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Energy is a core concept across STEM, but disciplinary differences in how the topic is taught can lead students to develop a fragmented understanding. One well-documented misconception is that “breaking bonds releases energy,” a belief especially common when biology students reason about adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Using Hammer’s resources framework, we investigated whether students’ misconceptions about exothermic bond breaking stemmed from a failure to activate chemistry knowledge in a biology context, or from a complete absence of that knowledge. We conducted semi-structured interviews in which introductory biology students first explained why ATP hydrolysis releases energy and then chose the reaction coordinate diagram that best represented the process. Initially, most students claimed that ATP hydrolysis releases energy because bonds are broken. However, when prompted with a reaction coordinate diagram, one third of students spontaneously corrected themselves, realizing that breaking bonds requires, rather than releases, energy. These results suggest that even when introductory biology students make errors in chemical reasoning, many actually possess the relevant underlying knowledge (e.g., “breaking bonds requires energy”) but fail to activate it in a biology context. 

Discussion sections are scheduled course meetings led by a teaching assistant (TA). Goals of these meetings may include: providing additional content practice, access to instructional support, and promoting a student's sense of belonging. As such, sections ideally include smaller groups of students and involve active learning. However, little is known about broad patterns in discussion section instruction and student experiences. To characterize student experiences in discussion sections, we surveyed ∼5000 students enrolled in 19 different biology courses covering 193 discussion sections at one institution in spring and fall 2023. Discussion sections varied in size (32 − 400 + students) and modality, with students participating either in-person or remotely. Students in remote discussion sections reported receiving significantly higher amounts of lecture from TAs compared with students in in-person sections, and these shifts in activity significantly modified their sense of belonging. Inductive thematic analysis of qualitative responses identified several themes regarding aspects of discussion sections that students felt were helpful (e.g., increased access to support) or unhelpful (e.g., environments not conducive to learning). Our findings offer insights into the different ways discussion sections are used in large biology programs and provide data to inform future discussion section design. 

We identified opportunity gaps related to prior chemistry preparation for students in introductory biology which were tied to equity gaps in exam scores. We developed, implemented and assessed an intervention to support learning of chemistry-in-biology concepts, and found that mastery and module use mitigated some but not all equity gaps. 

Student experiences learning chemistry have been well studied in chemistry courses but less so in biology courses. Chemistry concepts are foundational to introductory biology courses, and student experiences learning chemistry concepts may impact their overall course experiences and subsequent student outcomes. In this study, we asked undergraduate students enrolled in introductory biology courses at a public R1 institution an open-response question asking how their experiences learning chemistry topics affected their identities as biologists. We used thematic analysis to identify common ideas in their responses. We found that while almost half of student respondents cited learning chemistry as having positive impacts on their experiences learning biology, students who struggled with chemistry topics were significantly more likely to have negative experiences learning biology. We also found significant relationships between prior chemistry preparation, student background, and the likelihood of students struggling with chemistry and negative experiences learning biology. These findings emphasize the impact of learning specific content on student psychosocial metrics and suggest areas for biology educators to focus on to support learning and alleviate student stress in introductory biology. 

Studying computer science is a journey: people start at different times, travel at different paces, and pause along the way. In this experience report, we describe a peer-led, year-long program designed to welcome students to Computer Science and Engineering as a discipline, department, and academic program. We detail the logistical, curricular, and personnel structures of this program, highlighting design choices we made to (a) open multiple ways to join the program all year, (b) de-emphasize "getting ahead", (c) prioritize reflection, and (d) connect students to existing resources. Throughout, we emphasize the critical role of peer mentors in leading and shaping this space. We share our own lessons learned, as well as reflections from students and mentors on the value of this learning community outside of formal classroom structures.