Recent efforts to make undergraduate biology more inclusive include developing content that explores how human values and priorities impact science, and previous work documents how instructors value an "ideologically aware" biology curriculum that highlights these themes. Here, we surveyed a national sample of undergraduate students in…

The growing adoption of active learning pedagogical methods has shown significant positive effects in higher education as they promote students' engagement and meeting of learning outcomes. Similarly, problem-based learning and media-based learning allow instructors to model educational experiences that prepare students with knowledge and skills…

An integrated laboratory experience in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is designed for undergraduate and graduate students in chemistry, materials science, and other related fields. Focusing on ubiquitous Si, Cu, and their common oxides, students are guided to characterize a series of standard materials by XPS to understand the fundamentals…

Statewide initiatives and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused us to re-examine how we deliver and evaluate students in our courses. In this paper, we discuss our experiences using grading contracts, which are commonly used in writing programs but virtually unknown in fields like operations research. We found strong undergraduate student support for…

High structure courses ask students to be active participants in the learning process with preclass content acquisition and assessment, in-class active-learning exercises, and after-class review assignments. Although faculty may suggest certain strategies for success in high structure courses, it is unknown what students find valuable and what…

Motivation is a complicated concept and difficult to measure and study; nevertheless, it is a substantial factor in students' performance that demands extra attention. Instructors across all grade levels and disciplines struggle to cultivate classroom environments that focus on student interactions and promote interest where high-quality work is…

Background: Social support is assumed to play a key role in motivation at university, particularly for disadvantaged students, such as first-generation and community college transfer students. However, longitudinal research investigating reciprocal associations between social support and motivation is lacking. Aims: We examined such associations…

Inquiry-based course experiences provide a scalable and equitable way to engage students in research. In this study, we describe how we introduced inquiry-based experiences to ten lower-division and upper-division courses across the biology curriculum at a regionally comprehensive public university serving the diverse population in a major…

Do students learn from video lessons presented by pedagogical agents of different racial and gender types equivalently to those delivered by a real human instructor? How do the race and gender of these agents impact students' learning experiences and outcomes? In this between-subject design study, college students were randomly assigned to view a…

Background: Student ratings are commonly used to evaluate classroom processes. Research suggests that these ratings are not solely based on objective situational characteristics but also reflect rater characteristics. Although research has been conducted in K-12 settings, little is known about how person-specific and situation-specific factors…

The term "Latinx" has gained much popularity in some higher education spaces, yet its meaning to and use by those categorized as such has remained unexplored. In this study, we employ narrative inquiry and the lens of Critical Race Feminism to understand how Latinx has evolved into an identity for three individuals who embrace Latinx as…

The prevalence of anti-fat attitudes among kinesiology professionals is concerning because research shows that being subjected to anti-fat attitudes is associated with negative health outcomes and physical activity avoidance. Although anti-fat attitude reduction interventions exist, interventions that teach attribution retraining as a behavior…

Objective: To understand the experiences and perspectives of low-income University of California undergraduates related to their health insurance options, access to and quality of care. Participants: 14 undergraduate students across five UC campuses who identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged or low-income. Methods: We conducted 4 focus…

Quantitative reasoning is a critical skill in biology and has been highlighted as a core competency by "Vision and Change." Despite its importance, students often struggle to apply mathematical skills in new contexts in biology, a process called transfer of knowledge. However, the supports and barriers that students perceive for this…

Drawn on the theoretical principles of sociocultural theory and constructivism, the aim of this multiple case study was to explore and understand the experiences of interpreting students, interpreter graduates, and pre-certified working interpreters after receiving ASL mentoring for at least 3 months to a year and to learn about the roles and…