Katey submitted a grant with Co-PIs Dr. Randy Nesse, Dr. Elisabeth Schussler, and Dr. Sara Brownell to create more inclusive active learning classes for students with anxiety, which was funded by NSF! This grant will bring together experts in biology education research, psychiatry, psychology, and student services to address how we can lessen student anxiety in the classroom. Read more below:
RCN-UBE Incubator: Undergraduate Learning Environments in Biology
Upwards of fifty percent of undergraduate biology students report struggling with anxiety. The increased use of active-learning pedagogies, defined as ones that engage students in their own learning by having them participate in activities and/or discussions in class, presents unique challenges for these students. This project will bring together experts from different fields to identify sources of anxiety in active-learning biology classrooms, design interventions to help lessen student anxiety, and to spur new rese-
arch related to student anxiety in this unique context.
The Undergraduate Anxiety in Biology Learning Environments (U-ABLE) network will bring together interdisciplinary experts in biology education research, psychiatry, psychology, and student services. It will use the combined knowledge and experience of its members to help create more inclusive active learning biology classes for students with anxiety. Specifically, the network will identify sources of anxiety in biology courses using active learning pedagogies, articulate best practices and design large-scale, sustainable interventions to lessen student anxiety, and coordinate future research. Although the network will focus on biology, the results of its efforts will likely be applicable in other disciplines, both in and outside of STEM.
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