The 2011 report Vision and Change: A Call to Action (V&C) resulted from a national effort to rethink biology curriculum. V&C outlines core concepts and core competencies for biology undergraduates and promotes evidence-based pedagogy, undergraduate research, and inclusive practices. However, it is unclear how much biology educators know about V&C and what motivates educators' development of their teaching philosophy and practices. We leveraged the Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network, a group that introduced evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) to instructors through mentoring, journal clubs, and a community of practice, to investigate how much V&C has influenced educator knowledge and motivation. Through focus groups, 16 mentors and 22 fellows were asked about their motivations to join PALM, familiarity with V&C, how they learned about V&C, and how PALM and/or V&C shaped the development of their teaching philosophies and strategies. We found that the teaching philosophies and practices of these educators align strongly with V&C principles. V&C provided expectancy (established value), while PALM contributed to greater instructor self-efficacy in EBIPs, overall resulting in reformed teaching philosophies and practices. This model highlights the importance of mentorship and community to successfully drive biology education reform.

The 2011 Vision & Change report outlined several recommendations for transforming undergraduate biology education, sparking multiple pedagogical reform efforts. Among these was the Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) network, an NSF-funded program that provided mentorship and training to instructors on implementing active learning in the classroom. Here, we provide a perspective on how members of the biology education community in PALM view the recommendations of Vision & Change, drawing upon our experiences both as members of PALM and as leaders of an associated project funded by another NSF grant that hosted PALM alumni at various conferences. These efforts have allowed us to gain insight into how our alumni think of Vision & Change, including how they interpret its recommendations, the challenges and opportunities that they view for implementing these recommendations, and the areas they see as critical to be addressed in future national reports for supporting undergraduate biology education. We synthesize these voices here, providing perspectives from a diverse group of biology instructors on what they think about Vision & Change, and provide recommendations for the biology education community based upon these PALM community voices.

Understanding the effectiveness of peer mentor training in online learning environments prepares students for their roles as online peer mentors. In the Learning Assistant peer mentor program, Learning Assistants (LAs) play a crucial role in supporting student learning and engagement in STEM courses. Due to the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many LAs began working in online synchronous and asynchronous courses. We gathered information on challenging interactions encountered by LAs, and the frequencies of these interactions were analyzed and compared between the two learning environments. The results revealed that while no new challenging interactions emerged in the online environment, there were nuances in how existing interactions manifested online. In this article, we present new challenging interaction scenarios designed for online learning environments. These scenarios aim to enhance the training in the LA pedagogy course. Furthermore, the study highlights the significance of behavioral engagement barriers, such as unprepared and disinterested students, which had higher frequencies in both in-person and online environments. These findings help create a foundation for online LA training by incorporating new scenarios and focusing on behavioral engagement barriers to help the LA pedagogy course better equip LAs to navigate challenging interactions and support student learning.

Students who experience research as undergraduates tend to remain in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Since course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are often expensive to implement, we developed a relatively inexpensive first-semester research course for majors entitled "Freshman Research in Biochemistry," in which approximately 100 students participated in an ongoing research project each year. During this course, students conducted laboratory work related to multiple research veins, and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) and the instructor ensured that sufficient data from the laboratory were made available to the students to analyze. During three unique course iterations, students worked on faculty research projects that included connecting contigs of the draft genome of a native Oklahoma bacterial Arhodomonas isolate capable of degrading petroleum hydrocarbons, cloning antibiotic resistance genes from the genus Elizabethkingia, and analyzing RNAseq data from Elizabethkingia anopheles challenged with cell wall-active antibiotics to determine gene function, gene differential expression, and relative gene genome location. During the course, students scored results, analyzed data, maintained laboratory notebooks, and presented posters in a symposium to faculty and graduate TAs. To determine positive impacts of the course on students, they completed the Laboratory Course Assessment Survey in two course sections. Survey data indicated/students agreed that the course included elements of Iteration, Collaboration, and Discovery and Relevance. Students also reported that they gained scientific skills but were ambivalent about whether instructor feedback was harsh. Examination of Student Survey of Instruction responses showed students thought positively about the course, but some considered it too difficult. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major cohort tracking revealed no effect of Freshman Research in Biochemistry on student persistence in the major or institution. Nonetheless, we consider the course a cost-conscious model for biochemistry and molecular biology departments for introducing research to first-year students.

Abstract Background: Many individuals and groups have responded to the call to action to reform undergraduate biology teaching through increased utilization of evidence-based teaching strategies. One promising practice for creating sustained change is the use of a Community of Transformation or a deliberate network designed to reinforce active learning through mentorship. The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network, which encourage its members to reflect deeply on their teaching and to make changes based on evidence-based practices, supports the implementation of active learning through a network of practitioners from across multiple professional societies and disciplines. Members of the Network interviewed seven previous PALM Fellows, one to four years after completing their fellowship, to better understand the users of the network and why they engaged with the network. Results: Key themes emerged from interviews about how engagement and experiences of each of the interviewees aligned with the ADKAR model of change management: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. The interviews supported the creation of three personas: Bob the Sponge, Lupe the Lone Wolf, and Malik the Master. The interviews also highlighted examples of how the Fellows continue to utilize evidence-based teaching practices and how they successfully implemented adaptation to online course interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions, summary, and implications: Understanding how the personas intersect with the ADKAR model has led to a better understanding of how the PALM network functions as a community of transformation to facilitate transformative change toward active learning. This approach can serve as a model for others who wish to enable similar transformative change in various Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines.

One promising practice for increasing active learning in undergraduate science education is the use of a mentoring network. The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network was launched with practitioners from several professional societies and disciplines to make changes in their teaching based on evidence-based practices and to encourage the members to reflect deeply on their teaching experiences. Members of the Network interviewed seven previous Fellows, 1 to 6 years after completing their fellowship, to better understand the value of the Network and how these interactions impacted their ability to sustain change toward more active teaching practices. The interviews resulted in the creation of three personas that reflect the kinds of educators who engaged with the Network: Neil the Novice, Issa the Isolated, and Etta the Expert. Key themes emerged from the interviews about how interactions with the PALM Network sustained change toward evidence-based teaching practices allowing the members to readily adapt to the online learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how the personas intersect with the ADKAR model contributes to a better understanding of how mentoring networks facilitate transformative change toward active learning and can inform additional professional development programs.

The demonstrated gap between skills needed and skills learned within a college education places both undergraduates seeking gainful employment and the employers seeking highly skilled workers at a disadvantage. Recent and up-and-coming college graduates should possess 21st century skills (i.e., communication, collaboration, problem solving), skills that employers deem necessary for the workplace. Research shows that the development of this skillset can help narrow the gap in producing highly skilled graduates for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. We propose the development of 21st century skills by utilizing the project-based learning (PjBL) framework and creating the inclusive biologist exploring active research with students (iBEARS) program, allowing undergraduate students to hone their 21st century skills and prepare for transition and success within the workplace.

In contrast to efforts focusing on improving inclusion in STEM classrooms from kindergarten through undergraduate (K–16), efforts to improve inclusion in scientific meetings and conferences, important hubs of STEM culture, are more recent. Markers of inclusion that are sometimes overlooked at these events can include the composition of panels, how workshops are run, the affordability of conferences, and various other mechanisms that maintain pre-existing hierarchies and norms that limit the participation of early-career researchers and individuals of minoritized cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds. The Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research (iEMBER) network coordinates efforts of researchers from many fields interested in diversity and inclusion in biology education. Given the concerns regarding inclusion at professional meetings, iEMBER has developed and implemented several practices in planning and executing our meetings to make them more inclusive. In this report, we share our experiences developing inclusive meetings on biology education research and discuss the outcomes of such efforts. Specifically, we present our approach to planning and executing the iEMBER 2019 conference and the National Association of Biology Teachers iEMBER 2019 workshop. This report adds to the growing body of resources on inclusive meetings, provides readers with an account of how such an attempt at implementation might unfold, and complements existing theories and work relating to the importance and functioning of such meetings in terms of representation in STEM.

A large body of data suggests that implementing active learning practices in a STEM classroom contributes to increased success in both achievement of student learning outcomes and retention of students. Despite these findings, significant barriers exist for instructors implementing active learning strategies in their undergraduate classrooms. These barriers can be effectively addressed by providing sustained support to instructors and postdoctoral trainees interested in implementing active learning strategies in their teaching practice. The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) network attains this objective by connecting instructors interested in learning more about active learning (Fellows) with individuals who have extensive expertise related to this practice (mentors). These facilitated connections occur in the form of active mentorship for a year or more, virtual journal clubs, and biannual gatherings of PALM Fellows and mentors. Here, we describe the foundation on which PALM was built and explain how a successful mentorship program can pave the way for educators to adapt and implement evidence-based practices like active learning in a college classroom.

Learning Assistants (LAs) help students develop a deeper understanding of content and are particularly effective during active learning instruction. A foundational pillar of the LA model is the LA pedagogy course, which teaches LAs about evidence-based instruction and about how students learn (Otero et al., 2010). From LA survey responses, this study identifies interactions between LAs and students that have the potential to negatively impact the classroom environment and how other students learn—what we call "challenging interactions." Challenging interaction training was developed for LAs taking the pedagogy course by using scenarios that LAs can act out and reflect on in class. This training aims to guide LAs as they develop their own strategies for how to properly navigate these interactions. Because of the potential negative impacts of these interactions, training LAs to address and manage these situations is important. If LAs can properly navigate these challenging interactions, they will be better able to facilitate deeper learning in their respective LA-supported classrooms. Additional informationNotes on contributorsAlicia PurtellAlicia Purtell is an undergraduate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.Robert TalbotRobert Talbot is an associate professor of science education at the University of Colorado Denver.Michael E. MooreMichael E. Moore(michael.edward.moore@gmail.com) is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In the United States, persistence for women and ethnic minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers is strongly impacted by affective factors such as science identity, agency, and sense of belonging. Policies aimed at increasing the diversity of the national STEM student population and workforce have recently focused on fostering inclusive learning environments that can positively impact the experiences of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM, thus increasing their retention. While research on inclusion in STEM in higher education is relatively new, inclusion research has a rich history in several other disciplines. These fields have developed theoretical frameworks and validated instruments to conceptualize and assess inclusion. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a well-established theoretical framework in educational psychology that states that ones’ internal motivation is strongly correlated with the satisfaction of three specific psychological needs: autonomy, competency, and relatedness. In this paper, we introduce SDT and discuss how it relates to inclusion and to ongoing efforts to increase retention of STEM URM students in higher education environments. We argue that grounding inclusion initiatives in the SDT framework increases our understanding of the mechanisms mediating their impact, thus facilitating their reproducibility and generalizability. Finally, we describe how this theoretical framework has been adapted by the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology to define and assess inclusion in the workplace as an example of how STEM education researchers can use this framework to promote and assess inclusion in their fields.

Human anatomy is a challenging subject for undergraduate students due to the volume of structures and associated complex terminology. The weekly anatomy lab component adds a level of complexity due to the time required to complete each cat dissection (24 students/lab). The prosection projects started in the fall of 2016 and have since continued. The anatomy class consists of 4 labs in the fall, followed by 5 labs in the spring semester. To help students engage with the course content, improve their level of understanding and improve the quality of the dissections Baylor University introduced a rotating peer‐to‐peer teaching activity. Each week a group of 4 students completed the required dissection (i.e., brachial plexus) prior to the scheduled lab. Subsequently during the scheduled lab session this group of 4 students became temporary lab assistants by helping the other 20 students with their own dissections. Additionally, the 4 students conducted a formal presentation to their classmates about their dissection and answered functional and structural questions under the guidance of Dr. Parizi‐Robinson. End of course surveys indicated that students enjoyed both the giving and receiving portion of this activity and enjoyed the level of engagement and increased level of understanding. Therefore, this rotational peer‐to‐peer teaching activity seems to be an effective active educational tool for students' and may be beneficial for other institutions to consider.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

RATIONALE Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) has demonstrated utility in differentiating tumor from adjacent normal tissue in both urologic and neurosurgical specimens. We sought to evaluate if this technique had similar accuracy in differentiating oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from adjacent normal epithelium due to current issues with late diagnosis of SCC in advanced stages. METHODS Fresh frozen samples of SCC and adjacent normal tissue were obtained by surgical resection. Resections were analyzed using DESI-MS sometimes by a blinded technologist. Normative spectra were obtained for separate regions containing SCC or adjacent normal epithelium. Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA-LDA) of spectra were used to predict SCC versus normal tongue epithelium. Predictions were compared with pathology to assess accuracy in differentiating oral SCC from adjacent normal tissue. RESULTS Initial PCA score and loading plots showed clear separation of SCC and normal epithelial tissue using DESI-MS. PCA-LDA resulted in accuracy rates of 95% for SCC versus normal and 93% for SCC, adjacent normal and normal. Additional samples were blindly analyzed with PCA-LDA pixel-by-pixel predicted classifications as SCC or normal tongue epithelial tissue and compared against histopathology. The m/z 700-900 prediction model showed a 91% accuracy rate. CONCLUSIONS DESI-MS accurately differentiated oral SCC from adjacent normal epithelium. Classification of all typical tissue types and pixel predictions with additional classifications should increase confidence in the validation model.

This study has presented a comprehensive overview of the context and significance of changes in attitudes and levels of engagement in Ball State University’s BIO 100 class which is taught using the blended learning method. The evidence suggests that this method exhibits no significant overall change in attitudes or levels of engagement over the course of the semester. Several individual question couplets exhibited positive change. The combination of no significant overall change and positive couplet changes suggests that this method is a viable alternative to more traditional methods. In addition students overwhelmingly agree that this method of education should be used in other classes. Future research is needed to confirm the effects of this method. It is also paramount that as this method becomes implemented on larger scale training and coaching be available for students and faculty members. These services are necessary in order to achieve maximum method effectiveness.