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Gender Differences in Thinking about Ethical, Experimental and Quantitative (TEEQ) Biology related to Functional Diversity of the Vasopressin and Oxytocin Receptor Superfamily
Author(s) -
Dutta Debalina,
Pelaez Nancy
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.445.7
Subject(s) - diversity (politics) , scientific reasoning , undergraduate research , oxytocin , biology , psychology , mathematics education , medical education , sociology , medicine , neuroscience , anthropology
TEEQ Biology targets a large lecture course on organismal biology for biology majors. TEEQ aims to improve undergraduate students' understanding of bioscience research and thereby foster development necessary for dynamic careers. A 2008 AAMC‐HHMI report says future physicians need a scientific foundation including the ability to critically evaluate conclusions from a scientific study (Competency E1.6). TEEQ engages students in reviewing scientific research by using the Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) program to structure writing assignments followed by anonymous peer‐ and self‐ review. For this study, evolutionary and functional diversity of the vasopressin/oxytocin receptor family was examined in vertebrates. For a CPR assignment, students found another example of research where traits were used to hypothesize evolutionary relationships, and they evaluated a scientific conclusion suggesting a relationship tree. Results show gender differences and multicultural influences on students' selection of topics, suggesting that CPR fosters innovative learning in a manner allied to student interests. CPR assignments can be shared by faculty who want to interact with students in ways that lead to better engagement and retention of students in the major. NSF #0837229