IS LESS MORE?1

Note from the EditorsToo often, biology has been considered by both students and faculty as the ideal major for the scientifically inclined but mathematically challenged, even though the advantage of quantitative approaches in biology has always been apparent.Increasingly, biologists are utilizing mathematical skills to create simulations or manage and query large data sets.The need for basic mathematical and computer science (CS) literacy among biologists has never been greater.But does this require a fundamental change in the organization of the undergraduate biology curriculum?What is the utility of math/CS in different areas of biology?How can we best provide math/CS instruction to biologists so that the utility is appreciated?Do all biology students require a stronger math/CS foundation, or only those interested in research careers?Given the speed at which technology changes, what is the best preparation?Three different points of view are offered below.Dr. Roger Brent, President and Director of the Molecular Sciences Institute, reflects on the "innumeracy" common among biologists and argues that significant insights into biological problems may be gained from better mathematical intuition.

Chemistry and biology are interrelated branches of science, but students majoring in Chemistry Education are often considered as less ability to understand several biological concepts. The aim of this study was to obtain the information about the response of Chemistry Education students on General Biology course. The research was a descriptive study conducted in August to December 2017 in which the subjects were twenty-four first-semester students of Chemistry Education who take General Biology course at Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teaching Sciences, State Islamic Institute Batusangkar, West Sumatera. The instrument used was the questionnaire of student responses on General Biology course. The analysis used was descriptive statistical analysis by using percentage. The best response of students on General Biology course is on assessment transparency aspect, while the lowest response is on lecture attractiveness aspect. The conclusion, the response of Chemistry Education student who has taken General Biology course in State Islamic Institute Batusangkar on the criteria good. Although from Chemistry Education Program, most students give positive responses to General Biology course. Information obtained from this study can be used as a basis for improving the quality of General Biology course, especially in Chemistry Education Program.

Exam anxiety has been well-documented to reduce student performance in undergraduate biology courses, especially for students from marginalized groups, which can contribute to achievement gaps. Our exploratory study surveyed 61 undergraduate biology students to better understand how exams affect their anxiety levels, focusing on the impact of exam types, proctoring practices, and time constraints. We also solicited students’ preferences for exam type and recommendations for improving the structure of exams in undergraduate biology courses. Our findings indicate that closed-note exams and proctoring practices, such as LockDown Browser, significantly heighten student anxiety. Conversely, open-note and cheat-sheet exams were associated with lower anxiety levels as these formats allowed students to focus on understanding concepts rather than rote memorization. Students also provided recommendations for improving exam structure, such as allowing students to use some form of notes, reducing time constraints, and balancing exam difficulty with exam length. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on test anxiety in undergraduate biology courses and provide practical insights for biology instructors seeking to create more supportive and equitable assessment practices.

When Charles Darwin was developing his ideas for On the Origin of Species, the most widely accepted estimates of Earth’s age were those of William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin). Kelvin used calculations involving thermodynamics to argue that Earth is only 20–100 million years old—an age far too brief to accommodate evolution by natural selection. Darwin referred to Thomson’s claim as one of his “sorest troubles,” for Darwin understood that the history of life on Earth ultimately relies on geology. Darwin suspected that Earth was much older than Thomson claimed, but Thomson’s enormous stature as a scientist obliged Darwin to reconcile his claims with Kelvin’s data. To accommodate Kelvin’s timeline, Darwin proposed pangenesis as an explanation of inheritance (i.e., every sperm and egg contained “gemmules thrown off from each different unit throughout the body”). Darwin’s explanation sped evolution while avoiding Lamarck’s quasi-spiritual sources of acquired traits. However, Darwin’s explanation of inheritance was wrong (see discussion in Moore et al. 2009a). The age of Earth remains a divisive topic in the modern evolution–creationism controversy. Whereas mainstream science has long acknowledged that Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, a vocal group of citizens and religious activists continue to insist that Earth is less than 10,000 years old. Although most geocentrists and flat-Earth advocates have capitulated to scientific evidence, young-Earth creationists continue to reject scientific evidence in favor of religious dictum to claim that Earth is less than 10,000 years old. These antiscience claims have been surprisingly popular with the public. For example, a Gallup Poll in early 2009 reported that “On Darwin’s [200th] Birthday, Only 4 in 10 Believe in Evolution” (Newport 2009), and Berkman et al. (2008) noted that “16% [of biology teachers] believed that human beings were created by God in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.” In another study, 12.5% of students were young-Earth creationists (Rutledge and Warden 2000), as are 10%–14% of biology majors (Moore and Cotner 2009). Answers in Genesis’ (AiG) Creation Museum, along with the $27 million in donations required to build it, attest to the appeal of young-Earth creationism. Indeed, AiG’s income for 2005 exceeded $13 million, and that of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR, another religious organization based on young-Earth creationism) exceeded $7 million. For comparison, the 2005 income of National Center for Science Education—the nation’s leading organization that defends the teaching of evolution in public schools—was

This study explored the impact of high‐immersion virtual reality (VR) as an innovative andragogical tool in undergraduate biology education. Amidst concerns about traditional lecture‐based teaching methods, VR can offer interactive hands‐on experiences. The study hypothesized that students who opt in for a supplementary VR experience will outperform the students presented with text‐based lectures and the students presented with video‐assisted content in content‐related quizzes and assignments. The study involved 456 students of an undergraduate contemporary biology course. Three conditions were presented over four semesters: a VR activity focused on teaching genetics and Punnett squares that supplemented a video lecture, video lecture only and long‐form text‐based materials only. Pre‐ and post‐VR activity tests were conducted to assess knowledge gains and perceptions of the VR experience of the 49 students who chose the additional VR experience. Results suggest significant improvements in the immediate content‐related post‐test scores, delivered in multiple‐choice format. A significant difference was observed in the mean scores of the genetics module assignments (delivered in long‐form text format) among the three groups (ie, VR‐and‐video‐assisted group; video‐assisted group; text‐only materials group). The text‐only group scored the lowest, while the video‐and‐VR‐assisted group scored the highest, but only marginally higher than the video‐assisted group. The results suggest that VR provides a viable, scalable and cost‐effective complement to traditional laboratory practice. Rather than outperforming lecture‐based approaches, VR offers an accessible way to practical experiences that would otherwise require specialized facilities or costly equipment. Our findings provide a baseline and highlight a need for further research to investigate the full potential and limitations of integrating VR in biology education. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an increasingly viable method of engaging users in educational experiences. VR as a medium can engage users in ways traditional media struggle to achieve, such as fostering empathy and delivering immersive experiences. Hands‐on learning opportunities remain highly relevant to STEM education, an area highly appropriate for exploration in VR. VR has gained considerable traction in biology education. What this paper adds Evidence for the integration of VR into a high‐enrollment, accredited curriculum implemented in a naturalistic, ecologically valid context. A comparison of VR‐assisted biology lessons with more traditional, video‐ or text‐based lecture in high‐enrollment undergraduate courses. VR experiences may be more beneficial than lecture‐based instruction for complex topics in undergraduate education. Implications for practice and/or policy VR is particularly useful in addressing typically challenging learning concepts. The integration of VR technology with large‐enrollment undergraduate courses is possible. The availability of VR experiences and equipment remains necessary for the successful integration of VR.

I aimed to document the online undergraduate course supply in biology to evaluate how well biology educators are serving the diverse and growing population of online students. I documented online biology course offerings in the 2015-2016 academic year at 96 American colleges and universities. I quantified differences in variety, extent, and availability of courses offered by different kinds of academic institutions and characterized 149 online biology courses offered. Although there was no relationship between an institution's enrollment size and any measure of its online biology offerings, I found significantly more online biology course options at 2-year public compared with 4-year public and 4-year private schools. Courses offered for nonmajors, including students pursuing healthcare-related degrees, were three times as common as those intended for biology majors, who were more likely to be offered hybrid courses with face-to-face laboratories. These data indicate some deficiencies in online biology course options; options for students majoring in biology are limited at all types of institutions examined with a minority of 4-year institutions having any online options in biology. Significant investment of institutional resources in faculty training and technological support are necessary to develop online biology courses that will benefit a larger student population.

ABSTRACTThe aims of the study are to determine the application of higher order thinking skills and student self-regulated learning in the General Biology Course, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Medan. This research was conducted in the departments of Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Science and Computer Science. Sampling was done by random sampling, by taking 6 classes from different majors. The type of this research is descriptive-quantitative research. The number of higher order thinking skills tests was 15 items and self-regulated learning tests were 40 items. The test is validated first before being used as a research instrument, followed by a validity test of the instrument, a reliability test, a test of the level of difficulty and distinguishing power. The results showed that the application of students' higher-order thinking skills in the General Biology course at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences was still in the low category. This can be seen from the results of the Mathematics Education class B, as much as 3% is in the perfect category, 28% is in the very good category, 7% is in the good category, and 60% is in the low category. In Physics Education class A, 38% are in the Perfect category, 38% are in the very good category, and 23% are in the low category. In the Biology A education class, 30% are in the perfect category, 5% are in the good category, and 65% are in the low category. In the Non-educational Chemistry class A, 28% were in the Perfect category, 17% were in the very good category, and 50% were in the low category. In IPA B class, 14% are in the perfect category, 28% are in the very good category, and 57% are in the low category. In computer science class C, 17% are in the perfect category, 33% are in the good category, and 50% are in the low category. Meanwhile, Self-Regulated Learning for Students of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the General Biology course is included in good categories, this is because the application of the KKNI curriculum accustoms students to be able to study independently through the assignment of six compulsory assignments for students. Keyword: higher order thinking skills, self regulated learning, general biology.

An integrated biology and chemistry (iBC) course for freshmen college students was developed in University of Delaware. This course will prepare students to (1) become interdisciplinary thinkers in the field of biology and (2) collaboratively work with others from multiple disciplines in the future. This study documented and described the implementation of the course in terms of its physical environment, course format and scheduling, teaching team, and course content. The challenges in the implementation and how they were addressed were also described. The information gathered from reading literature, classroom observations, and interviews were used to carry out the purpose of this study. The course is taught in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Learning Laboratories of the university. The iBC is composed of lectures, laboratories, studio sessions, and workshops and is taught by the faculty from the biology and chemistry departments. In addition, the teaching team involved in the delivery of the course is composed of the preceptors, the graduate teaching assistants, and studio fellows who facilitate the laboratory and studio sessions. In addressing the challenge of integrating the topics in both disciplines, the topics and laboratory activities in both disciplines were aligned. The iBC can be used as a model for other higher education institutions who wish to implement an integrated biology course.

Chapter 12 Desegregating Undergraduate Mathematics and Biology—Interdisciplinary Instruction with Emphasis on Ongoing Biomedical Research

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.

Although P. Pevzner and R. Shamir, as well as the Bio2010 project, are right about the importance of computational, mathematical, and modeling skills for the next generation of biologists (“Computing has changed biology—biology education must catch up,” Education Forum, 31 July, p. [541][1]), they ignore the realities of the modern biology curriculum and student learning. Specifically, it is unlikely that a single course can achieve the goal they desire. Computational and modeling mastery is not a trivial topic to append to a curriculum. Moreover, there is no surplus of student credit hours to absorb the courses needed. To introduce new topics in a pedagogically realistic manner, departments will have to restructure currently required courses. This will involve redesigning base biology courses to emphasize the relevance and application of modeling and computational skills, particularly given the observation that many biology students are actively mathphobic. Developing true expertise will require student credit hours. Where will they come from? One possibility is to redirect credit hours associated with medical school admission (but largely irrelevant to most biologists). Whatever the source, it is clear that programs need to reconsider where our limited resources are currently being spent. We cannot afford to waste the students' time on irrelevant or ineffectual courses. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1173876

The purpose of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the test items developed for classroom observation for faculty teaching undergraduate courses. The study utilized semantic validation, content validation and reliability testing to ensure relevance and clarity of the items. The respondents of the study were the program chairperson, school dean, university psychometrician, and Faculty Federation President. The finding of this research indicated that majority of the items developed for classroom observation were relevant and clear that will give justice and compensate the actual teaching-learning performance of the teachers.

Over the past decade, repeated calls have been made to incorporate more active teaching and learning in undergraduate biology courses. The emphasis on inquiry-based teaching is especially important in laboratory courses, as these are the courses in which students are applying the process of science. To determine the current state of research on inquiry-based teaching in undergraduate biology laboratory courses, we reviewed the recent published literature on inquiry-based exercises. The majority of studies in our data set were in the subdisciplines of biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, and molecular biology. In addition, most exercises were guided inquiry, rather than open ended or research based. Almost 75% of the studies included assessment data, with two-thirds of these studies including multiple types of assessment data. However, few exercises were assessed in multiple courses or at multiple institutions. Furthermore, assessments were rarely based on published instruments. Although the results of the studies in our data set show a positive effect of inquiry-based teaching in biology laboratory courses on student learning gains, research that uses the same instrument across a range of courses and institutions is needed to determine whether these results can be generalized.

OF THE CRITICISMS presently directed toward the quality and content of undergraduate biology courses, the most fundamental is that traditional courses fail to teach or develop the essential skills, intellectual abilities, and curiosity that are necessary characteristics of the biological scientist (Epstein 1970; Jeveli and Stevens 1975; Rasmussen 1970; Shell and HawesDavis 1965). As these and other authors have indicated, the traditional biology course with the lecture-cookbook lab format for transferring the maximum amount of factual material to the student has been inadequate for allowing the student to experience the processes by which biological information is generated. Few bachelor's or even master's degree biology students graduate with experience in scientific decision-making processes, in hypothesis formation, in experimental design, in the evaluation of meanings and strengths of data, in limitations and values of scientific processes, in the frustration of research, or in the excitement of discovery. In addition, university attempts to handle large numbers of undergraduates in giant lecture courses have generally forced students to postpone their curiosity and high motivation to do science until the beginning of thesis research. Moreover, nonbiology majors generally have no opportunity at all to experience the intellectual challenge and the excitement of the process of biological science. Instead, they have to devote virtually all of their time and efforts in a biology course to memorizing a body of knowledge.

Evolution is a fundamental, organising concept in biology, yet there is widespread resistance to evolution among US students and there are rising creationist challenges in Europe. Resistance to evolution is linked to lack of understanding of the age of the Earth. An understanding of deep time is thus essential for effective biology education. Landmarks – well-known events of known absolute age – are important in developing a mental framework for deep time. ‘Collective landmarks’ are important events of which a group of students has accurate and precise knowledge. The collective landmarks for time were determined in several semesters of an interdisciplinary undergraduate course at a US public research university. A written survey was employed that asked students to select the appropriate ten-fold time range for ten important cosmological, biological and historical events. The collective landmarks were very similar across classes, including the Big Bang and the Cold War, and there was progress developing additional landmarks. No statistically significant differences in accuracy of estimation were detected across science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and social sciences majors. The potential utility of collective landmarks within a single biology course, and across a university biology programme, is described.