The Science of Teaching: Evidence-Based Approaches in Biology Education

Chicano/a/x Studies Courses Support Student Belonging and Graduation

Dr. Natalia Caporale

Date: Friday, 4/24

Location: 2130 Bonner Hall

Time: 10:00 – 11:00am
Host: Melinda Owens

Ethnic Studies is a curriculum that fosters the academic achievement and engagement of students of color. This curriculum provides students with an opportunity to value and explore their own cultural assets and how they can connect their studies to the success of their communities. While students in K-12 environments have shown that ethnic studies courses can promote student high school graduation and interest in attending college, the potential benefits of ethnic studies curricula in higher education are unknown. In this talk I will present data from a mixed methods study examining the potential impact of participation in Chicano/a Studies courses (a subtype of Ethnic Courses) on students' college experiences and graduation rates at a large, public research intensive MSI university. Using logistic regression models using data covering a 10-year span, we found that students who took Chicano/a/x studies courses had a higher likelihood of graduating from college than their peers. This effect was observed across all demographic variables examined and across a wide range of first quarter GPAs. I will discuss preliminary results from 20 interviews with STEM students who took at least one Chicano/a/x Studies course and discuss the differences between their experiences in STEM and Ethnic Studies courses and the ways in which Chicano/a/x Studies courses promoted their sense of belonging, sense of agency and self-efficacy. Implications for the importance of including culturally relevant pedagogical strategies and assignments in STEM to promote student community and belonging will also be discussed.

Dr. Natalia Caporale Flyer

Designing Learning Environments for Sensemaking in Biochemistry and Beyond

Dr. Paula P. Lemons
University of Georgia

Date: Friday, 4/3

Location: Kavli Auditorium, Tata Hall

Time: 10:00 – 11:00am
Host: Claire Meaders

How should instructors sequence problem solving and instruction to support deep learning—especially for students who are still developing foundational knowledge? This seminar presents research examining how learners make sense of complex biochemistry topics and how instructional design can better support that process.

Drawing on frameworks from education research, including productive failure, cognitive load theory, and the knowledge-in-pieces perspective, the seminar highlights findings from large classroom studies comparing problem-solving–first and instruction-first approaches. Across multiple experiments, engaging students in problem solving before instruction supported greater idea generation and improved transfer for learners with both lower and higher topic-specific prior knowledge. These results challenge common assumptions about what novice learners need and underscore the value of sensemaking, confidence, and engagement during early problem solving.

The seminar also extends these ideas to faculty professional development, illustrating how collaborative communities centered on student work can support instructor learning and sustained instructional change. Implications for course design, assessment, and professional learning in STEM education will be discussed.

Learning and note-taking in the sciences: exploring the cognitive demands of different generative learning strategies

Dr. Amanda Bongers
Queen's University

Date: Friday, 2/27

Location: Kavli Auditorium, Tata Hall Room 3201

Time: 10:00 – 11:00am
Host: Melinda Owens

Scientist use visuals and drawings as conceptual tools to explore and generate ideas about the nature of matter. Unfortunately, these essential skills are not being taught or practiced in most chemistry courses, even when they are relied on for assessment. Observations of >2000 North American science classrooms found that students spend 87% of class time listening to the instructor, and chemistry was the most didactic discipline.

Our research group is interested in applying cognitive neuroscience to study how people learn from scientific visuals to improve science pedagogy and give students agency in building their visual skills. This talk will present our research into how learners use and produce visuals while note-taking. This study combines data from behavioral and neuronal measures with eye movements to examine learners’ attention and cognitive processes while they engage in two different generative note-taking strategies: drawing or summarizing. Rather than using discreet trial-based tasks, we designed the experiment to encourage natural note-taking behaviours. Together, these data show how drawing requires higher cognitive demand by eliciting more exploratory and integrative information processing.

Genome Science as a scaffold for teaching literacy in biology with artificial intelligence

Dr. Steve Briggs
UC San Diego

Date: Monday, 12/1

Location: 3500 Pacific Hall

Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Host: Ella Tours ( etours@ucsd.edu )

It is my great pleasure to announce our next Conversation on Teaching: our colleague Steve Briggs will speak about his innovative Genome Science course (60-90 students), where he has students work in groups to dissect cutting-edge papers in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. At the end of this transformative class, students write a research proposal. Recently, Steve has been exploring incorporation of AI in grading in this course. Please join me in this exciting conversation! Coffee and refreshments will be provided.

View the recording here (Zoom login required).  Passcode: @@^1tc36

Cultivating Values That Attract and Support Underrepresented Students in STEM Classrooms

Dr. Selene Bobadilla
UC Riverside

Date: Friday, 10/10

Location: 2130 Bonner Hall

Time: 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Host: Claire Meaders ( cmeaders@ucsd.edu)

Join us for a workshop that explores what it means to pursue a career in STEM. For many underrepresented (URM) students, science isn’t just about curiosity or discovery—it’s about equity, justice, and giving back to their communities. This session will highlight how URM students are driven by a commitment to reduce disparities, advance racial justice, and create change both locally and globally. Together, we’ll explore how STEM classrooms can better honor these values by designing courses that connect science to humanitarian projects, service learning, and culturally affirming experiences.

Education Research and Innovations in Teaching Symposium

Speakers: UCSD Faculty

Date: Wednesday, 9/24

Location: York Hall Room 3010

Time: 9am – 5pm
Symposium Schedule: https://bit.ly/SOTschedule 
*Welcome, coffee, and pastries starting at 8:45am

Science of Teaching Committee: Claire Meaders, Stacy Ochoa, Melinda Owens, and Ella Tour

Notes: Please RSVP for lunch before Friday, 9/19, 4 PM: https://bit.ly/SOTrsvp