Our research focuses on teaching and learning in the biological sciences. In particular, we are interested in identifying the factors that help students learn and gain expertise in biology, and the factors that cause them to be motivated and feel included in their courses. Much of our recent focus is on the impact of Vision and Change (V&C), which was a lengthy report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2011 issuing a call to action to change biology instruction. A key position of this report is that biology instructors need to shift away from packing their courses with a multitude of topics. Instead, the report suggests that a better way to promote biological literacy is to organize instruction around a series of Core Concepts and Competencies. The Core Concepts provide students with a broadly applicable framework of biological principles that forms the foundation of biological knowledge. The Core Competencies equip students with the skills to engage in the practice of science. A primary aim of our research is to analyze students’ familiarity with these Core Concepts and Competencies, and determine if they are beneficial to student learning, confidence, and motivation as they advance through their courses in college. Our current research largely involves analyses of surveys and weekly student reflections about learning in general and V&C tenets in particular.
