Disciplinary Bias, Money Matters, and Persistence: Deans' Perspectives on Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES).

The phenomenon of embedding Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) in science departments is well documented. However, the perspectives of academic leaders have not been systematically studied. To investigate these perspectives, we conducted an interview study of college of science deans in the California State University system, which offers a defined higher education context in which to sample across a range of institution types and cultures. While deans were aware of and positive about SFES as potential change agents, most deans also evidenced casual bias against science education efforts and experts. Deans mentioned that education reform efforts by SFES were primarily driven by external policy and funding mandates, causing concern that support for such positions and scholarly work could evaporate if external pressures recede. The majority of deans stated that the SFES phenomenon had persisted over the last decade and continued to grow. Findings reported here document tacit assumptions that science education efforts may not count as science and reveal a lack of cultural integration of science education efforts into the sciences in higher education. Such findings should give biology educators, reformers, and researchers pause, as well as fresh incentive to engage more fully and regularly with administrators about their work.

Evolving roles of scientists as change agents in science education over a decade: SFES roles beyond discipline-based education research.

To what extent have positions for science education specialists as change agents within science departments persisted and evolved over the past decade? We addressed this question by studying a population of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) first described in 2008. SFES are university science faculty who engage in undergraduate science education, K-12 science education, and/or research in science education. Compared to a decade ago, SFES are now more prevalent and more likely to be formally trained in science education. Many identify as discipline-based education researchers (DBER) but assert that their SFES and DBER roles are nonequivalent. SFES have garnered university administrator support through varied science education activities, and these insights into the evolving role of scientists in science education have implications for many stakeholders.

Fostering Change from Within: Influencing Teaching Practices of Departmental Colleagues by Science Faculty with Education Specialties.

Globally, calls for the improvement of science education are frequent and fervent. In parallel, the phenomenon of having Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) within science departments appears to have grown in recent decades. In the context of an interview study of a randomized, stratified sample of SFES from across the United States, we discovered that most SFES interviewed (82%) perceived having professional impacts in the realm of improving undergraduate science education, more so than in research in science education or K-12 science education. While SFES reported a rich variety of efforts towards improving undergraduate science education, the most prevalent reported impact by far was influencing the teaching practices of their departmental colleagues. Since college and university science faculty continue to be hired with little to no training in effective science teaching, the seeding of science departments with science education specialists holds promise for fostering change in science education from within biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics departments.

Widespread distribution and unexpected variation among science faculty with education specialties (SFES) across the United States.

College and university science departments are increasingly taking an active role in improving science education. Perhaps as a result, a new type of specialized science faculty position within science departments is emerging--referred to here as science faculty with education specialties (SFES)--where individual scientists focus their professional efforts on strengthening undergraduate science education, improving kindergarten-through-12th grade science education, and conducting discipline-based education research. Numerous assertions, assumptions, and questions about SFES exist, yet no national studies have been published. Here, we present findings from a large-scale study of US SFES, who are widespread and increasing in numbers. Contrary to many assumptions, SFES were indeed found across the nation, across science disciplines, and, most notably, across primarily undergraduate, master of science-granting, and PhD-granting institutions. Data also reveal unexpected variations among SFES by institution type. Among respondents, SFES at master of science-granting institutions were almost twice as likely to have formal training in science education compared with other SFES. In addition, SFES at PhD-granting institutions were much more likely to have obtained science education funding. Surprisingly, formal training in science education provided no advantage in obtaining science education funding. Our findings show that the SFES phenomenon is likely more complex and diverse than anticipated, with differences being more evident across institution types than across science disciplines. These findings raise questions about the origins of differences among SFES and are useful to science departments interested in hiring SFES, scientific trainees preparing for SFES careers, and agencies awarding science education funding.

Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment.

Biology student mastery regarding the mechanisms of diffusion and osmosis is difficult to achieve. To monitor comprehension of these processes among students at a large public university, we developed and validated an 18-item Osmosis and Diffusion Conceptual Assessment (ODCA). This assessment includes two-tiered items, some adopted or modified from the previously published Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) and some newly developed items. The ODCA, a validated instrument containing fewer items than the DODT and emphasizing different content areas within the realm of osmosis and diffusion, better aligns with our curriculum. Creation of the ODCA involved removal of six DODT item pairs, modification of another six DODT item pairs, and development of three new item pairs addressing basic osmosis and diffusion concepts. Responses to ODCA items testing the same concepts as the DODT were remarkably similar to responses to the DODT collected from students 15 yr earlier, suggesting that student mastery regarding the mechanisms of diffusion and osmosis remains elusive.

Investigation of science faculty with education specialties within the largest university system in the United States.

Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university system in the United States. We found that CSU SFES were engaged in three key arenas including K-12 science education, undergraduate science education, and discipline-based science education research. As such, CSU SFES appeared to be well-positioned to have an impact on science education from within science departments. However, there appeared to be a lack of clarity and agreement about the purpose of these SFES positions. In addition, formal training in science education among CSU SFES was limited. Although over 75% of CSU SFES were fulfilled by their teaching, scholarship, and service, our results revealed that almost 40% of CSU SFES were seriously considering leaving their positions. Our data suggest that science departments would likely benefit from explicit discussions about the role of SFES and strategies for supporting their professional activities.

Does tent caterpillar attack reduce the food quality of red alder foliage?

We assayed the quality of red alder trees for western tent caterpillar growth and survival to test the hypothesis that caterpillar feeding stimulates plant defenses in both attacked and adjacent trees. Three years of high tent caterpillar density were necessary before deterioration in foliage quality occurred, and even then only foliage from trees which were almost completely defoliated in the current year reduced the growth of caterpillars. Both tent size and mean egg mass size increased after the second year of high density which indicates that good conditions still existed for tent caterpillars after 2 to 3 years of heavy feeding.Egg masses which were moved to areas where trees had not recently supported a high caterpillar population produced significantly smaller tents than endemic controls in 1982. Therefore the small tent and egg mass size of the high density population in 1982 was inherent to the insects rather than modified by food source. In 1983 the tents from introduced egg masses were as large as naturally occurring tents.If lightly attacked trees within areas of high caterpillar density are better defended against insect attack, this does not show up in their ability to support caterpillar growth and survival. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that trees communicate insect attack and stimulate chemical defenses in adjacent trees. Reduced foliage quality seems to be a result of extensive insect damage rather than a defense against insect damage.

Previous herbivore attack of red alder may improve food quality for fall webworm larvae.

Three hypotheses of insect-plant interactions were tested by rearing fall webworm larvae in the laboratory on foliage from red alder trees with different histories of western tent caterpillar herbivory. Fall webworm larvae raised on foliage from trees which had been attacked previously for two summers by moderate densities of western tent caterpillars grew faster and attained heavier pupal weights than did those fed foliage from unattacked trees. This contradicts the hypothesis that moderate levels of previous herbivory induces the production of plant defensive chemicals in red alders. Growth of webworms, when fed foliage from unattacked trees adjacent to alders that were attacked by fall webworm larvae, was the same as when fed foliage from trees isolated by distance from attacked trees. This contradicts the hypothesis that attacked trees stimulate the production of defensive chemicals in neigh-boring trees. Young and mature alder foliage was equally good for fall webworm growth and survival, and foliage from trees heavily attacked by both fall webworm and western tent caterpillars for three years produced slow growth rates and small pupal sizes. This supports the hypothesis that continued heavy insect attack can cause the deterioration of the food quality of attacked trees.