Abstracts
“Gender Bias in STEM?”
Dr Elizabeth Pollitzer - www.portiaweb.org.uk
Because the phrase “gender bias” can hold different multifaceted meanings depending on the context in which it is discussed, it is essential to make clear what the phrase means specifically in relation to STEM, and in particular bioscience. Bioscience is very interesting because gender bias can be about the differences in the participation of women and men at different levels (gender equality and equity issues), but ALSO because bioscience can produces evidence explaining when, why and how biological differences between males and females (at cell, tissue, people levels) influence research results, and differentiate quality of research impacts for women and men.
Science values research quality and excellence more than anything else (e.g. gender equality). The traditional view has been that to be excellent science must be ‘gender neutral’. The assumption was that it should not matter if the researcher is a woman or a man. And, that biological (sex) and/or socio-cultural (gender) differences in the studied population have no influence on the results, i.e. males and females are ‘basically’ the same.
In practice, this ‘gender neutrality’ assumption created research methods that favoured studies which used only, or mainly, male subjects. As a result, in the majority of bioscience studies today, it is the male that is used as the ‘norm’, including in reporting and communicating bioscience knowledge. Consequently, the expected quality of bioscience research for women is generally worse than for men. This is clearly worrying for women, but it also challenges claims to quality of bioscience knowledge itself.
Fixing these problems is essential, of course, but what is of particular interest is how gender sensitive bioscience can lead to important discoveries of how sex/gender dimorphisms can open up new research questions and enable innovations to produce products that work as well for women as for men. All these issues will be presented during the keynote through specific examples derived from or directly related to bioscience.
“Removing barriers and increasing access to higher education”
Dr Sue Jones York St John University - Bioscience Teacher of the Year 2020
My holistic approach to curriculum design, extensive student support and integrated assessment strategies establishes a learning environment that successfully identifies and addresses barriers. This is proven to transform student outcomes, culminating in outstanding academic achievement and employability. There are no differential outcomes for students with respect to UCAS points, indices of multiple deprivation, POLAR groups, ethnicity, gender, age or first in family status.
Day 1
Short Talks: Bridging attainment gaps
Dr Karan Singh, Aston University - Breaking through the glass ceiling: the attainment gap and ethnicity. Abstract TBC
Dr Nicholas Freestone, Kingston University - Bridging awarding gaps for all student cohorts in the Biosciences
Much attention has rightly been paid to the highly visible BAME awarding gap in UK HE institutions. This talk will describe an array of interventions that not only completely removed the BAME awarding gap but also all other awarding gaps existing in a diverse body of students. These interventions include providing accessible, relatable role models from the alumni population to present undergraduates, peer mentoring and validation of degree courses by relevant industrial bodies.
Dr Mel Lacey, Sheffield Hallam University - How Students' inspirations and aspirations impact motivation and engagement in the first year of study. Abstract T.B.C
Dr Steven Tucker, University of Aberdeen - Blended approaches to transition and induction
The MSc programmes at the University of Aberdeen attract students from all over the World and from a variety of backgrounds and learning experiences. This talk will describe our new look blended approach for managing the transition of this diverse group of students into their postgraduate studies using a range of engaging educator- and peer-led approaches and activities. Previous strategies involved laboratory practical skills as part of the induction module, so the talk will look at how these will be managed in the current situation and what alternative exercises can be utilised for those not able to physically join the sessions.
PicknMix
Dr Vanessa Armstrong, Newcastle University - It’s not just about the science- attribute development and recognition via final year dissertations
The final year research project allows students to develop a wide range of key transferrable skills but it is timetabled in semester 2 in Biosciences with minimal time to assess impact. This study aims to investigate whether students are able to identify and appreciate the skills they have developed over this intensive period which can then help them with their own employability. Two surveys have been conducted both before and after the dissertation has been completed to gain insight what skills they anticipate they will have the opportunity to develop and on reflection whether this was in fact the case (a third remote survey is hoped to take place in May 2020). Over the past academic year an updated Graduate Framework has been implemented at NU and the survey questions closely aligns to this. Results from survey, focus groups and student interviews will be reported alongside planned course modifications.
Dr Chris Harvey, Canterbury Christ Church University - Summer Time Science - Taking Teaching, Outreach and Retention Online
Presenting the Summer Time Science programme of social media engagement and outreach used in the Life Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University to engage students, develop online teaching skills and participate in outreach.
Day 2
Building Communities of Practice
Dr Nigel Francis - What we learnt from dry labs
The #DryLabsRealScience network is a coming together of bioscience practitioners from across the higher education sector to discuss options for lab provision under COVID-19 enforced social distancing measures. Here we discuss some of the alternative projects that have been discussed for both wet lab classes and capstone projects at both undergraduate and Master level. We also showcase a range of resources that have been developed by this network including "How to" guides and a "#7 free" series highlighting 7 free resources for a range of subject areas.
Dr Alfred Thumser - What I learnt about online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing that led to universities stopping face-to-face teaching and assessments required rapid and an initially poorly informed response. In this talk I prose to reflect on my actions, observations, learning and adaptation to the online learning environment for students and staff.
Short Talks: Blend Delivery and Online interactions
Dr James McEvoy, Royal Holloway University of London - The Saturation Game
I will describe a card game that I’ve used to teach 1st year students why protein-ligand binding curves have the shape they do.
Dr Dave Lewis, University of Leeds - How do you provide an engaging and inspiring educational experience remotely?
Myself, Chris Randall, Sue Whittle & Charlotte Haigh created two different models for delivery of lectures remotely. One, a distributed model of delivery, the main feature of which was a group problem-solving exercise, with content pre-provided as short screencasts. The other module, synchronous Collaborate sessions, with interactive activities between 2 blocks of content. Both models designed to develop social belonging to a community of learners. We would share these models, the pedagogical basis behind each and how they had been incorporated into 2 large Level 4 modules (500 students each). We would also share how they have been modified for Levels 5 & 6. They have also been adopted as exemplars by the University of Leeds and promoted across the University
Dr Bill Ju, University of Toronto - Re-imagining a STEM Discussion board for more than content
Motivation and building community has been recognized as barriers to student learning in the online environment. While content delivery and assessments still play large roles in the online environment, so does social engagement and motivation. Here we will describe how we re-organized our Discussion Board to be have both elements of content, inquiry and instructor presence as well as having room for social connections and community building. Examples of specific changes and the student reception to these changes will be discussed.
Dr Anita Hall, Imperial College London - Enabling undergrad students to be Bioscience researchers online
Year 1 Biochemists were introduced to self- and team-directed cell biology research, experimental design, critical discussion and analysis in online project-based work.