Student Perceptions of Instructor Practices
Michal Shuldman, Assistant Teaching Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
This project looks at how undergraduate biology students perceive their instructors' practices in introductory courses at a large research university. While most education reform efforts in biology focus on “inclusive teaching” have been defined by instructors and researchers, there hasn’t been much focus on how students themselves view inclusion. We’re working to close that gap by analyzing data using the Student Perceptions of College Biology Classrooms (SPCBC) survey.
Our main question is: What, if anything, do students say their instructors do to make them feel included or excluded in their lower division biology classes?
We hypothesize students will describe instructor practices that can be coded into four categories from the Student Perspectives of Instructor Practices Framework:
Building or Dismantling the instructor-student relationship
Making or compromising student-centered pedagogical choices
Creating a collaborative or non-collaborative classroom culture
Portraying science as inclusive or exclusive
This project provides a great research opportunity for students interested in education research, particularly in understanding inclusion and equity in college-level STEM education. There may also be opportunities for co-authorship on conference proposals, presentations, and publications for interested students. There may be opportunities to assist with coding survey data from other projects related to STEM education.
Role: The undergraduate students will be tasked with:
-Learning about qualitative coding methods and best practices
-Coding qualitative survey data using an established framework
-Analyzing qualitative and demographic information to identify patterns
-Participating in weekly or biweekly research meetings to discuss progress and findings
At the end of the semester, the student will have learned the following skills:
- Qualitative coding and thematic analysis of survey data
- Basic analysis of demographic information
- Critical assessment of survey tools and frameworks
- Organization and synthesis of research findings into a structured format
- Communication and collaboration within a research team
Qualifications: We are looking for students who are:
- Interested in biology education research and/or inclusive teaching practices
- Motivated to work with qualitative and demographic data
- Able to collaborate with a hardworking research team
Required: Attention to detail, strong organizational skills, collaborative approach, and reliable communication.
Desirable but not essential: Familiarity with Excel, experience with qualitative coding
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Prof. Michal Shuldman
Hours: 6–8 hours per week
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Julianne Winters
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Education, Cognition & Psychology Biological & Health Sciences