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1. CHARACTERIZATION OF UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY INSTRUCTORS’ GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING QUANTITATIVE REASONING

   Khushal, Anum (August 2025, University of Nebraska Digital Commons)

   Quantitative reasoning (QR) is the ability to apply mathematics and statistics in the context of real-life situations and scientific problems. It is an important skill that students require to make sense of complex biological phenomena and handle large datasets in biology courses and research as well as in professional contexts. Biology educators and researchers are responding to the increasing need for QR through curricular reforms and research into biology education. This qualitative study investigates how undergraduate biology instructors implement QR into their teaching. The study used pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and a QR framework to explore instructors’ instructional goals, strategies, and perceived challenges and affordances in undergraduate biology instruction. The participants included 21 biology faculty across various institutions in the United States, who intentionally integrated QR in their instruction. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data focusing on participants’ beliefs, experiences, and classroom practices. Findings indicated that instructors adapt their QR instruction based on course level and student preparedness. In lower-division courses, strategies emphasized building foundational skills, reducing math anxiety, and using scaffolded instruction to promote confidence. In upper-division courses, instructors expected greater math fluency but still encountered a wide range of student abilities, prompting a focus on correcting misconceptions in integrating math knowledge and fostering deeper conceptual understanding in biology. Many instructors reported that their personal and educational experiences, especially struggles with math, often shaped their inclusive and empathetic teaching practices. Additionally, instructors’ research backgrounds influenced instructional design, particularly in the use of authentic data, statistical tools, and real-world applications. Instructors’ teaching experiences led to refinement in lesson planning, pacing, and active learning strategies. Despite their efforts, instructors faced both internal and external challenges in implementing QR, including discomfort with teaching math, time limitations, student resistance, and institutional barriers. However, affordances such as departmental support, interdisciplinary collaboration, and curricular flexibility helped to overcome some of these challenges. This study highlights the complex relationships between instructors’ experiences, beliefs, and contextual factors in shaping QR instruction. This calls for professional development that supports reflective practice, builds interdisciplinary competence, and promotes instructional strategies that bridge biology and mathematics and will help instructors design a learning environment that better support students’ development of QR skills. These findings offer valuable guidance for professional development aimed at helping biology instructors incorporate quantitative reasoning into their teaching. Such efforts can better equip students to meet the quantitative demands of modern biology and promote their continued engagement in STEM fields through more inclusive and integrated instructional approaches. 

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2. Professional Learning in the Midst of Teaching Computer Science

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3230977.3230983  

   Hubbard, Aleata; D'Silva, Katie (January 2018, Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - ICER '18)

   The recent groundswell of interest in computer science education across many countries has created a pressing need for computing teachers at the secondary level. To satisfy this demand, some educational systems are drawing from their pool of in-service teachers trained in other disciplines. While these transitioning teachers can learn about computing pedagogy and subject matter at professional learning workshops, daily teaching experiences will also be a source of their learning. We studied a co-teaching program where instructional responsibilities were distributed between teachers and volunteers from the tech industry to explore how specific teaching practices supported teacher learning, with a focus on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Through qualitative analysis of questionnaire and interview data gathered from three teachers during one school year, we identified the practices they engaged in and how their learning related to the enactment of those practices. Our results highlight several factors that influenced the ways in which teaching practices provided participants with opportunities to learn PCK: (a) active participation of students and volunteers; (b) teacher’s level of content knowledge; (c) interdependent practices; and (d) immediacy of the classroom environment. 

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3. The role of epistemological beliefs in STEM faculty’s decisions to use culturally relevant pedagogy at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00349-9  

   Shultz, Mollee; Nissen, Jayson; Close, Eleanor; Van Dusen, Ben (December 2022, International Journal of STEM Education)

   Abstract Background The growing understanding of the oppressive inequities that exist in postsecondary education has led to an increasing need for culturally relevant pedagogy. Researchers have found evidence that beliefs about the nature of knowledge predict pedagogical practices. Culturally relevant pedagogy supports students in ways that leverage students’ own cultures through three tenets: academic success, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. If STEM practitioners believe that their disciplines are culture-free, they may not enact culturally relevant pedagogy in their courses. We investigated how and in what forms 40 faculty from mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology departments at Hispanic-Serving Institutions enacted culturally relevant pedagogy. We used the framework of practical rationality to understand how epistemological beliefs about the nature of their discipline combined with their institutional context impacted instructors’ decision to enact practices aligning with the three tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy. Results In total, 35 instructors reported using practices that aligned with the academic success tenet, nine instructors with the cultural competence tenet, and one instructor with the sociopolitical consciousness tenet. Instructors expressed and even lauded their disciplines’ separation from culture while simultaneously expressing instructional decisions that aligned with culturally relevant pedagogy. Though never asked directly, six instructors made statements reflecting a “culture-free” belief about knowledge in their discipline such as “To me, mathematics has no color.” Five of those instructors also described altering their teaching in ways that aligned with the academic success tenet. The framework of practical rationality helped explain how the instructors’ individual obligation (to the needs of individual students) and interpersonal obligation (to the social environment of the classroom) played a role in those decisions. Conclusions Instructors’ ability to express two contradictory views may indicate that professional development does not have to change an instructor’s epistemological beliefs about their discipline to convince them of the value of enacting culturally relevant pedagogy. We propose departmental changes that could enable instructors to decide to cultivate students’ cultural competence and sociopolitical consciousness. Our findings highlight the need for future research investigating the impacts of culturally relevant pedagogical content knowledge on students’ experiences. 

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4. Lessons Learned: Exploring Effective Student-centered Instructional Practices in Middle and Upper-level Engineering

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--47730  

   Wahed, Shabnam; Pitterson, Nicole; Case, Jennifer; Knight, David; Murzi, Homero (June 2024, ASEE Conferences)

   This lessons learned paper delves into the realm of effective student-centered teaching practices within middle and upper-level engineering classes, with the primary goal of enhancing students' acquisition of disciplinary knowledge. The research is anchored by a central inquiry: what student-centered teaching approaches do exemplary engineering faculty employ to promote knowledge-building in their courses, and how do these approaches align with their beliefs about teaching? To address the research question, the study employed the participatory action research (PAR) methodology, which prioritizes the invaluable input and expertise of participants. A diverse group of participants renowned for their teaching excellence was selected from five departments. A total of ten participants were chosen, and data was collected using a variety of methods, including classroom observations, analysis of course materials, surveys, and focus group discussions. Our observations across various courses have revealed common practices employed by instructors to foster effective learning environments. These practices encompass dynamic and diverse class introductions that utilize strategies like revisiting prior content, storytelling, and addressing student well-being to establish a strong foundation for the session. Throughout the class, instructors consistently maintained student engagement through techniques such as group activities, structured interactions, active problem-solving, and thought-provoking question-and-answer sessions. Visual aids and technology were integral in enhancing content delivery. Instructors also ensured the content was relatable by linking lessons to research findings, relatable examples, and familiar landmarks, grounding theoretical concepts in real-life relevance. Personalized support was a priority, with instructors offering targeted feedback to smaller groups and individual students, including one-on-one sessions for additional assistance. Some instructors introduced unique practices such as debate activities, involving students in decision-making processes, cross-course connections, and specialized problem-solving techniques. These diverse approaches collectively underscore the multifaceted strategies instructors employ to create engaging and effective learning experiences. Another significant initiative undertaken in our study involved organizing a summer workshop that provided a platform for instructors to convene and engage in collaborative discussions regarding their teaching practices and their top five teaching priorities. During this workshop, we also deliberated on the preliminary findings from our data collection. The instructors collectively emphasized the importance of getting students engaged in the learning process. We identified several overarching categories of priorities that held relevance for all instructors, including the establishment of personal relationships with students, the effective organization of course content and class activities, strategies for motivating students, and the integration of course content with real-world applications. During the lightning talk, we will share a comprehensive overview of the study's research findings as well as the importance of student-centered teaching practices in engineering education. 

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5. ”What you bring matters”: A Comparative Case Study of Middle School Engineering Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Fundamental)

   Gale, J; Baptiste_Porter, D; Alemdar, M; Newton, S; Rehmat, A; Choi, J (June 2025, American Society for Engineering Education)

   Pre-college engineering teachers bring unique backgrounds to their teaching practice. Many engineering teachers follow a non-traditional route to teaching engineering, often coming to engineering from teaching other subjects or from careers in other fields. Among the many variations influencing engineering teaching practices is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), defined as the “the knowledge of, reasoning behind, and enactment of the teaching of particular topics in a particular way with particular students for particular reasons for enhanced student outcomes [1]”. This multiple case study explores the PCK of five middle school engineering teachers implementing the same middle school engineering curriculum, STEM-ID. The 18- week STEM-ID curriculum engages students in contextualized challenges that incorporate foundational mathematics and science practices and advanced manufacturing tools such as computer aided design (CAD) and 3D printing, while introducing engineering concepts like pneumatics, aeronautics, and robotics. Drawing on observation and interview data collected over the course of two semester-long implementations of STEM-ID, the study addresses the research question: What variations in PCK are evident among engineering teachers with different professional backgrounds and levels of experience? Five teachers were purposively selected from a larger group of teachers implementing the curriculum because they represent a range of professional backgrounds: one veteran engineering teacher, one former Math teacher, one former Science teacher, one former English/Language Arts teacher, and one novice teacher with a background in the software industry. The study utilizes the Refined Consensus Model of PCK to investigate connections between teacher backgrounds, personal PCK (pPCK), the personalized professional knowledge held by teachers, and enacted PCK (ePCK), the knowledge teachers draw on to engage in pedagogical reasoning while planning, teaching, and reflecting on their practice. Observation, interview, and survey data were triangulated to develop narrative case summaries describing each teacher’s PCK, which were then subjected to cross-case analysis to identify patterns and themes across teachers. Findings describe how teachers’ backgrounds translated into diverse forms of pPCK that informed the pedagogical moves and decisions teachers made as they implemented the curriculum (ePCK). Regardless of the previous subject taught (math, science, or ELA), teachers routinely drew upon their pPCK in other subjects as they facilitated the engineering design process. Teachers with previous experience teaching math or science tended to be more likely than others to foreground the integration of math or science within the curriculum. Comparison of ePCK observed as teachers implemented the curriculum revealed that, in spite of having a more fully developed pPCK in teaching engineering, the veteran engineering teacher did not exhibit more sophisticated ePCK than novice engineering teachers. In addition to contributing to the field’s understanding of engineering teachers’ PCK, these findings hold implications for the recruitment, retention, and professional development of engineering teachers. 

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