Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education最新文献

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 that initiated the transition to online classrooms, metacognition has become increasingly essential for both instruction and student learning. In the post-pandemic environment, understanding how Introductory Biology instructors perceive fostering the development of students' metacognitive skills is necessary for supporting students who are struggling to adapt to change and to support instructors in understanding best teaching practices. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore how Introductory Biology instructors perceive their role in fostering the development of students' metacognitive skills and to identify areas where additional support through Teaching Professional Development is needed. The study characterized instructors' understanding of metacognitive skill development, their reported strategies for encouraging student metacognition, and the challenges and barriers they perceived to face when attempting to implement such practices. The research team developed the initial codes using emergent themes from the interview transcripts related to three research questions. Although the small sample size limits generalization, the voices of these instructors reveal common themes regarding their level of understanding of metacognition, the strategies they used, and the barriers they faced. These findings suggest that, while instructors recognize the importance of metacognition, their interpretations of the construct are often broad and variably aligned with theoretical definitions.

Synthetic biology is transforming how we understand and teach microbial energy metabolism. In a recent study (F. Li, B. Zhang, X. Long, H. Yu, et al., Nat Commun 16:2882, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57497-z), the authors demonstrated a synthetic gene circuit that enables Shewanella oneidensis to produce and release phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, a redox-active metabolite that enhances extracellular electron transfer and electricity generation. This perspective highlights the significance of their work, focusing on how controlling the production of redox mediators provides new insights into microbial electron flow and bioelectronic design. Beyond its technological implications, this system also serves as a valuable educational case study for teaching principles of redox balance, gene regulation, and metabolic engineering. Viewing this advancement in the context of biology education underscores the potential of synthetic circuits to deepen our understanding of microbial metabolism and to promote interdisciplinary learning in microbiology, biotechnology, and engineering.

This editorial argues for teaching critical thinking and systems thinking explicitly and early using small, repeatable classroom reasoning routines that strengthen students' ability to evaluate evidence, justify claims, and anticipate trade-offs. In an information environment shaped by misinformation, polarization, and artificial intelligence-mediated "answers on demand," these routines support more reliable judgement and responsible citizenship. The piece outlines low-burden, adaptable strategies educators can embed into existing lessons and emphasizes teacher agency as the scaling mechanism for sustained implementation across contexts.

The manganese-dependent catalase of Pyrobaculum calidifontis, a facultative aerobe that grows optimally at 90 ˚C, has been previously used in a teaching lab to highlight salient characteristics of hyperthermophilic extremophiles. However, accruing enough enzyme from the native organism, which would allow each student in a typical classroom to carry out the experiment individually, is difficult for several reasons, ranging from the fastidious growth requirements of P. calidifontis to the need of specialized equipment for preparing cell extracts. Here, E. coli was used in the overproduction of recombinant P. calidifontis catalase (kat_Pc). The recombinant catalase enzyme was activated with manganese and purified by heat treatment. Experiments discussed here indicate that the use of the recombinant enzyme is a viable alternative for instructors who may or may not have access to P. calidifontis or mechanical means of cell lysis.

Over a decade ago, the national "Vision and Change" report articulated the critical need to reform undergraduate biology education. Since its introduction, reform efforts guided by V&C have focused primarily on the biology major, with less attention to the distinct needs of non-major students in General Education (GenEd) life science courses. For most college students, a life science course represents the only opportunity to develop scientific literacy, a critical skill for making informed decisions in an increasingly complex and science-driven world. The Interactions in General Education Life Science Courses (IGELS) project was developed as a response to the challenges of aligning biology education reform policy with the needs of non-science majors. The goal of the project was to define a framework of core competencies, tailored specifically for the distinct needs of undergraduate non-major life science students. The IGELS team built upon the existing "BioSkills Guide" and developed a "LifeSkills Guide," featuring a new set of 39 learning outcomes organized into five themes. The LifeSkills Guide is intended to support instructors as they shift the emphasis of their instruction from content coverage to developing transferable skills relevant to students' daily lives. Examples of how to implement the guide are demonstrated through classroom activities, such as a "Fake News" exercise, and pedagogical approaches like Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), which can be mapped to multiple learning outcomes. The LifeSkills Guide serves as a curated roadmap, providing resources to transform GenEd life science courses and empower our students, as members of society, to use evidence-based reasoning as they navigate personal, professional, and civic challenges.

Biology faculty have consensus-based guidelines based on Vision and Change principles about what to teach introductory biology majors. In contrast, faculty have not reached a consensus concerning the learning goals for introductory non-majors courses. Yet, more than 8 out of 10 undergraduates are not science majors. The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate learning objectives for non-majors introductory biology courses. We performed a modified-Delphi study of learning objectives (LOs) for non-majors biology. We engaged a total of 38 biology faculty experts from institutions across the United States in three iterative rounds to identify, rate, discuss, and re-rate 270 LOs for non-majors biology courses. Faculty provided feedback to determine whether the LOs are critical for students to learn and if the LOs encompass what students need to learn about an issue, as well as if anything were missing. As a result of expert evaluation, 60.7% of LOs (164) were deemed critical. Experts also suggested 22 additional new LOs.

Modern genetics increasingly relies on genomic data sets to address medical, ecological, and evolutionary questions. Investigating these questions requires a diverse set of core competencies in wet-lab techniques, data analysis, and bioinformatics. We describe the design and implementation of a nine-week course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) embedded within an upper-level Genetics Laboratory course. This CURE exposed students to contemporary wet-lab and analytical techniques related to genomic sequencing and biodiversity analysis. Each student began with an intact biological specimen and independently completed DNA extraction, quantification, library preparation, and sequencing using Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Students were subsequently trained in basic bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses. To simulate an authentic research experience, students worked with real research samples, engaged in iterative data evaluation, and were responsible for troubleshooting and planning next steps. Data analysis was student-driven; not all students participated in all aspects of the analysis, allowing for individual ownership and specialization. Modules on quantitative reasoning and scientific communication were integrated into the curriculum to ensure consistent development of key skills. This CURE focused on understudied groups of trematodes (Platyhelminthes), with uncertain taxonomic placement, providing an opportunity to explore species discovery, marker selection, intra- vs. interspecific variation and zoonotic disease transmission. "Teaching-Research Synergy" is central to this curriculum, which is adaptable to other study systems and can be leveraged to support a faculty's research program. We present findings from two iterations of this CURE and discuss how student-generated data can contribute meaningfully to faculty-led research.

Public perceptions of microbes remain predominantly negative, often emphasizing contamination and disease rather than their roles in food, ecosystems, and health. Hands-on microbial art has emerged as a promising way to make microbial life visible and approachable, but most implementations occur in classrooms or small workshops where access to laboratory infrastructure and biosafety oversight are available. As a result, their reach is limited. Here, we describe a practical framework for implementing microbial art in an open public venue based on an outreach activity at the Osaka Expo in which approximately 500 visitors created "microbial paintings" using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To enable safe, bench-free deployment at scale, we prepared YPD agar plates in advance, vacuum sealed them for room-temperature storage and transport and activated them on site by adding a suspension of dried commercial baker's yeast. This design eliminated refrigeration requirements, minimized biosafety risks by using a familiar GRAS organism, and kept contamination and spills manageable under crowded conditions. After the event, plates were incubated, photographed, and shared through a password-like online gallery, where participants could also complete an anonymous questionnaire. We analyzed paired before/after attitude items together with free-text comments using a BERT-based sentiment classifier. Among respondents who provided comments (n = 27), we observed small but measurable positive shifts in impressions of microbes, particularly among those who had initially reported a neutral view. While our data primarily capture affective change, this case study illustrates that large-scale, hands-on microbial art can be conducted safely outside the laboratory and may serve as a useful model for educators seeking to engage broader publics with microbiology.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, misconceptions about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were widespread among undergraduates. Since then, few studies have reexamined students' thinking about AMR, and even fewer have offered strategies for educators to address these misconceptions. In this study, we assessed undergraduate conceptions of AMR using an adapted Cognitive Construal Framework. We then examined two pedagogical strategies for addressing students' AMR misconceptions. Inquiry-based learning positioned students at the center of the process, giving them flexibility to analyze data from communities beyond their own, while community-based learning (CBL) required students to identify issues within their own communities and engage directly with the problems shaping them. We hypothesized that CBL would best prepare students for taking action to correct misconceptions outside the classroom. We found that both student-centered approaches significantly improved students' conceptual understanding of AMR, but CBL marginally increased a student's likelihood of engaging with misconceptions beyond the classroom. Notably, the incorporation of CBL (i.e., connecting AMR concepts to students' own communities) increased student engagement and promoted students' sense of responsibility to act on public health issues outside the classroom. These findings highlight the importance of contextualizing microbiology curricula in ways that are personally meaningful to students and provide a foundation for future research on post-pandemic science education and the enduring impact of COVID-19 on student thinking.