Evaluating the Representation of Community Colleges in Biology Education Research Publications following a Call to Action.

Interest in biology education research (BER) has been growing over the last two decades, yet few BER publications focus on community colleges, which serve a large percentage of the undergraduate student population and a majority of those students who identify with historically underserved groups. In this paper, we define community college biology education research (CC BER) as publications with a community college faculty member as an author, publications with a community college study context or a focus on community college biology teaching and learning, and publications that use community college students as a source of data. We conducted a literature review to quantify how CC BER has progressed since initial calls for broadening participation by recording the number of CC BER publications in seven prominent journals between 2016 and 2020. Our formal analysis of peer-reviewed BER literature indicates that there has been a statistically significant increase in CC BER publications from 3.2% to 5.9% of total BER publications since the last analysis in 2017. We conclude with a discussion of strategies for further broadening of participation in CC BER.

Teaching during COVID-19 Times: A Community College Perspective.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic altered instructional and learning strategies at institutions across the globe. This emergency transition to remote instruction (ETRI) resulted in ambiguity regarding what to teach, how to teach, and instructor and student workload. We report on a survey-based study of 44 community college (CC) faculty at 16 institutions, with the aim of documenting how our CC faculty colleagues perceived the ETRI, the challenges they faced, and the resources that were-or would have been-most helpful. We conclude with recommendations, in the words of participating faculty, to address prevailing concerns voiced by these instructors: namely, the lack of student-faculty interactions in the online space, concerns about student access to resources, and the demand for authentic research and lab experiences.

Broadening Participation in Biology Education Research: Engaging Community College Students and Faculty.

Nearly half of all undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges (CCs), including the majority of U.S. students who represent groups underserved in the sciences. Yet only a small minority of studies published in discipline-based education research journals address CC biology students, faculty, courses, or authors. This marked underrepresentation of CC biology education research (BER) limits the availability of evidence that could be used to increase CC student success in biology programs. To address this issue, a diverse group of stakeholders convened at the Building Capacity for Biology Education Research at Community Colleges meeting to discuss how to increase the prevalence of CC BER and foster participation of CC faculty as BER collaborators and authors. The group identified characteristics of CCs that make them excellent environments for studying biology teaching and learning, including student diversity and institutional cultures that prioritize teaching, learning, and assessment. The group also identified constraints likely to impede BER at CCs: limited time, resources, support, and incentives, as well as misalignment between doing research and CC faculty identities as teachers. The meeting culminated with proposing strategies for faculty, administrators, journal editors, scientific societies, and funding agencies to better support CC BER.

A Call to Develop Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) for Nonmajors Courses.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) for non-science majors (nonmajors) are potentially distinct from CUREs for developing scientists in their goals, learning objectives, and assessment strategies. While national calls to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education have led to an increase in research revealing the positive effects of CUREs for science majors, less work has specifically examined whether nonmajors are impacted in the same way. To address this gap in our understanding, a working group focused on nonmajors CUREs was convened to discuss the following questions: 1) What are our laboratory-learning goals for nonmajors? 2) What are our research priorities to determine best practices for nonmajors CUREs? 3) How can we collaborate to define and disseminate best practices for nonmajors in CUREs? We defined three broad student outcomes of prime importance to the nonmajors CURE: improvement of scientific literacy skills, proscience attitudes, and evidence-based decision making. We evaluated the state of knowledge of best practices for nonmajors, and identified research priorities for the future. The report that follows is a summary of the conclusions and future directions from our discussion.

Development of a cost-effective modular SPECT/CT scanner.

PURPOSE: To develop a combined SPECT/CT based on a conventional gamma camera with the following design goals: (i) the subject is scanned on the same bed without moving between SPECT and CT scans, (ii) maintenance of full diagnostic utility of both scanners, (iii) a minimal equipment footprint which is adaptable to different site configurations, (iv) a modular design so that either scanner can be upgraded without impacting the other scanner and (v) cost-effectiveness. METHODS: A Philips SKYLight gamma camera was combined with a single-slice helical CT. The CT bed has been modified by mounting on wheels and is attached to a track in the floor when required. The CT bed is used for both the CT and the SPECT scans. The CT bed is parked outside the SKYLight's active area when not required. The CT data are used for anatomical localisation, attenuation correction and definition of anatomical boundaries (e.g. lobar boundaries in the lungs). RESULTS: The combined SPECT/CT system is installed in a 6.2 mx4.6 m room. The CT can scan up to 1.3 m of the subject, which is usually sufficient for registration with the SPECT scan. More than 200 subjects have had SPECT/CT scans in the first year of operation. Initially, the main outcome has been improved confidence of localisation of abnormalities. Attenuation correction for all relevant radionuclides has been implemented. CONCLUSION: We have developed a combined SPECT/CT using a novel approach based on a low-cost CT scanner. The design is compact, is readily upgradeable and does not compromise either machine's diagnostic or functional capabilities.