This paper introduces a course design for a post-Calculus undergraduate course on mathematical modeling for the life sciences. The course includes differential equations, discrete, and cellular automata approaches (among others) to modeling questions in the life sciences, as well as a variety of biological topics. The course focuses on model…

Purpose: The globalisation of higher education has created new challenges for educators to remain dynamic in teaching science undergraduates with diverse cultural backgrounds. The current study explores this challenge by evaluating the different personal factors among biosciences and pharmacy undergraduates that affect their learning approaches as…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to education in the UK in 2020, with most of the school teaching moving online and national school examinations being cancelled. This was particularly disruptive for those taking end of school examinations in preparation for higher education. Biological science courses require students to absorb a lot…

Laboratory classes form an important aspect of bioscience education. However, this environment is challenging for students due to cognitive load and lack of confidence. Familiarising students with aspects of their laboratory classes prior to the session can improve this. This study compares the pre-laboratory scaffolding that bioscience and…

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of laboratory activities based on the predict-observe-explain (POE) strategy on the understanding of photosynthesis and respiration concepts of pre-service science teachers, and their attitudes towards biology science and course and biology laboratory. Pre- and post-test designs with an…

In this article, the authors showcase 1) how they used assessment and evaluation strategies to determine the efficacy of field-based experiences in biology and 2) how they used this data to develop a new field--based course into a departmental intervention to foster inclusion of marginalized student populations in the life sciences. The authors…

Citizen science is a research collaboration between scientists and volunteers who provide data for education, conservation, and environmental protection. Volunteers, often the locals in the area, provide data on species occurrence while researchers perform distribution mapping or other data analysis. Social networking sites including Facebook,…

Many professions necessitate a graduate-level education, and research conducted by graduate students is integral in many fields, particularly those in the life science programs like ecology and environmental sciences. However, practices for recruiting and selecting graduate students are inconsistent among and within institutions. Although some…

Background: In the US, bioscience programs now often have more women than men who earn degrees at all levels. Despite this, evidence still exists for gender inequity in bioscience and medical fields. For example, women with careers in these fields tend to get paid less and leave these fields more. Here, we present research investigating grade…

Graduate students often face choices about which resources to use to help them succeed in their programs. These choices likely differ among students, in part, due to different perceptions of resource value. However, little is known about why particular resources might be considered highly valuable to students, thus driving choice. Utilizing…

The necessity to learn competence for collaborative knowledge work during higher education (HE) is accepted widely, but continued work is required to explicate how to define and assess such competence. In this article, the development and validation of a questionnaire for assessing the development of collaborative knowledge work competence is…

Attention paid to awarding gaps in higher education linked to ethnicity tends to focus on outcomes at the final award stage. Our project sought to scrutinise awarding gaps at module level where these gaps may emerge. Our aim was twofold: to identify the most important barriers to student success and determine strategies to reduce awarding gaps at…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, undergraduate research experiences were deeply impacted--either canceled or pivoted to a range of remote experiences. In Summer 2020 and Spring 2021, we designed two rounds of remote programming aimed to build students' life science research skills and provide opportunities for mentoring and networking. Building…

Undergraduate physics laboratory curriculum has undergone significant modification in recent decades in response to research and recommendations from educational and professional organizations and stakeholders. These reforms address multiple issues, such as 1) lack of student agency in experimentation, 2) an incomplete framework for student…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) integrate active, discovery-based learning into undergraduate curricula, adding tremendous value to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) education. There are multiple challenges in transforming a research project into a CURE, such as the readiness of students, the time commitment of the…