A Hierarchical Mentoring Program Increases Confidence and Effectiveness in Data Analysis and Interpretation for Undergraduate Biology Students
| Autor: | Jessica D. Pratt, Cascade J. B. Sorte, Amy K. Henry, Nancy Aguilar-Roca |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Braun, Derek |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Data Analysis
050101 languages & linguistics Class size Writing Teaching method First language Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Education Thinking Surveys and Questionnaires Genetics ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Students Grading (education) Biology Self-efficacy Medical education Mentors 05 social sciences Core competency Mentoring 050301 education Quality Education Critical thinking Undergraduate research 0503 education Curriculum and Pedagogy Program Evaluation |
| Zdroj: | CBE life sciences education, vol 19, iss 3 CBE Life Sciences Education |
| ISSN: | 1931-7913 |
| DOI: | 10.1187/cbe.19-10-0201 |
| Popis: | Science instructors are increasingly incorporating teaching techniques that help students develop core competencies such as critical-thinking and communication skills. These core competencies are pillars of career readiness that prepare undergraduate students to successfully transition to continuing education or the workplace, whatever the field. Course-based undergraduate research experiences that culminate in written research papers can be effective at developing critical-thinking and communication skills but are challenging to implement as class size (and student-to-instructor ratio) grows. We developed a hierarchical mentoring program in which graduate student mentors guided groups of four to five undergraduate students through the scientific process in an upper-level ecology course. Program effectiveness was evaluated by grading final research papers (including previous year papers, before the program was implemented) and surveys (comparing to a course that did not implement the program). Results indicated that primary benefits of hierarchical mentoring were improvements in perceived and demonstrated ability in data analysis and interpretation, leading to a median increase in paper score of ∼10% on a 100-point scale. Future directions indicated by our study were a need to incorporate more approaches (e.g., low-stakes writing exercises) and resources into a revised program to improve outcomes for students whose primary language is not English. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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