Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Undergraduate biology education'

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006.
Title from title page screen, viewed on February 4, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Barbara Nourie, Kenneth F. Jerich. Includes bibliographical references and abstract. Also available in print.

The work presented in this thesis focuses on educational issues in first-year biology courses at university. First-year courses are important because they have the potential to influence student retention and subsequent subject selection choices, as well as learning at higher levels. Further, biology is considered to be an important enabling subject in New Zealand because of the Government's drive towards a biotechnology-based knowledge economy. Specifically, the work in this thesis explores the educational implications of the increasingly diverse academic backgrounds of students entering first-year biology courses on teaching and learning in these courses. A social constructivist view of learning is adopted, in which prior knowledge of the learners is considered to have a significant influence on their learning. The social context of learning interactions also is considered to be important. The research involved three phases: identification of prior knowledge assumed by faculty; identification of actual prior knowledge of students; and the implementation and evaluation of an intervention programme based on concept mapping. In order to investigate faculty assumptions of student prior knowledge, 35 faculty from six New Zealand universities were interviewed. Document analysis and classroom observations provided data triangulation. The findings for this phase of the research suggest that faculty were aware of the diverse prior knowledge of students, and reported a tension between teaching from scratch in order to accommodate those with very limited prior knowledge; and the risk of boring those with more extensive relevant backgrounds. A range of concepts that are not explained during teaching (i.e., concepts it is assumed students understand) were identified, including biology-specific concepts and relevant chemical and mathematical concepts. In the second phase, research findings from phase one were used to develop a prior knowledge questionnaire administered in two successive years to all students enrolled in first-year biology courses at one New Zealand university. Data analysis for this phase suggests that although students with more extensive prior biology study were more likely to have a scientifically acceptable understanding of some key concepts, this was not true of all the concepts that were investigated, including chemical and mathematical concepts. The data also point to differences between what faculty expect students to know, and what students actually know. Furthermore, few students, regardless of the extent of prior biology study, were able to demonstrate understanding of the relationships between important biological concepts. In the third phase of the research, an intervention based on concept mapping was implemented and evaluated. Two of the six weekly tutorial classes associated with two first-year biology courses were used for the purposes of the intervention. The intervention differed from the other concept mapping studies reported in the literature in that its implementation was of long duration, viz., a period of 11 weeks. Students who participated in the intervention reported in 'tutorial experience questionnaires' and subsequent interviews that concept mapping helped them to learn the biology content covered during lectures, and to identify links between concepts. A large proportion of participants indicated that they used concept mapping for biology study outside of the intervention tutorial classes, and in some cases in other courses of study. Classroom management strategies appeared to contribute to the positive views about the use of concept mapping during tutorials. Specifically, the tutor modelled the use of concept mapping, but students were also given opportunities to construct their own maps. The role of the tutor in guiding discussions with students and providing feedback was also viewed as being important. Detailed analysis of course assessment tasks suggests that concept mapping enhanced learning for test questions that require understanding of links between concepts. Where tasks require only the recall of facts, concept mapping does not appear to make a statistically significant difference to student performance. The findings from the concept mapping intervention thus suggest that although concept mapping is a strategy that can be used effectively in tertiary biology tutorial classes, it is more worthwhile if the type of deep learning that is encouraged by the use of concept mapping is also the type of learning required to successfully complete assessment tasks. This raises the issue of whether the type of learning faculty specify in course objectives is the type of learning they actually seek to develop in course delivery and associated assessment regimes.

This study examined an innovative, project-based curriculum in a freshman biology laboratory by focusing on how students developed their conceptual understanding of a biological species. A model for learning was posed based on learners working in small groups. This model linked a sociocultural approach to teaching and learning to conceptual change theory. Qualitative research methods were employed to collect a variety of data. Documentation of this innovative curriculum is provided. This investigative curriculum incorporated the research practices that scientists use. A wide range of dynamic interactions with students actively investigating problems and sharing both their findings and thoughts during this time occurred. This essentially modeled the authentic practices of scientists. A direct comparison was made with this learning environment and the model for learning. Peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and most importantly, peer collaboration were observed when students grappled with difficult problems for which there was no single right answer. Teachers served as guides in learning, shifting responsibility to the students. Analysis of student writing revealed richer, more complex definitions of species after the experience of the laboratory project. Several of the students used knowledge gained directly from their experiences during the laboratory project to help elaborate their definitions. The electronic discussions showed a range of social interactions and interactivity. High quality discussions were found to be rich in scientific thought, engaging discussants by offering information, questioning, and actively hypothesizing. Mediating and facilitating discussions by the participants was found to be an important factor in their success. Groups exhibiting high quality discussions also had a lower response time than other groups, indicating that more substantive dialogues which are rich in thought proceed at a slower pace. Significantly, an important connection has been made between the socio-cultural approach to learning and conceptual change theory. A closer examination of how small groups of learners develop conceptual understanding is needed. This approach also needs to be extended into other settings where reform in science education is taking place.
Ph. D.

It has been the work of many science educators all over the world to try and design curricula that could help encourage intellectual growth in students. One influential work in this area was done by William Graves Perry, who managed to use students' own experiences to map out a scheme elaborating the different phases through which college students pass as they progress from year to year. This showed that students' thoughts develop from a state of basic dualism, where all is viewed as qualitative extremes without intermediates, to acknowledgement of multiplistic perspectives, through to recognition of the relativistic nature of knowledge. Perry suggests that instructors have to find out about their students' positions along this developmental continuum in order to carve around these proper support, encouragement, and challenges necessary for ensuring further development. Communication of expectations and aims of courses is also imperative. Research has shown that students' approach to learning is usually modelled around what they perceive as being expected of them. Perry's scheme is a suitable tool for ensuring this communication, because through it, students get to relay their expectations to the staff. Based on Perry's scheme, an attempt was made to develop a questionnaire that could be used for the investigation of intellectual growth in undergraduate biology students. This comprised of one section with opposing typical Perry 'A' (least advanced) and 'C' (most advanced) type statements, and a second free-response section where students had to justify their positions to given Perry 'A' and 'C' type statements. It was administered at universities of Botswana and Glasgow, Modified versions were also administered to pupils in two Glasgow High Schools and staff at the University of Glasgow. The aim was to find out if intellectual thought improved with progress from lower to higher educational levels and whether the staff's expectations matched those of students. The results from the two universities were also compared to find out if progress in the two universities followed the same pattern, and to see if Perry's scheme could be applied to students coming from totally different backgrounds.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide authentic research benefits to an entire laboratory course population. CURE experiences are proposed to enhance research skills, critical thinking, productivity, and retention in science. CURE curriculum developers face numerous obstacles, such as the logistics and time commitment involved in bringing a CURE to larger student populations. In addition, an ideal CURE topic requires affordable resources, lab techniques that can be quickly mastered, time for multiple iterations within one semester, and the opportunity to generate new data. This study identifies some of the CURE activities that lead to proposed participant outcomes. Introductory Biology I CURE lab students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville completed research related to the process of converting storage lipids in microalgae into biodiesel. Data collected from CURE and traditional lab student participants indicate increased CURE student reports of project ownership, scientific self-efficacy, identification as a scientist, and sense of belonging to a science community. Study limitations and unanticipated benefits are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of notecards, a study aid, on students’ learning in three sections of a non-majors undergraduate Human Biology course. Moreover, the effectiveness of illustrations as study aids was compared with the effectiveness of descriptions as study aids. Presently, there is not much research on this particular topic, but notecards are a quite common method of studying.

Hypothesis: It was expected that the use of notecards would be more beneficial to student learning than no use at all. Furthermore, it was expected that drawing illustrations would be more effective than writing definitions or descriptions.

Method: Three Human Biology courses taught by the same instructor took part in the study. One class acted as the control in which they did not complete notecards, while the other two courses completed three notecards per unit. Of the two classes, one class completed notecards by drawing illustrations while the other course completed notecards in which students were to write definitions or descriptions. Pre-tests and post-tests were given at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester, respectively, to identify students’ overall knowledge retention and learning during the semester.

Results: The Paired t-test and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test showed that there was a statistically significant difference of change scores between the pre-tests and post-tests within each group meaning all sections of the course learned. The Shapiro-Wilk’s test showed that data was normally distributed to continue the One-Way ANOVA tests. The results of the One-Way ANOVA showed that there was a statistically significant difference between all groups, and the Tukey post-hoc test pinpointed the statistical significance of the One-Way ANOVA between the illustration group and the control group. There was neither a statistically significant difference between the illustration group and the description group nor between the description group and the control group. The Effect Size was small-to-medium, ω = 0.044. The Kruskal-Wallis H test performed on the weekly assignment scores showed there was a statistically significant difference between groups. Dunn’s (1964) procedure with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons showed that, generally, there was a statistically significant difference from the control group to the illustration group as well as from the control group to the description group, meaning students in the illustration group and the description group performed better on weekly assignments than the control group. The illustration group performed as well as the description group on weekly assignments. The weekly assignment and exam analysis compared average exam percentages and final exam percentages of each group to average assignment percentages to assess whether there were any certain notecard assignments, descriptive or illustrative, that led to different exam percentages between groups. Exam scores between all groups were similar and there was no specific trend between certain assignments and respective exam scores. Largely, in all groups, there was a positive correlation amongst exam scores and their respective assignments as well as a general positive correlation amongst the assignments and the final exam according to the results of Spearman’s Correlation test. The Kruskal-Wallis H test performed on all five exam scores of each group showed there was not a statistically significant difference between exam scores of each group. By assessing the change in number of correct answers per question between pre-tests and post-tests, it was determined that learning in some specific content areas may have been improved by utilizing notecards (descriptive in some cases and illustrative in other cases) as a study aid whereas learning in other content areas were nearly equivalent across all groups. Student reflection on course evaluations showed a mixed reaction to the notecard assignments with some students regarding them as their least favorite part of the course and still others commenting on how helpful they were to their study.

Conclusions: All groups learned throughout the semester, and learning gains for the illustration group and the description group doubled compared to the control group. Short-term learning based on weekly assignments was increased for both the illustration and description groups, but exam scores were not really affected by the different learning interventions. Exam scores were similar among the three groups, so notecards were neither superior nor inferior to the standard curriculum when it came to academic performance. The student divide concerning using notecards illuminated the idea that all students have different learning styles, and in the case of the present study, some students in one group may have preferred to complete the type of assignment of another group. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Increasing individual ecological literacy levels may help citizens make informed choices about the environmental challenges facing society. The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of an arboretum curriculum incorporating mobile technology and an urban greenspace on the ecological knowledge, environmental attitudes and beliefs, and environmental behaviors of undergraduate biology students and pre-service K-8 teachers during a summer course.

Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and later merged to create an enhanced understanding of the impact of the curriculum on the environmental attitudes and beliefs of the participants. Quantitative results revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-survey scores for ecological knowledge, with no significant differences between pre- and post-scores for the other variables measured. However, no significant difference in scores was found between experimental and comparison groups for any of the three variables.

When the two data sets were compared, results from the quantitative and qualitative components were found to converge and diverge. Quantitative data indicated the environmental attitudes and beliefs of participants were unaffected by the arboretum curriculum. Similarly, qualitative data indicated participants’ perceived environmental attitudes and beliefs about the importance of nature remained unchanged throughout the course of the study. However, qualitative data supporting the theme connecting with the curriculum suggested experiences with the arboretum curriculum helped participants develop an appreciation for trees and nature and led them to believe they increased their knowledge about trees.

Federal and state agencies in the United States have pressured institutions in higher education to increase the number of graduates in STEM disciplines and supply an educated workforce for the increasing shortages in the STEM economy. Undergraduate research experience is one potential mechanism for supporting retention and student success within STEM disciplines. Most evaluations of the impact of undergraduate research to this point have been qualitative research studies. The purpose of this study was to use a quantitative model to examine domain knowledge, domain interest, and career aspirations in undergraduate biology majors and how participation in research experiences may impact each of these aspects. Path analysis was performed with data collected from an online survey that was administered to six upper level biology courses during one semester. Domain interest and career aspirations was the only significant relation in the path model. Research experiences may indirectly impact career aspirations by increasing domain interest, but additional work is needed to examine this relationship. Stakeholders in undergraduate research at institutions may consider the implications of this study as they develop policies to reduce barriers for student participation in research.

Scientific reasoning and writing skills are ubiquitous processes in science and therefore common goals of science curricula, particularly in higher education. Providing the individualized feedback necessary for the development of these skills is often costly in terms of faculty time, particularly in large science courses common at research universities. Past educational research literature suggests that the use of peer review may accelerate students' scientific reasoning skills without a concurrent demand on faculty time per student. Peer review contains many elements of effective pedagogy such as peer-peer collaboration, repeated practice at evaluation and critical thinking, formative feedback, multiple contrasting examples, and extensive writing. All of these pedagogies may contribute to improvement in students' scientific reasoning. The effect of peer review on scientific reasoning was assessed using three major data sources: student performance on written lab reports, student performance on an objective Scientific Reasoning Test (Lawson, 1978) and student perceptions of the process of peer review in scientific community as well as the classroom. In addition, the need to measure student performance across multiple science classes resulted in the development of a Universal Rubric for Laboratory Reports. The reliability of this instrument and its effect on the grading consistency of graduate teaching assistants were also tested. Further, application of the Universal Rubric to student laboratory reports across multiple biology classes revealed that the Rubric is further useful as a programmatic assessment tool. The Rubric highlighted curricular gaps and strengths as well as measuring student achievement over time.This study demonstrated that even university freshman were effective and consistent peer reviewers and produced feedback that resulted in meaningful improvement in their science writing. Use of peer review accelerated the development of students' scientific reasoning abilities as measured both by laboratory reports (n = 142) and by the Scientific Reasoning Test (n = 389 biology majors) and this effect was stronger than the impact of several years of university coursework. The structure of the peer review process and the structure of the assignments used to generate the science laboratory reports had notable influence on student performance however. Improvements in laboratory reports were greatest when the peer review process emphasized the generation of concrete and evaluative written feedback and when assignments explicitly incorporated the rubric criteria. The rubric was found to be reliable in the hands of graduate student teaching assistants (using generalizability analysis, g = 0.85) regardless of biological course content (three biology courses, total n = 142 student papers). Reliability increased as the number of criteria incorporated into the assignment increased. Consistent use of Universal Rubric criteria in undergraduate courses taught by graduate teaching assistants produced laboratory report scores with reliability values similar to those reported for other published rubrics and well above the reliabilities reported for professional peer review.Lastly, students were overwhelmingly positive about peer review (83% average positive response, n = 1,026) reporting that it improved their writing, editing, researching and critical thinking skills. Interestingly, students reported that the act of giving feedback was equally useful to receiving feedback. Students connected the use of peer review in the classroom to its role in the scientific community and characterized peer review as a valuable skill they wished to acquire in their development as scientists. Peer review is thus an effective pedagogical strategy for improving student scientific reasoning skills. Specific recommendations for classroom implementation and use of the Universal Rubric are provided. Use of laboratory reports for assessing student scientific reasoning and application of the Universal Rubric across multiple courses, especially for programmatic assessment, is also recommended.

Scientific reasoning and writing skills are ubiquitous processes in science and therefore common goals of science curricula, particularly in higher education. Providing the individualized feedback necessary for the development of these skills is often costly in terms of faculty time, particularly in large science courses common at research universities. Past educational research literature suggests that the use of peer review may accelerate students' scientific reasoning skills without a concurrent demand on faculty time per student. Peer review contains many elements of effective pedagogy such as peer-peer collaboration, repeated practice at evaluation and critical thinking, formative feedback, multiple contrasting examples, and extensive writing. All of these pedagogies may contribute to improvement in students' scientific reasoning. The effect of peer review on scientific reasoning was assessed using three major data sources: student performance on written lab reports, student performance on an objective Scientific Reasoning Test (Lawson, 1978) and student perceptions of the process of peer review in scientific community as well as the classroom. In addition, the need to measure student performance across multiple science classes resulted in the development of a Universal Rubric for Laboratory Reports. The reliability of this instrument and its effect on the grading consistency of graduate teaching assistants were also tested. Further, application of the Universal Rubric to student laboratory reports across multiple biology classes revealed that the Rubric is further useful as a programmatic assessment tool. The Rubric highlighted curricular gaps and strengths as well as measuring student achievement over time.
This study demonstrated that even university freshman were effective and consistent peer reviewers and produced feedback that resulted in meaningful improvement in their science writing. Use of peer review accelerated the development of students' scientific reasoning abilities as measured both by laboratory reports (n = 142) and by the Scientific Reasoning Test (n = 389 biology majors) and this effect was stronger than the impact of several years of university coursework. The structure of the peer review process and the structure of the assignments used to generate the science laboratory reports had notable influence on student performance however. Improvements in laboratory reports were greatest when the peer review process emphasized the generation of concrete and evaluative written feedback and when assignments explicitly incorporated the rubric criteria. The rubric was found to be reliable in the hands of graduate student teaching assistants (using generalizability analysis, g = 0.85) regardless of biological course content (three biology courses, total n = 142 student papers). Reliability increased as the number of criteria incorporated into the assignment increased. Consistent use of Universal Rubric criteria in undergraduate courses taught by graduate teaching assistants produced laboratory report scores with reliability values similar to those reported for other published rubrics and well above the reliabilities reported for professional peer review.
Lastly, students were overwhelmingly positive about peer review (83% average positive response, n = 1,026) reporting that it improved their writing, editing, researching and critical thinking skills. Interestingly, students reported that the act of giving feedback was equally useful to receiving feedback. Students connected the use of peer review in the classroom to its role in the scientific community and characterized peer review as a valuable skill they wished to acquire in their development as scientists. Peer review is thus an effective pedagogical strategy for improving student scientific reasoning skills. Specific recommendations for classroom implementation and use of the Universal Rubric are provided. Use of laboratory reports for assessing student scientific reasoning and application of the Universal Rubric across multiple courses, especially for programmatic assessment, is also recommended.

There has been a call to reform science education to integrate scientific thinking practices, such as data interpretation and modeling, with learning content in science classrooms. This call to reform has taken place in both K-12 science education through Next Generation Science Standards and undergraduate education through AAAS initiative Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education. This dissertation work examines undergraduate students' learning of multiple scientific thinking skills in a curricular format called Teaching Real data Interpretation with Models (TRIM) applied to a large-enrollment course in Cellular and Developmental Biology. In TRIM, students are provided worksheets in groups and tasked to interpret authentic biological data. Importantly, groups are tasked to relate their data interpretations to a 2D visual model representation of the relevant biological process. This dissertation work consists of two studies with the overarching question: How do students use model representations to interpret data interpretations? In the first study, we primarily describe how students learn to navigate and interpret discipline-based data representations. We found the majority of groups could construct quality written data interpretations. Qualitative coding analysis on group discourse found students relied on strategies such as decoding the data representation and noticing data patterns together to construct claims. Claims were refined through spontaneous collaborative argumentation. We also found groups used the provided model to connect their data inferences to a biological context. In the second study, we primarily target our analysis on how individual students relate their data interpretations to different modeling tasks, including student-generation of their own model drawing. I interviewed students one-on-one as they worked through TRIM-style worksheets. From iterative qualitative analysis of transcripts and collected video on hand movements, I characterize the forms of reasoning at play at the interface of data and model representations. I propose a model at the end of Study 2 describing three modes of reasoning in data abstraction into models. I found when relating between data and models, students needed to link signs in both representations to a common referent in the real-world phenomenon. Establishing this sign-referent relationship seemed to depend on bringing in outside mechanistic information about the phenomenon. Once a mechanism was established, students could fluidly move between data and model representations through mechanistic reasoning. Thus data abstraction seems to rely on mechanistic reasoning with models. The findings from this dissertation work support the feasibility of student development of multiple scientific thinking skills within a large lecture course, and provide targets for curriculum and assignment designs centered on teaching higher order reasoning skills.

One of the main aims of inquiry is to engage students as active, not passive, participants in science. The purpose of this study is to describe science educators’ and students’ views about inquiry-based instruction in order to better understand and improve implementation of evidence-based teaching strategies. Inquiry-based techniques have been shown to improve student understanding of scientific concepts, yet, there continue to be challenges in implementing these techniques. This research project utilizes Q Methodology, a research method that captures both common and disparate measures of subjectivity, to identify commonalities and defining viewpoints about inquiry-based teaching and learning. Three significantly different viewpoints were identified and each viewpoint represents differences in teaching styles and classroom environments. Additionally, consensus items reveal students and instructors highly value relating science to everyday life; however, a lack of importance is placed upon peer learning and use of open-ended questions.

This project initially focused on a group poster presentation exercise which had the development of higher cognitive skills as its aims. A holistic approach was undertaken to the exercise which involved considering the relationship between all aspects of the instructional method with respect to the undergraduate biology students developing skills of analysis, synthesis, relating and applying knowledge, in addition, to their developing communication and group skills. The project involved modifying, monitoring and evaluating a number of different aspects of the exercise over a period of four years including the assessment and instructional methods and level of staff support given to the students. The resultant instructional method involved students working in groups on a problem based challenge, using peer group assessments and undertaking peer group questioning and discussion sessions, the implications of which are discussed in this project. A questionnaire measure of intellectual development was devised for this project, based on the Perry Scheme of Intellectual Development which aimed to investigate the different groups of students' approaches to the exercise and to match individual student's needs with the most appropriate staff support. The Perry Scheme describes how students develop from an absolute or simplistic stance on the nature of knowledge to one which is more pluralistic and contextual. These differing perceptions influence the role which students adopt and also the way in which they perceive the role of others within the learning environment. This research project tested both students undertaking the poster exercise and also students at different stages of their biology course over a period of two years. This project identified a link between the roles which students adopted during the poster exercise and their stage of intellectual development. In addition, changes in individual student attitudes and preferences towards different teaching and assessment methods were identified which supported and complimented the descriptions outlined by Perry.

Schools face the problem of recruiting and retaining students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. One reason that students leave STEM fields is because their introductory classes are too hard or not engaging. These introductory classes are typically taught using a lecture-heavy, instructor-centered approach, contrary to current evidence based pedagogy. Many who call for teacher reform put the blame on the way teachers are educated, which is often not student-centered, citing that because ‘teachers teach the way they were taught,’ current education is also not student-centered. The idea that ‘teachers teach the way they were taught’ is commonly used to promote an agenda for improved teaching training and accepted as fact in the scientific literature. However, little empirical data has been collected to support this conclusion. We aimed first to determine empirically if teachers teach the way they were taught, and second to determine the influences behind teaching practices. We observed, surveyed, and interviewed a sample of 44 instructors at seven colleges and universities throughout the state of Utah who taught select STEM introductory courses. Instruments used included observational, survey, and interview protocols developed specifically for this study during preliminary trials, and inspired by the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). A paired t-test was used to compare the professors’ teaching practices with their own educational experiences. Interview responses were then grouped into common categories and used to determine the influences behind teaching practices. We discovered that there is a significant difference between how teachers teach and how they were taught during their own educational experience. This finding does not support our hypothesis that teachers teach the way they were taught. Qualitative data from interviews introduces a new hypothesis that teachers teach the way they themselves preferred to be taught, or the way they think students learn best, demonstrating that teachers are taking a much more metacognitive approach to teaching than is suggested by that famous quote, ‘teachers teach the way they were taught.’ Our results suggest that reform classes and workshops develop a more metacognitive approach to exposing future teachers to current, evidence based pedagogy, allowing teachers to reflect on their own learning and experience for themselves the benefits of student-centered learning. These future teachers will then apply what they learn if they are convinced it is a better way to teach students. They will teach the way they were taught because they experienced a positive experience when leaning.

The phenomenon of test anxiety has long been associated with decrements in performance (Zeidner, 1998) and has been found to affect up to 40% of all students (Cizek & Berg, 2006). Because a substantial number of students that deal with test anxiety perform below their ability on exams, test anxiety during cognitive ability tests has also been identified as a root cause of differential predictive validity of academic performance (Bonnaccio, Reeve & Winford, 2011). In addition, recent developments in cognitive psychology and neuroscience have led to a greater understanding of the neurological and psychological mechanisms at work in test anxiety (e.g., Eysenck & Derakshan, 2011; Immordino-Yang, Christodolou & Singh, 2012). Together, the well-known decrements in performance attributable to test anxiety, the hardships students suffer as a result of these decrements, and the increasing influence of test performance on decision-making in a number of educational settings contribute to a situation where developing effective test anxiety interventions is of the utmost theoretical, ethical, and practical importance.

Given the importance of developing effective interventions for test anxiety, there is, relative to the rather large body of literature that looks at the symptoms, causes, and effects of test anxiety, very little research that offers empirical findings from studies that explore effective interventions for test anxiety. The current research sought to replicate findings from a recent study that found a 10-minute expressive writing intervention immediately before a final exam allowed test anxious students to overcome their anxieties and outperform their less-anxious peers (Ramirez & Beilock, 2011). Students in the Ostrow School of Dentistry and Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California performed the same kind of expressive writing intervention during a final exam. Survey data regarding cognitive test anxiety levels and trait anxiety were collected at Time 1 and the intervention was performed during at Time 2, during which levels of state anxiety were be assessed immediately before and after the intervention to determine the effect of the intervention on state anxiety.

Ultimately, the current research sought to answer the following questions: 1) Is there a difference in exam outcomes for students who write about worries immediately before an exam and for students who do not? 2) Does writing about worries immediately before an exam reduce self-report survey scores for state anxiety? Findings showed that condition differences did not exert a significant effect on exam performance when controlling for prior exam score in Sample 1 or Sample 2, but word count produced during the intervention significantly predicted exam performance across both samples when controlling for prior exam score. Further, the intervention significantly reduced state anxiety in Sample 1, but not Sample 2.

Recommendations for future research include additional investigation amongst samples within a more homogenous context; qualitative analysis of the content of writing performed as part of the intervention; comparative investigation of similar interventions that induce constructive internal reflection, mind-wandering, and interoception; and consideration of research designs that might allow for examination of the effects DMN deactivation induction in educational contexts.

Students who are self-regulated are more likely to succeed academically, whereas students who have deficiencies in their learning have been recognized as having a lack of metacognitive awareness (Valdez, 2013; Zimmerman, 2002). If students are metacognitively unaware in large introductory courses, they may have difficulty knowing when to self-regulate and modify their learning (Lin & Zabrucky, 1998; Stone, 2000). One manner in which researchers have assessed students’ metacognitive awareness is by asking students to estimate how they think they will do on tasks compared to their actual performance, known as calibration. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ calibration and study habits. Participants were undergraduates (N = 384) in an introductory biology course at a southeastern U.S. university. Students completed four surveys that assessed their exam score expectations and the study habits they used prior to each exam. Results showed that students’ estimates are most discrepant from their actual performance early in the semester and become more accurate at the end of the semester. A closer look at students’ study habits revealed that the inaccuracy of students’ exam judgments showed little connection to the study strategies that students used. Findings from this study are important for biology instructors.

Current trends indicate that the population explosion and invasion of information technology, particularly in developing nations, are likely to overwhelm education systems and policy makers, educators, researchers and therefore the community faces enormous challenges. Also, many graduates of various levels and disciplines appear unable to practically apply their knowledge in problem solving situations. In an attempt to achieve and maintain high educational standards, many nations are devoting substantial proportions of the gross domestic product toward educational endeavours. However, few systems are adopting modern education practices that intrinsically motivate and engage learners, and are at the same time flexible enough to consider students' aspirations and interests. It is argued that such systems would make learning more relevant, meaningful and enjoyable to the learners and are bound to improve exit performances. In such a system, the role of the teacher is that of a facilitator, and not instructor. Constructivism, a philosophy which holds that knowledge is actively constructed by learners through learning, is regarded as promising to provide a long-term solution to many educational problems since its underlying principles are argued to be holistic. It has become imperative that technology in general and the computer in particular should play a role as educational tools as these have capabilities that could be designed to make learning relevant and interesting to learners. It is argued that its use within constructivist approaches and curriculum considerations would increase learner abilities. An eclectic approach to curriculum design is advised for success in this endeavour. Since computers permeate most aspects of our lives (directly or indirectly) their inclusion in teaching and learning situations must become a reality. This project is focused on underscoring the fact that computer based education (CBE), under constructivist philosophy, can provide solutions to problems brought about by extreme interpretations of the deductive or traditional teaching approach. Particularly, it attempts to show that use of three-dimensional (3D) visualizations could significantly aid comprehension and perception of, among other units of discourse, cytoplasmic structure, geo-referenced graphical data, and the understanding of spatial relationships. This is a technique that has, in the recent past, received little attention and no extensive educational research has been carried out with the aim of perfecting it. Recent research carried out by members of the Biological Pedagogy (Bioped) research group identified conceptual problems in learners regarding biological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. Having established that the misconceptions in learners were attributable to their lack of visualization ability, the first part of the project involved identifying some of the specific visual problems. A qualitative research approach was used to ascertain from university lecturers what convictions, beliefs and experiences they had had with their students that related to use of visualization skills. Skills most required included interpretation of 2D and 3D structures as well as their rotation in space. A survey was also carried out among Cell Biology first and second year students of the School of Life and Environmental Studies in order to precisely determine aspects of three-dimensionality and visual skills suspected to cause conceptual difficulties. Quantitative data analysis showed that the most deficient skills in the learners included pattern folding (projecting 2D material into 3D objects), orientation of form (identifying 3D objects that are oriented differently) and rotation (identifying 3D objects from top and front views). These findings corroborated qualitative analysis of lecturers opinions and convictions. An educational computer game was designed with the aim of ameliorating these problems. The game consisted of 3D scenes where puzzles related to the skills mentioned above needed to be solved. It was recommended that visualization skills should be incorporated into the biology curriculum for all undergraduate students within the first year of the course.
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1999.

abstract: Guided by Tinto’s Theory of College Student Departure, I conducted a set of five studies to identify factors that influence students’ social integration in college science active learning classes. These studies were conducted in large-enrollment college science courses and some were specifically conducted in undergraduate active learning biology courses. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, I identified how students’ identities, such as their gender and LGBTQIA identity, and students’ perceptions of their own intelligence influence their experience in active learning science classes and consequently their social integration in college. I also determined factors of active learning classrooms and instructor behaviors that can affect whether students experience positive or negative social integration in the context of active learning. I found that students’ hidden identities, such as the LGBTQIA identity, are more relevant in active learning classes where students work together and that the increased relevance of one’s identity can have a positive and negative impact on their social integration. I also found that students’ identities can predict their academic self-concept, or their perception of their intelligence as it compares to others’ intelligence in biology, which in turn predicts their participation in small group-discussion. While many students express a fear of negative evaluation, or dread being evaluated negatively by others when speaking out in active learning classes, I identified that how instructors structure group work can cause students to feel more or less integrated into the college science classroom. Lastly, I identified tools that instructors can use, such as name tents and humor, which can positive affect students’ social integration into the college science classroom. In sum, I highlight inequities in students’ experiences in active learning science classrooms and the mechanisms that underlie some of these inequities. I hope this work can be used to create more inclusive undergraduate active learning science courses.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2018

While it is well established that pedagogies purposefully linking subject matter to students’ cultural contexts and prior knowledge can help students learn subject matter, little is known about practices for so doing in undergraduate biology courses enrolling substantial numbers of racially, culturally, and otherwise diverse students. This study sought to understand how four biology instructors of primarily Black and Hispanic students enact a form of teaching that draws out and uses knowledge from and about students’ lives—what I refer to as students’ culturally informed prior knowledge—to help students learn key subject-matter ideas in biology. It also examined how instructors managed their efforts to teach in this way and how they portrayed their reasons for so doing. The study derived several insights. One, instructors can connect important subject-matter ideas, in the study of biology, to facets of students’ daily lives, using the latter to advance students’ understanding of the former. Thus, the teaching of college-level biology with knowledge drawn from students’ lives is more than an aspiration. It can and—per my study—does occur. It is then possible to teach college-level biology with knowledge drawn from students’ lives. Two, to enact such teaching, instructors can strive to draw comparisons between topics that are concrete and familiar to students and new subject-matter ideas to make the latter comprehensible to them. Three, instructors can connect subject matter to their students’ physiological experiences, treating students’ thinking about their bodies as a form of prior knowledge. Four, instructors can call students’ commonly accepted yet incomplete or unexamined ideas and beliefs into question to facilitate their learning of subject-matter ideas. Five, instructors’ efforts to teach using knowledge from students’ lives can include planning and forethought—but also improvisation while teaching. Six, a desire to make the subject matter of their course relatable to students can inspire instructors to teach using knowledge from students’ lives. The study recommends (a) changes in institutional policy toward supporting faculty in efforts to teach using knowledge from students’ lives, and (b) future research into teaching of biology and other STEM subjects that takes into account students’ prior knowledge.