ArticleCBE life sciences education2022
Why Students Struggle in Undergraduate Biology: Sources and Solutions.
Article in CBE life sciences education, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Peer-Modeled Mindsets: An Approach to Customizing Life Sciences Studying Interventions.CBE life sciences education · 2022Trial
- Impact of metacognitive interventions on student performance and confidence in introductory biology courses.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2026Article
- From BioSkills to LifeSkills-a framework for developing life skills for non-science majors in introductory life science courses.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2026Article
- DataVersify: A Framework for Data Literacy Instruction Featuring Scientist Stories.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Metacognitive Exam Preparation Assignments in an Introductory Biology Course Improve Exam Scores for Lower ACT Students Compared with Assignments that Focus on Terms.CBE life sciences education · 2024Article
- Pandemic storytelling and student engagement: how students imagined pandemics before COVID-19 pandemic.FEMS microbes · 2024Article
- Article
- A Comparison of Study Behaviors and Metacognitive Evaluation Used by Biology Students.CBE life sciences education · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Students' perceptions of challenges in biology influence performance outcomes, experiences, and persistence in science. Identifying sources of student struggle can assist efforts to support students as they overcome challenges in their undergraduate educations. In this study, we characterized student experiences of struggle by 1) quantifying which external factors relate to perceptions of encountering and overcoming struggle in introductory biology and 2) identifying factors to which students attribute their struggle in biology. We found a significant effect of Course, Instructor, and Incoming Preparation on student struggle, in which students with lower Incoming Preparation were more likely to report struggle and the inability to overcome struggle. We also observed significant differences in performance outcomes between students who did and did not encounter struggle and between students who did and did not overcome their struggle. Using inductive coding, we categorized student responses outlining causes of struggle, and using axial coding, we further categorized these as internally or externally attributed factors. External sources (i.e., Prior Biology, COVID-19, External Resources, Classroom Factors) were more commonly cited as the reason(s) students did or did not struggle. We conclude with recommendations for instructors, highlighting equitable teaching strategies and practices.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.