Demonstrating the connections between science and society is a core competency in undergraduate biology education (Vision and Change, 2011) and may help encourage more undergraduates to pursue and persist in science programs.  In biology, content can readily be connected to societal or cultural issues students care about. For example, this could include discussing the impacts of deforestation on communities that live in the Amazon rainforest or the disproportionate effects of excessive heat on low-income communities in major cities in the US.

The three aims of my postdoc are to assess the presence (or lack) of connections between content and societal and cultural issues in national standards (Aim 1) and a national sample of course materials from introductory biology courses (Aim 2) to illustrate the current prioritization and implementation of these connections. Through two randomized controlled trials (Aim 3), the project will experimentally manipulate whether students receive content connected to societal/cultural issues or not and measure learning and affective outcomes such as intent to persist in science and engagement-related emotions.  

Having a relatable role model can be pivotal for students' decisions to pursue and persist in a field of study. Having a role model with a similar identity can be particularly impactful for students. Given the dual roles of faculty as undergraduate instructors and scientific researchers, they are poised to be relatable role models for students in their courses.

In my PhD I studied the presence of instructors with myriad personal identities to understand the potential for instructors to act as role models for their students with similar identities. I also tested the impact of an instructor sharing their LGBTQ+ identity with students via descriptive in-class studies and online randomized controlled trials. These disclosures were widely perceived as appropriate and helped to facilitate a welcoming classroom environment.