skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Defining and Measuring Students’ Interest in Biology: An Analysis of the Biology Education Literature
Understanding how students develop biology interests and the roles interest plays in biology contexts could help instructors and researchers to increase science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students’ motivation and persistence. However, it is currently unclear how interest has been defined or measured in the biology education research literature. We analyzed this body of literature to determine how interest has been defined and used by the biology education research community. Specifically, we determined the extent to which previously published work drew on theories that conceptualize interest. Further, we identified studies that measured student interest in biology and characterized the types of measures used. Our findings indicate that biology education researchers typically describe interest as a relationship involving positive feelings between an individual and a physical object, activity, or topic of focus. We also found that interest is often not defined, theories involving interest are not often consulted, and the most common measures of interest only assess a single aspect of the construct. On the basis of these results, we make suggestions for future research seeking to examine biology students’ interest. We hope that this analysis can serve as tool for biology educators to improve their own investigations of students’ interest and measure outcomes of interest-generating educational activities.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1712160
PAR ID:
10175271
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
CBE—Life Sciences Education
Volume:
18
Issue:
3
ISSN:
1931-7913
Page Range / eLocation ID:
ar34
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; (, CBE—Life Sciences Education)
    Tanner (Ed.)
    Recent calls in biology education research (BER) have recommended that researchers leverage learning theories and methodologies from other disciplines to investigate the mechanisms by which students to develop sophisticated ideas. We suggest design-based research from the learning sciences is a compelling methodology for achieving this aim. Design-based research investigates the “learning ecologies” that move student thinking toward mastery. These “learning ecologies” are grounded in theories of learning, produce measurable changes in student learning, generate design principles that guide the development of instructional tools, and are enacted using extended, iterative teaching experiments. In this essay, we introduce readers to the key elements of design-based research, using our own research into student learning in undergraduate physiology as an example of design-based research in BER. Then, we discuss how design-based research can extend work already done in BER and foster interdisciplinary collaborations among cognitive and learning scientists, biology education researchers, and instructors. We also explore some of the challenges associated with this methodological approach. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)
    This research paper measures college students' sense of belonging. Students' sense of belonging (SB) has been identified as a critical contributor to engineering students’ persistence, academic success, and professional identity in engineering. Therefore, how to accurately measure SB has become an emerging topic but is still challenging. Although engineering education researchers are interested in measuring students’ SB, they have presented concerns over selecting an appropriate instrument that results in trustworthy measurement outcomes. One of the reasons that cause challenges is that SB is a complicated construct that has various conceptual definitions. For example, Goodenow (1993) defined SB as “being accepted, valued, included, and encouraged by others...feeling oneself to be an important part of the life and activity of the class” (p. 25), which can be measured as a general SB. On the other hand, Freeman et al. (2007) viewed SB as a multi-dimensional construct that includes class belonging, university belonging, professors’ pedagogical caring, and social acceptance. Thus far, several instruments have been developed to measure SB from a single-dimensional perspective (e.g., Goodenow’s Psychological Sense of School Membership) and a multi-dimensional perspective (e.g., Slaten et al.’s the University Belonging Questionnaire). To our best knowledge, little research effort has been made to synthesize the information of instruments developed for measuring college students’ SB. This paper attempts to close the gap in the literature by conducting a systematic review following PRISMA (the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to summarize the information and characteristics of existing SB instruments, including the theoretical framework underlying the instrument, psychometric properties in previous studies, and validation works that have been carried out. Specifically, this paper focuses on the following aims: (a) to summarize how SB has been constructed and defined by different theories in higher education, (b) to report existing measurement instruments of SB used in higher education and their psychometric properties (reliability and validity), and (c) to compare various analytical plans for establishing the construct validity (including multicultural validity) in prior instrument development studies. The emergent findings provide insights into how to effectively measure SB and would facilitate school leaders' and educators’ work in promoting engineering students’ success and broadening participation in engineering. Keywords: Sense of belonging, engineering education, instrument, systematic review 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; (, Integrative And Comparative Biology)
    Synopsis Plants are fundamental to life, providing oxygen, food, and climate regulation, while also offering solutions to global challenges. Integrating plant biology into an undergraduate curriculum, while supporting and nurturing students’ career interests present both opportunities and challenges. Undergraduate biology education often overlooks plants due to limited student interest and a strong focus on health professions, particularly among women and underrepresented minorities. Here, we describe how plants are incorporated in the Biology curriculum at Spelman College, a women’s liberal arts college and a Historically Black College and University where Biology is a popular major. The department has successfully embedded plant biology across its skills and competency-based curriculum, from the foundational introductory sequence to upper-level electives and research experiences. Students learn core biological concepts in the introductory core curriculum, consisting of four courses progressing from ecological to molecular levels, where plant-related content is integrated through inquiry driven, hands-on activities or field trips. In upper-level electives and research-based courses, faculty offer a robust program in plant biology that enables deeper understanding and integration across disciplines as they address real world problems that intersect with students’ diverse interests. Survey data indicate that students perceive a balanced exposure to plants and other organisms in introductory courses and recognize the importance of plants for understanding core biological principles. Although this exposure does not significantly shift their primary career interest in medicine, it contributes to a broad biology education, skill development, and an increased interest in research. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; (, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)
    null (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Calls for early exposure of all undergraduates to research have led to the increased use and study of course-based research experiences (CREs). CREs have been shown to increase measures of persistence in the sciences, such as science identity, scientific self-efficacy, project ownership, scientific community values, and networking. However, implementing CREs can be challenging and resource-intensive. These barriers may be partly mitigated by the use of short-term CRE modules rather than semester- or year-long projects. One study has shown that a CRE module captures some of the known benefits of CREs as measured by the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey. Here, we used this same survey to assess outcomes for introductory biology students who completed a semester of modular CREs based on faculty research at an R1 university. The results indicated levels of self-efficacy, science community values, and science identity similar to those previously reported for students in the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) full-semester CRE. Scores for project ownership (content) were between previously reported traditional lab and CRE scores, while project ownership (emotion) and networking were similar to those of traditional labs. Our results suggest that modular CREs can lead to significant gains in student affect measures that have been linked to persistence in the sciences in other studies. Although gains were not as great in all measures as with a semester-long CRE, implementation of modular CREs may be more feasible and offers the added benefits of exposing students to diverse research fields and lab techniques. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, PLOS ONE)
    Jensen, Jamie L. (Ed.)
    Evolution is a prominent component of biology education and remains controversial among college biology students in the United States who are mostly Christian, but science education researchers have not explored the attitudes of Muslim biology students in the United States. To explore perceptions of evolution among Muslim students in the United States, we surveyed 7,909 college students in 52 biology classes in 13 states about their acceptance of evolution, interest in evolution, and understanding of evolution. Muslim students in our sample, on average, did not agree with items that measured acceptance of macroevolution and human evolution. Further, on average, Muslim students agreed, but did not strongly agree with items measuring microevolution acceptance. Controlling for gender, major, race/ethnicity, and international status, we found that the evolution acceptance and interest levels of Muslim students were slightly higher than Protestant students and students who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Muslim student evolution acceptance levels were significantly lower than Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu students as well as students who did not identify with a religion (agnostic and atheists). Muslim student understanding of evolution was similar to students from other affiliations, but was lower than agnostic and atheist students. We also examined which variables are associated with Muslim student acceptance of evolution and found that higher understanding of evolution and lower religiosity are positive predictors of evolution acceptance among Muslim students, which is similar to the broader population of biology students. These data are the first to document that Muslim students have lower acceptance of evolution compared to students from other affiliations in undergraduate biology classrooms in the United States. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email