Am I getting through? Surveying students on what messages they recall from the first day of STEM classes

Ready, Set, Go? Impact of the Pandemic on Student Readiness: Laboratories, Preparedness, and Support

There is little doubt that the pandemic has had a significant impact on students' academic achievement and mental health across the K-16 spectrum. For undergraduate chemistry instructors, data on the number of laboratories students completed in high school and in what mode would be important information in considering what modifications could be implemented in the laboratory curriculum and in messaging about the laboratory activities. Additionally, shedding light on how prepared students feel to succeed at college work, how the pandemic has impacted their preparedness for learning, and what the chemistry community can do to support student learning can shape messaging on the first day and for subsequent activities in the course. An initial and final course survey that sought to shed light on these student experiences and perspectives will be discussed along with the impact on course messaging and structure.

Access to Online Formative Assessments in Lower-Division Undergraduate Biology Courses: Investigating Barriers to Student Engagement

Instructors use a variety of online formative assessment (FA) activities to support learning outside class. Previous studies have revealed barriers for students in online courses, but little is known about the barriers students experience when completing online FA assignments. Understanding these barriers to access is critical to fostering more inclusive learning for all students. Using a framework from previous work in online learning, we examined student perceptions of online FA access with respect to five barrier categories: technical resources, instructor organization, social interactions, personal engagement, and learning environment. We developed and administered a survey to more than 1200 undergraduate biology students at 2-year and 4-year institutions. Students responded to statements using Likert scales and open-ended prompts. Statistical models indicated differences in access across the barrier categories and revealed that demographic characteristics were associated with certain barrier categories. Furthermore, technical resources, instructor organization, and personal engagement barriers were associated with lower course performance. In open-ended responses, students most frequently suggested that changes to scheduling logistics, course delivery, and FA format would improve their online FA experience. We discuss how these findings and student suggestions can inform instruction, particularly how instructors can alter their FA characteristics to better suit their student populations.

Investigating Instructor Talk among Graduate Teaching Assistants in Undergraduate Biology Laboratory Classrooms

Instructor Talk-noncontent and nonlogistical language that is focused on shaping the classroom learning environment-is a recently defined variable that may play an important role in how undergraduates experience courses. Previous research characterized Instructor Talk used by faculty teaching in biology lecture classrooms. However, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and laboratory classrooms represent critical factors in undergraduate education, and Instructor Talk in this context has yet to be explored. Here, we present findings analyzing Instructor Talk used by GTAs teaching in undergraduate biology laboratory classrooms. We characterized the Instructor Talk used by 22 GTA instructors across 24 undergraduate biology laboratory courses in the context of a single, urban, Hispanic-serving and Asian American and Pacific Islander-serving Institution. We found that Instructor Talk was present in every course studied, GTAs with pedagogical training and prior teaching experience used more Instructor Talk than those without, and GTAs teaching laboratory courses used more Instructor Talk than previous observations of faculty teaching lecture courses. Given the widespread use of Instructor Talk and its varying use across contexts, we predict that Instructor Talk may be a critical variable in teaching, specifically in promoting equity and inclusion, which merits continued study in undergraduate science education.