This year’s MNT-konferansen “Utdanning for fremtidens arbeidsliv” took place in Stavanger, Hotel Radisson Blu Atlantic on March 16^th-17^th. bioCEED contributed with posters, articles and corresponding presentations. The full list of contributions and authors is found below.

• What challenges do students face in introductory STEM courses, and how can instructors help? S.S. Bolland, E.C. Rønning, T.T. Try, S.H. Cotner, K.B. Daae and M.S. Glessmer
• Omlegging fra tradisjonelle forelesninger til studentaktiv læring – eksempel fra et grunnemne i biologi. Anne E. Bjune, Gunnar Bratbak, Sigrunn Eliassen, Bjørn Arild Hatteland, Kristin Holtermann, Maria Rigstad Langvad, Ruth-Anne Sandaa, Tone Stokka and Aina-Cathrine Øvergård
• Understanding student Sense of Belonging in introductory STEM courses. Costello, Robin, Hammarlund, Sarah, Christensen, Emily, Kiani, Kate, Glessmer, Mirjam and Cotner, Sehoya
• Certification of practical skills engages students and promotes learning. Simone I. Lang, Tina Dahl and Pernille B. Eidesen
• Surveying constructive alignment using CALEQ – exploratory factor analysis. C.B. Strømme, H. Barron, and J. Nyléhn
• Core Themes in Critical Thinking: Perspectives from Students and Teachers. J. Nyléhn, C. Boge, and J. Soulé
• Creating better work placements by understanding mentor challenges. K. Holtermann and S. Cotner
• Tools and practices for structured and documented student reflective thinking as a way to promote learning, enable better evaluation of learning activities and validate the achievement of intended learning outcomes. Kseniia Kalian
• STEM Teachers and Heads of Education as partners in change of Teaching and Learning. Oddfrid Førland, Kristin Holtermann, Anne Bjune and Sigrunn Eliassen
• Supporting Educational Change through Change Teams, Roy Andersson and Sehoya Cotner

Abstract

University teachers grow professionally from conversations about learning and teaching with colleagues. Significant informal conversations can be facilitated through formal activities initiated from the institutional side. This case-study shows how a formal institutional initiative to enhance educational quality has facilitated more significant informal conversations. Such conversations power constructive feedback to the organisation, improve the formal quality development work at the institutional level, and increase the use of collegial experiences across the institution. We identify the formal initiative “Collegial sharing sessions” as particularly efficient for fuelling significant informal conversations within and across departments.

Reference and link to the article

P.B. Eidesen, O.T.K. Førland, L.M. Håkansson, H.H. Christiansen, T.Dahl & E. Strømseng (2023). How formal initiatives to improve teaching can lead to more significant informal conversations and increased sharing practice, Nordic Journal of STEM Education, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5324/njsteme.v7i1.4951

Abstract

Practical lab skills are rarely directly assessed. To improve constructive alignment between the described learning outcomes of practical skills and assessment, we developed and tested a certification procedure for microscopy skills. The procedure was embedded into the ordinary learning activity, so no additional time was needed. Three slightly different protocols were developed within the framework of sociocultural learning theory and built like a skill ladder, including direct peer assessment and elements of gamified learning. The protocols varied slightly in the way students were prepared for the certification, the number of steps/levels of achievement, and the consequences of failing. We tested the protocols at three different academic institutions and within 11 courses of varying sizes and academic levels in biology or geology. Feedbacks were collected through online surveys (n = 207) or orally after sessions. One protocol provided instruction videos as preparation material. Instruction videos provided increased understanding of the task, but tactile training was most important for learning. Regardless of institution, type of preparation, and level of former experience, the certification procedure made students clearly more engaged in the exercise. The majority reported that the certification procedure increased their motivation to learn, increased their perceived learning outcome, and was appropriate for assessing practical skills. Students with no or little experience in microscopy before the exercise were more positive about the certification procedure compared to skilled students, and the level of engagement and preparation was higher when there were some consequences of failing. Most students felt comfortable being certified by peers, but some students expressed concern about peers making mistakes. The presented certification procedure can easily be adapted to assess other practical skills and, with some adjustments, be an efficient method for assessment-as-learning, merging formative- and summative assessment.

Reference and link to the article

Eidesen, P. B., Bjune, A. E., & Lang, S. I. (2023). “Show me how to use a microscope” – The development and evaluation of certification as direct assessment of practical lab skills. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10592. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10592

Abstract

Higher education institutions are struggling to elevate the value and status of academic teaching. In this endeavour, rewards for excellence in teaching are becoming a common measure. This study reports on the experience of the first academic teachers who were given the status as rewarded teachers in new reward systems. We explore rewarded teachers’ potential to influence teaching and learning culture through a socio-cultural perspective, where influence is assumed to materialise through teachers’ networks and cultural change is linked to a widening of significant networks. Interviews with 13 rewarded teachers from three universities were analysed using thematic analysis. We find that rewarded teachers maintain their positions in existing networks and gain visibility and influence in wider networks. This widening of their teaching and learning network is a first step, that over time can become a wider significant network potentially important in influencing culture. We suggest that a productive measure to support rewarded teachers is to provide support for expanding their significant networks further, bridging the boundaries between teaching cultures. This study adds to our knowledge about how reward impacts networks, and the potential role rewarded teachers play in cultural change, a perspective that is underexplored in research on reward systems.

Reference and link to the article

Oddfrid Førland & Torgny Roxå (2023) Establishing reward systems for excellence in teaching – the experience of academics pioneering a reward system, European Journal of Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/21568235.2023.2214713

Abstract

Ecology & Evolution has published its first Registered Report and offers the perspective of the editor, author, and student on the publication process.

Reference and link to the article

Gya, R., Birkeli, K., Dahle, I.J., Foote, C.G., Geange, S.R., Lynn, J.S., Töpper, J.P., Vandvik, V., Zernichow, C. and Jenkins, G.B. (2023), Registered Reports: A new chapter at Ecology & Evolution. Ecol Evol, 13: e10023. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10023

Abstract

According to Self-Determination Theory, autonomy support is essential in fostering optimal learning, growth, and functioning in students across all levels. In contrast, autonomy thwarting is associated with student malfunctioning. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between perceptions of autonomy support and thwarting, students’ autonomous and controlled motivations, and aspects of student functioning in a higher education setting. The sample consisted of 414 Norwegian university students recruited from introductory calculus courses. Structural equation modeling indicated that perceived autonomy support predicts autonomous motivation and is negatively linked to controlled motivation. Autonomy thwarting is negatively linked to autonomous motivation and positively predicts controlled motivation. We found that autonomous motivation predicts engagement, effort, and learning. Controlled motivation is negatively linked to vitality and engagement, and positively predicts effort. The results are in line with the tenets of Self-Determination Theory, and the present study highlights the importance of providing an autonomy supportive environment during higher education lectures.

Reference and link to the article

Johansen MO, Eliassen S and Jeno LM (2023) The bright and dark side of autonomy: How autonomy support and thwarting relate to student motivation and academic functioning. Front. Educ. 8:1153647. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1153647

Abstract

The notion that motivation is imperative for students’ psychological well-being and academic functioning is central to Self-Determination Theory (SDT). According to SDT, different types of motivations can co-occur to a various degree with separate outcomes, depending on the extent of experienced degree of autonomy. In the current study, we investigate how making a learning exercise more relevant for higher education STEM students can affect aspects of student functioning mediated through motivation. In a randomized experiment, results indicate that the students who received a more “relevant” assignment (experimental group) experienced more autonomous forms of motivation relative to the students who received a “generic” or “traditional” exercise (control group). Further, the experimental group reported higher levels of vitality and effort relative to the control group. Using a pre- and post-test design measuring changes in emotional affect during the learning activity, we found that the control group reported an increase in negative affect and a decrease in positive affect. Finally, path analysis showed significant relationships between the type of assignment provided and motivation and student functioning.

Reference and link to the article

Johansen MO, Eliassen S and Jeno LM (2023). “Why is this relevant for me?”: increasing content relevance enhances student motivation and vitality. Front. Psychol. 14:1184804. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1184804

Abstract

The development of sense of belonging and generic skills may be considered important to succeed in higher education and in life and may be enhanced through student group work. For group work to succeed, Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning suggest that group members need to be positively interdependent. In the present study we conducted a cross-sectional survey in a sample of 401 students in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education in Norway mapping the students’ perceptions of cooperative learning, sense of belonging and generic skills. By means of Pearson bivariate correlation analyses and standard multiple regression analyses, we found that 1) Cooperative Learning was positively associated with the development of both sense of belonging and generic skills, 2) Sense of belonging and generic skills were positively interrelated, and 3) Interaction was the cooperative learning principle contributing most to the association with both sense of belonging and generic skills.

Reference and link to the article

Møgelvang, A., & Nyléhn, J. (2023). Interdependence between Perceived Cooperative Learning, Sense of Belonging, and Generic Skills in Undergraduate STEM Education. Nordic Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5324/njsteme.v7i1.4949

Abstract

Identifying evidence-based teaching and learning strategies that can ease teacher challenges and mitigate student concerns in digital settings becomes increasingly important. In this intervention study we compared the effect of digital cooperative learning (CL) and digital lectures on a range of psychosocial outcomes, specifically students’ sense of belonging, science confidence, perceived generic skills, and loneliness, among a Norwegian sample of undergraduate biology students (n = 71). Employing a one-group pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design with a double pretest and follow-up, we found that students’ scores on psychosocial outcomes improved significantly following digital CL compared to digital lectures. Further, the effect sizes suggest that the effect of CL on psychosocial outcomes in digital settings is at least as substantial as in physical settings.

Reference and link to the article

Møgelvang, A., Vandvik, V., Ellingsen, S., Strømme, C. B., & Cotner, S. (2023). Cooperative learning goes online: Teaching and learning intervention in a digital environment impacts psychosocial outcomes in biology students. International Journal of Educational Research, 117, 102114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.102114

Abstract

In May 2021, the Norwegian parliament voted unanimously to again require the use of two evaluators to assess all student work given a grade on the A-F scale in higher education. This revision of the law regulating higher education marks a return to a rule that had been rescinded with the Quality Reform of 2001, and has the potential to lead to a cascade of negative consequences for the quality of practices in STEM higher education. We first provide an overview of the problem, and then offer practical, constructive, and evidence-based suggestions for how instructors can meet these requirements while still offering students opportunities to gain formative feedback, to engage in deep and meaningful learning, and be assessed in ways that are aligned with the intended learning outcomes of the course. These recommendations are certainly not exclusive to a STEM learning context, but two of us (CJ and SC) are STEM educators and bring that perspective to this work.

Reference and link to the article

Abstract

Doubts about belonging in the classroom are often shouldered disproportionately by students from historically marginalized groups, which can lead to underperformance. Ecological-belonging interventions use a classroom-based activity to instill norms that adversity is normal, temporary, and surmountable. Building on prior studies, we sought to identify the conditions under which such interventions are effective. In a chemistry course (study 1), students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds underperformed relative to their peers in the absence of the intervention. This performance gap was eliminated by the intervention. In an introductory biology course (study 2), there were no large performance gaps in the absence of the intervention, and the intervention had no effect. Study 2 also explored the role of the instructor that delivers the intervention. The intervention boosted scores in the classrooms of instructors with a fixed (versus growth-oriented) intelligence mindset. Our results suggest that ecological-belonging interventions are more effective in more threatening classroom contexts.

Reference and link to the article

Abstract

Recent development in policy and learning theory encourages higher education institutions to send their students out of campus and into work placements. In this paper, we report on students’ engagement with various aspects of knowing through practice in work placements. We employed focus group discussions to gather students’ accounts of their knowing in the three higher education programmes: Teacher Education, Aqua Medicine, and Music Performance. The students’ accounts of knowing were analysed as personal epistemologies. Thereby, we aimed to focus on how enacted practices in work develop students’ appraisals of knowing and subjectivities. Three prominent epistemologies were present across all three student groups: professional judgment, professional practice, and professional identity. After the work placements, the students better understand how to enact their knowledge and what knowledge to pursue further. Based on these findings, we hold that there are key educational processes that arise in the interplay between students’ situated enactment of practices, knowing, and personal epistemologies through work placements, and propose a conceptual model to frame students’ learning in work placements.

Reference and link to the article

Abstract

Much research on mobile learning is cross-sectional or lacks a theoretical basis for investigating the mechanisms of mobile learning and achievement. This may be a concern as well-formulated theoretical frameworks allow results to be interpreted and contextualized in a coherent and integrated fashion that could then be valuable when interpreting findings in educational contexts. The main aim of this study was to investigate biology students’ experiences of using a mobile application for learning about species identification. We use Self-Determination Theory as a guiding framework to investigate students’ experiences of need-satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness within a mobile application, and whether this influences students’ learning processes. We conducted four focus groups with 26 biology students in higher education. Based on our thematic analysis, we find that students experienced the satisfaction of all three psychological needs while using the mobile application. Specifically, students’ needs were satisfied by experiencing choice, feedback, mastery, cooperation, and discussion. These elements in turn were related to the process of identifying species. Contradictory to what we expected, students reported more learning from a traditional textbook, compared to the mobile application. Our results provide useful information for learning designers, which suggests that it is important to take need-satisfaction into consideration when designing technology. Our study offers new insight into the underlying need-satisfying experiences of mobile learning, and it provides an understanding of how the different elements of need-satisfaction contribute to different species identification processes.

Reference and link to the article

Lucas M. Jeno, Kjetil Egelandsdal, John-Arvid Grytnes. A qualitative investigation of psychological need-satisfying experiences of a mobile learning application: A Self-Determination Theory approach. Computers and Education Open, Volume 3, 2022, 100108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2022.100108.

Abstract

To cope  with an unpredictable future, higher education in mathematics and science (MS) needs to educate a knowledgeable and skilled workforce. Co-operative learning (CL) is a teaching method associated with increased academic achievement and development of generic skills. Thus, the purposes of this scoping review are to assess the evidence base of CL in undergraduate MS education to inform teaching practices and to identify potential knowledge gaps to inform future research. The review covers 24 empirical studies conducted from 2010 to 2020 on the prevalence, uses, and outcomes of CL elements in undergraduate MS education. The results show that there are few such studies, and these are rarely conducted outside the US or in disciplines other than chemistry. The most frequently implemented CL elements in the included studies are heterogeneous group formation, the use of roles, and different CL structures. The most prevalent student outcome of implemented CL elements in the reviewed studies is enhanced academic success, followed by student attitudes, generic skills, and psychological health. The results have implications for future implementation of and research on CL in international MS higher education.

Reference and link to the article

Møgelvang, A., Nyléhn, J. Co-operative Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics and Science Education: A Scoping Review. Int J of Sci and Math Educ (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10331-0

Abstract

The Open Science (OS) movement is rapidly gaining traction among policy-makers, research funders, scientific journals and individual scientists. Despite these tendencies, the pace of implementing OS throughout the scientific process and across the scientific community remains slow. Thus, a better understanding of the conditions that affect OS engagement, and in particular, of how practitioners learn, use, conduct and share research openly can guide those seeking to implement OS more broadly. We surveyed participants at an OS workshop hosted by the Living Norway Ecological Data Network in 2020 to learn how they perceived OS and its importance in their research, supervision and teaching. Further, we wanted to know what OS practices they had encountered in their education and what they saw as hindering or helping their engagement with OS. The survey contained scaled-response and open-ended questions, allowing for a mixed-methods approach. We obtained survey responses from 60 out of 128 workshop participants (47%). Responses indicated that usage and sharing of open data and code, as well as open access publication, were the most frequent OS practices. Only a minority of respondents reported having encountered OS in their formal education. A majority also viewed OS as less important in their teaching than in their research and supervisory roles. The respondents’ suggestions for what would facilitate greater OS engagement in the future included knowledge, guidelines, and resources, but also social and structural support. These are aspects that could be strengthened by promoting explicit implementation of OS practices in higher education and by nurturing a more inclusive and equitable OS culture. We argue that incorporating OS in teaching and learning of science can yield substantial benefits to the research community, student learning, and ultimately, to the wider societal objectives of science and higher education.

Reference and link to the article

Strømme CB, Lane AK, Halbritter AH, Law E, Nater CR, Nilsen EB, Boutouli GD, Egelkraut DD, Telford RJ, Vandvik V, Cotner SH (2022) Close to open—Factors that hinder and promote open science in ecology research and education. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0278339. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278339

Abstract

Vi presenterer ein metode for å engasjere undervisarar i SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) derundervisingsutvikling i eigen praksisvert delt gjennom deltaking på læringskonferansar. Utviklingsarbeidet blir gjort i ramma av eit pedagogisk kurs, der deltakarane gjennomfører gruppebaserte SoTL-prosjekt meiningsfulle for deira kontekst og praksis. Som del av kursetvert arbeidet sendt inn som bidrag til ein kollegavurdert læringskonferanse. Kursdesignet med kollegiale grupper ogprosjekt i eigen kontekst sikrar ei viktig lokal forankring av SoTL-arbeidet. Konferansedeltaking som kursaktivitet tilfører ein ekstra dimensjon og enarenafor læring og deling. Undervisarane utset arbeidet sitt for kritisk gransking og formidling i eit større miljø, og slik blir utviklingsarbeidet relevant og ekte –og ikkje berre ei oppgåve i eit kurs.Vi finn at deltakarane hadde stort utbytte av å presentere på læringskonferansar, og opplevde at konferansedeltaking gav meirverdi til kurset. Å presentere for eit interessert og kunnskapsrikt publikum var inspirerande og meiningsfullt, men undervisarane kjende òg på usikkerheit om kvalitetog kunnskapsnivå. Førebuande kursaktivitetar bidrog til å styrke sjølvtillit og kvalitet, og førebygge usikkerheit.Konferanse som kursaktivitet er krevjandefor både deltakarar og kursleiar. Andre potensielle utfordringarer t.d. høgare terskel for å delta, risikofor refuserte bidrag, auka arbeidsmengde, kostnad og tidsbruk.

Reference and link to the article

Førland O and Andersson R. 2021. Conferences as a learning arena in a pedagogical course – MNT-konferansen 2021 - https://doi.org/10.5324/njsteme.v5i1.3930

Abstract

Practical teaching can give authentic learning experiences and teach valuable skills for undergraduate students in the STEM disciplines. One of the main ways of giving students such experiences, laboratory teaching, is met with many challenges such as budget cuts, increased use of virtual learning, and currently the university lockdowns due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. We highlight how at‐home do‐it‐yourself (DIY) experiments can be a good way to include physical interaction with your study organism, system, or technique to give the students a practical, authentic learning experience. We hope that by outlining the benefits of a practical, at‐home, DIY experiment we can inspire more people to design these teaching activities in the current remote teaching situation and beyond. By contributing two examples in the field of plant biology we enrich the database on experiments to draw inspiration from for these teaching methods.

Keywords: at-home experiment, botany experiment, inquiry-based learning, remote learning, student active

Reference and link to the article

Gya, R, Bjune, AE. Taking practical learning in STEM education home: Examples from do‐it‐yourself experiments in plant biology. Ecol Evol. 2021; 00: 1– 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7207

Abstract

Undergraduate student participation in course-based research experiences results in many positive outcomes, but there is a lack of evidence demonstrating which elements of a research experience are necessary, especially for non-biology majors. Broad relevance is one element that can be logistically challenging to incorporate into research experiences in large-enrollment courses. We investigated the impacts of broad relevance in a short-term research experience in an introductory biology course for non-majors. Students either participated in an open-inquiry research experience (OI-RE), where they developed their own research question, or a broadly relevant research experience (BR-RE), where they investigated a question assigned to them that was relevant to an ongoing research project. We found a significant association between the type of research project experienced and students’ preference for an experience, with half of the students in the OI-RE group and nearly all students in the BR-RE group preferring a broadly relevant research experience. However, since science confidence increased over the course for both groups, these findings indicate that while students who participated in a BR-RE valued it, broadly relevant research experiences may not be necessary for positive outcomes for non-majors.

Reference and link to the article

Hebert S, Blum J, Wassenberg D, Marks D, Barry K, Cotner S. 2021. Open inquiry versus broadly relevant short-term research experiences for non-biology majors†. J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 22(1): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2167

Abstract

I denne artikkelen ser vi på sammenhengen mellom læringsaktiviteter og innholdeti læringsutbyttebeskrivelser. Vår undersøkelse av læringsutbyttebeskrivelser viser at flere avferdighetene og de generelle kompetansene inngår i emnene sine læringsaktiviteter, men at de ikkealltid gjenspeiles i læringsutbyttebeskrivelsene på emnene.Læringsutbyttebeskrivelser tydeliggjør for student og underviser hva forventet læring i emnet er og bør derfor vise det reelle innholdet i emnene. Ved utforming av læringsutbyttebeskrivelser er det viktig å se på sammenhengen mellom læringsutbytte, læringsaktivitet og vurdering(constructive alignment) (Biggs og Tang, 2011; Biggs, 2014). Læringsutbyttet gir oversikt overinnhold i emner og konkretiserer hvilke emner som har ansvar for ulike deler av gradens samledelæringsutbytte. Læringsutbyttebeskrivelser kan også vise arbeidslivsrelevans gjennomsynliggjøring av ferdigheter og generell kompetanse (Smith og Reid, 2018).Bakgrunnen for undersøkelsen er prosjektetGeneriske ferdigheterved Det matematisk- naturvitenskapelige fakultet ved Universitetet i Bergen. Prosjektet inkluderer en emnekartlegging(curriculum mapping) der emnenes innhold av ferdigheter og generell kompetanse uttrykt somsamarbeid, skriftlig og muntlig kommunikasjon samtkritisk tenking og informasjonskompetanse bleidentifisert. Vi undersøkte om svarene fra emnekartleggingen kan gjenfinnes i læringsutbyttebekrivelsene for utvalgte emner. Gjennomføring av emnekartlegging kan brukes for å se på innholdet av generell kompetanse i utdanningen, men det er lite fokus på den praktiske utførelsen av dette (Sumsion og Goodfellow, 2004; Lam og Tsui, 2014). Derimot er det få artikler som konkretiserer hvordan man bruker resultatene fra en emnekartlegging for å identifisere mangler i læringsutbyttebeskrivelser. Dette paperet vil kunne bidra til en bedre forståelse av hvordan man kan jobbe med dette..  

Reference and link to the article

Holtermann K, Gjerdevik B., Rensvik B U, Balevik S B and Stokka T. 2021. Er vi bedre på læringsaktiviteter enn på læringsutbyttebeskrivelser – MNT-konferansen 2021 https://doi.org/10.5324/njsteme.v5i1.3913

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to test the validity of the Motivation, Engagement, and Thriving in User Experience (METUX) model (Peters, Calvo, & Ryan, 2018) in higher education. We propose a process model in which we investigate how the need-satisfaction of digital learning tools within the interface sphere and task sphere accounts for engagement, learning, and well-being. A total of 426 higher education students drawn from two subsamples participated in this cross-sectional study. A structural equation model shows that interface autonomy and competence satisfaction positively predict task autonomy and competence. Task competence, in turn, negatively predicts focused attention and positively perceived usability and well-being. Task autonomy positively predicts perceived usability and reward. Based on our results, we provide some initial support for the METUX model in higher education. However, more validation work is needed to improve the scale that measures need-satisfaction in the interface and task spheres. Moreover, we find no support for the effect of task sphere on learning. Further investigations are needed into how METUX can be used in domain- and situation-specific contexts to account for increases in engagement, learning, and well-being. Finally, future studies need to include all aspects of the METUX model in order to fully test its validity.

Keywords: Higher education, Self-determination theory, METUX, Achievement, Technology

Reference and link to the article

Jeno LM, Diseth Å and Grytnes J-A (2021) Testing the METUX Model in Higher Education: Interface and Task Need–Satisfaction Predict Engagement, Learning, and Well-Being. Front. Psychol. 12:631564. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631564

Abstract

Inadequate academic functioning among students might be a main cause of the considerable dropout rates, and well-being and achievement problems in higher education. Few studies address the role of motivation for academic functioning. Thus, using Self-Determination Theory, the main goal of this study was to investigate motivational determinants of academic functioning among 406 biology students (mode age 21-25, 69.5% females) from nine higher education institutions in Norway. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Results show that teacherś autonomy-support positively predicts autonomous motivation and perceived competence among the students. In turn, autonomous motivation and competence positively predicts vitality, and negatively predicts dropout intentions. Achievement was only predicted by perceived competence. We recommend that instructors adopt an autonomy-supportive teaching style, for example by providing a meaningful rationale when introducing teaching and learning activities, for students to feel more competent and autonomous in their motivation.

Keywords: Motivation; dropout; well-Being; achievement; Self-Determination Theory; higher education; academic functioning

Reference and link to the article

Lucas M. Jeno, Jorun Nylehn, Torstein N. Hole, Arild Raaheim, Gaute Velle & Vigdis Vandvik (2021): Motivational Determinants of Students’ Academic Functioning: The Role of Autonomy-support, Autonomous Motivation, and Perceived Competence, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2021.1990125

Abstract

Scholarly digital storytelling combines academic research and digital skills to communicate scholarly work within and beyond the classroom. This article presents three case studies that demonstrate efforts to integrate scholarly digital storytelling, a technology-enhanced assessment, across disciplines, geographic locations, and teaching contexts. The case studies originate in the United States, Northern Ireland [UK], and Norway, and represent learning across multiple disciplines, including history, higher education, geography, and biology. This article explores the potential for scholarly digital storytelling, when carefully planned, scaffolded, and implemented, to engage students in authentic learning, teaching students to think deeply and creatively about disciplinary content while creating sharable digital products.

Keywords: authentic learning, technology-enhanced assessment, scholarly digital storytelling, digital skills

Reference and link to the article

Schrum, Kelly, Niall Majury, and Anne Laure Simonelli. 2021. “Authentic Learning Across Disciplines and Borders With Scholarly Digital Storytelling”. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 9 (2). https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.9.2.8

Abstract

Inquiry-based laboratory activities, as a part of science curricula, have been advocated to increase students’ learning outcomes and improve students’ learning experiences, but students sometimes struggle with open-inquiry activities. This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of inquiry-based learning in a set of laboratory activities, specifically from a psychological (i.e., Self-Determination Theory) perspective. Students’ ratings of the level of inquiry in these activities indicate that students’ perceptions of inquiry align with the instructor-intended amount of inquiry in each exercise. Students’ written responses, explaining their ratings, indicate that students’ perceptions of the amount of inquiry in a given lab exercise relate to their feeling of freedom (or autonomy), competence, and relatedness (or support), during the inquiry-based learning activities. The results imply that instructors implementing inquiry-based learning activities should consider student motivation, and Self-Determination Theory can be a useful diagnostic tool during teaching development.

Keywords: inquiry-based learning, Self-Determination Theory (SDT), student perceptions, laboratory activities

Reference and link to the article

Zhao, FangFang, Gillian Roehrig, Lorelei Patrick, Chantal Levesque-Bristol, and Sehoya Cotner. 2021. “Using a Self-Determination Theory Approach to Understand Student Perceptions of Inquiry-Based Learning”. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 9 (2). doi: https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.9.2.5

This year’s MNT-konferansen “Transformative education” took place in Tromsø, Hotel Soria Moria on March 28^th-29^st. bioCEED contributed with 3 articles and corresponding presentations as well as an overview of the goals and activities of the Centre of Excellence.

• Use of Active Learning Methods and Technologies – Obstacles, Incentives, and Bottlenecks, by Katja Enberg, Ståle Ellingsen and Ida Helene Steen
• Learning by doing and reflection: the redesign of an alpine ecology field course, by Ragnhild Gya, Siri V Haugum, Franscesca Jaroszynska and Jorun Nylehn
• Learning Outcomes at Master Level in Biology. Current Expectations and Guidelines for the Future, by Selina Våge, Aina-Cathrine Øvergård, Mariann Eilertsen, Florian Berg and Jorun Nylehn

The articles are available here.

Abstract

As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms in higher education transition from lecturing to active learning, the frequency of student interactions in class increases. Previous research documents a gender bias in participation, with women participating less than would be expected on the basis of their numeric proportions. In the present study, we asked which attributes of the learning environment contribute to decreased female participation: the abundance of in-class interactions, the diversity of interactions, the proportion of women in class, the instructor’s gender, the class size, and whether the course targeted lower division (first and second year) or upper division (third or fourth year) students. We calculated likelihood ratios of female participation from over 5300 student–instructor interactions observed across multiple institutions. We falsified several alternative hypotheses and demonstrate that increasing class size has the largest negative effect. We also found that when the instructors used a diverse range of teaching strategies, the women were more likely to participate after small-group discussions.

Reference and link to the article

Cissy J Ballen, Stepfanie M Aguillon, Azza Awwad, Anne E Bjune, Daniel Challou, Abby Grace Drake, Michelle Driessen, Aziza Ellozy, Vivian E Ferry, Emma E Goldberg, William Harcombe, Steve Jensen, Christian Jørgensen, Zoe Koth, Suzanne McGaugh, Caroline Mitry, Bryan Mosher, Hoda Mostafa, Renee H Petipas, Paula A G Soneral, Shana Watters, Deena Wassenberg, Stacey L Weiss, Azariah Yonas, Kelly R Zamudio, Sehoya Cotner, Smaller Classes Promote Equitable Student Participation in STEM, BioScience, Volume 69, Issue 8, August 2019, Pages 669–680, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz069

Abstract

Portfolio-based designs are among the most popular student-centered approaches in higher education. While the pedagogical literature typically provides generic advice on ideal portfolio-based designs, there is little empirical data on how such designs are developed over time and what design decisions teachers take in response to challenges in practice. This article provides an empirical account of a three-year design cycle of a portfolio-based ecology course at a Norwegian university. It investigates how the design changed over the years and how these changes related to the challenges the teacher met during the enactment of the course. To that end, a thematic analysis of course plans, evaluations, and interviews with the designing teacher was conducted. The findings show how the teacher introduced, removed, and (re-)configured different course components in order to address challenges related to the limited coherence between portfolio items and organized class meetings, and students’ limited engagement with the disciplinary knowledge. Thereby, the course design gradually evolved from a portfolio-based design towards a hybrid design combining portfolio, traditional exam and team-based learning. This study illustrates that portfolio-based designs have great potential but no guarantee to support students in active engagement with knowledge; and that teachers need to actively maintain their student-centered focus in their designs by responding flexibly to the emerging challenges.

Keywords: portfolios, course design, biology education

Reference and link to the article

Esterhazy, R. and Fiksen, Ø. (2019). Evolution of a portfolio-based design in ecology: a three-year design cycle. Uniped, 01/2019 (volum 42) https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1893-8981-2019-01-05

Abstract

Perceived novelty in mobile applications is an inevitable aspect of today’s technologies. Studies suggest that this perceived novelty effect increases motivation but wanes once the user becomes accustomed to the product. Using a Self-Determination Theory approach, the present study investigates how different tools relate to students’ motivation, basic psychological needs, and achievement, over and above the effect of perceived novelty. The results from a randomized controlled experiment show that a mobile-learning tool and a digital version of a textbook are perceived as more novel than a traditional textbook. However, only the mobile-learning tool enhances the students’ basic psychological needs. Additionally, using path-analysis, we find that the mobile-learning tool, need-satisfaction within the mobile-learning tool, and autonomous motivation account for achievement and internalization, over and above the effect of novelty. We argue that this finding is due to the inherent need-supportive elements within the mobile-learning tool that satisfy the basic psychological needs.

Reference and link to the article

Jeno L.M., Vandvik V., Eliassen S. & Grytnes J.-A. Testing the novelty effect of an m-learning tool on internalization and achievement: A Self-Determination Theory approach, Computers & Education (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.10.008

Abstract

We extended the research on autonomy-supportive teaching to universities and examined the relationships between autonomous motivation to teach and autonomy-supportive teaching. Autonomously motivated university instructors were more autonomy-supportive instructors. The freedom to make pedagogical decisions was negatively correlated with external motivation towards teaching. Participants indicated that large class sizes, high teaching loads, publication pressures, and a culture that undervalues effective undergraduate teaching undermined both student learning and their feelings of autonomy. Together these results present a picture of a subset of university instructors who remained autonomously motivated to teach, irrespective of barriers they experienced from university administrators or policies.

Reference and link to the article

Yasué, Maï, Jeno, Lucas M., and Langdon, Jody L. (2019) "Are Autonomously Motivated University Instructors More Autonomy-Supportive Teachers?," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 13: No. 2, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol13/iss2/5

• Korleis få professorar med på ein kollegial SoTL-kultur? – R. Andersson, P. B. Eidesen, Ø. Fiksen, O. Førland, S. Stefansson og V. Vandvik.
• Collegial evaluation of writing as a learning activity in a bachelor programme – Heidi Lie Andersen, Øyvind Fiksen, Lawrence Kirkendall, Sigurd Stefansson.
• Strategies to document active learning practices in biology – Sehoya Cotner, Lucas M Jeno, Cissy Ballen.
• Utnytter vi potensialet for læring og personlig utvikling i feltundervisning? – P. B. Eidesen, A. Vader og J. E. Søreide.
• Hvordan teknologi bidrar til biologi-studenters motivasjon og læring – L. M. Jeno, J.A. Grytnes og Vigdis Vandvik.
• Developing work placements in a discipline education – G. Velle and T. Nielsen Hole.
• Numerical competence and quantitative skills in biology education – S. Eliassen, J. Kolding, J. Smedmark, and V. Vandvik.
• Sense and sensibility in workload calculation – Jonathan Soulé, Oddfrid Førland, and Tina Dahl.
• Norway’s gender gap: classroom participation in undergraduate introductory science – Cissy Ballen, Marie Danielsen, Christian Jørgensen, John-Arvid Grytnes, and Sehoya Cotner.
• Kan integrering i fagmiljøet øke motivasjon hos studenter? R. Gya og M. V. Bjordal.
• bioCEED – Senter for fremragende utdanning i biologi

This year’s EuroSoTL Conference  “Transforming patterns through the scholarship of teaching and learning” took place at the Faculty of Engineering Campus at Lund University June 8^th-9^th. bioCEED contributed with 5 articles and corresponding presentations.

• Testing the impact of active learning in first year undergraduate natural science courses. A. E. Bjune, B. Grung, B. Holst, L. C. Olsen
• Active learning and course alignment in thematically complex courses. C. Borstad, M. Forchhammer, and T. M. Gabrielsen
• Are learning outcomes affected by course intensity and workload? B. Damsgård, E. Strømseng & Ø. Varpe
• Exams as learning arena: A criterion-based system for justified marking, student feedback, and enhanced constructive alignment. C. Jørgensen, A. Goksøyr, K. L. Hjelle, and H. Linge
• How Technologies Motivate and Enhance Student Learning. H. Keers, A. G. V. Salvanes, J-A. Grytnes, R. Waagbø

All articles submitted to the conference are available HERE.

Abstract

To assess the extent that gender disparities exist at the undergraduate level in STEM, we analyzed participation in three large introductory biology classes in Norway, a country with one of the highest ratings of gender equality in the world. Biology 100 is a traditionally taught lecture course for first year students that has one instructor, and employs diverse pedagogical techniques to increase engagement. Biology 102A and 102B are two immersive field courses for second year students; classes often take place in atypical teaching venues both indoors and outside. In Biology 100 and Biology 102B, we discovered that women participate less than would be expected given their numerical dominance, matching results from similar research conducted in the United States. In Biology 102A women participate the amount that would be expected given their numbers, and in no instances did we observe women speaking significantly more than would be expected. We discuss our results in the context of female success in STEM. If gender gaps in participation and performance are mutually reinforcing, educators seeking to promote women should address both factors simultaneously to maximize student achievement. Effective interventions are of critical importance for women in science, and have strong implications for the achievement of equity in STEM disciplines.

Reference and link to the article

Ballen, Cissy & Danielsen, Marie & Jørgensen, Christian & Grytnes, John Arvid & Cotner, Sehoya. (2017). Norway's gender gap: classroom participation in undergraduate introductory science. Nordic Journal of STEM Education. 1. 179-186. 10.5324/njsteme.v1i1.2325.

Abstract

Biology students traditionally use a textbook in the field and on courses to identify species, but now a new mobile-application tool has been developed as an alternative. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) we conducted an experimental study to test the effect of the mobile-application, relative to the traditional textbook, on students’ intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and achievement. Seventy-one students were randomly assigned to either an experimental condition (mobile application – ArtsApp) or control condition (textbook – Lids flora). As hypothesised, the students using ArtsApp had higher intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and achievement, compared to the textbook control group, with medium to large effect sizes. Furthermore, using the mobile application, relative to the textbook, predicted intrinsic motivation, which in turn, predicted higher achievement scores in a path analysis. Lastly in a hierarchical regression analysis, intrinsic motivation and autonomous motivation accounted over and above in students’ interest for species identification, and importance of knowing species. These results are in line with SDT’s theorising: emphasising that when students act out of interest, choice, and have an internal locus of causality, they achieve better outcomes, presumably because these satisfy students’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Factors facilitating this are interest, choice, and feedback, which we argue are in-built functions in the mobile application as opposed to the textbook, and which might account for the positive results. Further studies with several student-groups and complex designs are needed before inferring causality across educational levels. Based on the present study, we recommend that biology teachers in higher education employ mobile application tools in species identification due to increases in motivation and a higher degree of accurate identification of sedges.

Reference and link to the article

Jeno, L. M., Grytnes, J.-A. and Vandvik, V. (2017). The effect of a mobile-application tool on biology students’ motivation and achievement in species identification: A Self-Determination Theory perspective. Computers and Education, 107, 1-12

Abstract

We investigate the effects of team-based learning (TBL) on motivation and learning in a quasi-experimental study. The study employs a self-determination theory perspective to investigate the motivational effects of implementing TBL in a physiotherapy course in higher education. We adopted a one-group pretest–posttest design. The results show that the students’ intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, perceived competence, and perceived autonomy support significantly increased going from lectures to TBL. The results further show that students’ engagement and perceived learning significantly increased. Finally, students’ amotivation decreased from pretest to posttest; however, students reported higher external regulation as a function of TBL. Path analysis shows that increases in intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and external regulation positively predict increases in engagement, which in turn predict increases in perceived learning. We argue that the characteristics of TBL, as opposed to lectures, are likely to engage students and facilitate feelings of competence. TBL is an active-learning approach, as opposed to more passive learning in lectures, which might explain the increase in students’ perception of teachers as autonomy supportive. In contrast, the greater demands TBL puts on students might account for the increase in external regulation. Limitations and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Reference and link to the article

Jeno, L. M., Raaheim, A., Kristensen, S. M., Kristensen, K. D., Hole, T. N., Haugland, M. J., and Mæland, S. (2017). The Relative Effect of Team-Based Learning on Motivation and Learning: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective. CBE—Life Sciences Education • 16:ar59, Winter 2017.

Abstract

Higher education is often divided into discipline-oriented and professional programs. Professional programs prepare students for a specific profession and include relevant theoretical and practical knowledge. Discipline-oriented programs emphasize theoretical knowledge and research within a specific discipline or field. Except for a career within research and higher education, discipline-oriented programs provide less obvious links to future careers. The transition from student life to working life may therefore be challenging.

In this paper, we present and discuss the development and implementation of a work placement course as part of the disciplinary programs in biology at the University of Bergen. The course was developed to provide students with practical- and work- related competences, to inform
about opportunities for future career and to foster motivation and learning. We have revised the course according to feedback from students, workplace hosts and our experience as course teachers during the six semesters the course has been running.

The work placement course is at the bachelor (BSc) level and consists of two main components; a work placement and the student’s own reporting of placement outcomes. For the placement, the students work 140 hours at a workplace as a biologist. The reporting consists of four open blog-posts, one written reflective essay and a final oral presentation. The course teachers also meet with the students and convey information on the roles of biology and biologists in today’s society through a Facebook group. Feedback from the students, hosts and course teachers point to a range of benefits from work practice in discipline-oriented study programs. Based on our experience, we provide guidance for implementing such courses.

Reference and link to the article

Velle, G., Hole, T. N., Førland, O., Simonelli, A.-L., and Vandvik, V. (2017). Developing work placements in a discipline-oriented education Nordic Journal of STEM Education, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2017), pp 287-306.