Biology subjects

Allen, Z.

Publications and source records attributed to Allen, Z..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Could instructor talk drive CURE effectiveness? A comparative study of instructor talk in introductory lab courses

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are thought to enhance students motivation to continue in college, in science, and in research. Yet, how CUREs enhance student motivation is largely undefined. Theories of instructor immediacy, self-efficacy, and task values suggest that CURE instructors may talk in ways that influence students motivational beliefs. We characterized the non-content related talk of instructors teaching 48 introductory biology lab courses, half CUREs and half non-CUREs. We identified 14 types of instructor talk that fit these theoretical perspectives: fostering students closeness with their instructor (i.e., immediacy talk), building students confidence in their scientific abilities (i.e., self-efficacy talk), and promoting students sense of worth in their work (i.e., task value talk). Course type had a medium effect on talk type, with CURE instructors utilizing more immediacy, self-efficacy, and task values talk than non-CURE instructors but also showing more variation in these types of talk. Our results suggest that motivation-related instructor talk is more prevalent in CUREs than non-CUREs, but wide variation in CURE instructor talk indicates additional investigation is needed before non-content talk can be considered a mechanism for the motivational influences of CUREs. HIGHLIGHTThis study compares non-content instructor talk in CURE and non-CURE lab courses using immediacy, self-efficacy, and task value theories. CURE instructors use more talk than non-CURE instructors, but variation in CURE instructor talk leaves open the question of whether talk is a causal factor in the motivational influence of CURE instruction.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2020

Field-based body temperatures reveal behavioralthermoregulation strategies of the Atlantic marsh fiddler crab Minuca pugnax

Behavioral thermoregulation is an important defense against the negative impacts of climate change for ectotherms. In this study we examined the use of burrows by a common intertidal crab, Minuca pugnax, to control body temperature. To understand how body temperatures respond to changes in the surface temperature and explore how efficiently crabs exploit the cooling potential of burrows to thermoregulate, we measured body, surface, and burrow temperature data during low tide on Sapelo Island, GA in March, May, August, and September of 2019. We found that an increase in 1{degrees}C in the surface temperature led to a 0.70-0.71{degrees}C increase in body temperature for females and an increase in 0.75-0.77{degrees}C in body temperature for males. Body temperatures of small females were 0.3{degrees}C warmer than large females for the same surface temperature. Female crabs used burrows more efficiently for thermoregulation compared to the males. Specifically, an increase of 1{degrees}C in the cooling capacity (the difference between the burrow temperature and the surface temperature) led to an increase of 0.42-0.50{degrees}C for females and 0.34-0.35{degrees}C for males in the thermoregulation capacity (the difference between body temperature and surface temperature). The body temperature that crabs began to use burrows to thermoregulate was estimated to be around 24{degrees}C, which is far below the critical body temperatures that could lead to death. Many crabs experience body temperatures of 24{degrees}C early in the reproductive season, several months before the hottest days of the year. Because the use of burrows involves fitness trade-offs, these results suggest that warming temperatures could begin to impact crabs far earlier in the year than expected.

animal behavior and cognition↗