Gender, Math Confidence, and Grit: Relationships with Quantitative Skills and Performance in an Undergraduate Biology Course

Student responses to creative coding in biomedical science education

Biomedical science students need to learn to code. Graduates face a future where they will be better prepared for research higher degrees and the workforce if they can code. Embedding coding in a biomedical curriculum comes with challenges. First, biomedical science students often experience anxiety learning quantitative and computational thinking skills and second biomedical faculty often lack expertise required to teach coding. In this study, we describe a creative coding approach to building coding skills in students using the packages of Processing and Arduino. Biomedical science students were taught by an interdisciplinary faculty team from Medicine and Health, Science and Architecture, Design and Planning. We describe quantitative and qualitative responses of students to this approach. Cluster analysis revealed a diversity of student responses, with a large majority of students who supported creative coding in the curriculum, a smaller but vocal cluster, who did not support creative coding because either the exercises were not sufficiently challenging or were too challenging and believed coding should not be in a Biomedical Science curriculum. We describe how two creative coding platforms, Processing and Arduino, embedded and used to visualize human physiological data, and provide responses to students, including those minority of students, who are opposed to coding in the curriculum This study found a variety of students responses in a final year capstone course of an undergraduate Biomedical Science degree where future pathways for students are either in research higher degrees or to the workforce with a future which will be increasingly data driven.

Tricyclic Antidepressant Overdose Manikin Simulation in Student Pharmacists

Background: Pharmacists must be knowledgeable of medication use within the scope of both typical dosing and atypical dosing. In the United States, antidepressants are the fourth most common substance in overdose situations and are ranked first for serious exposures per year. Objective: The purpose of this study is to design, implement, and assess the efficacy of an antidepressant overdose simulation using a high-fidelity manikin. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, observational, cross-sectional study of third-year student pharmacists in spring 2021. This study was determined to be exempt by the institutional review board. Students who did not participate in the manikin simulation or complete both the pre- and postsimulation surveys were excluded. Student pharmacists were expected to identify the type of overdose, identify probable offending agent, and evaluate the hemodynamic status. Primary objectives compared student pharmacist knowledge, confidence in recognizing overdose, and confidence in managing overdose pre- and post-antidepressant overdose manikin simulation. Results: Twenty-three students completed both surveys and participated in the simulation. The knowledge total score was 2.1 ± 1.3 in the presimulation and 2.9 ± 0.9 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). The recognition confidence was 2.0 ± 1.3 in the presimulation and 3.7 ± 0.7 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). The management confidence was 1.8 ± 1.0 in the presimulation and 3.5 ± 0.5 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). Limitations in this study were small sample size, lack of rubric, and a case prompt. Conclusion: The outcomes were statistically significant postsimulation. Manikin simulations may have a larger impact on a pharmacy curriculum.

Validating the Chinese Version of the Academic Grit Scale in Selected Adolescents

This study evaluated the factor structure, measurement invariance, criterion-related and incremental validity of the Chinese version of the Academic Grit Scale (AGS) among 723 adolescents from mainland China. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the single-factor model, exhibiting scalar invariance across gender and partial scalar invariance across groups (i.e., middle and high school students). The AGS total score showed internal consistency and temporal stability when used one month later. Moreover, academic grit was shown to be positively correlated with academic achievement, general grit, and dimensional student engagement. Academic grit also predicted academic achievement after isolating the effects of the related variables (i.e., general grit and student engagement) and overlapping components of academic grit and the related variables. Overall, the Chinese version of the AGS demonstrated adequate reliability and validity and was shown to be a useful tool for examining academic grit in Chinese adolescents.

Why Students Struggle in Undergraduate Biology: Sources and Solutions

Students' perceptions of challenges in biology influence performance outcomes, experiences, and persistence in science. Identifying sources of student struggle can assist efforts to support students as they overcome challenges in their undergraduate educations. In this study, we characterized student experiences of struggle by 1) quantifying which external factors relate to perceptions of encountering and overcoming struggle in introductory biology and 2) identifying factors to which students attribute their struggle in biology. We found a significant effect of Course, Instructor, and Incoming Preparation on student struggle, in which students with lower Incoming Preparation were more likely to report struggle and the inability to overcome struggle. We also observed significant differences in performance outcomes between students who did and did not encounter struggle and between students who did and did not overcome their struggle. Using inductive coding, we categorized student responses outlining causes of struggle, and using axial coding, we further categorized these as internally or externally attributed factors. External sources (i.e., Prior Biology, COVID-19, External Resources, Classroom Factors) were more commonly cited as the reason(s) students did or did not struggle. We conclude with recommendations for instructors, highlighting equitable teaching strategies and practices.

Undergraduate R Programming Anxiety in Ecology: Persistent Gender Gaps and Coping Strategies

The ability to program in R, an open-source statistical program, is increasingly valued across job markets, including ecology. The benefits of teaching R to undergraduates are abundant, but learning to code in R may induce anxiety for students, potentially leading to negative learning outcomes and disengagement. Anecdotes suggest a gender differential in programming anxiety, with women experiencing greater anxiety. Currently, we do not know the extent to which programming anxiety exists in our undergraduate biology classrooms, whether it differs by gender, and what instructors can do to alleviate it. Instructor immediacy has been shown to mediate related anxieties such as quantitative and computer anxiety. Likewise, students' use of adaptive coping strategies may mitigate anxieties. We investigated students' R anxiety within a lower-division ecology course and explored its relationships with gender, instructor immediacy, classroom engagement, and reported coping strategies. Women reported significantly higher R anxiety than men, a gap that narrowed, yet persisted over the semester. In addition, several specific coping skills were associated with decreases in R anxiety and increases in self-concept and sense of control; these differed by gender identity. Our findings can guide future work to identify interventions that lessen programming anxiety in biology classes, especially for women.

R Markdown as a dynamic interface for teaching: Modules from math and biology classrooms

Advancing technologies, including interactive tools, are changing classroom pedagogy across academia. Here, we discuss the R Markdown interface, which allows for the creation of partial or complete interactive classroom modules for courses using the R programming language. R Markdown files mix sections of R code with formatted text, including LaTeX, which are rendered together to form complete reports and documents. These features allow instructors to create classroom modules that guide students through concepts, while providing areas for coding and text response by students. Students can also learn to create their own reports for more independent assignments. After presenting the features and uses of R Markdown to enhance teaching and learning, we present examples of materials from two courses. In a Computational Modeling course for math students, we used R Markdown to guide students through exploring mathematical models to understand the principle of herd immunity. In a Data Visualization and Communication course for biology students, we used R Markdown for teaching the fundamentals of R programming and graphing, and for students to learn to create reproducible data investigations. Through these examples, we demonstrate the benefits of R Markdown as a dynamic teaching and learning tool.

Teaching Basic Calculations in an Introductory Biology Lab

Quantitative reasoning is one of the core competencies identified as a priority for transforming the undergraduate biology curriculum. However, first-year biology majors often lack confidence in their quantitative skills. We revised an introductory biology lab to emphasize the teaching of basic laboratory calculations, utilizing multiple teaching tools, including online prelab quizzes, minilab lectures, calculation worksheets, and online video tutorials. In addition, we implemented a repetitive assessment approach whereby three types of basic calculations-unit conversions, calculating molar concentrations, and calculating dilutions-were assessed on all quizzes and exams throughout the semester. The results showed that learning improved for each of the three quantitative problem types assessed and that these learning gains were statistically significant, both from first assessment to midterm and, notably, from midterm to final. Additionally, the most challenging problem type for students, calculating molar concentrations, showed the greatest normalized learning gains in the second half of the semester. The latter result suggests that persistent assessment resulted in continued learning even after formal, in-class teaching of these approaches had ended. This approach can easily be applied to other courses in the curriculum and, given the learning gains achieved, could provide a powerful means to target other quantitative skills.

Die Rolle von Beharrlichkeit und beständigem Interesse (Grit) für das Lernen in berufsbildenden Schulen

Zusammenfassung. In den letzten 10 Jahren wurden Beharrlichkeit und beständiges Interesse (Grit) verstärkt als zentrale, motivationale und volitionale Prädiktoren der akademischen Leistung propagiert und kritisch diskutiert. Wurde anfangs primär der direkte Zusammenhang untersucht, versuchen aktuellere Studien das komplexe Wirkungsgefüge von Grit im Verein mit anderen motivationalen Lernmerkmalen zu entwirren. Dennoch sind Studien zu indirekten Effekten von Grit auf Schülerleistungen rar. An einer Stichprobe von 393 Schülerinnen und Schülern kaufmännischer Schulen aus Österreich wurde geprüft, inwiefern individuelle Voraussetzungen erfolgreichen Lernens den positiven Zusammenhang zwischen den Grit-Dimensionen Beharrlichkeit und beständigem Interesse und der Schülerleistung mediieren. Befunde zeigen, dass insbesondere die Beharrlichkeit indirekt über das Vorwissen, das akademische Selbstkonzept, das Lernengagement und den Einsatz kognitiver Lernstrategien mit den Schülerleistungen zusammenhängt. Zudem wird der positive Zusammenhang zwischen beständigem Interesse und höheren Schülerleistungen über die Freiheit von Prüfungsangst vermittelt. Da die direkten Zusammenhänge zwischen Beharrlichkeit und den Schülerleistungen meist nur partiell mediiert werden, und Beharrlichkeit mit nahezu allen untersuchten individuellen Voraussetzungen erfolgreichen Lernens positiv assoziiert ist, kann für das Lernen im kaufmännischen Unterricht behauptet werden, dass Beharrlichkeit ein zentrales Konstrukt mit hohen Effekten – ähnlich dem akademischen Selbstkonzept und dem Lernengagement – darstellt. Dieser Befund wird vor dem Hintergrund der Grenzen der Studie kritisch diskutiert.

Gender in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Issues, Causes, Solutions

The landscape of gender in education and the workforce has shifted over the past decades: women have made gains in representation, equitable pay, and recognition through awards, grants, and publications. Despite overall change, differences persist in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This Viewpoints article on gender disparities in STEM offers an overarching perspective by addressing what the issues are, why the issues may emerge, and how the issues may be solved. In Part 1, recent data on gaps in representation, compensation, and recognition (awards, grants, publications) are reviewed, highlighting differences across subfields (e.g., computer science vs biology) and across career trajectories (e.g., bachelor's degrees vs senior faculty). In Part 2, evidence on leading explanations for these gaps, including explanations centered on abilities, preferences, and explicit and implicit bias, is presented. Particular attention is paid to implicit bias: mental processes that exist largely outside of conscious awareness and control in both male and female perceivers and female targets themselves. Given its prevalence and persistence, implicit bias warrants a central focus for research and application. Finally, in Part 3, the current knowledge is presented on interventions to change individuals' beliefs and behaviors, as well as organizational culture and practices. The moral issues surrounding equal access aside, understanding and addressing the complex issues surrounding gender in STEM are important because of the possible benefits to STEM and society that will be realized only when full participation of all capable and qualified individuals is guaranteed.