Development of the Mentoring in Undergraduate Research Survey.

Here we present the development of the Mentoring in Undergraduate Research Survey (MURS) as a measure of a range of mentoring experienced by undergraduate science researchers. We drafted items based on qualitative research and refined the items through cognitive interviews and expert sorting. We used one national dataset to evaluate the internal structure of the measure and a second national dataset to examine how responses on the MURS related to theoretically relevant constructs and student characteristics. Our factor analytic results indicate seven lower order forms of mentoring experiences: abusive supervision, accessibility, technical support, psychosocial support, interpersonal mismatch, sexual harassment, and unfair treatment. These forms of mentoring mapped onto two higher-order factors: supportive and destructive mentoring experiences. Although most undergraduates reported experiencing supportive mentoring, some reported experiencing absence of supportive as well as destructive experiences. Undergraduates who experienced less supportive and more destructive mentoring also experienced lower scientific integration and a dampening of their beliefs about the value of research. The MURS should be useful for investigating the effects of mentoring experienced by undergraduate researchers and for testing interventions aimed at fostering supportive experiences and reducing or preventing destructive experiences and their impacts.

What Makes a Good Match? Predictors of Quality Mentorship Among Doctoral Students.

Quality mentoring promotes graduate student success. Despite an abundance of practical advice, empirical evidence regarding how to match mentees and mentors to form quality mentoring relationships is lacking. Here, we examine the influence of variables theorized to predict mentorship support and quality in a national sample of 565 science doctoral students from 70 universities in 38 states. Our structural equation modeling results indicate that mentor rank, mentee capital, and the relationship matching mechanism (direct admissions, rotations) were not associated with higher-quality relationships. We found no support for the widely held belief that students whose mentors shared their gender, race, or ethnicity experienced greater mentorship quality. Rather, mentees who shared attitudes, beliefs, and values with their mentor, or whose mentors displayed greater cultural awareness experienced more supportive, higher quality mentoring. Furthermore, these patterns were largely consistent across both mentee and mentor demographic groups. These results highlight the potential benefits of pairing mentees and mentors who share personal and intrinsic qualities rather than demographic or surface-level attributes. Our findings also indicate that graduate students from marginalized backgrounds can be effectively mentored by faculty who are demographically dissimilar if their mentors engage in culturally aware mentorship.

Undergraduate Lay Theories of Abilities: Mindset, universality, and brilliance beliefs uniquely predict undergraduate educational outcomes.

Students' beliefs about their abilities (called "lay theories") affect their motivations, behaviors, and academic success. Lay theories include beliefs about the potential to improve intelligence (mindset), who (i.e., everyone or only some people) has the potential to be excellent in a field (universality), and whether reaching excellence in a field requires raw intellectual talent (brilliance). Research demonstrates that each of these beliefs influences students' educational experiences and academic outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether they represent distinct latent constructs or are susceptible to the "jangle fallacy" (i.e., different names given to the same underlying construct). We conducted a multiphase, mixed-methods study to 1) evaluate whether mindset, universality, and brilliance beliefs represent conceptually and empirically discriminable concepts, and 2) evaluate whether mindset, universality, and brilliance beliefs contribute unique explanatory value for both psychosocial (e.g., sense of belonging) and academic outcomes (e.g., course grades). To address these questions, we developed and collected validity evidence for a new measure of science and math undergraduates' lay theories, called the Undergraduate Lay Theories of Abilities (ULTrA) survey. Factor analyses suggest that mindset, brilliance, and universality are distinct and empirically discriminable constructs. Structural Equation Models indicate that each lay theory contributes unique predictive value to relevant outcomes.

Metaproteogenomic Profile of a Mesopelagic Adenylylsulfate Reductase: Course-Based Discovery Using the Ocean Protein Portal.

Adenylylsulfate reductase (Apr) is a flavoprotein with a dissimilatory sulfate reductase function. Its ability to catalyze the reverse reaction in sulfur oxidizers has propelled a complex phylogenetic history of transfers with sulfate reducers and made this enzyme an important protein in ocean sulfur cycling. As part of a graduate course, we analyzed metaproteomic data from the Ocean Protein Portal and observed evidence of Apr alpha (AprA) and beta (AprB) subunits in the Central Pacific Ocean. The protein was originally taxonomically attributed toChlorobium tepidum TLS, a green sulfur bacterium. However, our phylogenomic and oceanographic contextual analysis contradicted this label, instead showing that this protein is consistent with the genomic material from the newly discovered Candidatus Lambdaproteobacteriaclass, implying that the ecological role of this lineage in oxygen minimum twilight zones is underappreciated. This study illustrates how metaproteogenomic analysis can contribute to more accurate metagenomic/proteomic annotations and comprehensive ocean biogeochemical processes conducive to course-based research experiences.

Virtually the Same? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remote Undergraduate Research Experiences.

In-person undergraduate research experiences (UREs) promote students' integration into careers in life science research. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted institutions hosting summer URE programs to offer them remotely, raising questions about whether undergraduates who participate in remote research can experience scientific integration and whether they might perceive doing research less favorably (i.e., not beneficial or too costly). To address these questions, we examined indicators of scientific integration and perceptions of the benefits and costs of doing research among students who participated in remote life science URE programs in Summer 2020. We found that students experienced gains in scientific self-efficacy pre- to post-URE, similar to results reported for in-person UREs. We also found that students experienced gains in scientific identity, graduate and career intentions, and perceptions of the benefits of doing research only if they started their remote UREs at lower levels on these variables. Collectively, students did not change in their perceptions of the costs of doing research despite the challenges of working remotely. Yet students who started with low cost perceptions increased in these perceptions. These findings indicate that remote UREs can support students' self-efficacy development, but may otherwise be limited in their potential to promote scientific integration.

Postgraduate perspectives on mentoring undergraduate researchers for talent development.

Undergraduate research experiences are critical for the talent development of the STEM research workforce, and research mentors play an influential role in this process. Given the many life science majors seeking research experiences at universities, graduate and postdoctoral researchers (i.e., postgraduates) provide much of the daily mentoring of undergraduate researchers. Yet, there remains little research on how postgraduates contribute to talent development among undergraduate researchers. To begin to address this knowledge gap, we conducted an exploratory study of the experiences of 32 postgraduates who mentored life science undergraduate researchers. We identified four factors that they perceived as enabling undergraduate researcher talent development: undergraduate researcher characteristics, research project characteristics, and mentoring implementation as well as outcomes for both the postgraduate and undergraduate. We then describe a team-based approach to postgraduate mentoring of undergraduate researchers that attends to these factors to provide an example that practitioners can adapt or adopt for their own research groups.

Guides to Advance Teaching Evaluation (GATEs): A Resource for STEM Departments Planning Robust and Equitable Evaluation Practices.

Most science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments inadequately evaluate teaching, which means they are not equipped to recognize or reward effective teaching. As part of a project at one institution, we observed that departmental chairs needed help recognizing the decisions they would need to make to improve teaching evaluation practices. To meet this need, we developed the Guides to Advance Teaching Evaluation (GATEs), using an iterative development process. The GATEs are designed to be a planning tool that outlines concrete goals to guide reform in teaching evaluation practices in STEM departments at research-intensive institutions. The GATEs are grounded in the available scholarly literature and guided by existing reform efforts and have been vetted with STEM departmental chairs. The GATEs steer departments to draw on three voices to evaluate teaching: trained peers, students, and the instructor. This research-based resource includes three components for each voice: 1) a list of departmental target practices to serve as goals; 2) a characterization of common starting places to prompt reflection; and 3) ideas for getting started. We provide anecdotal examples of potential uses of the GATEs for reform efforts in STEM departments and as a research tool to document departmental practices at different time points.

"How Do We Do This at a Distance?!" A Descriptive Study of Remote Undergraduate Research Programs during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down undergraduate research programs across the United States. A group of 23 colleges, universities, and research institutes hosted remote undergraduate research programs in the life sciences during Summer 2020. Given the unprecedented offering of remote programs, we carried out a study to describe and evaluate them. Using structured templates, we documented how programs were designed and implemented, including who participated. Through focus groups and surveys, we identified programmatic strengths and shortcomings as well as recommendations for improvements from students' perspectives. Strengths included the quality of mentorship, opportunities for learning and professional development, and a feeling of connection with a larger community. Weaknesses included limited cohort building, challenges with insufficient structure, and issues with technology. Although all programs had one or more activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, these topics were largely absent from student reports even though programs coincided with a peak in national consciousness about racial inequities and structural racism. Our results provide evidence for designing remote Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) that are experienced favorably by students. Our results also indicate that remote REUs are sufficiently positive to further investigate their affordances and constraints, including the potential to scale up offerings, with minimal concern about disenfranchising students.

The Dark Side of Development: A Systems Characterization of the Negative Mentoring Experiences of Doctoral Students.

Effective mentoring promotes the development and success of graduate students. Yet mentoring, like other relationships, can have negative elements. Little knowledge exists about the problematic mentoring that graduate students experience despite its potentially detrimental impacts. To begin to address this gap, we conducted an exploratory interview study to define and characterize negative mentoring experiences of 40 life science doctoral students. Students attributed their negative mentoring experiences to interacting factors at multiple levels-from interpersonal differences and poor relationship quality to issues at the research group, departmental, organizational, and discipline levels-all of which they perceived as harmful to their development. We found that doctoral students experienced forms of negative mentoring similar to those reported in workplace and undergraduate research settings, but they also experienced negative mentoring that was unique to academic research and their stage of development. Our results are useful to mentors for reflecting on ways their behaviors might be perceived, to mentees for avoiding situations that might be conducive to negative mentoring, and to programs and institutions for improving structures and processes to prevent negative mentoring. Our findings also serve as a foundation for future research on the prevalence and impacts of negative mentoring experiences in graduate education.

Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference: A Meeting Report.

The 2019 Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference (UBER GRC), titled "Achieving Widespread Improvement in Undergraduate Education," brought together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners working to identify, promote, and understand widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching, learning, and success strategies in undergraduate biology. Graduate students and postdocs had the additional opportunity to present and discuss research during a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that preceded the GRC. This report provides a broad overview of the UBER GRC and GRS and highlights major themes that cut across invited talks, poster presentations, and informal discussions. Such themes include the importance of working in teams at multiple levels to achieve instructional improvement, the potential to use big data and analytics to inform instructional change, the need to customize change initiatives, and the importance of psychosocial supports in improving undergraduate student well-being and academic success. The report also discusses the future of the UBER GRC as an established meeting and describes aspects of the conference that make it unique, both in terms of facilitating dissemination of research and providing a welcoming environment for conferees.

Knowledge or Abilities? How Undergraduates Define Intelligence.

Whether students view intelligence as a fixed or malleable trait (i.e., their "mindset") has significant implications for their responses to failure and academic outcomes. Despite a long history of research on mindset and its growing popularity, recent meta-analyses suggest that mindset does a poor job of predicting academic outcomes for undergraduate populations. Here, we present evidence that these mixed results could be due to ambiguous language on the mindset scale. Specifically, the term "intelligence" is a referent in every item of the mindset scale but is never defined, which could result in differing interpretations and measurement error. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory, qualitative study to characterize how undergraduate students define intelligence and how their definitions may influence how they respond to the mindset scale. We uncovered two distinct ways that undergraduates define intelligence: knowledge and abilities (e.g., ability to learn, solve problems). Additionally, we found that students' definitions of intelligence can vary across contexts. Finally, we present evidence that students who define intelligence differently also interpret and respond to the items on the mindset scale differently. We discuss implications of these results for the use and interpretation of the mindset scale with undergraduate students.

"Where's My Mentor?!" Characterizing Negative Mentoring Experiences in Undergraduate Life Science Research.

Undergraduate research experiences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are championed for promoting students' personal and professional development. Mentorship is an integral part of undergraduate research, as effective mentorship maximizes the benefits undergraduates realize from participating in research. Yet almost no research examines instances in which mentoring is less effective or even problematic, even though prior research on mentoring in workplace settings suggests negative mentoring experiences are common. Here, we report the results of a qualitative study to define and characterize negative mentoring experiences of undergraduate life science researchers. Undergraduate researchers in our study reported seven major ways they experienced negative mentoring: absenteeism, abuse of power, interpersonal mismatch, lack of career support, lack of psychosocial support, misaligned expectations, and unequal treatment. They described some of these experiences as the result of absence of positive mentoring behavior and others as actively harmful behavior, both of which they perceive as detrimental to their psychosocial and career development. Our results are useful to mentors for reflecting on ways their behaviors might be perceived as harmful or unhelpful. These findings can also serve as a foundation for future research aimed at examining the prevalence and impact of negative mentoring experiences in undergraduate research.

Optimizing your undergraduate teaching as you would an experiment: developing the next generation of cell biologists.

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a community dedicated to helping prepare the next generation of scientists to advance our understanding of the cell to an unprecedented level of sophistication and detail. Its Education Committee fosters this process by creating educational and professional development opportunities around best practices in science pedagogy, while its Minorities Affairs Committee aims to strengthen the scientific workforce by broadening participation of and support for underrepresented minorities in cell biology. To act upon these complementary priorities, the ASCB has developed a Declaration on Effective and Inclusive Biology Education. Its purpose is to outline practical actions for stakeholders in undergraduate education at the levels of faculty, departments, institutions, professional organizations, and funding agencies. Its recommendations are rooted in evidence-based best practices to support the success of diverse and heterogeneous undergraduate demographics and are designed to be highly adaptable to the existing strengths and needs of individual practitioners, student populations, and institutions. We acknowledge the ever-evolving nature of best practices in undergraduate education and hope that the dissemination of this declaration will play a role in this iterative process.

Direct Ties to a Faculty Mentor Related to Positive Outcomes for Undergraduate Researchers.

Mentored research is critical for integrating undergraduates into the scientific community. Undergraduate researchers experience a variety of mentoring structures, including dyads (i.e., direct mentorship by faculty) and triads (i.e., mentorship by graduate or postdoctoral researchers [postgraduates] and faculty). Social capital theory suggests that these structures may offer different resources that differentially benefit undergraduates. To test this, we collected data from a national sample of more than 1,000 undergraduate life science researchers and used structural equation modeling to identify relationships between mentoring structures and indicators of integration into the scientific community. Undergraduates in dyads and triads with direct faculty interactions reported similar levels of science self-efficacy, scientific identity, and scholarly productivity, and higher levels of these outcomes than students in triads lacking faculty interactions. Undergraduates' career intentions were unrelated to their mentoring structure, and their gains in thinking and working like scientists were higher if they interacted with both postgraduates and faculty.

Volunteered or Voluntold? The Motivations and Perceived Outcomes of Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentors of Undergraduate Researchers.

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers (postgraduates) in the life sciences frequently mentor undergraduate researchers, especially at research universities. Yet there has been only modest investigation of this relationship from the postgraduate perspective. We conducted an exploratory study of the experiences of 32 postgraduate mentors from diverse institutions, life sciences disciplines, and types of research to examine their motivations for mentoring and their perceived outcomes. Although some postgraduates reported feeling pressured to mentor undergraduate researchers, all expressed personal motivations, including both agentic (self-focused) and communal (community-focused) motivations. These postgraduates reported benefits and costs of mentoring that had both vocational and psychosocial elements. Given that our results indicated that even postgraduates who engaged in mentoring at the request of their faculty advisors had their own motivations, we conducted a second phase of analysis to determine the extent to which our results aligned with different theories of motivation (self-determination theory, social cognitive career theory, expectancy-value theory, social exchange theory). We end by proposing a model of postgraduate mentoring of undergraduate researchers that integrates the theories supported by our findings.

CBE-Life Sciences Education: the story of a "great journal scientists might be caught reading".

How did a moderately sized scientific society create what many consider to be the leading journal in biology education? As Editor-in-Chief of the education journal of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), CBE-Life Sciences Education ( LSE) and recipient of the 2018 Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education, I tell the story of the establishment, growth, and impact of ASCB's "other journal."

Effects of Discovery, Iteration, and Collaboration in Laboratory Courses on Undergraduates' Research Career Intentions Fully Mediated by Student Ownership.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide a promising avenue to attract a larger and more diverse group of students into research careers. CUREs are thought to be distinctive in offering students opportunities to make discoveries, collaborate, engage in iterative work, and develop a sense of ownership of their lab course work. Yet how these elements affect students' intentions to pursue research-related careers remain unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we collected data on three design features thought to be distinctive of CUREs (discovery, iteration, collaboration) and on students' levels of ownership and career intentions from ∼800 undergraduates who had completed CURE or inquiry courses, including courses from the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), which has a demonstrated positive effect on student retention in college and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We used structural equation modeling to test relationships among the design features and student ownership and career intentions. We found that discovery, iteration, and collaboration had small but significant effects on students' intentions; these effects were fully mediated by student ownership. Students in FRI courses reported significantly higher levels of discovery, iteration, and ownership than students in other CUREs. FRI research courses alone had a significant effect on students' career intentions.

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Undergraduate Education Programs: An Example Analysis of the Freshman Research Initiative.

Institutions and administrators regularly have to make difficult choices about how best to invest resources to serve students. Yet economic evaluation, or the systematic analysis of the relationship between costs and outcomes of a program or policy, is relatively uncommon in higher education. This type of evaluation can be an important tool for decision makers considering questions of resource allocation. Our purpose with this essay is to describe methods for conducting one type of economic evaluation, a benefit-cost analysis (BCA), using an example of an existing undergraduate education program, the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) at the University of Texas Austin. Our aim is twofold: to demonstrate how to apply BCA methodologies to evaluate an education program and to conduct an economic evaluation of FRI in particular. We explain the steps of BCA, including assessment of costs and benefits, estimation of the benefit-cost ratio, and analysis of uncertainty. We conclude that the university's investment in FRI generates a positive return for students in the form of increased future earning potential.