Challenges facing interdisciplinary researchers: Findings from a professional development workshop.

Interdisciplinary research is the synergistic combination of two or more disciplines to achieve one research objective. Current research highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research in science education, particularly between educational experts within a particular science discipline (discipline-based education researchers) and those who study human learning in a more general sense (learning scientists). However, this type of interdisciplinary research is not common and little empirical evidence exists that identifies barriers and possible solutions. We hosted a pre-conference workshop for Discipline-Based Educational Researchers and Learning Scientists designed to support interdisciplinary collaborations. We collected evidence during our workshop regarding barriers to interdisciplinary collaborations in science education, perceptions of perceived cohesion in participants' home university departments and professional communities, and the impact of our workshop on fostering new connections. Based on participants' responses, we identified three categories of barriers, Disciplinary Differences, Professional Integration, and Collaborative Practice. Using a post-conference survey, we found an inverse pattern in perceived cohesion to home departments compared to self-identified professional communities. Additionally, we found that after the workshop participants reported increased connections across disciplines. Our results provide empirical evidence regarding challenges to interdisciplinary research in science education and suggest that small professional development workshops have the potential for facilitating durable interdisciplinary networks where participants feel a sense of belonging not always available in their home departments.

Developing the BETTSI: A tree-thinking diagnostic tool to assess individual elements of representational competence.

Phylogenies are a ubiquitous visual representation of core concepts in evolutionary biology and it is important that students develop an ability to read and correctly interpret these diagrams. However, as with any representation of complex disciplinary information, learning to correctly interpret phylogenies can be challenging, requiring that a diversity of educational strategies be deployed. Representational competence is the ability to develop and effectively use abstract representations. Accurately interpreting a phylogenetic tree as a presentation of evolutionary relationships requires that students develop general representational competence as well as knowledge of specific technical aspects of tree interpretation, such as knowing the graphical components of trees and what they represent. Here, we report on the development of a basic diagnostic tool of students' representational competence and technical skills with phylogenies, the Basic Evolutionary Tree-Thinking Skills Instrument (BETTSI). This short, multiple-choice instrument was designed to provide instructors with a quick diagnostic of students' ability to read and interpret phylogenies. It has been checked for reliability and validity and provides a convenient formative and summative assessment of students' understanding of evolutionary trees.