Enhancing Student Success in UC Merced Biological Sciences Program

Curriculum strategies and assessment outcomes are discussed for the Biological Sciences Major at UC Merced. The program aims to improve student proficiency in various learning outcomes through faculty-created rubrics and direct/indirect evidence assessment methods. Results show strengths and areas for improvement in student skill development and safety practices. The vision includes using assessment data to tailor educational support and applying biology education research for student success.

• Student success
• Biological Sciences
• UC Merced
• Curriculum strategies
• Assessment outcomes

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1. Building Capacity for Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Strategies in the Biological Sciences Laura Beaster-Jones Marcos E. Garcia-Ojeda Jennifer O. Manilay Assessment as Research Symposium March 8, 2017

2. Overview of the UC Merced Biological Sciences Major Molecular Cellular Organ Individual Population Molecular and Cell Biology Human Biology Microbiology and Immunology Emphasis Tracks Developmental Biology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

3. The Biological Sciences Major at UCM Most popular on campus 32% of the total freshman Fall 2015 class 67% of all freshmen in the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) in Fall 2016) Instructors: 29 tenure-track faculty (Fall 2016) Research faculty Teaching faculty Non-tenure track faculty (# varies) Appointed for academic year and summer sessions

4. Assessment of BIO Program Learning Outcomes Goal: at least 80% of our students will have medium or higher proficiency in each of the five Program Learning Outcomes by graduation Approach: faculty-created rubrics to assess proficiency in the student learning outcomes Direct evidence (e.g. exam questions, lab reports and student work) Indirect evidence (e.g. student exit surveys)

5. BIO Program Learning Outcomes Assessment Results 1 An understanding of the tenets of modern biology and an understanding of how cellular functions are integrated from the molecular level to the cellular level, through to the level of organism, populations and functioning ecosystems. 70% of students with medium to high proficiency 2a An ability to develop and critique hypotheses 60% 2b and to design experiments, models, and/or calculations to address these hypotheses 62% 3 The ability to use appropriate instrumentation and computational tools to collect, analyze and interpret data. General weakness 4 The ability to read, evaluate, interpret, and apply numerical and general scientific information. 5 A familiarity with and application of safety in good laboratory and field practice. Mostly acceptable Conclusion: there is room for improvement

6. Vision Use outcomes assessment data to identify our students educational needs to succeed in the BIO major To assess their success rates in a meaningful and impactful manner Utilize recent biology education research on how to better serve UCM s particular student population

7. UCM Student Demographics 67% first generation (FG) college students 54% underrepresented minorities (URM) 44% of URM are also FG 51% women 32% are STEM majors 29% FG; 29% URM 28% FG from the local Merced community 40% Hmong; 41% Filipino

8. Plan: Revise the Curriculum! Utilize science educational research to design new teaching and learning approaches for faculty and students that could improve student learning outcomes Create a student-centered biology program that promotes engagement through active learning and community building Aligned with UCM s mission: excellence in research, teaching and public service, embracing diversity and fostering interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations in the pursuit of scholarly knowledge, beginning with our undergraduate students.

9. Need: Resources

10. Project Aims Strategies to improve our students attainment BIO Program Learning Outcomes that focus on principles of inclusive excellence in science education: Aim 1. Enhance student support services and resources for BIO majors Aim 2. Achieve participation of all BIO faculty in programs focused on inclusive excellence teaching practices Aim 3. Initiate the full conversion of our introductory biology laboratory courses to Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs).

11. Aim 1: Enhance student support services and resources for BIO majors Focus: student ownership of learning and enhancement of already existing support services Build diverse mentoring networks to foster learning and dialogue increase access of motivated students unfamiliar with academic culture to transformative experiences in higher education hierarchical mentoring Assist the STEM Center to host mentoring workshops on issues of racism, sexism, gender identity, homophobia, and implicit biases in academia Expand student learning communities Provide financial support for additional Peer Tutors in the STEM Center specifically for BIO majors

13. Aim 2: Achieve participation of all BIO faculty in programs focused on inclusive excellence teaching practices Focus: transform biology courses from an instruction paradigm to a learning paradigm Create and institutionalize a faculty development program towards inclusive teaching practices in biology Monthly workshops, summer workshops Biology Faculty Explorations in Scientific Teaching designed at San Francisco State University Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning at UC Merced Inspire inclusive excellence teaching methods as a core UCM value (promotion and tenure) Develop a program to recruit successful BIO students and train them as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs). How I Got Here : faculty-student support communities

14. Aim 3:Initiate the full conversion of our introductory biology laboratory courses to Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Our long-term goal is to create and institutionalize CURE opportunities to reach a large number of students with diverse backgrounds and entry points. CUREs are authentic research experiences in the classroom CUREs can improve student s confidence, self-efficacy, laboratory skills, and knowledge about research, and also diversify scientific research Our goal is to transition the introductory biology lab sequence to include inquiry based labs (IBLs) and then into a full academic year CURE, with varied research modules directly linked to UCM BIO faculty research.

15. Talented Students (67% FG, 55% URM) Student Support Services Research-Trained Faculty Provides feedback to faculty Faculty Pedagogy Training Active Engaged Learning Expand Tutoring Expand Mentoring Networks Learn teaching strategies for active learning and inclusive practices Improved Student Learning Outcomes via Inclusive Excellence and Institutional Change Curriculum Reform: CUREs Hands-on authentic experiences Inquiry based and discovery- embedded All undergraduates participate

16. Assessment Plans Analyze undergraduate teaching in relationship to BIO Program Learning Outcomes Surveys, interviews, observations COPUS (Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM) Teaching Behaviors Inventory (TBI) Survey faculty before and after teaching workshops Analyze effects of faculty-student communities on student motivation Map to UCM Guiding Principles Analyze effect of CUREs Current rubrics in place CUREnet: https://curenet.cns.utexas.edu

17. Building Capacity for Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Strategies in the Biological Sciences Thanks to: Laura Beaster-Jones Assistant Teaching Professor Amy Moffat SNS Student and Program Assessment Petia Gueorguieva STEM Resource Center Marcos Garcia-Ojeda Associate Teaching Professor Faculty Assessment Organizer James Zimmerman Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning Andres Hernandez Research Development Services Kimberly Tanner Professor of Biology Director, SEPAL San Francisco State University Biological Sciences Faculty at UC Merced Juan Meza Elizabeth Whitt, Thomas Peterson UC Merced Administration Jennifer O. Manilay Associate Professor Undergraduate Program Chair for Biological Sciences Email: jmanilay@ucmerced.edu

19. Biology Mentored Research Experience at UCM Aim 3: All Students in Experience in Mentored Biology Research (EMBR) Course CURE Lead Faculty Research Educators Peer Research Mentors Research focused, engaged in active learning with students (Aims 2 and 3) Ph.D. instructors and mentors for students; partner with faculty (Aims 1 and 3) Role models for first year students (Aims 1 and 3) Inclusive Excellence as an Institutional Value at UCM