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Assessing High Performers in the Life Sciences: Characteristics of Exams Used at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) and Their Implications for Life Science Education.

ABSTRACT: For decades, studies have revealed students' decreasing interest in science. Extracurricular learning opportunities-the Science Olympiads being a publicly well-known example-are an important means identified to tackle this challenge and help students further differentiate their interests. Better understanding the underlying constructs and characteristics of Science Olympiad exams can provide several implications not just for Science Olympiads, but also science education more broadly, for example, with regard to how the competitions' international juries defines expectations for high performance in the life sciences. This study analyzes exams set by the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) as an example for a top-tier international competition in the life sciences. The findings extend previous works on test item characteristics toward student competitions and high-performer education. We conducted a systematic analysis of N = 703 closed-ended and laboratory test items from six IBO assessment years across the competition's history. A categorical framework was developed to analyze items according to four areas: formal characteristics, content and practices, cognitive aspects, and the use of representations. Our findings highlight assessment characteristics used to challenge high-performing students. We derive implications for general life sciences education, as well as for further developing the assessments of Science Olympiads.

SUBMITTER: Opitz S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8693943 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevailing Questions and Methodologies in Biology Education Research: A Longitudinal Analysis of Research in CBE-Life Sciences Education and at the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research.

Project description:Biology education research (BER) is a growing field, as evidenced by the increasing number of publications in CBE-Life Sciences Education ( LSE) and expanding participation at the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) annual meetings. To facilitate an introspective and reflective discussion on how research within LSE and at SABER has matured, we conducted a content analysis of LSE research articles ( n = 339, from 2002 to 2015) and SABER abstracts ( n = 652, from 2011 to 2015) to examine three related intraresearch parameters: research questions, study contexts, and methodologies. Qualitative data analysis took a combination of deductive and inductive approaches, followed by statistical analyses to determine the correlations among different parameters. We identified existing research questions, study contexts, and methodologies in LSE articles and SABER abstracts and then compared and contrasted these parameters between the two data sources. LSE articles were most commonly guided by descriptive research questions, whereas SABER abstracts were most commonly guided by causal research questions. Research published in LSE and presented at SABER both prioritize undergraduate classrooms as the study context and quantitative methodologies. In this paper, we examine these research trends longitudinally and discuss implications for the future of BER as a scholarly field.

| S-EPMC6757219 | biostudies-literature

Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education.

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| S-EPMC5988330 | biostudies-literature

Computational thinking in life science education.

Project description:We join the increasing call to take computational education of life science students a step further, beyond teaching mere programming and employing existing software tools. We describe a new course, focusing on enriching the curriculum of life science students with abstract, algorithmic, and logical thinking, and exposing them to the computational "culture." The design, structure, and content of our course are influenced by recent efforts in this area, collaborations with life scientists, and our own instructional experience. Specifically, we suggest that an effective course of this nature should: (1) devote time to explicitly reflect upon computational thinking processes, resisting the temptation to drift to purely practical instruction, (2) focus on discrete notions, rather than on continuous ones, and (3) have basic programming as a prerequisite, so students need not be preoccupied with elementary programming issues. We strongly recommend that the mere use of existing bioinformatics tools and packages should not replace hands-on programming. Yet, we suggest that programming will mostly serve as a means to practice computational thinking processes. This paper deals with the challenges and considerations of such computational education for life science students. It also describes a concrete implementation of the course and encourages its use by others.

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Project description: Not available

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Exams disadvantage women in introductory biology.

Project description:The gender gap in STEM fields has prompted a great deal of discussion, but what factors underlie performance deficits remain poorly understood. We show that female students underperformed on exams compared to their male counterparts across ten large introductory biology course sections in fall 2016 (N > 1500 students). Females also reported higher levels of test anxiety and course-relevant science interest. Results from mediation analyses revealed an intriguing pattern: for female students only, and regardless of their academic standing, test anxiety negatively impacted exam performance, while interest in the course-specific science topics increased exam performance. Thus, instructors seeking equitable classrooms can aim to decrease test anxiety and increase student interest in science course content. We provide strategies for mitigating test anxiety and suggestions for alignment of course content with student interest, with the hope of successfully reimagining the STEM pathway as one that is equally accessible to all.

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Will systems biology offer new holistic paradigms to life sciences?

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