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1. Introducing undergraduate students to human evolution through eco-immunology

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1606625  

   Balgopal, Meena M; Neuwald, Jennifer L; Pandey, Sumali (August 2025, Frontiers in Education)

   Hughes, Lee (Ed.)

   IntroductionThe benefits of actively engaging students is especially relevant for teaching undergraduate students about evolutionary processes and content. Examining eco-immunological data can help students overcome the naïve conception that humans are not evolving or affected by evolutionary pressures. MethodsHere, we used graphical reasoning in two evolution courses (small/honors and large/regular) to teach students about eco-immunology in humans and non-human organisms during a unit on the evolution of life-history traits. The module challenged students to (i) distinguish between immunological and evolutionary fitness, (ii) evaluate graphical data from the primary scientific literature on energy allocation and trade-offs, and (iii) integrate these proximate and ultimate processes into a more wholistic understanding of on-going human evolution. Student performance and perceptions were measured through closed and open response items. Open response items were thematically analyzed to identify salient themes. ResultsStudent performance in the large class increased significantly on items related to fitness, energy trade-offs, and graphical reasoning, while student performance in the small class increased just for items related to energy trade-offs. Student confidence in graphical reasoning, perceptions of the importance of graphical reasoning, and perceptions of the value of interdisciplinary research was high for both classes. Student narrative examples regarding confidence, perceptions of graphical reasoning, and perceptions of interdisciplinary research are presented. DiscussionWe conclude that students can increase their performance and perceptions of eco-immunology and graphical reasoning through an active learning, graph reading module. Furthermore, students can be introduced to the field of immunology through their evolution courses. 

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2. Connecting the Dots between Active Learning and Science Communication in the Graduate Classroom

   Cashwell, H; McNeal, K (April 2025, Tranformative dialogues)

   Active learning and science communication have previously been separated in the literature. A science communication course was developed for graduate students within a Geosciences department to educate students on how to communicate about the research they are completing while pursuing their degree. This course used active learning techniques throughout the education of the material to engage students. This article aids in bridging the gap between active learning and science communication in this graduate level science communication course. The initial premise of this study was to see how graduate students connected using active learning techniques to enhance their science communication. However, through class observations and one-on-one interviews, it was found that students did not realize the methods that were being used in class for instruction were active learning techniques. Students were not connecting the dots with the information that they were learning about communication was given to them in active learning formats. Those active learning formats could also be used to enhance their own communication techniques when discussing the research that is being conducted. Conclusions from this work generate methods of how active learning can be incorporated in science communication to improve how students learn how to talk about their research which also contributes to the advancement in the scholarship of teaching and learning around science communication. 

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3. The Design of a Course to Train STEM Pre-Service Teachers (Work-in-progress)

   Crosby, Garh V; Alaqra, Maram H; Simmons-Brooks, Pamela; Krauss, Morgan; Tornquist, Shelly; Yalvac, Bugrahan (June 2024, ASEE)

   In pre-college levels, integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are often taught by science or mathematics teachers. These teachers lack the engineering and technology background and they do not necessarily use project-based and inquiry-oriented instructional strategies. To close the gap in the qualified STEM education teacher workforce, the authors developed and piloted a novel course to train preservice STEM teachers to effectively employ project-based and inquiry-oriented teaching strategies at pre-college levels. This 3-credit research and design experience course was piloted in the Spring 2023 semester. The preservice STEM teachers, enrolled in the course, engaged in hands-on activities, engineering project-based training, inquiry-based learning techniques through research training, makerspace training, field experience, and mentorship. The course comprised two parts. In part I, the students received research training. In part II, the students engaged in engineering design and makerspace professional development. In this paper, we report on the course design elements and the impact of the course activities on students’ self-efficacy in teaching STEM subjects using emerging technology, as well as their teaching approaches and understanding of student learning. The authors conducted a mixed methods study and collected both qualitative and quantitative data. Preliminary results of the multiyear study are presented. Initial findings indicate a heightened confidence of the students in their ability to deliver STEM content in secondary classrooms. Students improved their teaching approaches and reported positive experiences with the course. 

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4. Modifying the CREATE method with inclusive approaches helps students engage with socioscientific applications of the primary scientific literature

   https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00078-25  

   Worthington, Delaney; Kelp, Nicole (April 2025, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)

   Floyd, Jeanetta H (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Undergraduate students need the opportunity to engage with primary scientific literature so they can gain a greater understanding of the scientific process and insights into the larger impacts of scientific research in their field. Reading primary scientific literature (PSL) also provides the opportunity for students to consider the application of primary scientific research to help solve socioscientific issues. Helping students consider more inclusive approaches to science communication can facilitate their connections between primary scientific research and collaborative solving of socioscientific issues. The CREATE method by Hoskins et al. is one pre-existing method of reading scientific papers that gives students a structured opportunity to examine papers. The CREATE method gives students the opportunity to practice scientific process skills, reflect on the impact of research, and consider future studies. We have added an additional element to the CREATE method to help students consider other areas of expertise and ways of knowing needed to apply science in the article to solve socioscientific issues, helping them take a more inclusive approach to reading the PSL. We have deemed this activity ‘inclusive-CREATE’ or iCREATE. Here, we present a curricular plan for implementing iCREATE and show evidence of its efficacy. For instance, we show that the iCREATE method increases students’ science and science communication identity and self-efficacy. We also show that iCREATE increases students’ inclusive science communication self-efficacy, intents, and planned behaviors. Overall, adding a more inclusive element to the CREATE method will help students feel more confident, more like a scientist, and more likely to engage in inclusive science communication behaviors. 

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5. Integrating neuroscience and immunology core concepts to develop a neuroimmunology curriculum

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1502521  

   Shah, Aparna P; Leininger, Elizabeth C; Pandey, Sumali (March 2025, Frontiers in Education)

   Chen, Audrey (Ed.)

   Training students in interdisciplinary thinking is critical for the future of scientific discovery and problem-solving more generally. Therefore, students must have early opportunities to grapple with knowns and unknowns at the frontiers of interdisciplinary inquiry. Neuroimmunology challenges students to think at the intersection of two rapidly evolving fields, neuroscience and immunology. As these disciplines focus on complex systems, their intersection represents a unique opportunity for students to witness the nature and process of interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis. However, the fast pace of research and specialized knowledge in both disciplines present challenges for instructors interested in teaching the subject to undergraduate students. In this article, we share and describe a curriculum developed using a backward-design approach to analyze core concepts in both neuroscience and immunology, which were articulated by disciplinary experts in collaboration with their respective education communities. We determine overlaps between these conceptual frameworks, identify key prerequisite knowledge, and suggest example activities to introduce neuroimmunology to undergraduate students. This curriculum may be used for an entire course, or modified into shorter units that instructors can use within diverse educational contexts. We hope that this effort will encourage instructors to adopt neuroimmunology into their curricula, provide a roadmap to forge other such interdisciplinary educational collaborations, and prepare students to develop creative solutions to current and future societal problems. 

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