All "wrapped" up in reflection: supporting metacognitive awareness to promote students' self-regulated learning.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is the process of utilizing effective strategies to acquire knowledge or skills and is influenced by motivation, metacognitive processing, and study-related behaviors. We hypothesized that by using survey tools that allow reflection on and refinement of students' study strategies, we could nurture metacognitive skill development, encourage positive motivation and study-related behaviors, and hence promote academic success. Undergraduate students in a semester-long, second-year biology course were provided with resources to promote SRL and three survey instruments that encouraged them to create study plans and reflect on the effectiveness of their study strategies. Using a student-partnered approach, we sought to investigate the role of metacognition, motivation, and study-related behaviors on academic performance by (i) identifying the self-regulated learning strategies most utilized by students, (ii) investigating the role of reflection in enhancing metacognitive processing and academic performance, and (iii) understanding whether students created and/or modified their study strategies as an outcome of self-regulation. Survey responses allowed us to understand the repertoire of study strategies used by students. Our analyses suggest that students demonstrated metacognitive skill development through the use of the resources and reflection instruments, as they accurately reported on the effectiveness of their study strategies and indicated future plans to shift study-related behaviors from passive to active reviewing techniques. Students across the grade spectrum perceived the reflection instruments as beneficial in identifying areas of improvement and developing long-term study habits, suggesting that these instruments were effective in promoting metacognitive skill development for a variety of student learners. We conclude that supporting students with resources that promote SRL and providing opportunities for timely reflection can promote metacognitive skill development, a key feature of academic success.

Investigating Anti-Vaccination Stances on Social Media: an Assignment To Promote Science Literacy.

In this digital age in which social media use among young adults continues to rise, consideration of the impact of these platforms on our students and on science literacy pedagogy is essential. This has been highlighted during the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic, when mis- and disinformation surrounding the pandemic and vaccinations were so prevalent on social media platforms that it provoked a cautionary announcement from the World Health Organization. We describe here the structure of an assignment aimed to promote science literacy by encouraging students to explore antivaccination stances on social media and evaluate the scientific validity of such claims using scientific literature. To comprehensively analyze these antivaccination sentiments, we encouraged students to develop succinct arguments to demonstrate the social, economic, or other cultural influences likely contributing to antivaccination stances. In alignment with the philosophical-educational concept of Bildung, we hope to nurture an understanding of scientific literacy that focuses on both evidence-based critical thinking as well as empathetic understanding of the socio-political circumstances that influence public opinion on scientific matters. Student work provided compelling evidence for the success of our field-tested assignment in fostering students to be authoritative voices of science in everyday life and highlighted the importance of efforts to explicitly focus on science literacy within biology curricula.