Recent calls in biology education research (BER) have recommended that researchers
leverage learning theories and methodologies from other disciplines to investigate the …

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) introduce research leading to
skills acquisition and increased persistence in the major. CUREs generate enthusiasm and …

There is a growing research interest in mechanistic reasoning (MR) in the field of science
education, as this type of reasoning is perceived as an essential thinking skill for science …

The ability to build mechanistic explanations of natural phenomena is highly valued in all
scientific disciplines, including chemistry. In this paper, we summarize the results of a …

The Physiology Core Concept of flow down gradients is a major concept in physiology, as
pressure gradients are the key driving force for the bulk flow of fluids in biology. However …

Understanding homeostasis is a goal of biology education curricula, as homeostasis is a
core feature of living systems. Identifying and understanding the underlying molecular …

Contextual features of assessments can influence the ideas students draw from and the
ways they assemble knowledge. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore how …

Feedback loop reasoning is an essential part of systems thinking, which includes the
analysis and description of system behaviour and regulative measures. In feedback loops …

Causal mechanistic reasoning is a thinking strategy that can help students explain complex
phenomena using core ideas commonly emphasized in separate undergraduate courses …

Explaining biological phenomena requires understanding how different processes function
and describing interactions between components at various levels of organization over time …