A qualitative analysis to identify the elements that support department level change in the life sciences: The PULSE Vision & Change Recognition Program

The 2011 report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, provided the impetus to mobilize the undergraduate life sciences education community to affect change in order to enhance the educational experiences of life sciences majors. The work of the appointed Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) Vision and Change (V&C) Leadership Fellows has focused on the development of programs and resources to support departmental change. In this report, we present a qualitative assessment of several documents generated from the PULSE V&C Leadership Fellow Recognition Team. The Recognition Team developed two initiatives to provide departments with feedback on their change process. The first initiative, the validated PULSE V&C Rubrics, enables departments to collaboratively self-assess their progress in enacting change. The second initiative, the PULSE Recognition Program, involves completion of the aforementioned Rubrics and a site-visit by two Recognition Team members to provide external insights and suggestions to foster a department’s change process. Eight departments participated in the Recognition Program in 2014. An evaluation of the documents yielded from the Recognition Program review of seven of the eight departments and a comparison of Rubric scores from before and three years following the site-visits uncovered several common elements required for successful department level change. These elements include an institutional culture that values and supports excellence in teaching and learning with resources and infrastructure, a departmental emphasis on program and course level assessment, and, most importantly, a departmental champion who actively supports endeavors that enhance teaching excellence

Cationic Amino Acid Transporters and Salmonella Typhimurium ArgT Collectively Regulate Arginine Availability towards Intracellular Salmonella Growth

Cationic amino acid transporters (mCAT1 and mCAT2B) regulate the arginine availability in macrophages. How in the infected cell a pathogen can alter the arginine metabolism of the host remains to be understood. We reveal here a novel mechanism by which Salmonella exploit mCAT1 and mCAT2B to acquire host arginine towards its own intracellular growth within antigen presenting cells. We demonstrate that Salmonella infected bone marrow derived macrophages and dendritic cells show enhanced arginine uptake and increased expression of mCAT1 and mCAT2B. We show that the mCAT1 transporter is in close proximity to Salmonella containing vacuole (SCV) specifically by live intracellular Salmonella in order to access the macrophage cytosolic arginine pool. Further, Lysosome associated membrane protein 1, a marker of SCV, also was found to colocalize with mCAT1 in the Salmonella infected cell. The intra vacuolar Salmonella then acquire the host arginine via its own arginine transporter, ArgT for growth. The argT knockout strain was unable to acquire host arginine and was attenuated in growth in both macrophages and in mice model of infection. Together, these data reveal survival strategies by which virulent Salmonella adapt to the harsh conditions prevailing in the infected host cells

The PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics, Version 1.0: A Valid and Equitable Tool to Measure Transformation of Life Sciences Departments at All Institution Types

The PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics, version 1.0, assess life sciences departments’ progress toward implementation of the principles of the Vision and Change report. This paper reports on the development of the rubrics, their validation, and their reliability in measuring departmental change aligned with the Vision and Change recommendations. The rubrics assess 66 different criteria across five areas: Curriculum Alignment, Assessment, Faculty Practice/Faculty Support, Infrastructure, and Climate for Change. The results from this work demonstrate the rubrics can be used to evaluate departmental transformation equitably across institution types and represent baseline data about the adoption of the Vision and Change recommendations by life sciences programs across the United States. While all institution types have made progress, liberal arts institutions are farther along in implementing these recommendations. Generally, institutions earned the highest scores on the Curriculum Alignment rubric and the lowest scores on the Assessment rubric. The results of this study clearly indicate that the Vision & Change Rubrics, version 1.0, are valid and equitable and can track long-term progress of the transformation of life sciences departments. In addition, four of the five rubrics have broad applicability and can be used to evaluate departmental transformation by other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines

A Discussion Group Program Enhances the Conceptual Reasoning Skills of Students Enrolled in a Large Lecture-Format Introductory Biology Course

It has been well-established that discussion groups enhance student learning in large lecture courses. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of a discussion group program on the development of conceptual reasoning skills of students enrolled in a large lecture-format introductory biology course. In the discussion group, students worked on problems based on topics discussed in lecture. The program was evaluated using three assessment tools. First, student responses to pre- and posttests were analyzed. The test question asked the students to demonstrate the relationships between 10 different but related terms. Use of a concept map to link the terms indicated an advanced level of conceptual reasoning skills. There was a 13.8 % increase in the use of concept maps from pre- to posttest. Second, the students took a Likert-type survey to determine the perceived impact of the program on their conceptual reasoning skills. Many of the students felt that the program helped them understand and use the main course concepts to logically solve problems. Finally, average exam grades increased as the semester progressed. The average final grade in the course was 75%. Students enrolled in the course the previous year (where the lecture component of the course did not assess or reflect student learning in the discussion group) had an average final grade of 69%. The results of this study demonstrate that the discussion group program improves the conceptual reasoning skills of students enrolled in a large lecture-format introductory biology course. Many undergraduate colleges and universities throughou

Online Pre-laboratory Modules Enhance Introductory Biology Students’ Preparedness and Performance in the Laboratory

<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="font-size: small;"><p align="justify">Introductory biology students are typically overwhelmed in the laboratory. Many of the students are unsure of how to prepare for each session. Two online pre-laboratory modules were developed to introduce the students to the concepts required for laboratory. The students studied the information in the modules and took an online quiz prior to each lab session. Of the 49 students who reviewed the first module and took the online quiz, the average quiz grade was 83.7% &plusmn; 12.8. A control group that did not review the online module had an average quiz grade of 53.6% &plusmn; 17.5. Of the 20 students who reviewed the second module and took the online quiz, the average quiz grade was 76% &plusmn; 15.0. The average quiz grade of the control group was 47.2% &plusmn; 16.5. The students were required to prepare laboratory reports for each session. Students who were required to review the modules received slightly higher grades on their laboratory reports compared to the control group. The students and faculty took a survey to determine their perceived impact of the modules on laboratory preparedness and performance. Both the faculty and students agreed that students are typically underprepared for lab (100% and 62%, respectively). Eighty-five percent of the students and all faculty felt that the modules did help them with preparation for the lab. Eighty-eight percent of the students and 76% of the faculty reported that the modules helped them to prepare their laboratory reports. These data clearly indicate that the pre-laboratory modules do enhance student preparedness and performance in the laboratory.</p></span></span

Online Pre-laboratory Modules Enhance Introductory Biology Students ’ Preparedness and Performance in the Laboratory

Introductory biology students are typically overwhelmed in the laboratory. Many of the students are unsure of how to prepare for each session. Two online pre-laboratory modules were developed to introduce the students to the concepts required for laboratory. The students studied the information in the modules and took an online quiz prior to each lab session. Of the 49 students who reviewed the first module and took the online quiz, the average quiz grade was 83.7 % ± 12.8. A control group that did not review the online module had an average quiz grade of 53.6 % ± 17.5. Of the 20 students who reviewed the second module and took the online quiz, the average quiz grade was 76 % ± 15.0. The average quiz grade of the control group was 47.2 % ± 16.5. The students were required to prepare laboratory reports for each session. Students who were required to review the modules received slightly higher grades on their laboratory reports compared to the control group. The students and faculty took a survey to determine their perceived impact of the modules on laboratory preparedness and performance. Both the faculty and students agreed that students are typically underprepared for lab (100 % and 62%, respectively). Eighty-five percent of the students and all faculty felt that the modules did help them with preparation for the lab. Eighty-eight percent of the students and 76 % of the faculty reported that the modules helped them to prepare their laboratory reports. These data clearly indicate that the pre-laboratory modules do enhance student preparedness and performance in the laboratory