Active learning and gendered achievement gaps in STEM

Although gender gaps have been a major concern in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines such as physics and engineering, the numerical dominance of female students in biology has supported the assumption that gender disparities do not exist at the undergraduate level in life sciences. Using data from 23 large introductory biology classes for majors, we examine two measures of gender disparity in biology: academic achievement and participation in whole-class discussions. We also examined if, and to what extent, the characteristics of instructor-generated tests impact the exam performance of males and females in introductory biology courses. We collected 4810 students’ exam scores from 87 unique exams taken across three years of the introductory biology series. We determined the median Bloom’s level and the percentage of constructed-response questions for each exam. I will report on gender gaps observed in these groups and possible explanations for our findings and how they might impact how we assess our students

Caution, Student Experience May Vary: Social Identities Impact a Student's Experience in Peer Discussions

In response to calls for implementing active learning in college-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, classrooms across the country are being transformed from instructor centered to student centered. In these active-learning classrooms, the dynamics among students becomes increasingly important for understanding student experiences. In this study, we focus on the role a student prefers to assume during peer discussions, and how this preferred role may vary given a student's social identities. In addition we explore whether three hypothesized barriers to participation may help explain participation difference in the classroom. These barriers are 1) students are excluded from the discussion by actions of their groupmates; 2) students are anxious about participating in peer discussion; and 3) students do not see value in peer discussions. Our results indicate that self-reported preferred roles in peer discussions can be predicted by student gender, race/ethnicity, and nationality. In addition, we found evidence for all three barriers, although some barriers were more salient for certain students than others. We encourage instructors to consider structuring their in-class activities in ways that promote equity, which may require more purposeful attention to alleviating the current differential student experiences with peer discussions.National Science Foundation NSF DUE 1244847Science and Mathematics Educatio

Deconstruction of Holistic Rubrics into Analytic Rubrics for Large-Scale Assessments of Students’ Reasoning of Complex Science Concepts

Constructed responses can be used to assess the complexity of student thinking and can be evaluated using rubrics. The two most typical rubric types used are holistic and analytic. Holistic rubrics may be difficult to use with expert-level reasoning that has additive or overlapping language. In an attempt to unpack complexity in holistic rubrics at a large scale, we have developed a systematic approach called deconstruction. We define deconstruction as the process of converting a holistic rubric into defining individual conceptual components that can be used for analytic rubric development and application. These individual components can then be recombined into the holistic score which keeps true to the holistic rubric purpose, while maximizing the benefits and minimizing the shortcomings of each rubric type. This paper outlines the deconstruction process and presents a case study that shows defined concept definitions for a hierarchical holistic rubric developed for an undergraduate physiology-content reasoning context. These methods can be used as one way for assessment developers to unpack complex student reasoning, which may ultimately improve reliability and validation of assessments that are targeted at uncovering large-scale complex scientific reasoning. Accessed 398 times on https://pareonline.net from September 05, 2019 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Monitoring the level of active learning in your classroom and its impact on your students.

My colleague, Dr, Sarah Eddy, and I developed a tool that instructors can use to determine how much and what kind of active learning they are doing in their classroom. Each of the elements in PORTAAL is evidence-based as each has been shown in peer reviewed literature to improve student learning. We have used PORTAAL to review over 40 different instructors in our intro biology series and see a wide range of PORTAAL profiles. In this workshop you will learn how to use PORTAAL to assess the types and amount of active learning in your classroom. You will also learn how to use PORTAAL as a guide for introducing key active learning activities in your classes. We will also spend some time learning how to assess the academic challenge level of your exams and how to increase the challenge level using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Eddy, S.L., M. Converse, and M.P. Wenderoth. 2015. PORTAAL: a Practical Observation Tool to Assess Active Learning in the College Science Classroom. CBE- Life Science Education 14 (2):1-16 Crowe, A, C. Dirks, and M.P. Wenderoth. 2008. Biology in Bloom: Implementing Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Student Learning in Biology. CBE-Life Sciences Education 7 (4): 368-38

Article Gender Gaps in Achievement and Participation in Multiple Introductory Biology Classrooms

Although gender gaps have been a major concern in male-dominated science, technology, engi-neering, and mathematics disciplines such as physics and engineering, the numerical dominance of female students in biology has supported the assumption that gender disparities do not exist at the undergraduate level in life sciences. Using data from 23 large introductory biology classes for majors, we examine two measures of gender disparity in biology: academic achievement and participation in whole-class discussions. We found that females consistently underperform on exams compared with males with similar overall college grade point averages. In addition, although females on average represent 60 % of the students in these courses, their voices make up less than 40 % of those heard responding to instructor-posed questions to the class, one of the most common ways of engaging students in large lectures. Based on these data, we propose that, despite numerical dominance of females, gender disparities remain an issue in introductory biology classrooms. For student retention and achievement in biology to be truly merit based, we need to develop strategies to equalize the opportunities for students of different genders to practice the skills they need to excel

A Novel Cytoplasmic Dual Specificity Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Implicated in Muscle and Neuronal Differentiation

Dual specificity protein tyrosine phosphatases (dsPTPs) are a subfamily of protein tyrosine phosphatases implicated in the regulation of mitogen- activated protein kinase (MAPK). In addition to hydrolyzing phosphotyrosine, dsPTPs can hydrolyze phosphoserine/threonine-containing substrates and have been shown to dephosphorylate activated MAPK. We have identified a novel dsPTP, rVH6, from rat hippocampus. rVH6 contains the conserved dsPTP active site sequence, VXVHCX2GX2RSX5AY(L/I)M, and exhibits phosphatase activity against activated MAPK. In PC12 cells, rVH6 mRNA is induced during nerve growth factor-mediated differentiation but not during insulin or epidermal growth factor mitogenic stimulation. In MM14 muscle cells, rVH6 mRNA is highly expressed in proliferating cells and declines rapidly during differentiation. rVH6 expression correlates with the inability of fibroblast growth factor to stimulate MAPK activity in proliferating but not in differentiating MM14 cells. rVH6 protein localizes to the cytoplasm and is the first dsPTP to be localized outside the nucleus. This novel subcellular localization may expose rVH6 to potential substrates that differ from nuclear dsPTPs substrates