocking density, poor litter conditions, poor hygiene and high ammonia level and other stressful situation may reduce the resistance of the birds and increases their susceptibility to infections. Under field conditions, however, under filed conditions it is difficult to determine whether the true cause of enteric disorders, is of infectious or non-infectious origin. In recent years and since the ban of use of antimicrobial growth promoters in several countries the incidence of intestinal disorders especially those caused by clostridial infection was drastically increased. The present review described in general the several factors involved in enteric disorders and summarized the available literatures about Clostridium perfringens infection in poultry.

The effects of problem-based learning on the self-efficacy and attitudes of beginning biology majors

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Rajab, Adel Mohammad

The problem of low persistence of science majors has resulted in calls for changes in undergraduate instruction toward environments that foster positive self-efficacy among beginning science majors. Low science self-efficacy and poor attitudes toward science may contribute to high attrition rates of science majors. Classroom environments that foster positive self-efficacy development include pedagogies that promote authentic learning contexts and involve collaborative learning teams. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional model that attempts to create both conditions and may provide every source of information needed for the development of self-efficacy (i.e., mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological states) as postulated by Albert Bandura. The degree to which these sources of self-efficacy are delivered to individuals within a PBL group may depend on how the group members interact and how students perceive the PBL process itself. This study examined the development of biology self-efficacy and attitudes among biology majors in a PBL setting and in a traditional lecture-based setting. Specifically, this project investigated changes in students' biology self-efficacy beliefs, mediating aspects of PBL in self-efficacy development, the relationship between PBL processes and group collective efficacy, the predictive nature of entering self-efficacy levels on attitudes toward PBL and mid-term grades, and changes in student attitudes toward biology. The study design was quasi-experimental and included quantitative pre- and post-surveys, qualitative interviews, and classroom observations. Findings revealed that students enrolled in a PBL class exhibited greater gains in biology self-efficacy and were likely to report more favorable attitudes toward biology compared to students enrolled in a traditional class. The aspects of PBL that most accounted for these findings were students' ownership of the learning process, their

Teaching About "Brain and Learning" in High School Biology Classes: Effects on Teachers' Knowledge and Students' Theory of Intelligence.

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Dekker, Sanne; Jolles, Jelle

2015-01-01

This study evaluated a new teaching module about "Brain and Learning" using a controlled design. The module was implemented in high school biology classes and comprised three lessons: (1) brain processes underlying learning; (2) neuropsychological development during adolescence; and (3) lifestyle factors that influence learning performance. Participants were 32 biology teachers who were interested in "Brain and Learning" and 1241 students in grades 8-9. Teachers' knowledge and students' beliefs about learning potential were examined using online questionnaires. Results indicated that before intervention, biology teachers were significantly less familiar with how the brain functions and develops than with its structure and with basic neuroscientific concepts (46 vs. 75% correct answers). After intervention, teachers' knowledge of "Brain and Learning" had significantly increased (64%), and more students believed that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory). This emphasizes the potential value of a short teaching module, both for improving biology teachers' insights into "Brain and Learning," and for changing students' beliefs about intelligence.

Image of Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology: A Survey among University Students

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Christian Ineichen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study explores the image of synthetic biology and nanotechnology in comparison to agricultural biotechnology and communication technology by examining spontaneous associations with, and deliberate evaluations of, these technologies by university students. Data were collected through a self-completion online questionnaire by students from two universities in Switzerland. The survey aimed to capture implicit associations, explicit harm-benefit evaluations and views on regulation. The data suggest overall positive associations with emerging technologies. While positive associations were most pronounced for nanotechnology, agricultural biotechnology was attributed with the least favorable associations. In contrast to its positive result in the association task, respondents attributed a high harm potential for nanotechnology. Associations attributed to synthetic biology were demonstrated to be more positive than for agricultural biotechnology, however, not as favorable as for nanotechnology. Contrary to the evaluations of nanotechnology, the benefit-examples of synthetic biology were evaluated particularly positively. Accordingly, the investigated technologies enjoy different esteem, with synthetic biology and nanotechnology both showing a more “exciting” image. Even though, the image of nanotechnology was demonstrated to be more pronounced it was also more heterogeneous across tasks while agricultural biotechnology remains contested. For all technologies, the predominant spontaneous concerns pertain to risks rather than an immoral nature inherent to these technologies. Our data suggest that harm-benefit analyses reveal only one aspect of the attitude toward emerging technologies. Survey questions addressing spontaneous associations with these technologies are a valuable addition for our picture of the image of emerging technologies.

Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition in the Perioperative Period: State of the Art

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Juan A. Sanchez

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Nutritional support of surgical and critically ill patients has undergone significant advances since 1936 when Studley demonstrated a direct relationship between pre-operative weight loss and operative mortality. The advent of total parenteral nutrition followed by the extraordinary progress in parenteral and enteral feedings, in addition to the increased knowledge of cellular biology and biochemistry, have allowed clinicians to treat malnutrition and improve surgical patient’s outcomes. We reviewed the literature for the current status of perioperative nutrition comparing parenteral nutrition with enteral nutrition. In a surgical patient with established malnutrition, nutritional support should begin at least 7–10 days prior to surgery. Those patients in whom eating is not anticipated beyond the first five days following surgery should receive the benefits of early enteral or parenteral feeding depending on whether the gut can be used. Compared to parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition is associated with fewer complications, a decrease in the length of hospital stay, and a favorable cost-benefit analysis. In addition, many patients may benefit from newer enteral formulations such as Immunonutrition as well as disease-specific formulations.

The use of writing assignments to help students synthesize content in upper-level undergraduate biology courses.

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Sparks-Thissen, Rebecca L

2017-02-01

Biology education is undergoing a transformation toward a more student-centered, inquiry-driven classroom. Many educators have designed engaging assignments that are designed to help undergraduate students gain exposure to the scientific process and data analysis. One of these types of assignments is use of a grant proposal assignment. Many instructors have used these assignments in lecture-based courses to help students process information in the literature and apply that information to a novel problem such as design of an antiviral drug or a vaccine. These assignments have been helpful in engaging students in the scientific process in the absence of an inquiry-driven laboratory. This commentary discusses the application of these grant proposal writing assignments to undergraduate biology courses. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Perception analysis of undergraduate students in the health field about the topic Cell Biology

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Carlos Alberto Andrade Monerat

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian education has been changing over time, especially with the increased offer on the various levels of education. In undergraduate courses, in the health area, the cell biology becomes an essential discipline, because various sectors are directly influenced by their recent discoveries and research. This work aimed to analyze, with undergraduate students, perceptions about the themes at Cell Biology, revealing, with its results, pertinent aspects, as insufficient knowledge about the proposed theme. The definition of a concept of cell, considered a basic aspect, however relevant in this context, exemplifies this situation, because it showed a considerable rate of unsatisfactory answers. On the other hand, was verified the recognition of Cell Biology as an area that presents important contents in the training of these students, due the numerous scientific researches that show its constant evolution in association with themes of medicine and public health.

What Are They Thinking? Automated Analysis of Student Writing about Acid–Base Chemistry in Introductory Biology

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Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna B.; Moscarella, Rosa A.; Merrill, John; Urban-Lurain, Mark

2012-01-01

Students’ writing can provide better insight into their thinking than can multiple-choice questions. However, resource constraints often prevent faculty from using writing assessments in large undergraduate science courses. We investigated the use of computer software to analyze student writing and to uncover student ideas about chemistry in an introductory biology course. Students were asked to predict acid–base behavior of biological functional groups and to explain their answers. Student explanations were rated by two independent raters. Responses were also analyzed using SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys and a custom library of science-related terms and lexical categories relevant to the assessment item. These analyses revealed conceptual connections made by students, student difficulties explaining these topics, and the heterogeneity of student ideas. We validated the lexical analysis by correlating student interviews with the lexical analysis. We used discriminant analysis to create classification functions that identified seven key lexical categories that predict expert scoring (interrater reliability with experts = 0.899). This study suggests that computerized lexical analysis may be useful for automatically categorizing large numbers of student open-ended responses. Lexical analysis provides instructors unique insights into student thinking and a whole-class perspective that are difficult to obtain from multiple-choice questions or reading individual responses. PMID:22949425

Enteric Duplication.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeziorczak, Paul M; Warner, Brad W

2018-03-01

Enteric duplications have been described throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract. The usual perinatal presentation is an abdominal mass. Duplications associated with the foregut have associated respiratory symptoms, whereas duplications in the midgut and hindgut can present with obstructive symptoms, perforation, nausea, emesis, hemorrhage, or be asymptomatic, and identified as an incidental finding. These are differentiated from other cystic lesions by the presence of a normal gastrointestinal mucosal epithelium. Enteric duplications are located on the mesenteric side of the native structures and are often singular with tubular or cystic characteristics. Management of enteric duplications often requires operative intervention with preservation of the native blood supply and intestine. These procedures are usually very well tolerated with low morbidity.

The impact of ecolabel knowledge to purchase decision of green producton biology students

Science.gov (United States)

Sigit, Diana Vivanti; Fauziah, Rizky; Heryanti, Erna

2017-08-01

The world needs real solutions to reduce the impact of environmental damages. Students as agents of changes have a role to overcome these problems. One of the important solution is to be a critical consumer who has purchase decisions in a green product. To show the quality of an environmental friendly product, it is then required an ecolabel on the green product which indicates that the product has been through the production processed and come from environmental friendly substances. The research aimed at finding out whether there was an impact of ecolabel knowledge with purchase decision of green product on biology students. This research was conducted in Biology Department. This research used a survey descriptive method. The population used was biology students of Universitas Negeri Jakarta while the sampling technique was done through simple random sampling technique with 147 respondents. Instrument used were ecolabel knowledge test and a questionnaire of green product purchase decision. The result of prerequisite test showed that the data was normally distributed and homogenous variance. The regression model obtained was Ŷ=77.083+ 0.370X. Meanwhile, the determinant coefficient (r2) obtained was 0.047 or 4.7% that mean ecolabel knowledge just contributed 4,71% to the green product purchase decision. These implied that many factors contributed in the purchase decision of green product instead of ecolabel knowledge.

Memorable Exemplification in Undergraduate Biology: Instructor Strategies and Student Perceptions

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Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Bretzlaff, Tiffany; Brown, Adam O.

2018-03-01

The present study examines the exemplification practices of a university biology instructor during a semester-long course. Attention is given specifically to how the instructor approaches memorable exemplification—classroom episodes identified by students as a source of memorable learning experiences. A mixed-method research approach is adopted wherein descriptive statistics is combined with qualitative multimodal analysis of video recordings and survey data. Our findings show that memorable experiencing of examples may depend on a multiplicity of factors, including whether students can relate to the example, how unique and extreme the example is, how much detail is provided, whether the example is enacted rather than told, and whether the example makes students feel sad, surprised, shocked, and/or amused. It is argued that, rather than simply assuming that all examples are equally effective, careful consideration needs be given to how exemplification can serve as an important source of memorable science learning experiences.

Enteral nutrition in surgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sucha, R.; Lichvarova, I.; Duchon, R.; Dolnik, J.; Pindak, D.

2011-01-01

Enteral feeding provides physiologic, metabolic, safety, and cost benefits over parenteral nutrition. There are various ways enteral nutritional is administered and scheduled. The method of administration must be individualized to each patient's specific needs. Enteral nutrition is not only the supply of exogenous substrates and to prevent depletion of endogenous sources. Today the enteral nutrition becomes part of a therapeutic strategy to influence the severity of the disease to affect the function of GIT, and to modulate immune responses of the gut and the whole organism. Early enteral nutrition in the postoperative period reduces the risk of infectious complications. (author)

EARLY ENTERAL FEEDING AND DELAYED ENTERAL FEEDING- A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alli Muthiah

2017-03-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Nutrients form the fuel for the body, which comes in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. The body is intended to burn fuels in order to perform work. Starvation with malnutrition affects the postoperative patients and patients with acute pancreatitis. There is an increased risk of nosocomial infections and a delay in the wound healing may be noted. They are more prone for respiratory tract infections. Enteral Nutrition (EN delivers nutrition to the body through gastrointestinal tract. This also includes the oral feeding. This study will review the administration, rationale and assess the pros and cons associated with the early initiation of enteral feeding. The aim of this study is to evaluate if early commencement of enteral nutrition compared to traditional management (delayed enteral feeding is associated with fewer complications and improved outcome-  In patients undergoing elective/emergency gastrointestinal surgery.  In patients with acute pancreatitis. It is also used to determine whether a period of starvation (nil by mouth after gastrointestinal surgery or in the early days of acute pancreatitis is beneficial in terms of specific outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective cohort interventional study was conducted using 100 patients from July 2012 to November 2012. Patients satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Patients admitted in my unit for GIT surgeries or acute pancreatitis constituted the test group, while patients admitted in other units for similar disease processes constituted the control group. RESULTS Our study concluded that early enteral feeding resulted in reduced incidence of surgical site infections. When the decreased length of stay, shorter convalescent period and the lesser post-interventional fatigue were taken into account, early enteral feeding has a definite cost benefit.CONCLUSION Early enteral feeding was beneficial associated with fewer

An Analysis of the Relationship between High School Students' Self-Efficacy, Metacognitive Strategy Use and Their Academic Motivation for Learn Biology

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Aydin, Solmaz

2016-01-01

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between high school students' self-efficacy perceptions regarding biology, the metacognitive strategies they use in this course and their academic motivation for learn biology. The sample of the study included 286 high school students enrolled in three high schools who attended a biology course in Kars,…

Students' Use of Optional Online Reviews and Its Relationship to Summative Assessment Outcomes in Introductory Biology

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Carpenter, Shana K.; Rahman, Shuhebur; Lund, Terry J. S.; Armstrong, Patrick I.; Lamm, Monica H.; Reason, Robert D.; Coffman, Clark R.

2017-01-01

Retrieval practice has been shown to produce significant enhancements in student learning of course information, but the extent to which students make use of retrieval to learn information on their own is unclear. In the current study, students in a large introductory biology course were provided with optional online review questions that could be…

Gastrointestinal Autoimmunity Associated With Loss of Central Tolerance to Enteric alpha-Defensins

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dobeš, Jan; Neuwirth, Aleš; Dobešová, Martina; Vobořil, Matouš; Balounová, Jana; Ballek, Ondřej; Lebl, J.; Meloni, A.; Krohn, K.; Kluger, N.; Ranki, A.; Filipp, Dominik

2015-01-01

Roč. 149, č. 1 (2015), s. 139-150 ISSN 0016-5085 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP302/12/G101 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Enteric defensins * Intestinal autoimmunity * Mouse Model of APECED Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 18.187, year: 2015

A Statistical Analysis of Student Questions in a Cell Biology Laboratory

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Keeling, Elena L.; Polacek, Kelly M.; Ingram, Ella L.

2009-01-01

Asking questions is an essential component of the practice of science, but question-asking skills are often underemphasized in science education. In this study, we examined questions written by students as they prepared for laboratory exercises in a senior-level cell biology class. Our goals were to discover 1) what types of questions students…

Helping Struggling Students in Introductory Biology: A Peer-Tutoring Approach That Improves Performance, Perception, and Retention

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Batz, Zachary; Olsen, Brian J.; Dumont, Jonathan; Dastoor, Farahad; Smith, Michelle K.

2015-01-01

The high attrition rate among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors has long been an area of concern for institutions and educational researchers. The transition from introductory to advanced courses has been identified as a particularly “leaky” point along the STEM pipeline, and students who struggle early in an introductory STEM course are predominantly at risk. Peer-tutoring programs offered to all students in a course have been widely found to help STEM students during this critical transition, but hiring a sufficient number of tutors may not be an option for some institutions. As an alternative, this study examines the viability of an optional peer-tutoring program offered to students who are struggling in a large-enrollment, introductory biology course. Struggling students who regularly attended peer tutoring increased exam performance, expert-like perceptions of biology, and course persistence relative to their struggling peers who were not attending the peer-tutoring sessions. The results of this study provide information to instructors who want to design targeted academic assistance for students who are struggling in introductory courses. PMID:25976652

Student perceptions: Importance of and satisfaction with aspects of an online biology course

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Hendry, Sheila R.

Research of student satisfaction with various facets of an online biology course, as well as the perceived importance of these aspects, was conducted during the summer and fall 2004 semesters within a course, History of Biology, at a university in the southeastern United States. This research is based on the theory of transactional distance, which involves dialogue between the teacher and student, the physical environments of both the student and teacher, and the emotional environments of each. Student ratings of importance and satisfaction regarding aspects of convenience, grade earned/knowledge learned, emotional health, communication, and student support were collected toward the end of each semester, via the online course, using the researcher-designed Student Perceptions Survey. Statistics with repeated measures ANOVA, using an alpha of 0.05, determined differences between importance and satisfaction ratings for each of these aspects. Students perceived grade earned/knowledge learned to be the most important aspect of learning online, although it is not an aspect unique to online courses. All of the aspects included in the study were found to be at least somewhat important. Convenience was the aspect with which students were most satisfied, with students at least somewhat satisfied with the other aspects. Although convenience is an inherent strength of the online course format, instructors should be aware of how important it is to design requirements of the online class to help students acquire knowledge while allowing them to do so at their own pace. Well-structured content, prompt feedback, encouragement of quality student-instructor communication, and student support are all parts of a positive online course experience. The Student Perceptions Survey, created specifically for this research, can have substantial value both in the creation of new online courses and in the evaluation of pre-existing courses. It can provide important information that can be

Facilitating long-term changes in student approaches to learning science.

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Buchwitz, Brian J; Beyer, Catharine H; Peterson, Jon E; Pitre, Emile; Lalic, Nevena; Sampson, Paul D; Wakimoto, Barbara T

2012-01-01

Undergraduates entering science curricula differ greatly in individual starting points and learning needs. The fast pace, high enrollment, and high stakes of introductory science courses, however, limit students' opportunities to self-assess and modify learning strategies. The University of Washington's Biology Fellows Program (BFP) intervenes through a 20-session, premajors course that introduces students to the rigor expected of bioscience majors and assists their development as science learners. This study uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess whether the 2007-2009 BFP achieved its desired short- and long-term impacts on student learning. Adjusting for differences in students' high school grade point average and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, we found that participation in the BFP was associated with higher grades in two subsequent gateway biology courses, across multiple quarters and instructors. Two to 4 yr after participating in the program, students attributed changes in how they approached learning science to BFP participation. They reported having learned to "think like a scientist" and to value active-learning strategies and learning communities. In addition, they reported having developed a sense of belonging in bioscience communities. The achievement of long-term impacts for a short-term instructional investment suggests a practical means to prepare diverse students for the rigors of science curricula.

Research and Teaching: From Gatekeeper to Gateway: Improving Student Success in an Introductory Biology Course

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Scott, Amy N.; McNair, Delores E.; Lucas, Jonathan C.; Land, Kirkwood M.

2017-01-01

Introductory science, math, and engineering courses often have problems related to student engagement, achievement, and course completion. To begin examining these issues in greater depth, this pilot study compared student engagement, achievement, and course completion in a small and large section of an introductory biology class. Results based on…

Biocinema: the experience of using popular movies with students of Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep-Eladi Baños Díez

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Popular movies may be successfully used as a teaching aid in health sciences studies. In the last three years we have been using popular movies in an activity called Biocinema during the first trimester with students of fifth year of Biology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. The activity was planned to help the students to consider the social aspects of their future professional career. Six different films were used: Outbreak, Lorenzo's oil, The Boys from Brazil, Frankenstein, Le maladie de Sachs and The Andromeda strain. The activity was organized in three steps. First, students watched the film after a brief introduction by one of the teachers who were responsible for the activity. Second, this teacher organized an open discussion with the students during the next hour. Third, students wrote a brief report on one of the topics portrayed in the film or mentioned in the open discussion. These reports were further evaluated and contributed a maximum extrabonus of 0.5 points over 10 in the scoring of the regular topics covered in the trimester.

"Cancer Cell Biology:" A Student-Centered Instructional Module Exploring the Use of Multimedia to Enrich Interactive, Constructivist Learning of Science

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Bockholt, Susanne M.; West, J. Paige; Bollenbacher, Walter E.

2003-01-01

Multimedia has the potential of providing bioscience education novel learning environments and pedagogy applications to foster student interest, involve students in the research process, advance critical thinking/problem-solving skills, and develop conceptual understanding of biological topics. "Cancer Cell Biology," an interactive, multimedia,…

Computational aspects of systematic biology.

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Lilburn, Timothy G; Harrison, Scott H; Cole, James R; Garrity, George M

2006-06-01

We review the resources available to systematic biologists who wish to use computers to build classifications. Algorithm development is in an early stage, and only a few examples of integrated applications for systematic biology are available. The availability of data is crucial if systematic biology is to enter the computer age.

The Respon of IKIP BUDI UTOMO Students Toward The Instructional Book of Cell Biology Subject Aided by Interactive Multimedia

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Tri Asih Wahyu Hartati

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The development of Science and Technology (Science and Technology takes place very rapidly. The development of science and technology will impact on graduate competency changes desired by the industry. This change of course will be followed by updating the curriculum, learning resources and teaching materials are used, one of them teaching materials on the subjects of Cell Biology. In the course of Cell Biology, the students only take textbooks without the support of interactive multimedia. Good teaching materials is the teaching materials arranged in a systematic, according to the needs and character of students, as well as validated by the teaching materials. The purpose of this study was to determine response students Biology Education IKIP Budi Utomo against Cell Biology course textbook aided interactive multimedia. The development method used is the 4D model consisting of stages define, design, develop, and disseminate. This study is limited to the stages develop. Legibility test results showed that students responded well teaching materials and provide proper assessment of the teaching materials.

High School Biology Students' Transfer of the Concept of Natural Selection: A Mixed-Methods Approach

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Pugh, Kevin J.; Koskey, Kristin L. K.; Linnenbrink-Garcia, Lisa

2014-01-01

The concept of natural selection serves as a foundation for understanding diverse biological concepts and has broad applicability to other domains. However, we know little about students' abilities to transfer (i.e. apply to a new context or use generatively) this concept and the relation between students' conceptual understanding and transfer…

Learning style and concept acquisition of community college students in introductory biology

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Bobick, Sandra Burin

This study investigated the influence of learning style on concept acquisition within a sample of community college students in a general biology course. There are two subproblems within the larger problem: (1) the influence of demographic variables (age, gender, number of college credits, prior exposure to scientific information) on learning style, and (2) the correlations between prior scientific knowledge, learning style and student understanding of the concept of the gene. The sample included all students enrolled in an introductory general biology course during two consecutive semesters at an urban community college. Initial data was gathered during the first week of the semester, at which time students filled in a short questionnaire (age, gender, number of college credits, prior exposure to science information either through reading/visual sources or a prior biology course). Subjects were then given the Inventory of Learning Processes-Revised (ILP-R) which measures general preferences in five learning styles; Deep Learning; Elaborative Learning, Agentic Learning, Methodical Learning and Literal Memorization. Subjects were then given the Gene Conceptual Knowledge pretest: a 15 question objective section and an essay section. Subjects were exposed to specific concepts during lecture and laboratory exercises. At the last lab, students were given the Genetics Conceptual Knowledge Posttest. Pretest/posttest gains were correlated with demographic variables and learning styles were analyzed for significant correlations. Learning styles, as the independent variable in a simultaneous multiple regression, were significant predictors of results on the gene assessment tests, including pretest, posttest and gain. Of the learning styles, Deep Learning accounted for the greatest positive predictive value of pretest essay and pretest objective results. Literal Memorization was a significant negative predictor for posttest essay, essay gain and objective gain. Simultaneous

Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance

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Luckie, Douglas B.; Rivkin, Aaron M.; Aubry, Jacob R.; Marengo, Benjamin J.; Creech, Leah R.; Sweeder, Ryan D.

2013-01-01

We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative assessment of cell biology content knowledge, students who passed the VF outscored their peers on the medical assessment test (MAT), an exam built with 40 Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) questions (66.4% [n = 160] and 62% [n = 285], respectively; p students performed better on MCAT questions in all topic categories tested; the greatest gain occurred on the topic of cellular respiration. Because the VF focused on a conceptually parallel topic, photosynthesis, there may have been authentic knowledge transfer. In longitudinal tracking studies, passing the VF also correlated with higher performance in a range of upper-level science courses, with greatest significance in physiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Participation had a wide range but not equal representation in academic standing, gender, and ethnicity. Yet students nearly unanimously (92%) valued the option. Our findings suggest oral exams at the introductory level may allow instructors to assess and aid students striving to achieve higher-level learning. PMID:24006399

Chemistry and Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Wigston, David L.

1970-01-01

Discusses the relationship between chemisty and biology in the science curriculum. Points out the differences in perception of the disciplines, which the physical scientists favoring reductionism. Suggests that biology departments offer a special course for chemistry students, just as the chemistry departments have done for biology students.…

Student-oriented learning: an inquiry-based developmental biology lecture course.

Science.gov (United States)

Malacinski, George M

2003-01-01

In this junior-level undergraduate course, developmental life cycles exhibited by various organisms are reviewed, with special attention--where relevant--to the human embryo. Morphological features and processes are described and recent insights into the molecular biology of gene expression are discussed. Ways are studied in which model systems, including marine invertebrates, amphibia, fruit flies and other laboratory species are employed to elucidate general principles which apply to fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation and organogenesis. Special attention is given to insights into those topics which will soon be researched with data from the Human Genome Project. The learning experience is divided into three parts: Part I is a in which the Socratic (inquiry) method is employed by the instructor (GMM) to organize a review of classical developmental phenomena; Part II represents an in which students study the details related to the surveys included in Part I as they have been reported in research journals; Part III focuses on a class project--the preparation of a spiral bound on a topic of relevance to human developmental biology (e.g.,Textbook of Embryonal Stem Cells). Student response to the use of the Socratic method increases as the course progresses and represents the most successful aspect of the course.

Trends in MD/PhD Graduates Entering Psychiatry: Assessing the Physician-Scientist Pipeline.

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Arbuckle, Melissa R; Luo, Sean X; Pincus, Harold Alan; Gordon, Joshua A; Chung, Joyce Y; Chavez, Mark; Oquendo, Maria A

2018-06-01

The goal of this study was to identify trends in MD/PhD graduates entering psychiatry, to compare these trends with other specialties, and to review strategies for enhancing the physician-scientist pipeline. Data on 226,588 medical students graduating from Liaison Committee on Medical Education accredited programs between 1999 and 2012 (6626 MD/PhDs) were used to evaluate the number, percentage, and proportion of MD/PhDs entering psychiatry in comparison with other specialties (neurology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, family medicine, and radiation oncology). Linear regression and multiple linear regression determined whether these values increased over time and varied by sex. Over 14 years, an average of 18 MD/PhDs (range 13-29) enrolled in psychiatry each year. The number of MD/PhDs going into psychiatry significantly increased, although these gains were modest (less than one additional MD/PhD per year). The proportion of students entering psychiatry who were MD/PhDs varied between 2.9 and 5.9 per 100 residents, with no significant change over time. There was also no change in the percentage of MD/PhDs entering psychiatry from among all MD/PhD graduates. The rate of increase in the number of MD/PhDs going into psychiatry did not differ significantly from other specialties except for family medicine, which is decreasing. The rate of MD/PhDs going into psychiatry was higher for women, suggesting closure of the sex gap in 17 years. Despite the increase in the number of MD/PhDs entering psychiatry, these numbers remain low. Expanding the cohort of physician-scientists dedicated to translational research in psychiatry will require a multipronged approach.

On the Learning Behaviours of English Additional-Language Speakers Entering Engineering Education in South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Woollacott, L.; Simelane, Z.; Inglis, J.

2011-01-01

This article reports the findings of an inductive study on the learning behaviours and language difficulties of a small group of English additional-language students entering a school of chemical and metallurgical engineering in South Africa. Students were interviewed in their home language. While they appeared to have had a reasonable grounding…

Labs not in a lab: A case study of instructor and student perceptions of an online biology lab class

Science.gov (United States)

Doiron, Jessica Boyce

Distance learning is not a new phenomenon but with the advancement in technology, the different ways of delivering an education have increased. Today, many universities and colleges offer their students the option of taking courses online instead of sitting in a classroom on campus. In general students like online classes because they allow for flexibility, the comfort of sitting at home, and the potential to save money. Even though there are advantages to taking online classes, many students and instructors still debate the effectiveness and quality of education in a distant learning environment. Many universities and colleges are receiving pressure from students to offer more and more classes online. Research argues for both the advantages and disadvantages of online classes and stresses the importance of colleges and universities weighing both sides before deciding to adopt an online class. Certain classes may not be suitable for online instruction and not all instructors are suitable to teach online classes. The literature also reveals that there is a need for more research on online biology lab classes. With the lack of information on online biology labs needed by science educators who face the increasing demand for online biology labs, this case study hopes to provide insight into the use of online biology lab classes and the how students and an instructor at a community college in Virginia perceive their online biology lab experience as well as the effectiveness of the online labs.

Enteric Micromotor Can Selectively Position and Spontaneously Propel in the Gastrointestinal Tract.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinxing; Thamphiwatana, Soracha; Liu, Wenjuan; Esteban-Fernández de Ávila, Berta; Angsantikul, Pavimol; Sandraz, Elodie; Wang, Jianxing; Xu, Tailin; Soto, Fernando; Ramez, Valentin; Wang, Xiaolei; Gao, Weiwei; Zhang, Liangfang; Wang, Joseph

2016-09-22

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which hosts hundreds of bacteria species, becomes the most exciting organ for the emerging microbiome research. Some of these GI microbes are hostile and cause a variety of diseases. These bacteria colonize in different segments of the GI tract dependent on the local physicochemical and biological factors. Therefore, selectively locating therapeutic or imaging agents to specific GI segments is of significant importance for studying gut microbiome and treating various GI-related diseases. Herein, we demonstrate an enteric micromotor system capable of precise positioning and controllable retention in desired segments of the GI tract. These motors, consisting of magnesium-based tubular micromotors coated with an enteric polymer layer, act as a robust nanobiotechnology tool for site-specific GI delivery. The micromotors can deliver payload to a particular location via dissolution of their enteric coating to activate their propulsion at the target site toward localized tissue penetration and retention.

Development of the Neuron Assessment for Measuring Biology Students' Use of Experimental Design Concepts and Representations

Science.gov (United States)

Dasgupta, Annwesa P.; Anderson, Trevor R.; Pelaez, Nancy J.

2016-01-01

Researchers, instructors, and funding bodies in biology education are unanimous about the importance of developing students' competence in experimental design. Despite this, only limited measures are available for assessing such competence development, especially in the areas of molecular and cellular biology. Also, existing assessments do not…

Exploring the MACH Model’s Potential as a Metacognitive Tool to Help Undergraduate Students Monitor Their Explanations of Biological Mechanisms

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Trujillo, Caleb M.; Anderson, Trevor R.; Pelaez, Nancy J.

2016-01-01

When undergraduate biology students learn to explain biological mechanisms, they face many challenges and may overestimate their understanding of living systems. Previously, we developed the MACH model of four components used by expert biologists to explain mechanisms: Methods, Analogies, Context, and How. This study explores the implementation of the model in an undergraduate biology classroom as an educational tool to address some of the known challenges. To find out how well students’ written explanations represent components of the MACH model before and after they were taught about it and why students think the MACH model was useful, we conducted an exploratory multiple case study with four interview participants. We characterize how two students explained biological mechanisms before and after a teaching intervention that used the MACH components. Inductive analysis of written explanations and interviews showed that MACH acted as an effective metacognitive tool for all four students by helping them to monitor their understanding, communicate explanations, and identify explanatory gaps. Further research, though, is needed to more fully substantiate the general usefulness of MACH for promoting students’ metacognition about their understanding of biological mechanisms. PMID:27252295

Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Mobile-Based Biology Vocabulary Study Tool for English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Maria B.

English language learners studying biology face a dual challenge of mastering both content and language. Teaching ELLs how to engage in scientific discourse using appropriate language to ask, answer, explain, and make predictions about science requires a foundational knowledge of content-specific vocabulary. This study used qualitative interviews with intermediate-level ELLs at an American high school to learn how a supplemental iPod-based vocabulary review tool influenced their perceptions of learning biology vocabulary outside of classroom hours. Interviews with their biology teacher were also used to complement student testimony from the point of view of an educational professional with ELL teaching experience. Past studies in the area of mobile learning have primarily employed questionnaires to gather feedback from participants. This research study adds greater participant voice to the body of literature that encompasses mobile language learning, second language acquisition, and science education by presenting nuanced opinions from both students and teachers. This dissertation concludes with a discussion on the influence that this study could have on further research in the fields of mobile learning, academic vocabulary, and student learning behaviors.

Immediate preoperative enteral nutrition (preoperative enteral nutrition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lađević Nebojša

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Nutritional support of surgical patients is a necessary part of the treatment. It alone cannot cure the disease but it significantly affects the recovery of patients and supports surgical interventions. Patients in malnutrition have shown to have significantly more postoperative infectious and non-infectious complications. This significantly prolongs treatment time and increases costs. However, there is one fact that cannot be expressed in money, which is the patient's impression of the surgical intervention. Adequate preoperative patient support, based on the intake of liquid nutritive solutions, reduces preoperative stress and deflects the metabolic response. Now, it is recommended for adults and children older than one year to drink clear liquid up to 2 hours before induction in anesthesia. Appropriate enteral nutrition has a significant place in the postoperative recovery of patients. Enteral nutrition is reducing complications, mainly infectious complications because the function of the digestive system as one large immune system is preserved. Perioperative enteral nutrition is a necessary part of the modern treatment of surgical patients. In addition to the significant effect on the occurrence of postoperative complications, it is also important that this type of diet improves the psychological status of patients.

A Card-Sorting Activity to Engage Students in the Academic Language of Biology.

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Wallon, Robert C; Jasti, Chandana; Hug, Barbara

2017-03-01

The activity described in this article is designed to provide biology students with opportunities to engage in a range of academic language as they learn the discipline-specific meanings of the terms "drug," "poison," "toxicant," and "toxin." Although intended as part of an introductory lesson in a comprehensive unit for the high school level, this approach to teaching academic language can be adapted for use with older or younger students and can be modified to teach other terms.

A comparison of student reactions to biology instruction by interactive videodisc or conventional laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, William H.

This study was designed to learn if students perceived an interactive computer/videodisc learning system to represent a viable alternative to (or extension of) the conventional laboratory for learning biology skills and concepts normally taught under classroom laboratory conditions. Data were collected by questionnaire for introductory biology classes at a large midwestern university where students were randomly assigned to two interactive videodisc/computer lessons titled Respiration and Climate and Life or traditional laboratory investigation with the same titles and concepts. The interactive videodisc system consisted of a TRS-80 Model III microcomputer interfaced to a Pioneer laser-disc player and a color TV monitor. Students indicated an overall level satisfaction with this strategy very similar to that of conventional laboratory instruction. Students frequently remarked that videodisc instruction gave them more experimental and procedural options and more efficient use of instructional time than did the conventional laboratory mode. These two results are consistent with past CAI research. Students also had a strong perception that the images on the videodisc were not real and this factor was perceived as having both advantages and disadvantages. Students found the two approaches to be equivalent to conventional laboratory instruction in the areas of general interest, understanding of basic principles, help on examinations, and attitude toward science. The student-opinion data in this study do not suggest that interactive videodisc technology serve as a substitute to the wet laboratory experience, but that this medium may enrich the spectrum of educational experiences usually not possible in typical classroom settings.

Perceptual Influence of Ugandan Biology Students' Understanding of HIV/AIDS

Science.gov (United States)

Mutonyi, Harriet; Nashon, Samson; Nielsen, Wendy S.

2010-08-01

In Uganda, curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS has largely depended on public and private media messages about the disease. Media campaigns based on Uganda’s cultural norms of communication are metaphorical, analogical and simile-like. The topic of HIV/AIDS has been introduced into the Senior Three (Grade 11) biology curriculum in Uganda. To what extent do students’ pre-conceptions of the disease, based on these media messages influence students’ development of conceptual understanding of the disease, its transmission and prevention? Of significant importance is the impact the conceptions students have developed from the indirect media messages on classroom instruction on HIV/AIDS. The study is based in a theoretical framework of conceptual change in science learning. An interpretive case study to determine the impact of Ugandan students’ conceptions or perceptions on classroom instruction about HIV/AIDS, involving 160 students aged 15-17, was conducted in four different Ugandan high schools: girls boarding, boys boarding, mixed boarding, and mixed day. Using questionnaires, focus group discussions, recorded biology lessons and informal interviews, students’ preconceptions of HIV/AIDS and how these impact lessons on HIV/AIDS were discerned. These preconceptions fall into four main categories: religious, political, conspiracy and traditional African worldviews. Results of data analysis suggest that students’ prior knowledge is persistent even after biology instructions. This has implications for current teaching approaches, which are mostly teacher-centred in Ugandan schools. A rethinking of the curriculum with the intent of offering science education programs that promote understanding of the science of HIV/AIDS as opposed to what is happening now—insensitivity to misconceptions about the disease—is needed.

Surgeons underestimate their influence on medical students entering surgery.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quillin 3rd, R.C.; Pritts, T.A.; Davis, B.R.; Hanseman, D.; Collins, J.M.; Athota, K.P.; Edwards, M.J.R.; Tevar, A.D.

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Positive surgical role models influence medical students to pursue a career in surgery. However, the perception by role models of their own effectiveness has yet to be examined. In this study, we evaluated the influence of surgical role models on medical student career choice, and how

[Clinical treatment adherence of health care workers and students exposed to potentially infectious biological material].

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Maria Cristina Mendes de; Canini, Silvia Rita Marin da Silva; Reis, Renata Karina; Toffano, Silmara Elaine Malaguti; Pereira, Fernanda Maria Vieira; Gir, Elucir

2015-04-01

To assess adherence to clinical appointments by health care workers (HCW) and students who suffered accidents with potentially infectious biological material. A retrospective cross-sectional study that assessed clinical records of accidents involving biological material between 2005 and 2010 in a specialized unit. A total of 461 individuals exposed to biological material were treated, of which 389 (84.4%) were HCWs and 72 (15.6%) students. Of the 461 exposed individuals, 307 (66.6%) attended a follow-up appointment. Individuals who had suffered an accident with a known source patient were 29 times more likely to show up to their scheduled follow-up appointments (OR: 29.98; CI95%: 16.09-55.83). The predictor in both univariate and multivariate analyses for adherence to clinical follow-up appointment was having a known source patient with nonreactive serology for the human immunodeficiency virus and/or hepatitis B and C.

[Modular enteral nutrition in pediatrics].

Science.gov (United States)

Murillo Sanchís, S; Prenafeta Ferré, M T; Sempere Luque, M D

1991-01-01

Modular Enteral Nutrition may be a substitute for Parenteral Nutrition in children with different pathologies. Study of 4 children with different pathologies selected from a group of 40 admitted to the Maternal-Childrens Hospital "Valle de Hebrón" in Barcelona, who received modular enteral nutrition. They were monitored on a daily basis by the Dietician Service. Modular enteral nutrition consists of modules of proteins, peptides, lipids, glucids and mineral salts-vitamins. 1.--Craneo-encephalic traumatisms with loss of consciousness, Feeding with a combination of parenteral nutrition and modular enteral nutrition for 7 days. In view of the tolerance and good results of the modular enteral nutrition, the parenteral nutrition was suspended and modular enteral nutrition alone used up to a total of 43 days. 2.--55% burns with 36 days of hyperproteic modular enteral nutrition together with normal feeding. A more rapid recovery was achieved with an increase in total proteins and albumin. 3.--Persistent diarrhoea with 31 days of modular enteral nutrition, 5 days on parenteral nutrition alone and 8 days on combined parenteral nutrition and modular enteral nutrition. In view of the tolerance and good results of the modular enteral nutrition, the parenteral nutrition was suspended. 4.--Mucoviscidosis with a total of 19 days on modular enteral nutrition, 12 of which were exclusively on modular enteral nutrition and 7 as a night supplement to normal feeding. We administered proteic intakes of up to 20% of the total calorific intake and in concentrations of up to 1.2 calories/ml of the final preparation, always with a good tolerance. Modular enteral nutrition can and should be used as a substitute for parenteral nutrition in children with different pathologies, thus preventing the complications inherent in parenteral nutrition.

Relations between Intuitive Biological Thinking and Biological Misconceptions in Biology Majors and Nonmajors

Science.gov (United States)

Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed "misconceptions," among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists…

Preparing Our Undergraduates to Enter a Cyber World

OpenAIRE

Schweitzer , Dino; Gibson , David; Bibighaus , David; Boleng , Jeff

2011-01-01

Part 2: WISE 7; International audience; Today’s students have grown up with computer-based technology and need to be prepared to enter a career in a digital world. This includes an understanding of the broader implications of technology such as the growing threat of cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism, cyber-ethics, the legal and social implications of technology, and the local and global impacts. At our institution, we have taken a broad look at ways of integrating cyber awareness and education ...

A statistical analysis of student questions in a cell biology laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Elena L; Polacek, Kelly M; Ingram, Ella L

2009-01-01

Asking questions is an essential component of the practice of science, but question-asking skills are often underemphasized in science education. In this study, we examined questions written by students as they prepared for laboratory exercises in a senior-level cell biology class. Our goals were to discover 1) what types of questions students asked about laboratory activities, 2) whether the types or quality of questions changed over time, and 3) whether the quality of questions or degree of improvement was related to academic performance. We found a majority of questions were about laboratory outcomes or seeking additional descriptive information about organisms or processes to be studied. Few questions earned the highest possible ranking, which required demonstration of extended thought, integration of information, and/or hypotheses and future experiments, although a majority of students asked such a question at least once. We found no correlation between types of student questions or improvement in questions and final grades. Only a small improvement in overall question quality was seen despite considerable practice at writing questions about science. Our results suggest that improving students' ability to generate higher-order questions may require specific pedagogical intervention.

Engaging Students in Authentic Microbiology Research in an Introductory Biology Laboratory Course is Correlated with Gains in Student Understanding of the Nature of Authentic Research and Critical Thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brittany J. Gasper

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Recent recommendations for biology education highlight the role of authentic research experiences early in undergraduate education as a means of increasing the number and quality of biology majors. These experiences will inform students on the nature of science, increase their confidence in doing science, as well as foster critical thinking skills, an area that has been lacking despite it being one of the desired outcomes at undergraduate institutions and with future employers. With these things in mind, we have developed an introductory biology laboratory course where students design and execute an authentic microbiology research project. Students in this course are assimilated into the community of researchers by engaging in scholarly activities such as participating in inquiry, reading scientific literature, and communicating findings in written and oral formats. After three iterations of a semester-long laboratory course, we found that students who took the course showed a significant increase in their understanding of the nature of authentic research and their level of critical thinking skills.

Monitoring undergraduate student needs and activities at Experimental Biology: APS pilot survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Nicole L; Ilatovskaya, Daria V; Matyas, Marsha L

2017-06-01

Life science professional societies play important roles for undergraduates in their fields and increasingly offer membership, fellowships, and awards for undergraduate students. However, the overall impacts of society-student interactions have not been well studied. Here, we sought to develop and test a pilot survey of undergraduate students to determine how they got involved in research and in presenting at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting, what they gained from the scientific and career development sessions at the meeting, and how the American Physiological Society (APS) can best support and engage undergraduate students. This survey was administered in 2014 and 2015 to undergraduate students who submitted physiology abstracts for and attended EB. More than 150 students responded (38% response rate). Respondents were demographically representative of undergraduate students majoring in life sciences in the United States. Most students (72%) became involved in research through a summer research program or college course. They attended a variety of EB sessions, including poster sessions and symposia, and found them useful. Undergraduate students interacted with established researchers at multiple venues. Students recommended that APS provide more research fellowships (25%) and keep in touch with students via both e-mail (46%) and social media (37%). Our results indicate that APS' EB undergraduate activities are valued by students and are effective in helping them have a positive scientific meeting experience. These results also guided the development of a more streamlined survey for use in future years. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Impact of Tactile-Cued Self-Monitoring on Independent Biology Work for Secondary Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Catherine; McDougall, Dennis; Black, Rhonda S.; King-Sears, Margaret E.

2014-01-01

Results from a multiple baseline with changing conditions design across high school students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) indicated that the students increased the percentage of independent work they completed in their general education biology class after learning tactile-cued self-monitoring. Students maintained high…

Pharmaceutical assistance in the enteral administration of drugs: choosing the appropriate pharmaceutical formulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gisele de Lima

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study solid medications for oral delivery on the formulary of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE, investigating the  possibility of using these drugs through enteral feeding tubes, and recommending appropriate administration. Methods: Study carried out through survey of solid medications for oral delivery included on the formulary of HIAE, literature review, and analysis of medication monographs, manufacturer information and pharmacotechnical data of active ingredients and excipients. It was observed the factors that might hinder or complicate the administration of these drugs though enteral tubes, and was drawn an information chart with recommendations about drug administration in this context. Rresults: The study evaluated 234 medications; and the main problems of administering these drugs through enteral feeding tubes were as follows: changes in drug pharmacokinetics (38; gastrointestinal damage (9; risk of obstruction (40, drug-nutrient interactions (7; biological hazards (5 and no information (33. Cconclusions: Compiling this information helps the healthcare team to choose the appropriate pharmaceutical formulation for medications administered through enteral tubes, and may help identify adverse events related to this technique.

Epigenetic Effects of Diet on Fruit Fly Lifespan: An Investigation to Teach Epigenetics to Biology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Billingsley, James; Carlson, Kimberly A.

2010-01-01

Do our genes exclusively control us, or are other factors at play? Epigenetics can provide a means for students to use inquiry-based methods to understand a complex biological concept. Students research and design an experiment testing whether dietary supplements affect the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster over multiple generations.

Practices and Exploration on Competition of Molecular Biological Detection Technology among Students in Food Quality and Safety Major

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yaning; Peng, Yuke; Li, Pengfei; Zhuang, Yingping

2017-01-01

With the increasing importance in the application of the molecular biological detection technology in the field of food safety, strengthening education in molecular biology experimental techniques is more necessary for the culture of the students in food quality and safety major. However, molecular biology experiments are not always in curricula…

Clinical treatment adherence of health care workers and students exposed to potentially infectious biological material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cristina Mendes de Almeida

2015-04-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To assess adherence to clinical appointments by health care workers (HCW and students who suffered accidents with potentially infectious biological material. METHOD A retrospective cross-sectional study that assessed clinical records of accidents involving biological material between 2005 and 2010 in a specialized unit. RESULTS A total of 461 individuals exposed to biological material were treated, of which 389 (84.4% were HCWs and 72 (15.6% students. Of the 461 exposed individuals, 307 (66.6% attended a follow-up appointment. Individuals who had suffered an accident with a known source patient were 29 times more likely to show up to their scheduled follow-up appointments (OR: 29.98; CI95%: 16.09-55.83. CONCLUSION The predictor in both univariate and multivariate analyses for adherence to clinical follow-up appointment was having a known source patient with nonreactive serology for the human immunodeficiency virus and/or hepatitis B and C.

The College Student and Marijuana: Research Findings Concerning Adverse Biological and Psychological Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholi, Armand M., Jr.

1983-01-01

This paper focuses on current knowledge about adverse biological and psychological affects of marijuana use, with special reference to risks for college students. Short-term effects on intellectual functioning and perceptual-motor coordination and long-term effects on reproduction and motivation are highlighted. (PP)

Strengthening cancer biology research, prevention, and control while reducing cancer disparities: student perceptions of a collaborative master's degree program in cancer biology, preventions, and control.

Science.gov (United States)

Jillson, I A; Cousin, C E; Blancato, J K

2013-09-01

This article provides the findings of a survey of previous and current students in the UDC/GU-LCCC master's degree program. This master's degree program, Cancer Biology, Prevention, and Control is administered and taught jointly by faculty of a Minority Serving Institution, the University of the District of Columbia, and the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to incorporate the strengths of a community-based school with a research intensive medical center. The program was initiated in 2008 through agreements with both University administrations and funding from the National Cancer Institute. The master's degree program is 36 credits with a focus on coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, tumor biology, cancer prevention, medical ethics, and cancer outreach program design. For two semesters during the second year, students work full-time with a faculty person on a laboratory or outreach project that is a requirement for graduation. Students are supported and encouraged to transition to a doctoral degree after they obtain the master's and many of them are currently in doctorate programs. Since the inception of the program, 45 students have initiated the course of study, 28 have completed the program, and 13 are currently enrolled in the program. The survey was designed to track the students in their current activities, as well as determine which courses, program enhancements, and research experiences were the least and most useful, and to discern students' perceptions of knowledge acquired on various aspects of Cancer Biology Prevention, and Control Master's Program. Thirty of the 35 individuals to whom email requests were sent responded to the survey, for a response rate of 85.7%. The results of this study will inform the strengthening of the Cancer Biology program by the Education Advisory Committee. They can also be used in the development of comparable collaborative master's degree programs designed to address the significant disparities in prevalence of

Students' Energy Understanding Across Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Opitz, S. T.; Neumann, K.; Bernholt, S.; Harms, U.

2017-07-01

Energy is considered both as a disciplinary core idea and as a concept cutting across science disciplines. Most previous approaches studied progressing energy understanding in specific disciplinary contexts, while disregarding the relation of understanding across them. Hence, this study provides a systematic analysis of cross-disciplinary energy learning. On the basis of a cross-sectional study with n = 742 students from grades 6, 8, and 10, we analyze students' progression in understanding energy across biology, chemistry, and physics contexts. The study is guided by three hypothetical scenarios that describe how the connection between energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts changes across grade levels. These scenarios are compared using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results suggest that, from grade 6 to grade 10, energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts is highly interrelated, thus indicating a parallel progression of energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts. In our study, students from grade 6 onwards appeared to have few problems to apply one energy understanding across the three disciplinary contexts. These findings were unexpected, as previous research concluded that students likely face difficulties in connecting energy learning across disciplinary boundaries. Potential reasons for these results and the characteristics of the observed cross-disciplinary energy understanding are discussed in the light of earlier findings and implications for future research, and the teaching of energy as a core idea and a crosscutting concept are addressed.

Increasing URM Undergraduate Student Success through Assessment-Driven Interventions: A Multiyear Study Using Freshman-Level General Biology as a Model System

Science.gov (United States)

Carmichael, Mary C.; St. Clair, Candace; Edwards, Andrea M.; Barrett, Peter; McFerrin, Harris; Davenport, Ian; Awad, Mohamed; Kundu, Anup; Ireland, Shubha Kale

2016-01-01

Xavier University of Louisiana leads the nation in awarding BS degrees in the biological sciences to African-American students. In this multiyear study with ~5500 participants, data-driven interventions were adopted to improve student academic performance in a freshman-level general biology course. The three hour-long exams were common and…

Why did I become a nurse? Personality traits and reasons for entering nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Eley, Diann; Eley, Rob; Bertello, Marisa; Rogers-Clark, Cath

2012-07-01

This article is a report of a mixed method study of the association between personality traits of nurses and their reasons for entering nursing. Background.  The worldwide nursing shortage prompts research into better understanding of why individuals enter nursing and may assist in exploring ways to increase their recruitment and long term retention. A mixed method sequential explanatory design employed semi-structured interviews and a validated personality inventory measuring temperament and character traits. Registered Nurses (n = 12) and nursing students (n = 11) working and studying in a regional area of Queensland Australia were purposively sampled for the interviews in 2010 from their participation in the survey in 2009 investigating their personality traits. Qualitative data collection stopped at saturation. A thematic content analysis of the qualitative data using the framework approach was interpreted alongside their personality trait profiles. Two dominant themes were identified from the participant interviews about reasons for entering nursing; 'opportunity for caring' and 'my vocation in life'. These themes were congruent with key temperament and character traits measured in the participants. All nurses and students were very high in traits that exude empathy and altruistic ideals regardless of other characteristics which included highly pragmatic and self-serving principles. Qualitative and quantitative findings suggest that a caring nature is a principal quality of the nursing personality. Recruitment and retention strategies whilst promoting multiple benefits for the profession should not forget that the prime impetus for entering nursing is the opportunity to care for others. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Critical thinking skills profile of senior high school students in Biology learning

Science.gov (United States)

Saputri, A. C.; Sajidan; Rinanto, Y.

2018-04-01

Critical thinking is an important and necessary skill to confront the challenges of the 21st century. Critical thinking skills accommodate activities that can improve high-order thinking skills. This study aims to determine senior high school students' critical thinking skills in Biology learning. This research is descriptive research using instruments developed based on the core aspects of critical thinking skills according to Facione which include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, explanation, conclusion, and self-regulation. The subjects in this study were 297 students in grade 12 of a senior high school in Surakarta selected through purposive sampling technique. The results of this study showed that the students' critical thinking skills on evaluation and self-regulation are in good criterion with 78% and 66% acquisition while 52% interpretation, 56% analysis, 52% conclusion and 42% explanation indicate sufficient criteria. The conclusion from this research is that critical thinking skill of the students still was in enough category, so that needed a way to enhance it on some indicators.

Toward High School Biology: Helping Middle School Students Understand Chemical Reactions and Conservation of Mass in Nonliving and Living Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann-Abell, Cari F; Koppal, Mary; Roseman, Jo Ellen

2016-01-01

Modern biology has become increasingly molecular in nature, requiring students to understand basic chemical concepts. Studies show, however, that many students fail to grasp ideas about atom rearrangement and conservation during chemical reactions or the application of these ideas to biological systems. To help provide students with a better foundation, we used research-based design principles and collaborated in the development of a curricular intervention that applies chemistry ideas to living and nonliving contexts. Six eighth grade teachers and their students participated in a test of the unit during the Spring of 2013. Two of the teachers had used an earlier version of the unit the previous spring. The other four teachers were randomly assigned either to implement the unit or to continue teaching the same content using existing materials. Pre- and posttests were administered, and the data were analyzed using Rasch modeling and hierarchical linear modeling. The results showed that, when controlling for pretest score, gender, language, and ethnicity, students who used the curricular intervention performed better on the posttest than the students using existing materials. Additionally, students who participated in the intervention held fewer misconceptions. These results demonstrate the unit's promise in improving students' understanding of the targeted ideas. © 2016 C. F. Herrmann-Abell et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Effects of a Behavioral Metacognitive Task in High School Biology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Sussan, Danielle

Three studies were conducted to examine the effects of a behavioral metacognitive technique on lessening students' illusions of learning. It was proposed that students' study time strategies, and consequently, final performance on a test, in a classroom setting, could be influenced positively by having students engage in metacognitive processing via making wagers regarding their learning. A novel metacognitive paradigm was implemented in three studies during which high school Biology students made prospective (during study, prior to test) metacognitive judgments, using a "betting" paradigm. This behavioral betting paradigm asked students to select either "high confidence" or "low confidence" based on how confident they felt that they would get a Biology concept correct if they were tested later. If a student chose "high confidence" and got the answer right on a later test, then he would gain 3 points. If he chose "high confidence" and got the answer wrong, he would lose 3 points. If a student chose "low confidence," he would gain one point, regardless of accuracy. Students then made study time allocation decisions by choosing whether they needed to study a particular concept "a lot more," "a little more," or "not at all." Afterwards, students had three minutes to study whichever terms they selected for any duration during those three minutes. Finally, a performance test was administered. The results showed that people are generally good at monitoring their own knowledge, in that students performed better on items judged with high confidence bets than on items judged with low confidence bets. Data analyses compared students' Study time Intentions, Actual Study Time, and Accuracy at final test for those who were required to bet versus those who were not. Results showed that students for whom bets were required tended to select relatively longer study than for whom no bets were required. That is, the intentions of those who bet were less overconfident than those who

Bacteriophages as indicators of faecal pollution and enteric virus removal.

Science.gov (United States)

McMinn, B R; Ashbolt, N J; Korajkic, A

2017-07-01

Bacteriophages are an attractive alternative to faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), particularly as surrogates of enteric virus fate and transport, due to their closer morphological and biological properties. Based on a review of published data, we summarize densities of coliphages (F+ and somatic), Bacteroides spp. and enterococci bacteriophages (phages) in individual human waste, raw wastewater, ambient fresh and marine waters and removal through wastewater treatment processes utilizing traditional treatments. We also provide comparisons with FIB and enteric viruses whenever possible. Lastly, we examine fate and transport characteristics in the aquatic environment and provide an overview of the environmental factors affecting their survival. In summary, concentrations of bacteriophages in various sources were consistently lower than FIB, but more reflective of infectious enteric virus levels. Overall, our investigation indicates that bacteriophages may be adequate viral surrogates, especially in built systems, such as wastewater treatment plants. Bacteriophage are alternative fecal indicators that may be better surrogates for viral pathogens than fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). This report offers a summary of the existing literature concerning the utility of bacteriophage as indicators of viral presence (fecal sources and surface waters) and persistence (in built infrastructure and aquatic environments). Our findings indicate that bacteriophage levels in all matrices examined are consistently lower than FIB, but similar to viral pathogens. Furthermore, in built infrastructure (e.g. wastewater treatment systems) bacteriophage closely mimic viral pathogen persistence suggesting they may be adequate sentinels of enteric virus removal. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

A first attempt to bring computational biology into advanced high school biology classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Suzanne Renick; Coon, William; Donley, Kristin; Scott, Abby; Goldberg, Debra S

2011-10-01

Computer science has become ubiquitous in many areas of biological research, yet most high school and even college students are unaware of this. As a result, many college biology majors graduate without adequate computational skills for contemporary fields of biology. The absence of a computational element in secondary school biology classrooms is of growing concern to the computational biology community and biology teachers who would like to acquaint their students with updated approaches in the discipline. We present a first attempt to correct this absence by introducing a computational biology element to teach genetic evolution into advanced biology classes in two local high schools. Our primary goal was to show students how computation is used in biology and why a basic understanding of computation is necessary for research in many fields of biology. This curriculum is intended to be taught by a computational biologist who has worked with a high school advanced biology teacher to adapt the unit for his/her classroom, but a motivated high school teacher comfortable with mathematics and computing may be able to teach this alone. In this paper, we present our curriculum, which takes into consideration the constraints of the required curriculum, and discuss our experiences teaching it. We describe the successes and challenges we encountered while bringing this unit to high school students, discuss how we addressed these challenges, and make suggestions for future versions of this curriculum.We believe that our curriculum can be a valuable seed for further development of computational activities aimed at high school biology students. Further, our experiences may be of value to others teaching computational biology at this level. Our curriculum can be obtained at http://ecsite.cs.colorado.edu/?page_id=149#biology or by contacting the authors.

Interest in STEM is contagious for students in biology, chemistry, and physics classes

Science.gov (United States)

Hazari, Zahra; Potvin, Geoff; Cribbs, Jennifer D.; Godwin, Allison; Scott, Tyler D.; Klotz, Leidy

2017-01-01

We report on a study of the effect of peers’ interest in high school biology, chemistry, and physics classes on students’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)–related career intentions and course achievement. We define an interest quorum as a science class where students perceive a high level of interest for the subject matter from their classmates. We hypothesized that students who experience such an interest quorum are more likely to choose STEM careers. Using data from a national survey study of students‘ experiences in high school science, we compared the effect of five levels of peer interest reported in biology, chemistry, and physics courses on students‘ STEM career intentions. The results support our hypothesis, showing a strong, positive effect of an interest quorum even after controlling for differences between students that pose competing hypotheses such as previous STEM career interest, academic achievement, family support for mathematics and science, and gender. Smaller positive effects of interest quorums were observed for course performance in some cases, with no detrimental effects observed across the study. Last, significant effects persisted even after controlling for differences in teaching quality. This work emphasizes the likely importance of interest quorums for creating classroom environments that increase students’ intentions toward STEM careers while enhancing or maintaining course performance. PMID:28808678

On the Concept of "Respiration": Biology Student Teachers' Cognitive Structures and Alternative Conceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt, Hakan; Ekici, Gulay; Aktas, Murat; Aksu, Ozlem

2013-01-01

In researches, the subject of respiration has been determined to be among subjects about whom participants from all educational levels struggle to form their cognitive structures and have many alternative conceptions. This research was carried out in order to determine biology student teachers' cognitive structures and alternative conceptions…

Combined enteral and parenteral nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wernerman, Jan

2012-03-01

To review and discuss the evidence and arguments to combine enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition in the ICU, in particular with reference to the Early Parenteral Nutrition Completing Enteral Nutrition in Adult Critically Ill Patients (EPaNIC) study. The EPaNIC study shows an advantage in terms of discharges alive from the ICU when parenteral nutrition is delayed to day 8 as compared with combining enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition from day 3 of ICU stay. The difference between the guidelines from the European Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition in Europe and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition/Society of Critical Care Medicine in North America concerning the combination of enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition during the initial week of ICU stay was reviewed. The EPaNIC study clearly demonstrates that early parenteral nutrition in the ICU is not in the best interests of most patients. Exactly at what time point the combination of enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition should be considered is still an open question.

The effect of graphic organizers on students' attitudes and academic performance in undergraduate general biology

Science.gov (United States)

Cleveland, Lacy

High attrition among undergraduate Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors has led national and business leaders in the United States to call for both research and educational reform within the collegiate STEM classrooms. Included among suggestions for reform are ideas to improve retention of first-year students and to improve critical thinking and depth of knowledge, instead of covering large quantities of materials. Past research on graphic organizers suggest these tools assist students in learning information and facilitate conceptual and critical thinking. Despite their widespread use in high school science departments, collegiate humanities departments, and even medical schools, their use is considerably less prevalent in the undergraduate biology classroom. In addition to their lack of use, little research has been conducted on their academic benefits in the collegiate classroom. Based on national calls for improving retention among undergraduate STEM majors and research suggesting that academic success during an individual first major's related course highly determine if that individual will continue on in their intended major, the researcher of this dissertation chose to conduct research on an introductory general biology class. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research in this dissertation examines the effectiveness of graphic organizers in promoting academic success and also examines their influence on student attitudes. This research is grounded in the theories of constructivism and cognitive load theory. Constructivism suggests that individuals must build their knowledge from their personal experiences, while the cognitive load theory recognizes the limited nature of one's working memory and suggests that instructional practices minimize cognitive overload. The results of this dissertation suggest that the use of graphic organizers in an undergraduate general biology classroom can increase students' academic

The enter-educate approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrow, P T; Coleman, P L

1992-03-01

This article describes how the Population Communication Services (PCS) has seized on the "enter-educate" approach, the blending of popular entertainment with social messages, to change reproductive health behavior. The enter-educate approach spreads its message through songs, soap operas, variety shows, and other types of popular entertainment mediums. Because they entertain, enter-educate projects can capture the attention of an audience -- such as young people -- who would otherwise scorn social messages. And the use of population mediums makes it possible to reach a variety of audiences. Funded by USAID, PCS began its first enter-educate project in response to the increasing number of teenage pregnancies in Latin America. PCS developed 2 songs and videos, which featured popular teenage singers to serve as role models, to urge abstinence. The songs became instant hits. Since then, PCS has mounted more then 80 major projects in some 40 countries. Highlights of programs range from a successful multi-media family planning campaign in Turkey to humorous television ads in Brazil promoting vasectomy. Recently, PCS initiated projects to teach AIDS awareness. At the core of the enter-educate approach is the social learning theory which holds that much behavior is learned through the observation of role-models. Health professionals work alongside entertainers to produce works that have audience appeal and factual social messages. The enter-educate approach works because it is popular, pervasive, personal, persuasive, and profitable. PCS has found that enter-educate programs pay for themselves through cost sharing and cost recovery.

Virtual fetal pig dissection as an agent of knowledge acquisition and attitudinal change in female high school biology students

Science.gov (United States)

Maloney, Rebecca Scudari

One way to determine if all students can learn through the use of computers is to introduce a lesson taught completely via computers and compare the results with those gained when the same lesson is taught in a traditional manner. This study attempted to determine if a virtual fetal pig dissection can be used as a viable alternative for an actual dissection for females enrolled in high school biology classes by comparing the knowledge acquisition and attitudinal change between the experimental (virtual dissection) and control (actual dissection) groups. Two hundred and twenty-four students enrolled in biology classes in a suburban all-girl parochial high school participated in this study. Female students in an all-girl high school were chosen because research shows differences in science competency and computer usage between the genders that may mask the performance of females on computer-based tasks in a science laboratory exercise. Students who completed the virtual dissection scored significantly higher on practical test and objective tests that were used to measure knowledge acquisition. Attitudinal change was measured by examining the students' attitudes toward dissections, computer usage in the classroom, and toward biology both before and after the dissections using pre and post surveys. Significant results in positive gain scores were found in the virtual dissection group's attitude toward dissections, and their negative gain score toward virtual dissections. Attitudinal changes toward computers and biology were not significant. A purposefully selected sample of the students were interviewed, in addition to gathering a sample of the students' daily dissection journals, as data highlighting their thoughts and feelings about their dissection experience. Further research is suggested to determine if a virtual laboratory experience can be a substitute for actual dissections, or may serve as an enhancement to an actual dissection.

Integrating Quantitative Thinking into an Introductory Biology Course Improves Students’ Mathematical Reasoning in Biological Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, Susan; Buxner, Sanlyn; Elfring, Lisa; Nagy, Lisa

2014-01-01

Recent calls for improving undergraduate biology education have emphasized the importance of students learning to apply quantitative skills to biological problems. Motivated by students’ apparent inability to transfer their existing quantitative skills to biological contexts, we designed and taught an introductory molecular and cell biology course in which we integrated application of prerequisite mathematical skills with biology content and reasoning throughout all aspects of the course. In this paper, we describe the principles of our course design and present illustrative examples of course materials integrating mathematics and biology. We also designed an outcome assessment made up of items testing students’ understanding of biology concepts and their ability to apply mathematical skills in biological contexts and administered it as a pre/postcourse test to students in the experimental section and other sections of the same course. Precourse results confirmed students’ inability to spontaneously transfer their prerequisite mathematics skills to biological problems. Pre/postcourse outcome assessment comparisons showed that, compared with students in other sections, students in the experimental section made greater gains on integrated math/biology items. They also made comparable gains on biology items, indicating that integrating quantitative skills into an introductory biology course does not have a deleterious effect on students’ biology learning. PMID:24591504

Epidemiological profile of work-related accidents with biological exposure among medical students in a surgical emergency room.

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, Phillipe Geraldo Teixeira de Abreu; Driessen, Anna Luiza; da Costa, Ana Claudia Brenner Affonso; Nasr, Adonis; Collaço, Iwan Augusto; Tomasich, Flávio Daniel Saavedra

2013-01-01

To evaluate the accidents with biological material among medical students interning in a trauma emergency room and identify key related situations, attributed causes and prevention. we conducted a study with a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire applied via internet, with closed, multiple-choice questions regarding accidents with biological material. The sample comprised 100 students. thirty-two had accidents with biological material. Higher-risk activities were local anesthesia (39.47%), suture (18.42%) and needle recapping (15.79%). The main routes of exposure to biological material were the eyes or mucosa, with 34%, and syringe needle puncture, with 45%. After contamination, only 52% reported the accident to the responsible department. The main causes of accidents and routes of exposure found may be attributed to several factors, such as lack of training and failure to use personal protective equipment. Educational and preventive actions are extremely important to reduce the incidence of accidents with biological materials and improve the conduct of post-exposure. It is important to understand the main causes attributed and situations related, so as general and effective measures can be applied.

Enteral Feeding in Abdominal Compartment Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye. V Grigoryev

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to substantiate the choice of a gastrointestinal tract (GIT function support regimen as a mode for correction of the abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS. Subjects and methods. Forty-three patients with different causes of inadequate GIT function of various origin and ACS (disseminated peritonitis (45%, pancreatitis (24%, and severe concomitant injury (31% were examined. Group 1 (control received complete parenteral nutritional feeding (n=23; APACHE II scores, 21±4; calculated probability of fatal outcome, 33.5%. In Group II (study, complete parenteral feeding in the first 24 hours after stabilization was supplemented with GIT function support with Pepsisorb (Nutricia in doses of 500, 1000, and 1500 ml on days 1, 2, and 3, respectively (n=20; APACHE II scores, 20±6; calculated probability of fatal outcome, 37.1%. During early enteral nutritional support, the SOFA score was significantly less than that in Group 1 on days 2—3; the oxygenation index significantly increased on day 3; the value of intra-abdominal hypertension decreased to the control values. The positive effect of the GIT function support regimen on regression of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS was confirmed by the lowered levels of biological markers (von Willebrand factor (WF and endothelin-1 as markers of endothelial damage of MODS. Correlation analysis showed a direct correlation between the markers of endothelial damage and the SOFA scores (r=0.34; p=0.05 for WF and r=0.49;p=0.03 for endothelin. Conclusion. The GIT function support regimen via early enteral alimentation with Peptisorb, which was initiated in the first 24 hours after admission, is able to level off the manifestations of the early stages of the abdominal compartment syndrome, with the acceptable values of oxygen balance and water-electrolyte and osmotic homeostasis being achieved. Key words: abdominal compartment syndrome, nutritional support, biological markers, oxygenation index

The teach-learning process of high school students: a case of Educational Biology for teachers formation

OpenAIRE

Marisa Laporta Chudo; Maria Cecília Sonzogno

2007-01-01

Objective. To analyze the teach-learning process of high school students, in the scope of Educational Biology. To plan and to develop a methodology with lesson strategies that facilitate the learning. To analyze, in the students vision, the positive and negative points in the process. Method. A research was developed -- of which had participated students of the first semester of the Pedagogy of a high school private institution in São Paulo city -- of the type action-research, with increased ...

A Case-Based Scenario with Interdisciplinary Guided-Inquiry in Chemistry and Biology: Experiences of First Year Forensic Science Students

Science.gov (United States)

Cresswell, Sarah L.; Loughlin, Wendy A.

2017-01-01

In this paper, insight into forensic science students' experiences of a case-based scenario with an interdisciplinary guided-inquiry experience in chemistry and biology is presented. Evaluation of student experiences and interest showed that the students were engaged with all aspects of the case-based scenario, including the curriculum theory…

Environmental Learning Workshop: Lichen as Biological Indicator of Air Quality and Impact on Secondary Students' Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Samsudin, Mohd Wahid; Daik, Rusli; Abas, Azlan; Meerah, T. Subahan Mohd; Halim, Lilia

2013-01-01

In this study, the learning of science outside the classroom is believe to be an added value to science learning as well as it offers students to interact with the environment. This study presents data obtained from two days' workshop on Lichen as Biological Indicator for Air Quality. The aim of the workshop is for the students to gain an…

Enteric Protozoa in the Developed World: a Public Health Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Stephanie M.; Stark, Damien; Harkness, John

2012-01-01

Summary: Several enteric protozoa cause severe morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals worldwide. In developed settings, enteric protozoa are often ignored as a cause of diarrheal illness due to better hygiene conditions, and as such, very little effort is used toward laboratory diagnosis. Although these protozoa contribute to the high burden of infectious diseases, estimates of their true prevalence are sometimes affected by the lack of sensitive diagnostic techniques to detect them in clinical and environmental specimens. Despite recent advances in the epidemiology, molecular biology, and treatment of protozoan illnesses, gaps in knowledge still exist, requiring further research. There is evidence that climate-related changes will contribute to their burden due to displacement of ecosystems and human and animal populations, increases in atmospheric temperature, flooding and other environmental conditions suitable for transmission, and the need for the reuse of alternative water sources to meet growing population needs. This review discusses the common enteric protozoa from a public health perspective, highlighting their epidemiology, modes of transmission, prevention, and control. It also discusses the potential impact of climate changes on their epidemiology and the issues surrounding waterborne transmission and suggests a multidisciplinary approach to their prevention and control. PMID:22763633

[Knowledge and adherence to bio-safety measures and biological accidents by nursing students during their clinical practice].

Science.gov (United States)

Merino-de la Hoz, Felicitas; Durá-Ros, María Jesús; Rodríguez-Martín, Elías; González-Gómez, Silvia; Mariano López-López, Luis; Abajas-Bustillo, Rebeca; de la Horra-Gutiérrez, Inmaculada

2010-01-01

To identify the degree of knowledge and performance of bio-safety measures by nursing students and knowing the type of biological accidents suffered during their clinical practice. A cross-sectional study was conducted on the students of three Nursing courses held in May of 2008. Data was collected by an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, with a return of 54%. A total of 97% of students seemed to know the standard biosafety measures, and all of them (100%) stated that those measures must be applied to every patient. However, the reality of clinical practice shows that biosafety measures are only partially applied. An average of 60.2% implement the personal hygiene measures, 66.1% use physical barriers, and 44% use sharp materials safely. Around 32.25% of the students have suffered some biological accident, with a greater incidence in the second year: administering injections (24%), drawing blood samples with Venojet needles (18%) and recapping used needles (17%). The high level of knowledge shown by the students on standard precautions is not always shown in clinical practice. There are significant deficiencies in student safety practices: recapping of used needles continues to be one of the most common risk practices carried out. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Difficulty and Format of Exams Predicts Gender and Socioeconomic Gaps in Exam Performance of Students in Introductory Biology Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Christian D; Eddy, Sarah L; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Abshire, Elizabeth; Blankenbiller, Margaret; Brownell, Sara E

2016-01-01

Recent reform efforts in undergraduate biology have recommended transforming course exams to test at more cognitively challenging levels, which may mean including more cognitively challenging and more constructed-response questions on assessments. However, changing the characteristics of exams could result in bias against historically underserved groups. In this study, we examined whether and to what extent the characteristics of instructor-generated tests impact the exam performance of male and female and middle/high- and low-socioeconomic status (SES) students enrolled in introductory biology courses. We collected exam scores for 4810 students from 87 unique exams taken across 3 yr of the introductory biology series at a large research university. We determined the median Bloom's level and the percentage of constructed-response questions for each exam. Despite controlling for prior academic ability in our models, we found that males and middle/high-SES students were disproportionately favored as the Bloom's level of exams increased. Additionally, middle/high-SES students were favored as the proportion of constructed-response questions on exams increased. Given that we controlled for prior academic ability, our findings do not likely reflect differences in academic ability level. We discuss possible explanations for our findings and how they might impact how we assess our students. © 2016 C. D. Wright, S. L. Eddy, et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Mathematical modeling of biological processes

CERN Document Server

Friedman, Avner

2014-01-01

This book on mathematical modeling of biological processes includes a wide selection of biological topics that demonstrate the power of mathematics and computational codes in setting up biological processes with a rigorous and predictive framework. Topics include: enzyme dynamics, spread of disease, harvesting bacteria, competition among live species, neuronal oscillations, transport of neurofilaments in axon, cancer and cancer therapy, and granulomas. Complete with a description of the biological background and biological question that requires the use of mathematics, this book is developed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with only basic knowledge of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations; background in biology is not required. Students will gain knowledge on how to program with MATLAB without previous programming experience and how to use codes in order to test biological hypothesis.

A comparison of hands-on inquiry instruction to lectureinstruction with special needs high school biology students

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen-Ruopp, Helga Spitko

A comparison of hands-on inquiry instruction with lecture instruction was presented to 134 Patterns and Process Biology students. Students participated in seven biology lessons that were selected from Biology Survey of Living Things (1992). A pre and post paper and pencil assessment was used as the data collecting instrument. The treatment group was taught using hands-on inquiry strategies while the non-treatment group was taught in the lecture method of instruction. The team teaching model was used as the mode of presentation to the treatment group and the non-treatment group. Achievement levels using specific criterion; novice (0% to 50%), developing proficiency (51% to 69%), accomplished (70% to 84) and exceptional or mastery level (85% to 100%) were used as a guideline to tabulate the results of the pre and post assessment. Rubric tabulation was done to interpret the testing results. The raw data was plotted using percentage change in test score totals versus reading level score by gender as well as percentage change in test score totals versus auditory vocabulary score by gender. Box Whisker plot comparative descriptive of individual pre and post test scores for the treatment and non-treatment group was performed. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using MINITAB Statistical Software version 14.11 was run on data of the seven lessons, as well as on gender (male results individual and combined, and female results individual and combined) results. Normal Probability Plots for total scores as well as individual test scores were performed. The results suggest that hands-on inquiry based instruction when presented to special needs students including; at-risk; English as a second language limited, English proficiency and special education inclusive students' learning may enhance individual student achievement.

To Fly or Not to Fly: Teaching Advanced Secondary School Students about Principles of Flight in Biological Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pietsch, Renée B.; Bohland, Cynthia L.; Schmale, David G., III.

2015-01-01

Biological flight mechanics is typically taught in graduate level college classes rather than in secondary school classes. We developed an interdisciplinary unit for advanced upper-level secondary school students (ages 15-18) to teach the principles of flight and applications to biological systems. This unit capitalised on the tremendous…

Characterising the development of the understanding of human body systems in high-school biology students - a longitudinal study

Science.gov (United States)

Snapir, Zohar; Eberbach, Catherine; Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, Orit; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy; Tripto, Jaklin

2017-10-01

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated using the Components Mechanisms Phenomena (CMP) framework for conceptual representation. We coded and analysed the repertory grid personal constructs of 67 high-school biology students at 4 points throughout the study. Our data analysis builds on the assumption that systems understanding entails a perception of all the system categories, including structures within the system (its Components), specific processes and interactions at the macro and micro levels (Mechanisms), and the Phenomena that present the macro scale of processes and patterns within a system. Our findings suggest that as the learning process progressed, the systems understanding of our students became more advanced, moving forward within each of the major CMP categories. Moreover, there was an increase in the mechanism complexity presented by the students, manifested by more students describing mechanisms at the molecular level. Thus, the 'mechanism' category and the micro level are critical components that enable students to understand system-level phenomena such as homeostasis.

Representations of homosexuality and prejudice against homosexuals of college students in a course in biology education in Mozambique

OpenAIRE

Nota, Juvencio Manuel

2014-01-01

This article analyzes the representations (explanations) of future biology teachers about the nature of homosexuality and the type of prejudice expressed against homosexuals. For this we applied questionnaires to 127 students of both sexes from first to fourth year biology course in Pedagogical University in Maputo. The results showed a bipolar representation of homosexuality reasoned explanations psychosocial and biological, but also a widespread prejudice. The analysis of the type of anchor...

The Effect of Using Evolution Textbook Based on ICT and Metacognitive on Cognitive Competence of Biology Students at State University of Padang

Science.gov (United States)

Helendra, H.; Fadilah, M.; Arsih, F.

2018-04-01

Implementation of evolution lectures at Biology Department Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences State University of Padang has been considered not optimal. The reasons are the limited availability of textbooks and students' learning attitudes. Because currently the students are very familiar with the internet and even has become a necessity, it has developed textbooks of evolution based on ICT and metacognitive. Selection of ICT based is in order to optimize the utilization of multimedia, and this is very compatible with the development of learning technology. While metacognitive based is in order to train students' learning attitudes to be able to think analysis, creative and evaluative. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the use of evolution textbooks based on ICT and metacognitive to the cognitive competence of students of Biology Department State University of Padang. The data of this research is students' cognitive competence obtained from the implementation of effectiveness test of evolution textbook in the form of student learning outcomes. The research instrument is a learning result test designed to determine students’ cognitive competence. The subject of the study is a group of students in evolution course consisting of 33 students. Lectures are conducted through face-to-face and online lectures on Edmodo’s platform. The result of data analysis shows that there is an increase of cognitive competence of biology students after learning using ICT and metacognitive based evolution textbook, where average achievement is 77.72 with Percentage of achievement of criteria mastery is 81.25%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the evolution textbook based on ICT and metacognitive is effective in improving cognitive competence of students of Biology Department, Universitas Negeri Padang.

PENGEMBANGAN PENUNTUN PRAKTIKUM BIOLOGI UMUM BERBASIS INKUIRI TERBIMBING MAHASISWA BIOLOGI STKIP PAYAKUMBUH

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Sri Nengsi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available One of supporting the implementation of the practicum is the practical guidence. To increase motivation, activities, and learning outcomes it is used inquiry based practical guide for students are invited to experiment with doing practical activities with scientific. The purpose of this study was to reveal the validity, practicalities, and guiding the resulting effectiveness of guidence inquiry based on the general biology lesson for students of biology education STKIP Payakumbuh. This research is the development of Plomp development model which consists of three phases: problem identification and needs analysis, design development and implementation, evaluation. The results of this study indicate that the development of practical guidance guided inquiry based general biology for students of biology education STKIP Payakumbuh valid, practically and effectively.

Students' Understanding of Conditional Probability on Entering University

Science.gov (United States)

Reaburn, Robyn

2013-01-01

An understanding of conditional probability is essential for students of inferential statistics as it is used in Null Hypothesis Tests. Conditional probability is also used in Bayes' theorem, in the interpretation of medical screening tests and in quality control procedures. This study examines the understanding of conditional probability of…

Using Neural Network and Logistic Regression Analysis to Predict Prospective Mathematics Teachers' Academic Success upon Entering Graduate Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadir, Elif

2016-01-01

The ability to predict the success of students when they enter a graduate program is critical for educational institutions because it allows them to develop strategic programs that will help improve students' performances during their stay at an institution. In this study, we present the results of an experimental comparison study of Logistic…

The Effects of Case-Based Instruction on Undergraduate Biology Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Burniston, Amy Lucinda

Undergraduate science education is currently seeing a dramatic pedagogical push towards teaching the philosophies underpinning science as well as an increase in strategies that employ active learning. Many active learning strategies stem from constructivist ideals and have been shown to affect a student's understanding of how science operates and its impact on society- commonly referred to as the nature of science (NOS). One particular constructivist teaching strategy, case-based instruction (CBI), has been recommended by researchers and science education reformists as an effective instructional strategy for teaching NOS. Furthermore, when coupled with explicit-reflective instruction, CBI has been found to significantly increasing understanding of NOS in elementary and secondary students. However, few studies aimed their research on CBI and NOS towards higher education. Thus, this study uses a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design to study the effects of CBI on undergraduate science students understandings of NOS. Undergraduate biology student's understanding of NOS were assessed using the Views of Science Education (VOSE) instrument pre and post CBI intervention in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Data analysis indicated statistically significant differences between students NOS scores in experimental versus control sections for both courses, with experimental groups obtaining higher posttest scores. The results of this study indicate that undergraduate male and female students have similarly poor understandings of NOS and the use of historical case based instruction can be used as a means to increase undergraduate understanding of NOS.

Variation in Citational Practice in a Corpus of Student Biology Papers: From Parenthetical Plonking to Intertextual Storytelling

Science.gov (United States)

Swales, John M.

2014-01-01

This is a corpus-based study of a key aspect of academic writing in one discipline (biology) by final-year undergraduates and first-, second-, and third-year graduate students. The papers come from the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers, a freely available electronic database. The principal aim of the study is to examine the extent of…

Virtual Transgenics: Using a Molecular Biology Simulation to Impact Student Academic Achievement and Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Shegog, Ross; Lazarus, Melanie M.; Murray, Nancy G.; Diamond, Pamela M.; Sessions, Nathalie; Zsigmond, Eva

2012-01-01

The transgenic mouse model is useful for studying the causes and potential cures for human genetic diseases. Exposing high school biology students to laboratory experience in developing transgenic animal models is logistically prohibitive. Computer-based simulation, however, offers this potential in addition to advantages of fidelity and reach.…

PROFIL KESADARAN DAN STRATEGI METAKOGNISI MAHASISWA BARU PENDIDIKAN BIOLOGI FAKULTAS KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN UNIVERSITAS ISLAM RIAU PEKANBARU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Amnah S.

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Telah dilakukan penelitian survai terhadap mahasiswa baru Pendidikan Biologi FKIP UIR tahun ajaran 2013/2014 untuk mengetahui profil kesadaran dan strategi  metakognitifnya. Populasi penelitian adalah mahasiswa baru Pend. Biologi tahun ajaran 2013/2014 sebanyak 6 kelas paralel. Sampel yang digunakan sebanyak 77% dari total populasi mahasiswa.  Dengan analisis deskriptif menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa yang masuk dalam kategori Masih belum berkembang (MBB telah tidak ada (0 %. Sebanyak 3,24% mahasiswa masuk dalam kategori belum begitu berkembang (BBB; 25,41% mahasiswa masuk ke dalam kategori mulai berkembang (MB; 62,70%  masuk ke dalam kategori sudah berkembang baik (SBB atau OK; dan 8,65% mahasiswa masuk pada kategori super atau berkembang sangat baik. Sebanyak 39,45% telah dilatihkan menggunakan strategi metakognitif dalam belajar seperti membuat ringkasan (26,5%, menggaris bawahi bacaan (8,65%,membuat peta konsep (6,48%, dan membuat jembatan keledai/ titian ingatan (1,08%. A research survey among new students of Biology Faculty of Teacher Education UIR academic year 2013/2014 to determine the profile and awareness of metacognitive strategies. The study population was a new student Pend. Biology of the school year 2013/2014 as much as 6 parallel classes. The sample used by 77% of the total student population. With descriptive analysis showed that students who fall into the category of still undeveloped (MBB has no (0%. A total of 3.24% of students in the category of less developed (BBB; 25.41% of students fall into the category began to grow (MB; 62.70% belong to the category are well developed (SBB or OK; and 8.65% of students entered in the category of super or growing very well. A total of 39.45% has been trained in the use of metacognitive learning strategies such as preparing a summary (26.5%, underlining the reading (8.65%, create a concept map (6.48%, and create mnemonics / memory bridge (1.08%.

Promoting Student Inquiry Using "Zea Mays" (Corn) Cultivars for Hypothesis-Driven Experimentation in a Majors Introductory Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, Amy C.; Peters, Brenda J.; Bendixen, Conrad W.

2014-01-01

The AAAS Vision and Change report (2011) recommends incorporating student research experiences into the biology curriculum at the undergraduate level. This article describes, in detail, how "Zea mays" (corn) cultivars were used as a model for a hypothesis-driven short-term research project in an introductory biology course at a small…

Characterising the Development of the Understanding of Human Body Systems in High-School Biology Students--A Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

Snapir, Zohar; Eberbach, Catherine; Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, Orit; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy; Tripto, Jaklin

2017-01-01

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated…

Student Counselling at Utrecht University

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herfs, Paul

1995-01-01

The enormous increase in the number of students at Dutch universities in the sixties and seventies made it impossible for professors to deal with the many different questions students confronted them with. New professionals, student counsellors/psychologists and student advisers entered the

76 FR 50198 - Committee on Measures of Student Success

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-12

...-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in meeting the completion or graduation rate... completion or graduation rates of entering certificate/ degree-seeking, full-time, undergraduate students by... graduation rates of entering degree-seeking full-time undergraduate students and that consider the mission...

Cognitive Difficulty and Format of Exams Predicts Gender and Socioeconomic Gaps in Exam Performance of Students in Introductory Biology Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Christian D.; Eddy, Sarah L.; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Abshire, Elizabeth; Blankenbiller, Margaret; Brownell, Sara E.

2016-01-01

Recent reform efforts in undergraduate biology have recommended transforming course exams to test at more cognitively challenging levels, which may mean including more cognitively challenging and more constructed-response questions on assessments. However, changing the characteristics of exams could result in bias against historically underserved groups. In this study, we examined whether and to what extent the characteristics of instructor-generated tests impact the exam performance of male and female and middle/high- and low-socioeconomic status (SES) students enrolled in introductory biology courses. We collected exam scores for 4810 students from 87 unique exams taken across 3 yr of the introductory biology series at a large research university. We determined the median Bloom’s level and the percentage of constructed-response questions for each exam. Despite controlling for prior academic ability in our models, we found that males and middle/high-SES students were disproportionately favored as the Bloom’s level of exams increased. Additionally, middle/high-SES students were favored as the proportion of constructed-response questions on exams increased. Given that we controlled for prior academic ability, our findings do not likely reflect differences in academic ability level. We discuss possible explanations for our findings and how they might impact how we assess our students. PMID:27252299

Using the mixed media according to internet-based on the instructional multimedia for developing students' learning achievements in biology course on foundational cell issue of secondary students at the 10th grade level in Rangsit University demonstration school

Science.gov (United States)

Kangloan, Pichet; Chayaburakul, Kanokporn; Santiboon, Toansakul

2018-01-01

The aims of this research study were 1) to develop students' learning achievements in biology course on foundational cell issue, 2) to examine students' satisfactions of their learning activities through the mixed media according to internet-based multi-instruction in biology on foundational cell issue at the 10th grade level were used in the first semester in the academic year 2014, which a sample size of 17 students in Rangsit University Demonstration School with cluster random sampling was selected. Students' learning administrations were instructed with the 3-instructional lesson plans according to the 5-Step Ladder Learning Management Plan (LLMP) namely; the maintaining lesson plan on the equilibrium of cell issue, a lesson plan for learning how to communicate between cell and cell division. Students' learning achievements were assessed with the 30-item Assessment of Learning Biology Test (ALBT), students' perceptions of their satisfactions were satisfied with the 20-item Questionnaire on Students Satisfaction (QSS), and students' learning activities were assessed with the Mixed Media Internet-Based Instruction (MMIBI) on foundational cell issue was designed. The results of this research study have found that: statistically significant of students' post-learning achievements were higher than their pre-learning outcomes and indicated that the differences were significant at the .05 level. Students' performances of their satisfaction to their perceptions toward biology class with the mixed media according to internet-based multi instruction in biology on foundational cell issue were the highest level and evidence of average mean score as 4.59.

Education Catching up with Science: Preparing Students for Three-Dimensional Literacy in Cell Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, IJsbrand M.; Dahmani, Hassen-Reda; Delouche, Pamina; Bidabe, Marissa; Schneeberger, Patricia

2012-01-01

The large number of experimentally determined molecular structures has led to the development of a new semiotic system in the life sciences, with increasing use of accurate molecular representations. To determine how this change impacts students' learning, we incorporated image tests into our introductory cell biology course. Groups of students…

What Skills Should Students of Undergraduate Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Programs Have upon Graduation?

Science.gov (United States)

White, Harold B.; Benore, Marilee A.; Sumter, Takita F.; Caldwell, Benjamin D.; Bell, Ellis

2013-01-01

Biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) students should demonstrate proficiency in the foundational concepts of the discipline and possess the skills needed to practice as professionals. To ascertain the skills that should be required, groups of BMB educators met in several focused workshops to discuss the expectations with the ultimate goal of…

A Guide for Graduate Students Interested in Postdoctoral Positions in Biology Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Aikens, Melissa L.; Corwin, Lisa A.; Andrews, Tessa C.; Couch, Brian A.; Eddy, Sarah L.; McDonnell, Lisa; Trujillo, Gloriana

2016-01-01

Postdoctoral positions in biology education research (BER) are becoming increasingly common as the field grows. However, many life science graduate students are unaware of these positions or do not understand what these positions entail or the careers with which they align. In this essay, we use a backward-design approach to inform life science graduate students of postdoctoral opportunities in BER. Beginning with the end in mind, we first discuss the types of careers to which BER postdoctoral positions lead. We then discuss the different types of BER postdoctoral positions, drawing on our own experiences and those of faculty mentors. Finally, we discuss activities in which life science graduate students can engage that will help them gauge whether BER aligns with their research interests and develop skills to be competitive for BER postdoctoral positions. PMID:27856554

Turkish students' perceptions of their biology learning environments: the effects of gender and grade level

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Telli, S.; Brok, den P.J.; Tekkaya, C.; Cakiroglu, J.

2009-01-01

This study investigates the effects of gender and grade level on Turkish secondary school students’ perceptions of their biology learning environment. A total of 1474 high school students completed the What is Happening in This Classroom (WIHIC) questionnaire. The WIHIC maps several important

Rhetorical Analysis as Introductory Speech: Jumpstarting Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, Marc P.

2012-01-01

When students enter the basic public speaking classroom,When students enter the basic public speaking classroom, they are asked to develop an introductory speech. This assignment typically focuses on a speech of self-introduction for which there are several pedagogical underpinnings: it provides an immediate and relatively stress-free speaking…

Accidents with biological material and immunization against hepatitis B among students from the health area.

Science.gov (United States)

Gir, Elucir; Netto, Jeniffer Caffer; Malaguti, Silmara Elaine; Canini, Silvia Rita Marin da Silva; Hayashida, Miyeko; Machado, Alcyone Artioli

2008-01-01

Undergraduate students from the health area often handle piercing-cutting instruments in their academic activities, which exposes them to the risk of contracting infections. This study aimed to analyze accidents with biological material among these students. Out of 170 accidents registered, 83 (48.8%) occurred with Dentistry students, 69 (40.6%) with Medical students, 11 (6.5%) with Nursing students and in 06 (3.5%) of the cases there was no such information in the files. Most accidents, 106 (62.4%), occurred with students from private schools and 55 (32.3%) with those from public schools. Percutaneous accidents occurred in 133 (78.2%) exposures and there was immediate search for specialized health care in only 38 (21.3%) accidents. In 127 (74.7%) accidents, the immunization schedule against hepatitis B was complete. Therefore, schools need to offer courses and specific class subjects regarding biosafety measures, including aspects related to immunization, especially the vaccine against hepatitis B.

Teaching Cell Biology to Dental Students with a Project-Based Learning Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa-Silva, Daniela; Côrtes, Juliana A; Bachinski, Rober F; Spiegel, Carolina N; Alves, Gutemberg G

2018-03-01

Although the discipline of cell biology (CB) is part of the curricula of predoctoral dental schools, students often fail to recognize its practical relevance. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a practical-theoretical project-based course in closing the gaps among CB, scientific research, and dentistry for dental students. A project-based learning course was developed with nine sequential lessons to evaluate 108 undergraduate dental students enrolled in CB classes of a Brazilian school of dentistry during 2013-16. To highlight the relevance of in vitro studies in the preclinical evaluation of dental materials at the cellular level, the students were challenged to complete the process of drafting a protocol and performing a cytocompatibility assay for a bone substitute used in dentistry. Class activities included small group discussions, scientific database search and article presentations, protocol development, lab experimentation, and writing of a final scientific report. A control group of 31 students attended only one laboratory class on the same theme, and the final reports were compared between the two groups. The results showed that the project-based learning students had superior outcomes in acknowledging the relevance of in vitro methods during biocompatibility testing. Moreover, they produced scientifically sound reports with more content on methodological issues, the relationship with dentistry, and the scientific literature than the control group (p<0.05). The project-based learning students also recognized a higher relevance of scientific research and CB to dental practice. These results suggest that a project-based approach can help contextualize scientific research in dental curricula.

Does Evolution matter?: a case study in Brazil of the effects of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere in postgraduate students' belief in God/religious belief

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan A. Dias

Full Text Available Although the theory of evolution is more than 150 years old, a substantial proportion of the world population does not mention it when explaining the origin of human beings. The usual alternative conception is offered by creationism, one of the main obstacles to full acceptance of evolution in many countries. National polls have demonstrated that schooling and religiosity are negatively correlated, with scientists being one of the least religious professionals. Herein we analyzed both (1 the profile of 1st semester undergraduate students and (2, thesis and dissertations, concerning religious and evolutionary thoughts from Biology and Veterinary Schools at the largest university of South America. We have shown that students of Biology are biased towards evolution before they enter university and also that the presence of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere influences the deism/religiosity beliefs of postgraduate students.

Does evolution matter?: a case study in Brazil of the effects of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere in postgraduate students' belief in God/religious belief.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Ivan A; Willemart, Rodrigo H; Marques, Antonio C

2012-06-01

Although the theory of evolution is more than 150 years old, a substantial proportion of the world population does not mention it when explaining the origin of human beings. The usual alternative conception is offered by creationism, one of the main obstacles to full acceptance of evolution in many countries. National polls have demonstrated that schooling and religiosity are negatively correlated, with scientists being one of the least religious professionals. Herein we analyzed both (1) the profile of 1st semester undergraduate students and (2), thesis and dissertations, concerning religious and evolutionary thoughts from Biology and Veterinary Schools at the largest university of South America. We have shown that students of Biology are biased towards evolution before they enter university and also that the presence of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere influences the deism/religiosity beliefs of postgraduate students.

Exploring the MACH Model's Potential as a Metacognitive Tool to Help Undergraduate Students Monitor Their Explanations of Biological Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo, Caleb M.; Anderson, Trevor R.; Pelaez, Nancy J.

2016-01-01

When undergraduate biology students learn to explain biological mechanisms, they face many challenges and may overestimate their understanding of living systems. Previously, we developed the MACH model of four components used by expert biologists to explain mechanisms: Methods, Analogies, Context, and How. This study explores the implementation of…

S.E.A. Lab. Science Experiments and Activities. Marine Science for High School Students in Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Kathy, Ed.

A series of science experiments and activities designed for secondary school students taking biology, chemistry, physics, physical science or marine science courses are outlined. Each of the three major sections--chemistry, biology, and physics--addresses concepts that are generally covered in those courses but incorporates aspects of marine…

A comparative study of the effect of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors

Science.gov (United States)

Dardis, Deborah J. Athas

Within a single research design, this investigation compared the effects of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors. Subjects self-selected into either a Control Group that experienced no cognitive mapping, an Experimental Group 1 that experienced instructor cognitive mapping, or an Experimental Group 2 in which students constructed cognitive maps. Data were collected by a Students' Opinions of Teaching Poll and instructor prepared tests that included objective questions representing all levels of the cognitive domain. An ANCOVA revealed no significant differences in the academic achievement of students in the control and experimental groups. The academic performance of males and females was similar among all three groups of students and data confirmed a lack of interaction between gender and instructional strategy. This investigation confirmed that cognitive mapping will not disrupt a gender-neutral classroom environment. Students' opinions of teaching were overwhelmingly positive. A Kruskal Wallis analysis, followed by a nonparametric Tukey-type multiple comparison, revealed that students who experienced no mapping consistently rated the instructor with higher scores than did students who experienced instructor mapping. Students who cooperatively constructed cognitive maps reported the lowest scores on the opinion polls.

Promoting convergence: The integrated graduate program in physical and engineering biology at Yale University, a new model for graduate education.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Dorottya B; Mochrie, Simon G J; O'Hern, Corey S; Pollard, Thomas D; Regan, Lynne

2016-11-12

In 2008, we established the Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology (IGPPEB) at Yale University. Our goal was to create a comprehensive graduate program to train a new generation of scientists who possess a sophisticated understanding of biology and who are capable of applying physical and quantitative methodologies to solve biological problems. Here we describe the framework of the training program, report on its effectiveness, and also share the insights we gained during its development and implementation. The program features co-teaching by faculty with complementary specializations, student peer learning, and novel hands-on courses that facilitate the seamless blending of interdisciplinary research and teaching. It also incorporates enrichment activities to improve communication skills, engage students in science outreach, and foster a cohesive program cohort, all of which promote the development of transferable skills applicable in a variety of careers. The curriculum of the graduate program is integrated with the curricular requirements of several Ph.D.-granting home programs in the physical, engineering, and biological sciences. Moreover, the wide-ranging recruiting activities of the IGPPEB serve to enhance the quality and diversity of students entering graduate school at Yale. We also discuss some of the challenges we encountered in establishing and optimizing the program, and describe the institution-level changes that were catalyzed by the introduction of the new graduate program. The goal of this article is to serve as both an inspiration and as a practical "how to" manual for those who seek to establish similar programs at their own institutions. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(6):537-549, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Influence of Culture and Gender on Secondary School Students' Scientific Creativity in Biology Education in Turkana County, Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Aruan, Susan A.; Okere, Mark I. O.; Wachanga, Samuel

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which biology scientific creativity skills are influenced by the students' culture and gender in Turkana County. A mixed method research design was used. This involved cross sectional survey and ethnographic study. The target population comprised all form three students in sub county schools…

Which Type of Inquiry Project Do High School Biology Students Prefer: Open or Guided?

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeh, Irit; Zion, Michal

2012-10-01

In teaching inquiry to high school students, educators differ on which method of teaching inquiry is more effective: Guided or open inquiry? This paper examines the influence of these two different inquiry learning approaches on the attitudes of Israeli high school biology students toward their inquiry project. The results showed significant differences between the two groups: Open inquiry students were more satisfied and felt they gained benefits from implementing the project to a greater extent than guided inquiry students. On the other hand, regarding documentation throughout the project, guided inquiry students believed that they conducted more documentation, as compared to their open inquiry peers. No significant differences were found regarding `the investment of time', but significant differences were found in the time invested and difficulties which arose concerning the different stages of the inquiry process: Open inquiry students believed they spent more time in the first stages of the project, while guided inquiry students believed they spent more time in writing the final paper. In addition, other differences were found: Open inquiry students felt more involved in their project, and felt a greater sense of cooperation with others, in comparison to guided inquiry students. These findings may help teachers who hesitate to teach open inquiry to implement this method of inquiry; or at least provide their students with the opportunity to be more involved in inquiry projects, and ultimately provide their students with more autonomy, high-order thinking, and a deeper understanding in performing science.

Meat-based enteral nutrition

Science.gov (United States)

Derevitskay, O. K.; Dydykin, A. S.

2017-09-01

Enteral nutrition is widely used in hospitals as a means of nutritional support and therapy for different diseases. Enteral nutrition must fulfil the energy needs of the body, be balanced by the nutrient composition and meet patient’s nutritional needs. Meat is a source of full-value animal protein, vitamins and minerals. On the basis of this research, recipes and technology for a meat-based enteral nutrition product were developed. The product is a ready-to-eat sterilised mixture in the form of a liquid homogeneous mass, which is of full value in terms of composition and enriched with vitamins and minerals, consists of particles with a size of not more than 0.3 mm and has the modified fat composition and rheological characteristics that are necessary for passage through enteral feeding tubes. The study presents experimental data on the content of the main macro- and micro-nutrients in the developed product. The new product is characterised by a balanced fatty acid composition, which plays an important role in correction of lipid metabolism disorders and protein-energy deficiency, and it is capable of satisfying patients’ daily requirements for vitamins and the main macro- and microelements when consuming 1500-2000 ml. Meat-based enteral nutrition can be used in diets as a standard mixture for effective correction of the energy and anabolic requirements of the body and support of the nutritional status of patients, including those with operated stomach syndrome.

Biological Clocks & Circadian Rhythms

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Laura; Jones, M. Gail

2009-01-01

The study of biological clocks and circadian rhythms is an excellent way to address the inquiry strand in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) (NRC 1996). Students can study these everyday phenomena by designing experiments, gathering and analyzing data, and generating new experiments. As students explore biological clocks and circadian…

The Effects of an Active Learning Intervention in Biology on College Students' Classroom Motivational Climate Perceptions, Motivation, and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Corkin, Danya M.; Horn, Catherine; Pattison, Donna

2017-01-01

This study examined differences in students' classroom motivational climate perceptions and motivational beliefs between those enrolled in undergraduate Biology courses that implemented an innovative, active learning intervention and those enrolled in traditional Biology courses (control group). This study also sought to determine whether…

Improving student performance in an introductory biology majors course: A social action project in the scholarship of teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Sara Lang Ketchum

This social action study followed an introductory biology course for a three-year period to determine whether changes in teaching personnel, instructional techniques and reorientation to student-centered learning would impact student performance. The course was redirected from a traditional lecture-laboratory format to one emphasizing active learning inquiry methods. Student retention, achievement, and failure were observed for three years in addition to one year prior, and one year following, the study. The study examined the two semester introductory biology course required of all biology majors and those intending a career in science, medicine or dentistry. During the first semester of the study, the dropout rate decreased from 46% to 21%. Prior to the study, 39% of the students completing the course received a grade of D or F while only 4% received a grade of B or above. During the first semester of the study 14% of the students received a grade of D or F while 46% received a B, B+ or A grade. Similar results were seen in other semesters of the study. A statistical comparison of student retention and performance was carried out using grade data for classes taught by the original faculty, the action study faculty and the post-study faculty. The differences between the original faculty and the action study faculty were statistically significant. Effect size calculations indicated large differences between the action study faculty and the two other faculty groups in terms of student retention, achievement and failure. The results are attributed to both the personnel change and, more significantly, the change in teaching methods and emphasis on student-active learning. Comparison between the pre- and post-study teams showed less dramatic effect sizes than when the action study data were compared with the data from either other team. Nevertheless, the post-study results showed that although the retention rate dropped during the year after the study, the improvement

Enteral nutrition - child - managing problems

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000164.htm Enteral nutrition - child - managing problems To use the sharing features ... trouble breathing, call 911. References Mcclave SA. Enteral nutrition. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil ...

Radiation enteritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochsner, S.F.; Head, L.H.

1973-01-01

A comprehensive review of radiation enteritis is presented. Experience in clinical radiation therapy has indicated that the small bowel is the segment of the alimentary tract that is most susceptible to radiation damage. (U.S.)

Enteric Methane Emission from Pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Henry; Theil, Peter Kappel; Knudsen, Knud Erik Bach

2011-01-01

per kg meat produced is increased (Fernández et al. 1983; Lekule et al. 1990). The present chapter will summarise our current knowledge concerning dietary and enteric fermentation that may influence the methane (CH4) emission in pigs. Enteric fermentation is the digestive process by which.......3 % of the worlds pig population. The main number of pigs is in Asia (59.6 %) where the main pig population stay in China (47.8 % of the worlds pig population). The objective of the chapter is therefore: To obtain a general overview of the pigs’ contribution to methane emission. Where is the pigs’ enteric gas...... produced and how is it measured. The variation in methane emission and factors affecting the emission. Possibility for reducing the enteric methane emission and the consequences....

Courses in Modern Physics for Non-science Majors, Future Science Teachers, and Biology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Zollman, Dean

2001-03-01

For the past 15 years Kansas State University has offered a course in modern physics for students who are not majoring in physics. This course carries a prerequisite of one physics course so that the students have a basic introduction in classical topics. The majors of students range from liberal arts to engineering. Future secondary science teachers whose first area of teaching is not physics can use the course as part of their study of science. The course has evolved from a lecture format to one which is highly interactive and uses a combination of hands-on activities, tutorials and visualizations, particularly the Visual Quantum Mechanics materials. Another course encourages biology students to continue their physics learning beyond the introductory course. Modern Miracle Medical Machines introduces the basic physics which underlie diagnosis techniques such as MRI and PET and laser surgical techniques. Additional information is available at http://www.phys.ksu.edu/perg/

The Relationship Among Teaching Methods, Student Characteristics, and Student Involvement in Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lorin W.; Soctt, Corinne C.

1978-01-01

Individual students tend to benefit differently from different teaching methods; however, when little or nothing is known of the entering students' characteristics regarding learning involvement, the high school teacher would be wise to use the classroom discourse method of teaching. (JD)

Medium-chain triglyceride-rich enteral nutrition is more effective than low-fat enteral nutrition in rat colitis, but is equal in enteritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsujikawa, T; Ohta, N; Nakamura, T; Yasuoka, T; Satoh, J; Fukunaga, T; Itohi, A; Uda, K; Ihara, T; Andoh, A; Sasaki, M; Fujiyama, Y; Bamba, T

2001-10-01

Although enteral nutrition (EN) therapy for Crohn's disease has been confirmed to be as effective as steroid therapy, the precise mechanism responsible for the effects of EN remains unclear, although some of the therapeutic effects of EN are believed to be due to a low dietary fat content. In order to elucidate the influence of fat in EN, it is important to investigate not only the quantity of fat, but also the source of the fat. We compared two enteral nutritional formulae: Elental (Ajinomoto) (elemental diet; ED), which contains only 1.5% fat, provided as long-chain triglycerides (LCT), versus Twinline (Snow Brand Milk Products) (TL), which contains a high percentage of fat (20.4%), provided mainly as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). These formulae were tested on rat enteritis and rat colitis induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). Both ED and TL reduced the manifestations of enteritis. TL had a stronger anti-inflammatory effect than ED for colitis. TL also had nutritional advantages as compared with ED, as shown by the total serum protein in the TL group being significantly higher than that in the ED group. The results indicate that intraluminal MCT is suitable as a fat energy source during intestinal inflammation in rats. We suggest that Twinline may be more useful to improve nutritional status and to reduce the mucosal inflammation in rat colitis, but that Twinline is equal in effect to Elental for rat enteritis.

Credentialism among Graduate Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Stodt, Martha McGinty; Thielens, Wagner, Jr.

1985-01-01

An exploratory study of students entering four elite fields found that most sought both credentials and competence. Stiff competition within chosen occupations led the majority of students to seek every advantage that graduate education could provide. (Author/MLW)

How the confocal laser scanning microscope entered biological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Amos, W B; White, J G

2003-09-01

A history of the early development of the confocal laser scanning microscope in the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge is presented. The rapid uptake of this technology is explained by the wide use of fluorescence in the 80s. The key innovations were the scanning of the light beam over the specimen rather than vice-versa and a high magnification at the level of the detector, allowing the use of a macroscopic iris. These were followed by an achromatic all-reflective relay system, a non-confocal transmission detector and novel software for control and basic image processing. This design was commercialized successfully and has been produced and developed over 17 years, surviving challenges from alternative technologies, including solid-state scanning systems. Lessons are pointed out from the unusual nature of the original funding and research environment. Attention is drawn to the slow adoption of the instrument in diagnostic medicine, despite promising applications.

The Effect of Concept Mapping and Problem Solving Teaching Strategies on Achievement in Biology among Nigerian Secondary School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Okoye, Nnamdi S.; Okechukwu, Rose N.

2010-01-01

The study examined the effect of concept-mapping and problem-solving teaching strategies on achievement in biology among Nigerian secondary school students. The method used for the study was a quasi-experimental pre-test treatment design. One hundred and thirteen senior secondary three (S.S. 111) students randomly selected from three mixed…

Whatever Happened to the Class of 1994? A Three-Year Longitudinal Study of Traditional Freshmen Entering Frederick Community College in the Fall 1994 Semester.

Science.gov (United States)

Holton, James M.

Traditional freshmen, or first-time students who enter college immediately after graduating high school, represent the largest identifiable group of students within Frederick Community College's (FCC) student body. They are afforded a considerable amount of resources from college staff, and for them the college follows various measurements of…

Predicting Student Success in a Major's Introductory Biology Course via Logistic Regression Analysis of Scientific Reasoning Ability and Mathematics Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, E. David; Bowling, Bethany V.; Markle, Ross E.

2018-02-01

Studies over the last 30 years have considered various factors related to student success in introductory biology courses. While much of the available literature suggests that the best predictors of success in a college course are prior college grade point average (GPA) and class attendance, faculty often require a valuable predictor of success in those courses wherein the majority of students are in the first semester and have no previous record of college GPA or attendance. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the ACT Mathematics subject exam and Lawson's Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning in predicting success in a major's introductory biology course. A logistic regression was utilized to determine the effectiveness of a combination of scientific reasoning (SR) scores and ACT math (ACT-M) scores to predict student success. In summary, we found that the model—with both SR and ACT-M as significant predictors—could be an effective predictor of student success and thus could potentially be useful in practical decision making for the course, such as directing students to support services at an early point in the semester.

Do Biology Students Really Hate Math? Empirical Insights into Undergraduate Life Science Majors' Emotions about Mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wachsmuth, Lucas P; Runyon, Christopher R; Drake, John M; Dolan, Erin L

2017-01-01

Undergraduate life science majors are reputed to have negative emotions toward mathematics, yet little empirical evidence supports this. We sought to compare emotions of majors in the life sciences versus other natural sciences and math. We adapted the Attitudes toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory to create an Attitudes toward the Subject of Mathematics Inventory (ASMI). We collected data from 359 science and math majors at two research universities and conducted a series of statistical tests that indicated that four AMSI items comprised a reasonable measure of students' emotional satisfaction with math. We then compared life science and non-life science majors and found that major had a small to moderate relationship with students' responses. Gender also had a small relationship with students' responses, while students' race, ethnicity, and year in school had no observable relationship. Using latent profile analysis, we identified three groups-students who were emotionally satisfied with math, emotionally dissatisfied with math, and neutral. These results and the emotional satisfaction with math scale should be useful for identifying differences in other undergraduate populations, determining the malleability of undergraduates' emotional satisfaction with math, and testing effects of interventions aimed at improving life science majors' attitudes toward math. © 2017 L.P. Wachsmuth et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Biology Myth-Killers

Science.gov (United States)

Lampert, Evan

2014-01-01

"Biology Myth-Killers" is an activity designed to identify and correct common misconceptions for high school and college introductory biology courses. Students identify common myths, which double as biology misconceptions, and use appropriate sources to share the "truth" about the myths. This learner-centered activity is a fun…

The Mother's Perspective: Factors Considered When Choosing to Enter a Stay-at-Home Father and Working Mother Relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Rushing, Cassie; Sparks, Misti

2017-07-01

A qualitative study was conducted to examine the decision-making factors of entering a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship based on the mother's perspective. A total of 20 married, heterosexual, working mothers with biological children aged 1 to 4 years were asked questions regarding how they decided to enter a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship as well as contributing factors to this decision. The findings presented in this article were part of a larger study that examined mothers' overall perspectives of the working mother stay-at-home father dynamics. The themes that emerged regarding how the decision was made to enter this kind of relationship were creating a work-family life balance, utilizing the cost-benefit ratio, and applying personality/trait strengths.

Toward High School Biology: Helping Middle School Students Understand Chemical Reactions and Conservation of Mass in Nonliving and Living Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann-Abell, Cari F.; Koppal, Mary; Roseman, Jo Ellen

2016-01-01

Modern biology has become increasingly molecular in nature, requiring students to understand basic chemical concepts. Studies show, however, that many students fail to grasp ideas about atom rearrangement and conservation during chemical reactions or the application of these ideas to biological systems. To help provide students with a better foundation, we used research-based design principles and collaborated in the development of a curricular intervention that applies chemistry ideas to living and nonliving contexts. Six eighth grade teachers and their students participated in a test of the unit during the Spring of 2013. Two of the teachers had used an earlier version of the unit the previous spring. The other four teachers were randomly assigned either to implement the unit or to continue teaching the same content using existing materials. Pre- and posttests were administered, and the data were analyzed using Rasch modeling and hierarchical linear modeling. The results showed that, when controlling for pretest score, gender, language, and ethnicity, students who used the curricular intervention performed better on the posttest than the students using existing materials. Additionally, students who participated in the intervention held fewer misconceptions. These results demonstrate the unit’s promise in improving students’ understanding of the targeted ideas. PMID:27909024

Assessing twenty-first century skills through a teacher created video game for high school biology students

Science.gov (United States)

Annetta, Leonard A.; Cheng, Meng-Tzu; Holmes, Shawn

2010-07-01

As twenty-first century skills become a greater focus in K-12 education, an infusion of technology that meets the needs of today's students is paramount. This study looks at the design and creation of a Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application (MEGA) for high school biology students. The quasi-experimental, qualitative design assessed the twenty-first century skills of digital age literacy, inventive thinking, high productivity, and effective communication techniques of the students exposed to a MEGA. Three factors, as they pertained to these skills, emerged from classroom observations. Interaction with the teacher, discussion with peers, and engagement/time-on-task while playing the MEGA suggested that students playing an educational video game exhibited all of the projected twenty-first century skills while being engrossed in the embedded science content.

Enteral feeding without pancreatic stimulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaushik, Neeraj; Pietraszewski, Marie; Holst, Jens Juul

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: All forms of commonly practiced enteral feeding techniques stimulate pancreatic secretion, and only intravenous feeding avoids it. In this study, we explored the possibility of more distal enteral infusions of tube feeds to see whether activation of the ileal brake mechanism can result...

The Relationship between Grade 11 Palestinian Attitudes toward Biology and Their Perceptions of the Biology Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zeidan, Afif

2010-01-01

The aims of the study were to investigate (a) the relationship between the attitudes toward biology and perceptions of the biology learning environment among grade 11 students in Tulkarm District, Palestine and (b) the effect of gender and residence of these students on their attitudes toward biology and on their perceptions of the biology…

Student perceptions of the clinical laboratory science profession.

Science.gov (United States)

McClure, Karen

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the attitudes and perceptions among college biology and CLS/CLT students. These students were on selected college campuses at Texas universities in Houston, Dallas and the Austin/San Antonio areas for the Spring 2007 semester. Specifically, students were questioned on factors that influence their choice of field of study, career expectations, legislative measures which might be used to attract individuals to the career, and factors that will be required to keep them in the field of practice. This study was part of a larger qualitative study which included exploratory discovery and inductive logic regarding the attitudes of four focus groups in Texas. Focus groups took place on college campuses or in hotel conference rooms. (1) junior/senior-level college biology students and (2) junior/senior-level students currently enrolled in CLS/CLT programs. Focus group discussions using a standard set of questions; group sessions lasted about 45 minutes. This study was a qualitative study which included exploratory discovery and inductive logic regarding the attitudes of two groups in Texas. College biology and CLS/CLT students find the clinical laboratory science profession to be interesting and exciting as a career prospect, however, many do not see themselves remaining in the profession and perceive it does not have good prospects for career advancement. The majority of students must work to support themselves through their college education and would welcome additional grants, scholarships and loan forgiveness programs as incentives to study the clinical laboratory sciences. Students believe that additional recruitment on high school and college campuses is needed to increase the visibility of the field as career choice. The majority of students who are entering the clinical laboratory science profession do not see the profession as their final career choice, but rather a stepping stone to another career field in healthcare or a

General Biology Syllabus.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Scott; Watthews, Thomas

This syllabus has been developed as an alternative to Regents biology and is intended for the average student who could benefit from an introductory biology course. It is divided into seven major units dealing with, respectively: (1) similarities among living things; (2) human biology (focusing on nutrition, transport, respiration, excretion, and…

Biology Reflective Assessment Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Bayley, Cheryl Ann

Often students and educators view assessments as an obligation and finality for a unit. In the current climate of high-stakes testing and accountability, the balance of time, resources and emphasis on students' scores related to assessment have been slanted considerably toward the summative side. This tension between assessment for accountability and assessment to inform teaching strains instruction and educators' ability to use that information to design learning opportunities that help students develop deeper conceptual understanding. A substantive body of research indicates that formative and reflective assessment can significantly improve student learning. Biology Reflective Assessment Curriculum (BRAC) examines support provided for high school science students through assessment practices. This investigation incorporates the usage of reflective assessments as a guiding practice for differentiated instruction and student choice. Reflective assessment is a metacognitive strategy that promotes self-monitoring and evaluation. The goals of the curriculum are to promote self-efficacy and conceptual understanding in students learning biology through developing their metacognitive awareness. BRAC was implemented in a high school biology classroom. Data from assessments, metacognitive surveys, self-efficacy surveys, reflective journals, student work, a culminating task and field notes were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. The results suggest that students who develop their metacognitive skills developed a deeper conceptual understanding and improved feelings of self-efficacy when they were engaged in a reflective assessment unit embedded with student choice. BRAC is a tool for teachers to use assessments to assist students in becoming metacognitive and to guide student choice in learning opportunities.

Students' Perceptions toward Academic Competencies: The Case of German First-Year Students

Science.gov (United States)

Mah, Dana-Kristin; Ifenthaler, Dirk

2018-01-01

Students often enter higher education academically unprepared and with unrealistic perceptions and expectations regarding academic competencies for their studies. However, preparedness and realistic perceptions are important factors for student retention. With regard to a proposed model of five academic competencies (time management, learning…

Biological inquiry: a new course and assessment plan in response to the call to transform undergraduate biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldey, Ellen S; Abercrombie, Clarence L; Ivy, Tracie M; Kusher, Dave I; Moeller, John F; Rayner, Doug A; Smith, Charles F; Spivey, Natalie W

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which >50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in class and in labs, which are devoted to building authentic research skills through open-ended experiments. Students develop core biological knowledge, from the ecosystem to molecular level, and core skills through regular practice in hypothesis testing, reading primary literature, analyzing data, interpreting results, writing in disciplinary style, and working in teams. Assignments and exams require higher-order cognitive processes, and students build new knowledge and skills through investigation of real-world problems (e.g., malaria), which engages students' interest. Evidence from direct and indirect assessment has guided continuous course revision and has revealed that compared with the course it replaced, Biological Inquiry produces significant learning gains in all targeted areas. It also retains 94% of students (both BA and BS track) compared with 79% in the majors-only course it replaced. The project has had broad impact across the entire college and reflects the input of numerous constituencies and close collaboration among biology professors and students.

Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoskins, Tyler D; Gantz, J D; Chaffee, Blake R; Arlinghaus, Kel; Wiebler, James; Hughes, Michael; Fernandes, Joyce J

2017-01-01

Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami University. Our approach aimed to improve performance for underachieving students by combining an existing framework for the process of learning (the study cycle) with concrete tools (outlines and concept maps) that have been shown to encourage deep understanding. To assess the effectiveness of our efforts, we asked 1) how effective our voluntary recruitment model was at enrolling the target cohort, 2) how the course impacted performance on lecture exams, 3) how the course impacted study habits and techniques, and 4) whether there are particular study habits or techniques that are associated with large improvements on exam scores. Voluntary recruitment attracted only 11-17% of our target cohort. While focal students improved on lecture exams relative to their peers who did not enroll, gains were relatively modest, and not all students improved. Further, although students across both semesters of our study reported improved study habits (based on pre and post surveys) and on outlines and concept maps (based on retrospectively scored assignments), gains were more dramatic in the Fall semester. Multivariate models revealed that, while changes in study habits and in the quality of outlines and concept maps were weakly associated with change in performance on lecture exams, relationships were only significant in the Fall semester and were sometimes counterintuitive. Although benefits of the course were offset somewhat by the inefficiency of voluntary recruitment, we demonstrate the effectiveness our course, which is inexpensive to implement and has advantage of providing pedagogical experience to future educators. © 2017 T. D

Diarrhea in enterally fed patients: blame the diet?

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Sue-Joan; Huang, Hsiu-Hua

2013-09-01

Diarrhea has great impact on enteral nutrition. The purpose of this review is to identify the factors leading to diarrhea during enteral nutrition and to provide the published updates on diarrhea prevention through nutritional intervention. Diarrhea in enteral fed patients is attributed to multiple factors, including medications (major contributor), infections, bacterial contamination, underlying disease, and enteral feeding. Diet management can alleviate diarrhea in enteral feeding. High content of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) in enteral formula is postulated to induce diarrhea and lower FODMAPs formula may reduce the likelihood of diarrhea in enterally fed patients. Fiber-enriched formula can reduce the incidence of diarrhea and produce short-chain fatty acids for colonocytes. Ingesting prebiotics, nonviable probiotics or probiotic derivatives, and human lactoferrin may provide alternatives for reducing/preventing diarrhea. Enteral feeding is not generally considered the primary cause of diarrhea, which is frequently linked to prescribed medications. When diarrhea is apparent, healthcare members should evaluate the possible risk factors and systematically attempt to eliminate the underlying causes of diarrhea before reducing or suspending enteral feeding. Lower FODMAPs formula, prebiotics, probiotic derivatives, and lactoferrin may be used to manage enteral feeding-related diarrhea.

Teaching Real Data Interpretation with Models (TRIM): Analysis of Student Dialogue in a Large-Enrollment Cell and Developmental Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Zagallo, Patricia; Meddleton, Shanice; Bolger, Molly S.

2016-01-01

We present our design for a cell biology course to integrate content with scientific practices, specifically data interpretation and model-based reasoning. A 2-year research project within this course allowed us to understand how students interpret authentic biological data in this setting. Through analysis of written work, we measured the extent…

A schema theory analysis of students' think aloud protocols in an STS biology context

Science.gov (United States)

Quinlan, Catherine Louise

This dissertation study is a conglomerate of the fields of Science Education and Applied Cognitive Psychology. The goal of this study is to determine what organizational features and knowledge representation patterns high school students exhibit over time for issues pertinent to science and society. Participants are thirteen tenth grade students in a diverse suburban-urban classroom in a northeastern state. Students' think alouds are recorded, pre-, post-, and late-post treatment. Treatment consists of instruction in three Science, Technology, and Society (STS) biology issues, namely the human genome project, nutrition and health, and stem cell research. Coding and analyses are performed using Marshall's knowledge representations---identification knowledge, elaboration knowledge, planning knowledge, and execution knowledge, as well as qualitative research analysis methods. Schema theory, information processing theory, and other applied cognitive theory provide a framework in which to understand and explain students' schema descriptions and progressions over time. The results show that students display five organizational features in their identification and elaboration knowledge. Students also fall into one of four categories according to if they display prior schema or no prior schema, and their orientation "for" or "against," some of the issues. Students with prior schema and orientation "against" display the most robust schema descriptions and schema progressions. Those with no prior schemas and orientation "against" show very modest schema progressions best characterized by their keyword searches. This study shows the importance in considering not only students' integrated schemas but also their individual schemes. A role for the use of a more schema-based instruction that scaffolds student learning is implicated.

Do enteric neurons make hypocretin? ☆

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Baumann, Christian R.; Clark, Erika L.; Pedersen, Nigel P.; Hecht, Jonathan L.; Scammell, Thomas E.

2008-01-01

Hypocretins (orexins) are wake-promoting neuropeptides produced by hypothalamic neurons. These hypocretin-producing cells are lost in people with narcolepsy, possibly due to an autoimmune attack. Prior studies described hypocretin neurons in the enteric nervous system, and these cells could be an additional target of an autoimmune process. We sought to determine whether enteric hypocretin neurons are lost in narcoleptic subjects. Even though we tried several methods (including whole mounts, sectioned tissue, pre-treatment of mice with colchicine, and the use of various primary antisera), we could not identify hypocretin-producing cells in enteric nervous tissue collected from mice or normal human subjects. These results raise doubts about whether enteric neurons produce hypocretin. PMID:18191238

ADAPTATION OF THE STUDENTS' MOTIVATION TOWARDS SCIENCE LEARNING QUESTIONNAIRE TO MEASURE GREEK STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TOWARDS BIOLOGY LEARNING

OpenAIRE

Andressa, Helen; Mavrikaki, Evangelia; Dermitzaki, Irini

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ motivation towards biology learning and to determine the factors that are related to it: students’ gender and their parents’ occupation (relevant with biology or not) were investigated. The sample of the study consisted of 360 Greek high school students of the 10th grade (178 boys and 182 girls). The data were collected through Students’ Motivation Toward Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire. It was found that it was a valid and reliabl...

Novelty or knowledge? A study of using a student response system in non-major biology courses at a community college

Science.gov (United States)

Thames, Tasha Herrington

The advancement in technology integration is laying the groundwork of a paradigm shift in the higher education system (Noonoo, 2011). The National Dropout Prevention Center (n.d.) claims that technology offers some of the best opportunities for presenting instruction to engage students in meaningful education, addressing multiple intelligences, and adjusting to students' various learning styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if implementing clicker technology would have a statistically significant difference on student retention and student achievement, while controlling for learning styles, for students in non-major biology courses who were and were not subjected to the technology. This study also sought to identify if students perceived the use of clickers as beneficial to their learning. A quantitative quasi-experimental research design was utilized to determine the significance of differences in pre/posttest achievement scores between students who participated during the fall semester in 2014. Overall, 118 students (n = 118) voluntarily enrolled in the researcher's fall non-major Biology course at a southern community college. A total of 71 students were assigned to the experimental group who participated in instruction incorporating the ConcepTest Process with clicker technology along with traditional lecture. The remaining 51 students were assigned to the control group who participated in a traditional lecture format with peer instruction embedded. Statistical analysis revealed the experimental clicker courses did have higher posttest scores than the non-clicker control courses, but this was not significant (p >.05). Results also implied that clickers did not statistically help retain students to complete the course. Lastly, the results indicated that there were no significant statistical difference in student's clicker perception scores between the different learning style preferences.

A Programme-Wide Training Framework to Facilitate Scientific Communication Skills Development amongst Biological Sciences Masters Students

Science.gov (United States)

Divan, Aysha; Mason, Sam

2016-01-01

In this article we describe the effectiveness of a programme-wide communication skills training framework incorporated within a one-year biological sciences taught Masters course designed to enhance the competency of students in communicating scientific research principally to a scientific audience. In one class we analysed the numerical marks…

Reducing Unintentional Plagiarism amongst International Students in the Biological Sciences: An Embedded Academic Writing Development Programme

Science.gov (United States)

Divan, Aysha; Bowman, Marion; Seabourne, Anna

2015-01-01

There is general agreement in the literature that international students are more likely to plagiarise compared to their native speaker peers and, in many instances, plagiarism is unintentional. In this article we describe the effectiveness of an academic writing development programme embedded into a Biological Sciences Taught Masters course…

Enteral nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gassull, M A; Abad, A; Cabré, E; González-Huix, F; Giné, J J; Dolz, C

1986-01-01

To assess the effect of the addition of enteral tube feeding with polymeric diets to the standard treatment of acute attacks of inflammatory bowel disease a total of 43 patients admitted to hospital (23 with Crohn's disease and 20 with ulcerative colitis) were studied retrospectively. Total enteral nutrition was given to 26 as the sole nutritional supply and to 17 in conjunction with a normal ward diet, when appropriate, according to the severity of attack (control group). Nutritional state was assessed and classified in all patients at admission and at the end of the study, by measuring the triceps skinfold thickness, mid arm muscle circumference, and serum albumin concentration as representative of body fat, muscle protein, and visceral protein, respectively. At admission the three nutritional variables were not statistically different between the groups. There was a significantly positive effect on mid arm muscle circumference in patients on total enteral nutrition compared with the control group, but there was no effect on either triceps skinfold thickness or serum albumin concentration. The percentage of subjects requiring intravenous albumin infusion, however, was significantly less in the group fed enterally than in the control group. In addition, fewer patients in the group fed enterally required surgical treatment compared with the control group, despite the fact that one of the criteria for starting enteral nutritional support was the expectancy that surgery would be needed. Total enteral nutrition was well tolerated and no major side effects arose during its use in patients with acute exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease. PMID:3098646

Genome annotation in a community college cell biology lab.

Science.gov (United States)

Beagley, C Timothy

2013-01-01

The Biology Department at Salt Lake Community College has used the IMG-ACT toolbox to introduce a genome mapping and annotation exercise into the laboratory portion of its Cell Biology course. This project provides students with an authentic inquiry-based learning experience while introducing them to computational biology and contemporary learning skills. Additionally, the project strengthens student understanding of the scientific method and contributes to student learning gains in curricular objectives centered around basic molecular biology, specifically, the Central Dogma. Importantly, inclusion of this project in the laboratory course provides students with a positive learning environment and allows for the use of cooperative learning strategies to increase overall student success. Copyright © 2012 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

The Mother’s Perspective: Factors Considered When Choosing to Enter a Stay-at-Home Father and Working Mother Relationship

Science.gov (United States)

Rushing, Cassie; Sparks, Misti

2017-01-01

A qualitative study was conducted to examine the decision-making factors of entering a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship based on the mother’s perspective. A total of 20 married, heterosexual, working mothers with biological children aged 1 to 4 years were asked questions regarding how they decided to enter a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship as well as contributing factors to this decision. The findings presented in this article were part of a larger study that examined mothers’ overall perspectives of the working mother stay-at-home father dynamics. The themes that emerged regarding how the decision was made to enter this kind of relationship were creating a work–family life balance, utilizing the cost-benefit ratio, and applying personality/trait strengths. PMID:28198208

Tweets from the forest: using Twitter to increase student engagement in an undergraduate field biology course

Science.gov (United States)

Soluk, Lauren; Buddle, Christopher M.

2015-01-01

Twitter is a cold medium that allows users to deliver content-rich but small packets of information to other users, and provides an opportunity for active and collaborative communication. In an education setting, this social media tool has potential to increase active learning opportunities, and increase student engagement with course content. The effects of Twitter on learning dynamics was tested in a field biology course offered by a large Canadian University: 29 students agreed to take part in the Twitter project and quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including survey data from 18 students. Students published 200% more public Tweets than what was required, and interacted frequently with the instructor and teaching assistant, their peers, and users external to the course. Almost 80% of students stated that Twitter increased opportunities for among-group communication, and 94% of students felt this kind of collaborative communication was beneficial to their learning. Although students did not think they would use Twitter after the course was over, 77% of the students still felt it was a good learning tool, and 67% of students felt Twitter had a positive impact on how they engaged with course content. These results suggest social media tools such as Twitter can help achieve active and collaborative learning in higher education. PMID:26594328

Tweets from the forest: using Twitter to increase student engagement in an undergraduate field biology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Soluk, Lauren; Buddle, Christopher M

2015-01-01

Twitter is a cold medium that allows users to deliver content-rich but small packets of information to other users, and provides an opportunity for active and collaborative communication. In an education setting, this social media tool has potential to increase active learning opportunities, and increase student engagement with course content. The effects of Twitter on learning dynamics was tested in a field biology course offered by a large Canadian University: 29 students agreed to take part in the Twitter project and quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including survey data from 18 students. Students published 200% more public Tweets than what was required, and interacted frequently with the instructor and teaching assistant, their peers, and users external to the course. Almost 80% of students stated that Twitter increased opportunities for among-group communication, and 94% of students felt this kind of collaborative communication was beneficial to their learning. Although students did not think they would use Twitter after the course was over, 77% of the students still felt it was a good learning tool, and 67% of students felt Twitter had a positive impact on how they engaged with course content. These results suggest social media tools such as Twitter can help achieve active and collaborative learning in higher education.

Personal microbiome analysis improves student engagement and interest in Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Genomics undergraduate courses

Science.gov (United States)

Bridgewater, Laura C.; Jensen, Jamie L.; Breakwell, Donald P.; Nielsen, Brent L.; Johnson, Steven M.

2018-01-01

A critical area of emphasis for science educators is the identification of effective means of teaching and engaging undergraduate students. Personal microbiome analysis is a means of identifying the microbial communities found on or in our body. We hypothesized the use of personal microbiome analysis in the classroom could improve science education by making courses more applied and engaging for undergraduate students. We determined to test this prediction in three Brigham Young University undergraduate courses: Immunology, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Genomics. These three courses have a two-week microbiome unit and students during the 2016 semester students could submit their own personal microbiome kit or use the demo data, whereas during the 2017 semester students were given access to microbiome data from an anonymous individual. The students were surveyed before, during, and after the human microbiome unit to determine whether analyzing their own personal microbiome data, compared to analyzing demo microbiome data, impacted student engagement and interest. We found that personal microbiome analysis significantly enhanced the engagement and interest of students while completing microbiome assignments, the self-reported time students spent researching the microbiome during the two week microbiome unit, and the attitudes of students regarding the course overall. Thus, we found that integrating personal microbiome analysis in the classroom was a powerful means of improving student engagement and interest in undergraduate science courses. PMID:29641525

Increasing URM Undergraduate Student Success through Assessment-Driven Interventions: A Multiyear Study Using Freshman-Level General Biology as a Model System

Science.gov (United States)

Carmichael, Mary C.; St. Clair, Candace; Edwards, Andrea M.; Barrett, Peter; McFerrin, Harris; Davenport, Ian; Awad, Mohamed; Kundu, Anup; Ireland, Shubha Kale

2016-01-01

Xavier University of Louisiana leads the nation in awarding BS degrees in the biological sciences to African-American students. In this multiyear study with ∼5500 participants, data-driven interventions were adopted to improve student academic performance in a freshman-level general biology course. The three hour-long exams were common and administered concurrently to all students. New exam questions were developed using Bloom’s taxonomy, and exam results were analyzed statistically with validated assessment tools. All but the comprehensive final exam were returned to students for self-evaluation and remediation. Among other approaches, course rigor was monitored by using an identical set of 60 questions on the final exam across 10 semesters. Analysis of the identical sets of 60 final exam questions revealed that overall averages increased from 72.9% (2010) to 83.5% (2015). Regression analysis demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between high-risk students and their averages on the 60 questions. Additional analysis demonstrated statistically significant improvements for at least one letter grade from midterm to final and a 20% increase in the course pass rates over time, also for the high-risk population. These results support the hypothesis that our data-driven interventions and assessment techniques are successful in improving student retention, particularly for our academically at-risk students. PMID:27543637

The Effects of Meiosis/Genetics Integration and Instructional Sequence on College Biology Student Achievement in Genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, Mark

The purpose of the research was to manipulate two aspects of genetics instruction in order to measure their effects on college, introductory biology students' achievement in genetics. One instructional sequence that was used dealt first with monohybrid autosomal inheritance patterns, then sex-linkage. The alternate sequence was the reverse.…

An Examination of the Impact of a Biological Anti-Stigma Message for Depression on College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, Laura A.; Campbell, Duncan G.

2014-01-01

Stigma is one reason that some people avoid seeking mental health treatment. This study tested whether a biologically based anti-stigma message affected various stigma-related outcomes in college students. One hundred eighty-two undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to see a billboard presenting the message, "Depression is a brain…

The influence of interactive technology on student performance in an Oklahoma secondary Biology I program

Science.gov (United States)

Feltman, Vallery

Over the last decade growth in technologies available to teach students and enhance curriculum has become an important consideration in the educational system. The profile of today's secondary students have also been found to be quite different than those of the past. Their learning styles and preferences are issues that should be addressed by educators. With the growth and availability of new technologies students are increasingly expecting to use these as learning tools in their classrooms. This study investigates how interactive technology may impact student performance. This study specifically focuses on the use of the Apple Ipad in 4 Biology I classrooms. This study used an experimental mixed method design to examine how using Ipads for learning impacted student achievement, motivation to learn, and learning strategies. Qualitatively the study examined observed student behaviors and student perceptions regarding the use of interactive technologies. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, 2-way ANOVAs, and qualitative analysis. Quantitatively the results revealed no significant difference between students who used the interactive technology to learn and those who did not. Qualitative data revealed behaviors indicative of being highly engaged with the subject matter and the development of critical thinking skills which may improve student performance. Student perceptions also revealed overall positive experiences with using interactive technology in the classroom. It is recommended that further studies be done to look at using interactive technologies for a longer period of time using multiple subjects areas. This would provide a more in-depth exploration of interactive technologies on student achievement.

[Enteral nutrition in burn patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, J L; Garrido, M; Gómez-Cía, T; Serrera, J L; Franco, A; Pumar, A; Relimpio, F; Astorga, R; García-Luna, P P

1992-01-01

Nutritional support plays an important role in the treatment of patients with burns. Due to the severe hypercatabolism that develops in these patients, oral support is insufficient in most cases, and this makes it essential to initiate artificial nutritional support (either enteral or parenteral). Enteral nutrition is more physiological than parenteral, and data exist which show that in patients with burns, enteral nutrition exercises a protective effect on the intestine and may even reduce the hypermetabolic response in these patients. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerance of enteral nutritional support with a hypercaloric, hyperproteic diet with a high content of branched amino acids in the nutritional support of patients suffering from burns. The study included 12 patients (8 males and 4 females), admitted to the Burns Unit. Average age was 35 +/- 17 years (range: 21-85 years). The percentage of body surface affected by the burns was 10% in two cases, between 10-30% in three cases, between 30-50% in five cases and over 50% in two cases. Initiation of the enteral nutrition was between twenty-four hours and seven days after the burn. The patients were kept in the unit until they were discharged, and the average time spent in the unit was 31.5 days (range: 17-63 days). Total energetic requirements were calculated based on Harris-Benedict, with a variable aggression factor depending on the body surface burned, which varied from 2,000 and 4,000 cal day. Nitrogenous balance was determined on a daily basis, and plasmatic levels of total proteins, albumin and prealbumin on a weekly basis. There was a significant difference between the prealbumin values at the initiation and finalization of the enteral nutrition (9.6 +/- 2.24 mg/dl compared with 19.75 +/- 5.48 mg/dl; p diet was very good, and only mild complications such as diarrhoea developed in two patients. Enteral nutrition is a suitable nutritional support method for patients with

Education catching up with science: preparing students for three-dimensional literacy in cell biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Ijsbrand M; Dahmani, Hassen-Reda; Delouche, Pamina; Bidabe, Marissa; Schneeberger, Patricia

2012-01-01

The large number of experimentally determined molecular structures has led to the development of a new semiotic system in the life sciences, with increasing use of accurate molecular representations. To determine how this change impacts students' learning, we incorporated image tests into our introductory cell biology course. Groups of students used a single text dealing with signal transduction, which was supplemented with images made in one of three iconographic styles. Typically, we employed realistic renderings, using computer-generated Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures; realistic-schematic renderings, using shapes inspired by PDB structures; or schematic renderings, using simple geometric shapes to represent cellular components. The control group received a list of keywords. When students were asked to draw and describe the process in their own style and to reply to multiple-choice questions, the three iconographic approaches equally improved the overall outcome of the tests (relative to keywords). Students found the three approaches equally useful but, when asked to select a preferred style, they largely favored a realistic-schematic style. When students were asked to annotate "raw" realistic images, both keywords and schematic representations failed to prepare them for this task. We conclude that supplementary images facilitate the comprehension process and despite their visual clutter, realistic representations do not hinder learning in an introductory course.

Investigating the Relationship between Instructors' Use of Active-Learning Strategies and Students' Conceptual Understanding and Affective Changes in Introductory Biology: A Comparison of Two Active-Learning Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleveland, Lacy M; Olimpo, Jeffrey T; DeChenne-Peters, Sue Ellen

2017-01-01

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected quantitative data to compare participants' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in the biological sciences across two contexts that employed different active-learning strategies and that were facilitated by unique instructors. Students participated in either graphic organizer/worksheet activities or clicker-based case studies. After controlling for demographic and presemester affective differences, we found that students in both active-learning environments displayed similar and significant learning gains. In terms of attitudinal and motivational data, significant differences were observed for two attitudinal measures. Specifically, those students who had participated in graphic organizer/worksheet activities demonstrated more expert-like attitudes related to their enjoyment of biology and ability to make real-world connections. However, all motivational and most attitudinal data were not significantly different between the students in the two learning environments. These data reinforce the notion that active learning is associated with conceptual change and suggests that more research is needed to examine the differential effects of varying active-learning strategies on students' attitudes and motivation in the domain. © 2017 L. M. Cleveland et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Two Contrasting Failure Modes of Enteric Coated Beads.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Galen H; Dong, Xia; Lytle, Michelle; Kemp, Craig A J; Behme, Robert J; Hinds, Jeremy; Xiao, Zhicheng

2018-04-09

This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms and kinetics of coating failure for enteric coated beads exposed to high-humidity conditions at different storage temperatures. Enteric coated beads were placed on high-humidity conditions (75 to 98% relative humidity (RH)) in the temperature range of 5 to 40°C. These stability samples of beads were tested for acid dissolution and water activity and also analyzed with SEM, X-ray CT, and DMA. Exposure of enteric coated beads to high humidity led to increased gastric release of drug which eventually failed the dissolution specification. SEM showed visible cracks on the surface of beads exposed to 5°C/high humidity and fusion of enteric beads into agglomerates at 40°C/high humidity. In a non-destructive time elapse study, X-ray CT demonstrated swelling of microcrystalline cellulose cores, crack initiation, and propagation through the API layer within days under 5°C/98% RH storage conditions and ultimately fracture through the enteric coating. DMA data showed a marked reduction in T g of the enteric coating materials after exposure to humidity. At 5°C/high humidity, the hygroscopic microcrystalline cellulose core absorbed moisture leading to core swelling and consequent fracture through the brittle API and enteric layers. At 40°C (high humidity) which is above the T g of the enteric polymer, enteric coated beads coalesced into agglomerates due to melt flow of the enteric coating. We believe it is the first report on two distinct failure models of enteric coated dosage forms.

Conceptual change through the use of student-generated analogies of photosynthesis and respiration by college non-science majors

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Gary D.

Two of the most important and difficult concepts in biology are photosynthesis and respiration. A pilot study was performed using student volunteers from introductory biology classes to assess student alternative frameworks regarding photosynthesis and respiration. The results of the pilot study were used to construct the Instrument for the Assessment of Respiration and Photosynthesis (IFARP). This was an 11-item, three-tier multiple choice instrument designed to conveniently assess the common misconceptions students have about these concepts upon entering a biology course. The first tier of each item of the IFARP contained a multiple choice question about photosynthesis or respiration. The second tier had a multiple choice question regarding the reason for the choice in the first tier. The third tier asked the students to indicate how confident they were in their responses, on a scale from 1 (not very confident) to 5 (very confident). The IFARP was administered as a pretest and posttest to a group of science non-majors in an introductory biology course. No significant changes were observed in student performance as measured by the IFARP between the pretest and posttest administrations. The students did, however, demonstrate a statistical increase in mean confidence levels regarding their knowledge of photosynthesis and respiration. Even though their comprehension and understanding regarding photosynthesis and respiration had not increased, the confidence they had in their responses about these two concepts had increased. The IFARP was also administered to a group of nursing student volunteers in an introductory microbiology course. This group of students also participated in the use of student-generated analogies as a learning strategy to alter conceptual frameworks. One test group of students provided analogies to photosynthesis and respiration, while the other test group provided analogies to two other concepts. No significant changes were observed in the

Connecting Structure-Property and Structure-Function Relationships across the Disciplines of Chemistry and Biology: Exploring Student Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Kohn, Kathryn P.; Underwood, Sonia M.; Cooper, Melanie M.

2018-01-01

While many university students take science courses in multiple disciplines, little is known about how they perceive common concepts from different disciplinary perspectives. Structure-property and structure-function relationships have long been considered important explanatory concepts in the disciplines of chemistry and biology, respectively.…

Rethinking biology instruction: The application of DNR-based instruction to the learning and teaching of biology

Science.gov (United States)

Maskiewicz, April Lee

Educational studies report that secondary and college level students have developed only limited understandings of the most basic biological processes and their interrelationships from typical classroom experiences. Furthermore, students have developed undesirable reasoning schemes and beliefs that directly affect how they make sense of and account for biological phenomena. For these reasons, there exists a need to rethink instructional practices in biology. This dissertation discusses how the principles of Harel's (1998, 2001) DNR-based instruction in mathematics could be applied to the teaching and learning of biology. DNR is an acronym for the three foundational principles of the system: Duality, Necessity, and Repeated-reasoning. This study examines the application of these three principles to ecology instruction. Through clinical and teaching interviews, I developed models of students' existing ways of understanding in ecology and inferred their ways of thinking. From these models a hypothetical learning trajectory was developed for 16 college level freshmen enrolled in a 10-week ecology teaching experiment. Through cyclical, interpretive analysis I documented and analyzed the evolution of the participants' progress. The results provide empirical evidence to support the claim that the DNR principles are applicable to ecology instruction. With respect to the Duality Principle, helping students develop specific ways of understanding led to the development of model-based reasoning---a way of thinking and the cognitive objective guiding instruction. Through carefully structured problem solving tasks, the students developed a biological understanding of the relationship between matter cycling, energy flow, and cellular processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, and used this understanding to account for observable phenomena in nature. In the case of intellectual necessity, the results illuminate how problem situations can be developed for biology learners

Practising Conservation Biology in a Virtual Rainforest World

Science.gov (United States)

Schedlbauer, Jessica L.; Nadolny, Larysa; Woolfrey, Joan

2016-01-01

The interdisciplinary science of conservation biology provides undergraduate biology students with the opportunity to connect the biological sciences with disciplines including economics, social science and philosophy to address challenging conservation issues. Because of its complexity, students do not often have the opportunity to practise…

The Math-Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors' Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Sarah E; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory, students' personal values toward using math in a biological context will influence their achievement and behavioral outcomes, but a validated instrument is needed to determine this empirically. We developed the Math-Biology Values Instrument (MBVI), an 11-item college-level self--report instrument grounded in expectancy-value theory, to measure life science students' interest in using math to understand biology, the perceived usefulness of math to their life science career, and the cost of using math in biology courses. We used a process that integrates multiple forms of validity evidence to show that scores from the MBVI can be used as a valid measure of a student's value of math in the context of biology. The MBVI can be used by instructors and researchers to help identify instructional strategies that influence math-biology values and understand how math-biology values are related to students' achievement and decisions to pursue more advanced quantitative-based courses. © 2017 S. E. Andrews et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Creating a pipeline of talent for informatics: STEM initiative for high school students in computer science, biology, and biomedical informatics

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Joyeeta Dutta-Moscato

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This editorial provides insights into how informatics can attract highly trained students by involving them in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM training at the high school level and continuing to provide mentorship and research opportunities through the formative years of their education. Our central premise is that the trajectory necessary to be expert in the emergent fields in front of them requires acceleration at an early time point. Both pathology (and biomedical informatics are new disciplines which would benefit from involvement by students at an early stage of their education. In 2009, Michael T Lotze MD, Kirsten Livesey (then a medical student, now a medical resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC, Richard Hersheberger, PhD (Currently, Dean at Roswell Park, and Megan Seippel, MS (the administrator launched the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI Summer Academy to bring high school students for an 8 week summer academy focused on Cancer Biology. Initially, pathology and biomedical informatics were involved only in the classroom component of the UPCI Summer Academy. In 2011, due to popular interest, an informatics track called Computer Science, Biology and Biomedical Informatics (CoSBBI was launched. CoSBBI currently acts as a feeder program for the undergraduate degree program in bioinformatics at the University of Pittsburgh, which is a joint degree offered by the Departments of Biology and Computer Science. We believe training in bioinformatics is the best foundation for students interested in future careers in pathology informatics or biomedical informatics. We describe our approach to the recruitment, training and research mentoring of high school students to create a pipeline of exceptionally well-trained applicants for both the disciplines of pathology informatics and biomedical informatics. We emphasize here how mentoring of high school students in pathology informatics and biomedical

Creating a pipeline of talent for informatics: STEM initiative for high school students in computer science, biology, and biomedical informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta-Moscato, Joyeeta; Gopalakrishnan, Vanathi; Lotze, Michael T; Becich, Michael J

2014-01-01

This editorial provides insights into how informatics can attract highly trained students by involving them in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) training at the high school level and continuing to provide mentorship and research opportunities through the formative years of their education. Our central premise is that the trajectory necessary to be expert in the emergent fields in front of them requires acceleration at an early time point. Both pathology (and biomedical) informatics are new disciplines which would benefit from involvement by students at an early stage of their education. In 2009, Michael T Lotze MD, Kirsten Livesey (then a medical student, now a medical resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)), Richard Hersheberger, PhD (Currently, Dean at Roswell Park), and Megan Seippel, MS (the administrator) launched the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) Summer Academy to bring high school students for an 8 week summer academy focused on Cancer Biology. Initially, pathology and biomedical informatics were involved only in the classroom component of the UPCI Summer Academy. In 2011, due to popular interest, an informatics track called Computer Science, Biology and Biomedical Informatics (CoSBBI) was launched. CoSBBI currently acts as a feeder program for the undergraduate degree program in bioinformatics at the University of Pittsburgh, which is a joint degree offered by the Departments of Biology and Computer Science. We believe training in bioinformatics is the best foundation for students interested in future careers in pathology informatics or biomedical informatics. We describe our approach to the recruitment, training and research mentoring of high school students to create a pipeline of exceptionally well-trained applicants for both the disciplines of pathology informatics and biomedical informatics. We emphasize here how mentoring of high school students in pathology informatics and biomedical informatics

Enteric and indicator virus removal by surface flow wetlands.

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Rachmadi, Andri T; Kitajima, Masaaki; Pepper, Ian L; Gerba, Charles P

2016-01-15

We investigated the occurrence and attenuation of several human enteric viruses (i.e., norovirus, adenovirus, Aichi virus 1, polyomaviruses, and enterovirus) as well as a plant virus, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), at two surface flow wetlands in Arizona. The retention time in one of the wetlands was seven days, whereas in the other wetland it could not be defined. Water samples were collected at the inlet and outlet from the wetlands over nine months, and concentration of viral genomes was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Of the human enteric viruses tested, adenovirus and Aichi virus 1 were found in the greatest prevalence in treated wastewater (i.e., inlet of the wetlands). Reduction efficiencies of enteric viruses by the wetlands ranged from 1 to 3 log10. Polyomaviruses were generally removed to below detection limit, indicating at least 2 to 4 log10 removal. PMMoV was detected in a greater concentration in the inlet of both wetlands for all the viruses tested (10(4) to 10(7) genome copies/L), but exhibited little or no removal (1 log10 or less). To determine the factors associated with virus genome attenuation (as determined by qPCR), the persistence of PMMoV and poliovirus type 1 (an enterovirus) was studied in autoclaved and natural wetland water, and deionized water incubated under three different temperatures for 21 days. A combination of elevated water temperature and biological activities reduced poliovirus by 1 to 4 log10, while PMMoV was not significantly reduced during this time period. Overall, PMMoV showed much greater persistence than human viruses in the wetland treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Math-Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors' Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology

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Andrews, Sarah E.; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L.

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory,…

Enhancing Scientific Communication Through an Undergraduate Biology and Journalism Partnership.

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Schwingel, Johanna M

2018-01-01

Scientific terminology presents an obstacle to effective communication with nonscientific audiences. To overcome this obstacle, biology majors in a general microbiology elective completed a project involving two different audiences: a scientific audience of their peers and a general, nonscientific audience. First, students presented an overview of a primary research paper and the significance of its findings to a general, nonscientific audience in an elevator-type talk. This was followed by a peer interview with a student in a journalism course, in which the biology students needed to comprehend the article to effectively communicate it to the journalism students, and the journalism students needed to ask questions about an unfamiliar, technical topic. Next, the biology students wrote a summary of their article for a scientific audience. Finally, the students presented a figure from the article to their peers in a scientific, Bio-Minute format. The biology-journalism partnership allowed biology students to develop their ability to communicate scientific information and journalism students their ability to ask appropriate questions and establish a base of knowledge from which to write.

Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students.

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Marbach-Ad, Gili; Rietschel, Carly; Thompson, Katerina V

2016-01-01

We present a novel assessment tool for measuring biology students' values and experiences across their undergraduate degree program. Our Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U) assesses the extent to which students value skills needed for the workplace (e.g., ability to work in groups) and their experiences with teaching practices purported to promote such skills (e.g., group work). The survey was validated through factor analyses in a large sample of biology seniors (n = 1389) and through response process analyses (five interviewees). The STEP-U skills items were characterized by two underlying factors: retention (e.g., memorization) and transfer (e.g., knowledge application). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine relationships between classroom experiences, values, and student characteristics (e.g., gender, cumulative grade point average [GPA], and research experience). Student demographic and experiential factors predicted the extent to which students valued particular skills. Students with lower GPAs valued retention skills more than those with higher GPAs. Students with research experience placed greater value on scientific writing and interdisciplinary understanding. Greater experience with specific teaching practices was associated with valuing the corresponding skills more highly. The STEP-U can provide feedback vital for designing curricula that better prepare students for their intended postgraduate careers. © 2016 G. Marbach-Ad et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Professional Identity, Social Recognition and Entering the Workforce of the University Student with Hybrid Education

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Damián, Javier

2014-01-01

This article shows progress of a research which aims to describe the factors that facilitate and hinder labor insertion of graduates with hybrid university education, since according to those responsible for the education policy, this type of training facilitates graduates to enter in the labor market. Through a qualitative approach we studied the…

Thermal inactivation of enteric viruses and bioaccumulation of enteric foodborne viruses in live oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

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Human enteric viruses are one of the main causative agents of shellfish associated outbreaks. In this study, the kinetics of viral bioaccumulation in live oysters and the heat stability of the most predominant enteric viruses were determined in both tissue culture and in oyster tissues. A human nor...

Topics in mathematical biology

CERN Document Server

Hadeler, Karl Peter

2017-01-01

This book analyzes the impact of quiescent phases on biological models. Quiescence arises, for example, when moving individuals stop moving, hunting predators take a rest, infected individuals are isolated, or cells enter the quiescent compartment of the cell cycle. In the first chapter of Topics in Mathematical Biology general principles about coupled and quiescent systems are derived, including results on shrinking periodic orbits and stabilization of oscillations via quiescence. In subsequent chapters classical biological models are presented in detail and challenged by the introduction of quiescence. These models include delay equations, demographic models, age structured models, Lotka-Volterra systems, replicator systems, genetic models, game theory, Nash equilibria, evolutionary stable strategies, ecological models, epidemiological models, random walks and reaction-diffusion models. In each case we find new and interesting results such as stability of fixed points and/or periodic orbits, excitability...

The effects of academic literacy instruction on engagement and conceptual understanding of biology of ninth-grade students

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Larson, Susan C.

Academic language, discourse, vocabulary, motivation, and comprehension of complex texts and concepts are keys to learning subject-area content. The need for a disciplinary literacy approach in high school classrooms accelerates as students become increasing disengaged in school and as content complexity increases. In the present quasi-experimental mixed-method study, a ninth-grade biology unit was designed with an emphasis on promoting academic literacy skills, discourse, meaningful constructivist learning, interest development, and positive learning experiences in order to learn science content. Quantitative and qualitative analyses on a variety of measures completed by 222 students in two high schools revealed that those who received academic literacy instruction in science class performed at significantly higher levels of conceptual understanding of biology content, academic language and vocabulary use, reasoned thought, engagement, and quality of learning experience than control-group students receiving traditionally-organized instruction. Academic literacy was embedded into biology instruction to engage students in meaning-making discourses of science to promote learning. Academic literacy activities were organized according the phases of interest development to trigger and sustain interest and goal-oriented engagement throughout the unit. Specific methods included the Generative Vocabulary Matrix (GVM), scenario-based writing, and involvement in a variety of strategically-placed discourse activities to sustain or "boost" engagement for learning. Traditional instruction for the control group included teacher lecture, whole-group discussion, a conceptual organizer, and textbook reading. Theoretical foundations include flow theory, sociocultural learning theory, and interest theory. Qualitative data were obtained from field notes and participants' journals. Quantitative survey data were collected and analyzed using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) to

A comparative analysis of multiple-choice and student performance-task assessment in the high school biology classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Cushing, Patrick Ryan

This study compared the performance of high school students on laboratory assessments. Thirty-four high school students who were enrolled in the second semester of a regular biology class or had completed the biology course the previous semester participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to examinations of two formats, performance-task and traditional multiple-choice, from two content areas, using a compound light microscope and diffusion. Students were directed to think-aloud as they performed the assessments. Additional verbal data were obtained during interviews following the assessment. The tape-recorded narrative data were analyzed for type and diversity of knowledge and skill categories, and percentage of in-depth processing demonstrated. While overall mean scores on the assessments were low, elicited statements provided additional insight into student cognition. Results indicated that a greater diversity of knowledge and skill categories was elicited by the two microscope assessments and by the two performance-task assessments. In addition, statements demonstrating in-depth processing were coded most frequently in narratives elicited during clinical interviews following the diffusion performance-task assessment. This study calls for individual teachers to design authentic assessment practices and apply them to daily classroom routines. Authentic assessment should be an integral part of the learning process and not merely an end result. In addition, teachers are encouraged to explicitly identify and model, through think-aloud methods, desired cognitive behaviors in the classroom.

Advantages of enteral nutrition over parenteral nutrition

OpenAIRE

Seres, David S.; Valcarcel, Monika; Guillaume, Alexandra

2013-01-01

It is a strong and commonly held belief among nutrition clinicians that enteral nutrition is preferable to parenteral nutrition. We provide a narrative review of more recent studies and technical reviews comparing enteral nutrition with parenteral nutrition. Despite significant weaknesses in the existing data, current literature continues to support the use of enteral nutrition in patients requiring nutrition support, over parenteral nutrition.

The Effects of Collaborative Care of Living Animals in Biology Lessons on Students' Relatedness Toward Their Teacher Across Gender

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Eckes, Alexander; Großmann, Nadine; Wilde, Matthias

2018-01-01

The transition from elementary school to the upper grades can lead to ambiguous feelings toward the new, male teachers. This study investigated whether collaborative animal care in biology lessons affects students' feelings of relatedness toward their biology teachers positively during the first year after the school transition. Four hundred twenty fifth graders (M age = 10.5 years, SD age = 0.6 years) of higher types of tracking participated. We designed one experimental group that involved caring for the living animals to be used in the upcoming lessons, and two control groups. The first control group included lessons with living animals, but did not include prior care of those animals, and the second incorporated neither living animals nor prior care. All groups received biology lessons with the same content. To examine the effects of caretaking, we used an adapted version of the scale "relatedness" (Ryan 1982). In both control groups, boys showed lower relatedness toward female teachers and girls toward male teachers, respectively. Collaborative mice care promoted equal relatedness across all gender combinations among teachers and students.

Integrative Assessment of Evolutionary Theory Acceptance and Knowledge Levels of Biology Undergraduate Students from a Brazilian University

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Tavares, Gustavo Medina; Bobrowski, Vera Lucia

2018-01-01

The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers' and students'…

Enabling students to learn: Design, implementation and assessment of a supplemental study strategies course for an introductory undergraduate biology course

Science.gov (United States)

Sriram, Jayanthi Sanjeevi

Attrition in the STEM disciplines is a national problem and one of the important reasons for this is student experiences in introductory courses. A myriad of factors influence students' experiences in those courses; inadequate student preparation is one of the most cited reasons. Incoming freshmen often lack the learning strategies required to meaningfully learn and succeed in college courses. Unfortunately, the instructors have limited time and/or have little experience in teaching learning strategies. In this paper, the design, implementation, and evaluation of a Supplemental Course (SC) model that emphasizes learning strategies is presented. SC was offered concurrently with the introductory biology courses for four consecutive semesters (fall 2011 to spring 2013); for 10 weeks in fall 2012 and 7 weeks in the other semesters at Miami University. 10 weeks SC began earlier in the semester than the shorter SC. This study evaluated the effects of the SC on students' (1) performance in the introductory biology course, (2) perceived changes in self-regulation and social support, and (3) experiences in the introductory biology course before, during, and after participation in the SC. A mixed methods approach was used to address these goals. A pre-post survey was administered to obtain students' use of self-regulation strategies and social-support data. Quantitative methods were utilized to analyze content exam grades and changes in self-regulation strategies and social-support. To explore the experiences of the students, semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by analysis using grounded theory. The findings reveal that participants of the longer duration SC (with an earlier start date) significantly improved in content exam performance, perceived use of self-regulation strategies, and social support compared to the non-participants. Participants of the shorter duration SC (with a later start date) did not significantly improve in content exam performance

How different are premedical freshmen who enter after introducing a multiple mini-interview in a medical school?

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Do-Hwan; Hwang, Jinyoung; Kim, Eun Jeong; Yoon, Hyun Bae; Shin, Jwa-Seop; Lee, Seunghee

2014-06-01

Seoul National University College of Medicine (SNUMC) introduced a multiple mini-interview (MMI) to assess the noncognitive ability of applicants in 2013. This study aims to examine whether students differ with regard to their personal career values and academic achievements by admission type. We administered a survey about career values and self-perception of competencies. We then compared the survey results and academic achievements by admission type. Finally, the correlation coefficient between MMI score and academic achievement was calculated in the MMI group. The data were analyzed by t-test and correlation analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in career values between groups. For self-perception of competency, only the 'interact in heterogeneous groups' domain was higher for those who entered through the MMI. The MMI group had a higher and broader level of academic achievement. Within the MMI group, there was a significant correlation between grade point average and MMI station scores. The characteristics of students who entered through the MMI were more in accordance with the goals of SNUMC and the competency of future doctors. Considering the unique feature of premedical academic achievement, this result implies that such students have superior noncognitive abilities, such as self-development and internal motivation. How these differences change subsequently remains to be seen.

Development of the Biology Card Sorting Task to Measure Conceptual Expertise in Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Julia I.; Combs, Elijah D.; Nagami, Paul H.; Alto, Valerie M.; Goh, Henry G.; Gourdet, Muryam A. A.; Hough, Christina M.; Nickell, Ashley E.; Peer, Adrian G.; Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

2013-01-01

There are widespread aspirations to focus undergraduate biology education on teaching students to think conceptually like biologists; however, there is a dearth of assessment tools designed to measure progress from novice to expert biological conceptual thinking. We present the development of a novel assessment tool, the Biology Card Sorting Task,…

Laboratory Screening for Children Entering Foster Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Greiner, Mary V; Beal, Sarah J; Nause, Katie; Staat, Mary Allen; Dexheimer, Judith W; Scribano, Philip V

2017-12-01

To determine the prevalence of medical illness detected by laboratory screening in children entering foster care in a single, urban county. All children entering foster care in a single county in Ohio were seen at a consultation foster care clinic and had laboratory screening, including testing for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and tuberculosis as well as for hemoglobin and lead levels. Over a 3-year period (2012-2015), laboratory screening was performed on 1977 subjects entering foster care in a consultative foster care clinic. The prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and tuberculosis were all found to be <1%. There were no cases of HIV. Seven percent of teenagers entering foster care tested positive for Chlamydia . A secondary finding was that 54% of subjects were hepatitis B surface antibody-negative, indicating an absence of detected immunity to the hepatitis B virus. Routine laboratory screening for children entering foster care resulted in a low yield. Targeted, rather than routine, laboratory screening may be a more clinically meaningful approach for children entering foster care. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Respon of IKIP BUDI UTOMO Students Toward the Instructional Book of Cell Biology Subject Aided by Interactive Multimedia

OpenAIRE

Hartati, Tri Asih Wahyu; Safitri, Dini

2017-01-01

The development of Science and Technology (Science and Technology) takes place very rapidly. The development of science and technology will impact on graduate competency changes desired by the industry. This change of course will be followed by updating the curriculum, learning resources and teaching materials are used, one of them teaching materials on the subjects of Cell Biology. In the course of Cell Biology, the students only take textbooks without the support of interactive multimedia. ...

Teaching information literacy skills to sophomore-level biology majors.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Leigh; Blankinship, Lisa Ann

2015-05-01

Many undergraduate students lack a sound understanding of information literacy. The skills that comprise information literacy are particularly important when combined with scientific writing for biology majors as they are the foundation skills necessary to complete upper-division biology course assignments, better train students for research projects, and prepare students for graduate and professional education. To help undergraduate biology students develop and practice information literacy and scientific writing skills, a series of three one-hour hands-on library sessions, discussions, and homework assignments were developed for Biological Literature, a one-credit, one-hour-per-week, required sophomore-level course. The embedded course librarian developed a learning exercise that reviewed how to conduct database and web searches, the difference between primary and secondary sources, source credibility, and how to access articles through the university's databases. Students used the skills gained in the library training sessions for later writing assignments including a formal lab report and annotated bibliography. By focusing on improving information literacy skills as well as providing practice in scientific writing, Biological Literature students are better able to meet the rigors of upper-division biology courses and communicate research findings in a more professional manner.

Evolution of meanings of the concept of gen in students of higher education in the teaching of biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalia Diez de Tancredi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to identify initial meanings of the concept of the gene among 50 students from the career training of teachers of biology at the University Pedagogical Experimental Libertador (UPEL, Pedagogical Institute of Caracas, who enrolled in Cell Biology (BC and General Genetics (GG, as well as those built from a didactic intervention that formed part of Participatory Action Research (PAR. The work is based on the Theory of Meaningful Learning of Ausubel, on the principles of critical meaningful learning facilitators of Moreira, and on elements of the educational act of Novak. To investigate the evolution of meaning of this concept were used: questionnaires, interviews, maps and graphic representations of concepts developed by students. The data analysis provides a differentiated evolution of the meaning of the gene in the students, which corresponds to the didactic intervention and teachers, actions in both courses. It shows the importance of organizing the teaching in a potentially meaningful way to reflect on the content and learning, so that abstract concepts such as gene, must be presented with a critical and reflexive epistemology.

Thinking processes of Filipino teachers representation of schema of some biology topics: Its effects to the students conceptual understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Barquilla, Manuel B.

2018-01-01

This study is a qualitative-quantitative research, where the main concern is to investigate Content knowledge representation of Filipino Teachers in their schema (proposition, linear ordering and imagery) of some biology topics. The five biology topics includes: Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, human reproductive system, Mendelian genetics and NonMendelian genetics. The study focuses on the six (6) biology teachers and a total of 222 students in their respective classes. Of the Six (6) teachers, three (3) are under the Science curriculum and three (3) under regular curriculum in both public and private schools in Iligan city and Lanao del Norte, Philippines. The study utilizes interpretative case-study method, bracketing method, and concept analysis for qualitative part. For quantitative, it uses a nonparametric statistical tool, Kendall's Tau to determine congruence of students and teachers' concept maps and paired t-test for testing the significant differences of pre-and post-instruction concept maps to determine the effects of students' conceptual understanding before and after the teacher's representation of their schema that requires the teachers' thinking processes. The data were cross-validated with two or more techniques used in the study. The data collection entailed seven (7) months immersion: one (1) month for preliminary phase for the researcher to gain teachers' and students' confidence and the succeeding six (6) months for main observation and data collection. Results indicate that the teacher utilize six methods to construct meaning of concepts, three methods of representing classification, four methods to represent relationships, seven methods to represent transformation and three methods to represent causation in planning and implementing the lessons. They often modify definitions in the textbook and express these in lingua franca to be better understood by the students. Furthermore, the teachers' analogs given to student are sometimes far

Musical Identities in Transition: Solo-Piano Students' Accounts of Entering the Academy

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Juuti, Sini; Littleton, Karen

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the identity work of adult instrumental students negotiating their entry to a prestigious music academy and the professional field of music. Ten classical solo-piano students' accounts of their musical histories and experiences were collected through research interviews. The thematic analyses presented…

SHADES, FOLDS AND INCITEMENTS BETWEEN BIOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY THE DEGREE IN BIOLOGY FROM THE NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Liliana Cano Aparicio

2016-09-01