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Biochemistry textbooks often provide a disconnected, highly mathematical, and decontextualized treatment of thermodynamic and kinetic principles, which renders topics like protein folding difficult to teach. This is concerning given that graduates entering careers, like the pharmaceutical industry, must be able to apply such knowledge and related research methods to solve biochemistry research problems. Thus, it is essential that instructors have strategies to incorporate research methods and representations to help students understand the source of such scientific knowledge. Therefore, the goal of our work is to examine expert practice and use the findings to identify instructional strategies to incorporate more cutting‐edge research and authentic ways of knowing into science classrooms and textbooks. Toward this goal, we examined how four scientists explain protein folding and dynamics research, focusing on the interaction of spoken language and representations, including gesture. Our analysis indicates that experts employ multiple representations and research methods to communicate how evidence can be used to understand phenomena. In contrast, textbooks explain what is known but seldom use representations to explain how it is known. Based on our findings, we suggest implications for instruction, including the design of textbooks, as well as potential instructional strategies to incorporate discussion of experimental methods and interpretation of representations during classroom activities. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(5):513–531, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been published in the literature. However, only limited attempts have been made to rigorously identify the discovery‐type research abilities that students actually develop during such experiences. Instead, there has been a greater focus on technical or procedural‐type knowledge or general CURE skills that are too comprehensive to effectively assess. Before the extent of discovery‐type learning outcomes can be established in students (termed verified learning outcomes or VLOs), it is important to rigorously identify the anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) and to then develop student assessments that target each ALO to reveal the nature of such student learning. In this article we present a matrix of 43 ALOs, or course‐based undergraduate research abilities (CURAs), that instructors anticipate students will develop during a recently‐developed biochemistry CURE focusing on the prediction of protein function from structure. The CURAs were identified using the process for identifying course‐based undergraduate research abilities (PICURA) and classified into seven distinct themes that enabled the characterization of the CURE and a comparison to other published inventories of research competencies and CURE aspects. These themes and the CURE protocols aligning to the CURAs were used to form the ALO matrix that was, in turn, used to inform the design of an assessment that revealed evidence that a student had developed some of the targeted CURAs. Future research will focus on further assessment development that targets other identified CURAs. This approach has potential applications to other CUREs both in biochemistry and other science disciplines. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(5):478–492, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, both science and technology faculty have been recognizing biological research competencies that are valued but rarely assessed. Some of these valued learning outcomes include scientific methods and thinking, critical assessment of primary papers, quantitative reasoning, communication, and putting biological research into a historical and broader social context. This article presents examples of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) assignments that illustrate a computer-assisted method to help students achieve biological research competencies. A new release of CPR is appropriate for engaging students online in reading and writing about investigations. A participant perception inventory was designed for use as a repeated measure to discriminate among beginning, middle, and ending student perceptions. Examples are provided to demonstrate how to assess student perceptions of what they gain from instruction related to science research competencies. Results suggest that students in a large enrollment class consider CPR to be useful for helping them learn about quantitative and categorical research variables; the use of the experimental method to test ideas; the use of controls; analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data; and how to critically read primary papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]