A Mixed-Methods Study of a Poster Presentation Activity, Students' Science Identity, and Science Communication Self-Efficacy under Remote Teaching Conditions.

Disseminating and communicating scientific findings is an acknowledged part of the research experience, but few science programs include explicit undergraduate curricula for practicing oral science communication. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can provide opportunities for students to practice science communication, but few studies describe or assess authentic oral science communication activities within CUREs, and none do so under hybrid conditions. The existing literature lacks substantial evidence for how science communication activities impact students' science identity and science communication self-efficacy, specifically regarding research posters. To address this, we collected students' quantitative and qualitative perceptions of science identity and science communication self-efficacy in a hybrid CURE and collected students' qualitative perceptions of presenting their research remotely at a virtual poster symposium. We found that students' science identity and science communication self-efficacy improved significantly, as well as benefits and complaints about presenting research virtually, namely, reduced stress, a more comfortable atmosphere, but a murkier communication channel. Our results should prove valuable to educators interested in improving students' science identity and science communication self-efficacy, especially when limited to a virtual or hybrid format, as affective factors strongly impact students' persistence in science.

Developing the BETTSI: A tree-thinking diagnostic tool to assess individual elements of representational competence.

Phylogenies are a ubiquitous visual representation of core concepts in evolutionary biology and it is important that students develop an ability to read and correctly interpret these diagrams. However, as with any representation of complex disciplinary information, learning to correctly interpret phylogenies can be challenging, requiring that a diversity of educational strategies be deployed. Representational competence is the ability to develop and effectively use abstract representations. Accurately interpreting a phylogenetic tree as a presentation of evolutionary relationships requires that students develop general representational competence as well as knowledge of specific technical aspects of tree interpretation, such as knowing the graphical components of trees and what they represent. Here, we report on the development of a basic diagnostic tool of students' representational competence and technical skills with phylogenies, the Basic Evolutionary Tree-Thinking Skills Instrument (BETTSI). This short, multiple-choice instrument was designed to provide instructors with a quick diagnostic of students' ability to read and interpret phylogenies. It has been checked for reliability and validity and provides a convenient formative and summative assessment of students' understanding of evolutionary trees.