Emotion regulation skills as a mediator of STEM teachers' stress, well-being, and burnout.

The teaching profession highly stressful, and teachers are often faced with challenging situations. This is particularly the case in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, which is a uniquely demanding and challenging field. This study examined the role of emotional regulation (ER) skills in STEM teachers' stress, well-being, and burnout. The sample included 165 STEM teachers in middle and high schools who completed standard online questionnaires on ER, stress, well-being, and burnout. They were also asked to comment on three videos depicting authentic mathematical and pedagogical situations. The results indicated that contrary to popular belief, seniority was not linked with levels of stress, difficulties in ER, lower levels of well-being, or higher levels of burnout. A structural equation model and bootstrapping analysis showed teachers' levels of stress predicted their well-being, and this link between stress and well-being was mediated by teachers' level of difficulty in ER. The study highlights the importance of STEM teachers' well-being and suggests the need to reduce stress and burnout by providing tools for teachers to regulate their emotions in the classroom.

Toward Culturally Responsive Mentoring of Muslim Research Mentees in the Sciences.

Research experiences are an integral part of training future scientists and fostering diversity in science. Providing culturally responsive research mentorship, defined as mentorship that incorporates cultural knowledge to improve learning experiences for a particular group, is a critical step in this endeavor. While culturally responsive mentoring is most commonly associated with mentoring students with underrepresented races and ethnicities in the sciences, it can also be helpful for mentees with a diversity of abilities, sexualities, economic backgrounds, and religions. In this essay, we discuss how mentors can provide more culturally responsive mentoring of Muslim research mentees in the sciences. Muslims are a stigmatized minority group in the United States who participate in a religious culture that often differs from the secular culture of science. Notably, there are few resources for how to engage in culturally responsive mentoring of Muslim research mentees. To address this gap, we drew from the extant literature on the challenges that Muslims encounter in the United States, which likely extends to the context of scientific research, and identified potential culturally responsive accommodations in research.

Ten recommendations for hosting a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) journal club.

Despite advances and social progress, the exclusion of diverse groups in academia, especially science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, across the US and Europe persists, resulting in the underrepresentation of diverse people in higher education. There is extensive literature about theory, observation, and evidence-based practices that can help create a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse learning environment. In this article, we propose the implementation of a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) journal club as a strategic initiative to foster education and promote action towards making academia a more equitable institution. By creating a space for people to engage with DEIJ theories* and strategize ways to improve their learning environment, we hope to normalize the practice and importance of analyzing academia through an equity lens. Guided by restorative justice principles, we offer 10 recommendations for fostering community cohesion through education and mutual understanding. This approach underscores the importance of appropriate action and self-education in the journey toward a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just academic environment. *Authors' note: We understand that "DEIJ" is a multidisciplinary organizational framework that relies on numerous fields of study, including history, sociology, philosophy, and more. We use this term to refer to these different fields of study for brevity purposes.

Differentiation, adaptation, and perseverance: Maturing conceptualizations of education-focused science faculty in the United States.

Science education reform has been underway for almost a century with the general aim to engage students and train scientists needed to find solutions to global challenges, and also ensure a general public well disposed towards science. In an effort to aid science reform, more recently, colleges and universities have been augmenting their academic workforce by embedding education-focused science faculty into science departments. However, little research has investigated how this approach, and the identity of these faculty, may be changing over time. Here we investigate how conceptualizations of professional identities of these faculty across the United States have changed over the last two decades. We found three professional identities amongst these faculty: Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), Discipline-Based Education Researchers (DBER), and faculty who identify as both SFES and DBER. Evidence indicates this is a maturing field within higher-education science departments, with more direct hiring and training pathways, but with potentially diminishing agency. Finally, data reveal resilience and perseverance despite negative biases from peers and college administrators, especially at PhD-granting institutions.

Mentorship Interventions in Postgraduate Medical and STEM Settings: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Mentorship is critical to success in postgraduate science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) settings. As such, the purpose of this study is to comprehensively explore the state of mentorship interventions in postgraduate STEMM settings to identify novel practices and future research directions. The selection criteria for reviewed articles included: 1) published between 2002 and 2022, 2) peer-reviewed, 3) in English, 4) postgraduate mentees, 5) a program where mentorship is a significant, explicit focus, and 6) a description of mentee outcomes related to the mentorship intervention. Overall, 2583 articles were screened, and 109 articles were reviewed. RESULTS: Most postgraduate STEMM mentorship intervention studies lack strong evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, with only 5.5% of articles designed as randomized controlled trials. Most mentorship interventions (45.6%) were created for faculty, and few (4%) were for postdoctoral researchers. Also, only 18.8% of interventions focused on underrepresented groups in STEMM. Most interventions (53.7%) prescribed a dyadic structure, and there was more mentorship training for mentors than mentees. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings identify gaps in mentorship interventions and provide step-by-step guidance for future interventions, including a consideration for underrepresented groups and postdoctoral scholars, robust mentorship training, and more randomized controlled trials.

A review of undergraduate research programs aimed at underrepresented students.

It is well-understood that the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have unique challenges that discourage recruiting and retaining underrepresented minorities. Research programs aimed at undergraduates have arisen as a critical mechanism for fostering innovation and addressing the challenges faced by underrepresented minorities. Here, we review various undergraduate research programs designed to provide exposure to undergraduates, with a focus on underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines. We provide insight into selected programs' objectives, key features, potential limitations, and outcomes. We also offer recommendations for future improvements of each research program, particularly in the context of mentorship. These programs range from broad-reaching initiatives (e.g., Leadership Alliance) to more specific programs targeting underrepresented students. By offering a nuanced understanding of each program's structure, we seek to provide a brief overview of the landscape of diversity-focused STEM initiatives and a guide on how to run a research program effectively.

Engaging high-school students in scientific conferences.

Scientific meetings rarely involve the local community and have minimal educational and scientific impacts on it. Here, we report the successful engagement of high-school students in scientific conferences. To promote science education and trust in science, we call upon conference attendees and organizers to involve high-school students in their meetings.

Increasing equity in science requires better ethics training: A course by trainees, for trainees.

Despite the profound impacts of scientific research, few scientists have received the necessary training to productively discuss the ethical and societal implications of their work. To address this critical gap, we-a group of predominantly human genetics trainees-developed a course on genetics, ethics, and society. We intend for this course to serve as a template for other institutions and scientific disciplines. Our curriculum positions human genetics within its historical and societal context and encourages students to evaluate how societal norms and structures impact the conduct of scientific research. We demonstrate the utility of this course via surveys of enrolled students and provide resources and strategies for others hoping to teach a similar course. We conclude by arguing that if we are to work toward rectifying the inequities and injustices produced by our field, we must first learn to view our own research as impacting and being impacted by society.

Management of work stress among arts and science school administrators in Nigeria using rational emotive occupational health coaching: A randomized controlled trial evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The working circumstances of the administrators are appalling due to the nature of education in Nigeria. These administrators put in a lot of overtime to fulfill the expectations of their positions, which stresses them out. But there is no information in the literature about how administrators of science schools deal with their demanding environments. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate how administrators of secondary scientific schools in the Southeast could manage work-related stress by using rational and emotive occupational health coaching. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) experimental design was used for the investigation, with 106 people divided into 2 groups-one for the intervention and one for the control. A selection of these participants came from southeast Nigerian special scientific schools. The Occupational Stress Index (OSI) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) served as the foundation for our data collection procedure. A posttest was given following the 12-week intervention, and then there was a 2-month follow-up assessment. Repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized to ascertain the effects both within and across groups. RESULTS: It was revealed that rational emotive occupational health coaching had significant effect on the management of work stress among southeast secondary arts and science school administrators, F (2, 208) = 1452.484, P = <.050, ŋ2 = .933, and F (1, 104) = 18076.988, P = <.050, ŋ2 = .994). CONCLUSION: The management of work stress among southeast secondary arts and science school administrators was significantly improved through rational emotive occupational health coaching.

The Value of Support: STEM Intervention Programs Impact Student Persistence and Belonging.

In response to unwaveringly high attrition from STEM pathways, STEM Intervention Programs (SIPs) support STEM students in effort to increase retention. Using mixed methods (survey and focus groups), we studied students at one university who were either supported or unsupported by SIPs to understand how students may differ in experiences believed to contribute to STEM persistence. We evaluated: sense of belonging, scientific self-efficacy, scientific community values, scientific identity, and STEM involvement. The enrollment status of students two and a half years postsurvey was also tracked. SIP students reported significantly higher science identity and sense of belonging and were more involved in STEM-related activities than counterparts unsupported by SIPs. Differences in these measures were correlated with race/ethnicity, college generation status, and age. Notably, SIP students had higher odds of persisting in STEM than students not supported by SIPs. Focus group data provide additional meaning to the measured survey constructs and revealed nuanced qualitative differences between SIP and non-SIP student experiences. Overall, being involved in a SIP at our institution trends positively with theoretical models that explain STEM student persistence. SIPs have the potential to provide and/or facilitate meaningful and critical support, and students without those intentional supports may be left behind.

Social Justice, Community Engagement, and Undergraduate STEM Education: Participatory Science as a Teaching Tool.

Social justice is increasingly being seen as relevant to the science curriculum. We examine the intersection of participatory science, social justice, and higher education in the United States to investigate how instructors can teach about social justice and enhance collaborations to work toward enacting social justice. Participatory science approaches, like those that collect data over large geographic areas, can be particularly useful for teaching students about social justice. Conversely, local-scale approaches that integrate students into community efforts can create powerful collaborations to help facilitate social justice. We suggest a variety of large-scale databases, platforms, and portals that could be used as starting points to address a set of learning objectives about social justice. We also describe local-scale participatory science approaches with a social justice focus, developed through academic and community partnerships. Considerations for implementing participatory science with undergraduates are discussed, including cautions about the necessary time investment, cultural competence, and institutional support. These approaches are not always appropriate but can provide compelling learning experiences in the correct circumstances.

Mentorship for Transfer Student Success in STEM Research: Mentor Approaches and Reflections.

Mentorship has been widely recognized as an effective means to promote student learning and engagement in undergraduate research experiences. However, little work exists for understanding different mentors' perceived approaches to mentorship, including mentorship of students from backgrounds and educational trajectories not well represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Transfer students, in particular, face unique trajectories in their pursuit of research opportunities, yet few studies investigate how mentors describe their approaches to supporting these students. Using semistructured interviews, this study examines how mentors approach mentoring students from diverse backgrounds as research trainees, with an emphasis on transfer students. First, using phenomenography as an analytical approach, we identified four categories describing variations in how mentors reflected upon or accounted for the transfer student identity in their approaches. We find that research mentors vary in their understanding and exposure to the transfer student identity and may have preconceived notions of the transfer student experience. Second, we present vignettes to illustrate how mentors' approaches to the transfer student identity may relate or diverge from their general approaches to mentoring students from different backgrounds and identities. The emerging findings have implications for developing effective mentorship strategies and training mentors to support transfer students.

Lighting pathways to success in STEM: a virtual Laboratory Meeting Programme (LaMP) mutually benefits mentees and host laboratories.

Developing robust professional networks can help shape the trajectories of early career scientists. Yet, historical inequities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields make access to these networks highly variable across academic programmes, and senior academics often have little time for mentoring. Here, we illustrate the success of a virtual Laboratory Meeting Programme (LaMP). In this programme, we matched students (mentees) with a more experienced scientist (mentors) from a research group. The mentees then attended the mentors' laboratory meetings during the academic year with two laboratory meetings specifically dedicated to the mentee's professional development. Survey results indicate that mentees expanded their knowledge of the hidden curriculum as well as their professional network, while only requiring a few extra hours of their mentor's time over eight months. In addition, host laboratories benefitted from mentees sharing new perspectives and knowledge in laboratory meetings. Diversity of the mentees was significantly higher than the mentors, suggesting that the programme increased the participation of traditionally under-represented groups. Finally, we found that providing a stipend was very important to many mentees. We conclude that virtual LaMPs can be an inclusive and cost-effective way to foster trainee development and increase diversity within STEM fields with little additional time commitment.

A CURE Lab in Introductory Biology at a Regional Comprehensive University Negatively Impacts Student Success in the Associated Lecture Course Among Students from Groups Underrepresented in Science.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been proposed as a mechanism to democratize access to the benefits of apprentice-style scientific research to a broader diversity of students, promoting inclusivity and increasing student success and retention. As we evaluate CUREs, it is essential to explore their effectiveness within the environments of regional comprehensive universities and community colleges, because they are important access points for a wide variety of students. It is also important to address the potential influence of volunteer bias, where students can opt to enroll in either the CURE or a traditional lab, on the outcomes of CUREs. We evaluated a CURE at a regional comprehensive university under conditions both with and without volunteer bias. We find that nonvolunteer students report a lower sense of discovery and relevance of the CURE compared with students who volunteered for the course. Importantly, we also find that our replacement of the traditional lab class with a CURE resulted in lower scores on exams in the associated lecture course among students who are both BIPOC and Pell eligible. We call for additional research on the effects of CUREs at nonresearch-intensive institutions and without volunteer bias, to better understand the impact of these classes.

Planning, implementation and revision of the longitudinal scientific curriculum at the Medical School Brandenburg.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to present the development of a longitudinal curriculum for medical students that is rooted in the particularity of the medical sciences and that aims to build and strengthen medical students' scientific skills and use thereof in clinical practice. Methods: The curriculum development was initiated based on students' feedback on the initial curriculum. To improve and expand the curriculum appropriately, a needs assessment, a literature review to define science specific to the medical sciences and practice, and an analysis of national and international curricula were performed. The curriculum development followed the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act). Results: The curriculum extends across the entire medical study programme from semesters 1 to 10. It consists of the seminar series on basic conduct and the epistemological groundings of science, scientific methods in medical research and health sciences, statistics and the scientific internship. Up to the sixth semester, the focus is on the acquisition of skills and abilities to work on and carry out a concrete research project; starting in semester seven, the critical evaluation and application of research results in everyday clinical practice are introduced. The curriculum is taught by epidemiologists, anthropologists, statisticians and public health scholars. Starting in semester seven, seminars are generally taught together with clinicians as tandem teaching. The curriculum is regularly assessed and adjusted. Conclusions: The Brandenburg Scientific Curriculum can be seen as a model of a longitudinal curriculum to teach scientific thinking and acting. One that is at the same time highly integrated in the medical curriculum overall. A central coordination point seems to be necessary to coordinate the teaching content and to ensure that teachers are interconnected. Furthermore, a complex curriculum in scientific methodology requires a set of teachers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. To ensure equally high-quality education, the variability of research projects and faculty must be taken into account by establishing generally applicable evaluation criteria and fostering faculty development, and providing all students supporting courses throughout the research project.

Beyond active learning: Using 3-Dimensional learning to create scientifically authentic, student-centered classrooms.

In recent years, much of the emphasis for transformation of introductory STEM courses has focused on "active learning", and while this approach has been shown to produce more equitable outcomes for students, the construct of "active learning" is somewhat ill-defined and is often used as a "catch-all" that can encompass a wide range of pedagogical techniques. Here we present an alternative approach for how to think about the transformation of STEM courses that focuses instead on what students should know and what they can do with that knowledge. This approach, known as three-dimensional learning (3DL), emerged from the National Academy's "A Framework for K-12 Science Education", which describes a vision for science education that centers the role of constructing productive causal accounts for phenomena. Over the past 10 years, we have collected data from introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses to assess the impact of such a transformation on higher education courses. Here we report on an analysis of video data of class sessions that allows us to characterize these sessions as active, 3D, neither, or both 3D and active. We find that 3D classes are likely to also involve student engagement (i.e. be active), but the reverse is not necessarily true. That is, focusing on transformations involving 3DL also tends to increase student engagement, whereas focusing solely on student engagement might result in courses where students are engaged in activities that do not involve meaningful engagement with core ideas of the discipline.

Building a more engaged scientist from the bottom up: The impact of public engagement training on undergraduate students.

Engaging with the public is increasingly seen as an important role of scientists. Despite that, few opportunities exist for undergraduate students to receive training in engaging with the public about science. Thus, little is known about the impact of such training on students. The goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of public engagement training on participants in a summer program for undergraduates that provides training in both research and engagement activities. The results of our interviews suggest that providing opportunities for undergraduates to engage with the public (1) has many personal, academic, and career benefits for students; (2) increases participants' interest in public engagement; and (3) may contribute to helping students develop and maintain an identity as scientists. Importantly, students from minoritized racial groups may be even more impacted by this experience. These data suggest that early experiences with public engagement may not only be an important way to increase the number of publicly engaged scientists but may also broaden participation in science.