An identity-based learning community intervention enhances the lived experience and success of first-generation college students in the biological sciences.

Working-class first-generation (FG) college students are underrepresented in higher education and STEM. Using a longitudinal quasi-experiment, we tested the impacts of a living learning community (LLC) in the biological sciences on FG students in their first year of college (Semester 1: N = 243; Semester 2: N = 199), across three cohorts (2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021). Participation in the LLC enhanced FG students' belonging, confidence, motivation, grades, knowledge of the social relevance of biology, and reduced STEM anxiety compared to a control group of FG students not in an LLC. LLC participation also increased retention in biological science majors one-year post-intervention compared to the control FG group. Moreover, LLC participation closed the academic gap between FG students in the LLC and honors students from college-educated families in a separate honors LLC. Benefits of the LLC intervention remained stable despite the COVID-19 pandemic, when living together became impossible, producing positive effects across cohorts from pre-pandemic to in-pandemic. Our results suggest that affinity-based learning communities-with or without shared housing-in the transition to college enhance academic thriving, persistence, and reduce social class driven achievement gaps in STEM.

The role of research competence as an influencing factor for the careers of young academics. Findings and implications from studies on doctorates in medicine and life sciences in Germany.

Background: When viewed internationally, Germany boasts a high rate of doctoral candidates. Fields such as medicine and life sciences have a notably high proportion of doctoral students, a trend rooted in historical factors. Despite this, comprehensive empirical studies concerning the doctoral phase and early-career researchers, especially in relation to the rise of structured doctoral programmes, have only recently gained traction. Methods: We present findings from a project investigating young scientists in medicine and life sciences. Postdoctoral graduates from these disciplines were examined both quantitatively and qualitatively within the E-Prom projects, emphasizing the primary domain of research. Results: Our analysis indicates some benefits of structured doctoral programmes over traditional individual doctorates. However, the disparities between these doctoral approaches are less pronounced than anticipated. We also identified discrepancies between the programme descriptions and their actual execution. Integration into the scientific community and research-related self-efficacy are potential indicators of publication output and inclination towards a scientific career. Physicians exhibited lower research-related self-efficacy and a lesser tendency towards a scientific career than biologists. Notably, we found gender disparities disadvantaging female graduates, with these disparities being more marked in medicine. Conclusions: There is evidence to suggest that official representations of structured doctoral programmes do not always align with their practical applications, limiting their potential effectiveness. Therefore, resources should be allocated to ensure the consistent execution of these programmes. Given the empirical evidence supporting the benefits of community integration for junior researchers, efforts should be made to facilitate their networking. Additionally, our findings emphasize the necessity of providing enhanced support for young female scientists.

[Interdisciplinary teaching-assisted education reform in "Principal Biology"].

General education in biological courses such as "Principal Biology" is an essential avenue for gaining an understanding of life science and developing an interest in the field. The reform of biological education teaching mode based on interdisciplinary approaches aims to foster cross-disciplinary talents, which is crucial for the rapid development of China's bioeconomy. Teaching method that simply superimposes different subjects is difficult to discover the value of interdisciplinary education. To address this, a novel teaching system and an innovative teaching mode were proposed for "Principal Biology" course by integrating science and engineering subjects, based on the cross-disciplinary feature in Beijing Institute of Technology. The system involves the design of cross-disciplinary course content and the integration of multiple disciplines and knowledge points based on students' majors, taking into account the characteristics of students' physical and mental development. To improve students' scientific literacy and interdisciplinary thinking ability, differentiated and major-driven teaching modes were applied by incorporating the "1+N" mixed and immersive cross-thinking training. The effectiveness of tailored cross-disciplinary teaching was evaluated using "in-teaching" and "post-teaching" data feedback models, which promote the optimization of teaching process and enhance the quality of education in cross-disciplinary biological science.

Bioschemas training profiles: A set of specifications for standardizing training information to facilitate the discovery of training programs and resources.

Stand-alone life science training events and e-learning solutions are among the most sought-after modes of training because they address both point-of-need learning and the limited timeframes available for "upskilling." Yet, finding relevant life sciences training courses and materials is challenging because such resources are not marked up for internet searches in a consistent way. This absence of markup standards to facilitate discovery, re-use, and aggregation of training resources limits their usefulness and knowledge translation potential. Through a joint effort between the Global Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education and Training (GOBLET), the Bioschemas Training community, and the ELIXIR FAIR Training Focus Group, a set of Bioschemas Training profiles has been developed, published, and implemented for life sciences training courses and materials. Here, we describe our development approach and methods, which were based on the Bioschemas model, and present the results for the 3 Bioschemas Training profiles: TrainingMaterial, Course, and CourseInstance. Several implementation challenges were encountered, which we discuss alongside potential solutions. Over time, continued implementation of these Bioschemas Training profiles by training providers will obviate the barriers to skill development, facilitating both the discovery of relevant training events to meet individuals' learning needs, and the discovery and re-use of training and instructional materials.

A research-led flexible cell biology practical for biological sciences undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses.

A challenge in the pandemic era is to implement effective but flexible practical teaching for biological sciences courses. Such teaching needs to deliver conceptual, analytical and practical skills training while having the option to rapidly respond to health and safety issues, local regulations, staff and student concerns. In this paper, we describe a set of cell biology practicals (mini-project) that meets many of these requirements and provides flexibility in providing skills training both through online and in practical laboratory environments. We have used a human adenocarcinoma cell line A431 stably transfected with a fluorescent cell cycle reporter as a biological model to deliver training through discrete work packages encompassing cell culture, fluorescence microscopy, biochemistry and statistics. How such work packages can be modified to, an online format either partially or completely is also described. Furthermore, the activities can be adapted for teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate level courses to ensure effective skills training which is applicable to a wide range of biological degree programs and levels of study.

How to teach life sciences students about dual-use research-a view from the field.

To reduce biological risks, raising awareness for dual-use issues already at the level of university education is essential. Currently, most life sciences education programs do not incorporate biosecurity and dual-use in their regular curricula. Consequently, the responsibility rests with individual lecturers and depends on their initiative to incorporate dual-use topics into teaching activities. Students interested in biosecurity and dual-use topics often only have the option to educate themselves in external or online courses. Here, we provide practical guidance on how to initiate and integrate a dual-use education program within the curriculum and provide a selection of existing teaching materials. In addition, we suggest key learning objectives to guide the planning of dual-use courses. Different course formats like lectures, seminars, or stand-alone events are discussed regarding their advantages, disadvantages, and suitability for conveying the learning objectives to different educational stages and audiences. As a minimum, we recommend the incorporation of dual-use issues into at least one mandatory course. Ideally, students should additionally participate in in-depth seminars, which can be voluntary and offered in cooperation with external organisations.

Interdisciplinary teaching-assisted education reform in "Principal Biology" / 生物工程学报

General education in biological courses such as "Principal Biology" is an essential avenue for gaining an understanding of life science and developing an interest in the field. The reform of biological education teaching mode based on interdisciplinary approaches aims to foster cross-disciplinary talents, which is crucial for the rapid development of China's bioeconomy. Teaching method that simply superimposes different subjects is difficult to discover the value of interdisciplinary education. To address this, a novel teaching system and an innovative teaching mode were proposed for "Principal Biology" course by integrating science and engineering subjects, based on the cross-disciplinary feature in Beijing Institute of Technology. The system involves the design of cross-disciplinary course content and the integration of multiple disciplines and knowledge points based on students' majors, taking into account the characteristics of students' physical and mental development. To improve students' scientific literacy and interdisciplinary thinking ability, differentiated and major-driven teaching modes were applied by incorporating the "1+N" mixed and immersive cross-thinking training. The effectiveness of tailored cross-disciplinary teaching was evaluated using "in-teaching" and "post-teaching" data feedback models, which promote the optimization of teaching process and enhance the quality of education in cross-disciplinary biological science.

Impact of gender on the formation and outcome of formal mentoring relationships in the life sciences.

Despite increasing representation in graduate training programs, a disproportionate number of women leave academic research without obtaining an independent position that enables them to train the next generation of academic researchers. To understand factors underlying this trend, we analyzed formal PhD and postdoctoral mentoring relationships in the life sciences during the years 2000 to 2020. Student and mentor gender are both associated with differences in rates of student's continuation to positions that allow formal academic mentorship. Although trainees of women mentors are less likely to take on positions as academic mentors than trainees of men mentors, this effect is reduced substantially after controlling for several measurements of mentor status. Thus, the effect of mentor gender can be explained at least partially by gender disparities in social and financial resources available to mentors. Because trainees and mentors tend to be of the same gender, this association between mentor gender and academic continuation disproportionately impacts women trainees. On average, gender homophily in graduate training is unrelated to mentor status. A notable exception to this trend is the special case of scientists having been granted an outstanding distinction, evidenced by membership in the National Academy of Sciences, being a grantee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or having been awarded the Nobel Prize. This group of mentors trains men graduate students at higher rates than their most successful colleagues. These results suggest that, in addition to other factors that limit career choices for women trainees, gender inequities in mentors' access to resources and prestige contribute to women's attrition from independent research positions.

Empowering faculty to initiate STEM education transformation: Efficacy of a systems thinking approach.

Just a decade ago Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action was released, catalyzing several initiatives to transform undergraduate life sciences education. Among these was the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE), a national organization commissioned to increase the adoption of Vision and Change recommendations within academic life sciences departments. PULSE activities have been designed based on the recognition that life sciences departments and faculty are embedded within institutions of higher education which, similar to other large organizations, are complex systems composed of multiple, interconnected subsystems. The organizational change research suggests that effecting large-scale changes (e.g., undergraduate STEM education transformation) may be facilitated by applying systems thinking to change efforts. In this paper we introduce the approach of systems thinking as a professional development tool to empower individual STEM faculty to effect department-level transformation. We briefly describe a professional development experience designed to increase life sciences faculty members' understanding of systems thinking, present evidence that faculty applied a systems thinking approach to initiate department-level change, and discuss the degree to which transformation efforts were perceived to be successful. Though focused on faculty in the life sciences, our findings are broadly transferable to other efforts seeking to effect change in undergraduate STEM education.

[Reform of biology experiment teaching in the context of "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program"-taking the course of comprehensive biology design as an example].

Talent training is the core of future national competition. "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program" is an important initiative exploring the training mode for top-notch creative talents in basic disciplines, and an important measure to meet the needs for fostering future talents. The students enrolled in the "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program" often have excellent grades and strong motivation, which puts forward new requirements and new goals for the talents training mode. Among them, the teaching reform under the background of "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program" is imperative. The science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics (STEAM) education concept is an interdisciplinary comprehensive educational philosophy that happens to coincide with the philosophy of the "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program". In view of this, the School of Life Sciences of Tianjin University has explored and practiced the reform of biology experimental teaching based on the objective of fostering biology talents in the context of "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Plan" and the STEAM education concept, by taking the course of comprehensive biology design as an example.

A team approach to delivery of contextually relevant bioscience: encouraging student connections between tacit knowledge and new content acquisition.

BACKGROUND: Bioscience is essential knowledge for nursing practice and is an important component of undergraduate nursing education, however students commonly feel anxious about studying the subject. The purpose of this study was to develop appropriately scoped contextually relevant bioscience lesson resources to enhance student engagement and performance and reduce attrition and unit failures over a sustained period. METHODS: Participants included students enrolled in the core bioscience unit for an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing degree from a central campus and a widening participation (WP) campus. From 2016 to 2018, unit learning resources were progressively revised to include a structured learning and teaching manual, signposted lectures, and digital resources. Online surveys and formal institutional data collection metrics were used to assess the impact of the changes to unit learning resources. RESULTS: Student attrition rates and failure rates for the unit were reduced over a two-year period across a diverse student cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Scaffolded and diverse learning materials support the success of undergraduate bioscience students by improving student engagement and reducing cognitive load.

Engaging Students around the Complex Socioscientific Issue of Sustainability: Affordances and Tensions of Faculty Working across Disciplines to Develop Transdisciplinary Curricula.

There is growing recognition of the importance of engaging postsecondary students in experiences that challenge them to solve complex socioscientific problems, transdisciplinary in nature, requiring students to integrate and synthesize knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking across disciplinary boundaries. Yet these student experiences are atypical. One possible reason is that the cross-disciplinary collaborations of faculty needed to create meaningful transdisciplinary student experiences are likely to be challenging. Lacking insight into these novel collaborations, we conducted a phenomenological study that describes faculty experiences across multiple disciplines and institutions to develop a transdisciplinary curriculum. Faculty were motivated by their professional development needs and a desire to improve their teaching practices and to develop curricula that would enhance student learning, all around a topic of personal interest. Yet faculty experienced tensions related to navigating norms, practices, and language across disciplines, the suitability of transdisciplinary curricula to their courses, and confidence in teaching across disciplines. Project leaders were essential facilitators and codevelopers, helping to alleviate some tensions. We discuss implications for faculty, academic leaders, administrators, and other stakeholders interested in involving faculty working across disciplines to develop transdisciplinary curricula, notably around a timely and important topic in the biological sciences.

U.S. postdoctoral careers in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering: Government, industry, and academia.

Discussions about science and engineering postdoctoral researchers focus almost exclusively on academic postdocs and their chances of eventually securing tenure-track faculty positions. Further, biological sciences dominate policy research and published advice for new PhDs regarding postdoctoral employment. Our analysis uses the Survey of Earned Doctorates and Survey of Doctorate Recipients to understand employment implications for physical sciences and engineering (PSE) and life sciences (LS) graduates who took postdoctoral positions in government, industry, and academic sectors. We examine postdoc duration, reasons for staying in a postdoc, movement between sectors, and salary implications. There is considerable movement between employment sectors within the first six years post-PhD. Additionally, postdocs in PSE are shorter, better paid, and more often in nonacademic sectors than postdocs in LS. These results can help science and engineering faculty discuss a broader range of career pathways with doctoral students and help new PhDs make better informed early career decisions.

Are we there yet? A systematic literature review of Open Educational Resources in Africa: A combined content and bibliometric analysis.

Although several studies have been conducted to summarize the progress of open educational resources (OER) in specific regions, only a limited number of studies summarize OER in Africa. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic literature review to explore trends, themes, and patterns in this emerging area of study, using content and bibliometric analysis. Findings indicated three major strands of OER research in Africa: (1) OER adoption is only limited to specific African countries, calling for more research and collaboration between African countries in this field to ensure educational equity; (2) most of the OER initiatives in Africa have focused on the creation process and neglected other important perspectives, such as dissemination and open educational practices (OEP) using OER; and (3) on top of the typical challenges for OER adoption (e.g., infrastructure), other personal challenges were identified within the African context, including culture, language, and personality. The findings of this study suggest that more initiatives and cross-collaborations with African and non-African countries in the field of OER are needed to facilitate OER adoption in the region. Additionally, it is suggested that researchers and practitioners should consider individual differences, such as language, personality and culture, when promoting and designing OER for different African countries. Finally, the findings can promote social justice by providing insights and future research paths that different stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, educators, practitioners, etc.) should focus on to promote OER in Africa.

Self-regulated learning of Natural Sciences and Mathematics future teachers: learning strategies, self-efficacy, and socio-demographic factors

Teacher education programs should have as one of their purposes the promotion of self-regulatory skills for learning among students who aspire to be teachers so that they can take a leading role in their learning and foster these skills in their future students. Considering the importance of knowing what students in teacher education programs do to study and learn, as well as how efficacious they feel to deal with academic demands, this study is part of a larger research and aims to investigate the learning and study strategies and self-efficacy for learning beliefs of 220 students enrolled in teacher education programs in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics of a Higher Education Institution in the state of Piauí, and examine them in relation to age, gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Brazilian translations of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI ­ Third Edition) and the Self-efficacy for Learning Form were used for data collection. Scales were administered in the classrooms both through online platforms and in paper and pencil. Nonparametric inferential statistical pproaches were used to test hypotheses regarding group differences. Statistically significant differences were found in LASSI in relation to gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Overall, students in Physics dealt better with anxiety; in Mathematics showed more favorable attitudes towards learning; in Chemistry reported an aging their time better; in Biological Science showed significantly lower scores on many scales than did other students. Findings from this study could help inform curricular design decisions regarding teacher education programs and inform the design of interventions to strengthen the learning and study strategies and the self-efficacy for learning beliefs of future teachers.

The enduring pursuit of public science at U.S. land-grant universities.

Since the 1990s, universities have faced a push toward output commercialization that has been seen as a potential threat to the public science model. Much less attention has been given to the enduring nature of internal organizational features in academia and how they shape the pursuit of traditional scholarly activities. This article exploits four waves of representative, random-sample survey evidence from agricultural and life science faculty at the 52 major U.S. land-grant universities, spanning 1989-2015, to examine faculty attitudes/preferences, tenure and promotion criteria, output, and funding sources. Our findings demonstrate that faculty attitudes toward scientific research have remained remarkably stable over twenty-five years in strongly favoring intrinsic and public science goals over commercial or extrinsic goals. We also demonstrate the faculty's positive attitudes toward science, an increased pressure to publish in top journals and secure increasingly competitive grants, as well as declining time for science. These trends suggest a reconsideration of university commercialization strategies and a recommitment of universities and their state and federal funders toward fostering public agricultural and life science research.

Community development, implementation, and assessment of a NIBLSE bioinformatics sequence similarity learning resource.

As powerful computational tools and 'big data' transform the biological sciences, bioinformatics training is becoming necessary to prepare the next generation of life scientists. Furthermore, because the tools and resources employed in bioinformatics are constantly evolving, bioinformatics learning materials must be continuously improved. In addition, these learning materials need to move beyond today's typical step-by-step guides to promote deeper conceptual understanding by students. One of the goals of the Network for Integrating Bioinformatics into Life Sciences Education (NIBSLE) is to create, curate, disseminate, and assess appropriate open-access bioinformatics learning resources. Here we describe the evolution, integration, and assessment of a learning resource that explores essential concepts of biological sequence similarity. Pre/post student assessment data from diverse life science courses show significant learning gains. These results indicate that the learning resource is a beneficial educational product for the integration of bioinformatics across curricula.

Asian Chemical Biology Initiative (ACBI): Bringing Together Chemical Biologists Within Asia.

Asian Chemical Biology Initiative (ACBI) has been influential in promoting chemical biology research and education throughout the Asian region. This editorial will walk you through the unprecedented journey the ACBI has taken in the past 10 years.