Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists

Kim Cuddington; Karen C. Abbott; Frederick R. Adler; Mehmet Aydeniz; Rene Dale; Louis J. Gross; Alan Hastings; Elizabeth A. Hobson; Vadim A. Karatayev; Alexander Killion; Aasakiran Madamanchi; Michelle L. Marraffini; Audrey L. Mccombs; Widodo Samyono; Shin Han Shiu; Karen H. Watanabe; Easton R. White

doi:10.1093/biosci/biad015

Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists

Kim Cuddington, Karen C. Abbott, Frederick R. Adler, Mehmet Aydeniz, Rene Dale, Louis J. Gross, Alan Hastings, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Vadim A. Karatayev, Alexander Killion, Aasakiran Madamanchi, Michelle L. Marraffini, Audrey L. Mccombs, Widodo Samyono, Shin Han Shiu, Karen H. Watanabe, Easton R. White

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

New graduate students in biology programs may lack the quantitative skills necessary for their research and professional careers. The acquisition of these skills may be impeded by teaching and mentoring experiences that decrease rather than increase students' beliefs in their ability to learn and apply quantitative approaches. In this opinion piece, we argue that revising instructional experiences to ensure that both student confidence and quantitative skills are enhanced may improve both educational outcomes and professional success. A few studies suggest that explicitly addressing productive failure in an instructional setting and ensuring effective mentoring may be the most effective routes to simultaneously increasing both quantitative self-efficacy and quantitative skills. However, there is little work that specifically addresses graduate student needs, and more research is required to reach evidence-backed conclusions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	364-375
Number of pages	12
Journal	BioScience
Volume	73
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad015
State	Published - May 1 2023
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

computation
education
failure
mathematics
mentoring
self-efficacy
statistics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Access to Document

10.1093/biosci/biad015

Cite this

Cuddington, K., Abbott, K. C., Adler, F. R., Aydeniz, M., Dale, R., Gross, L. J., Hastings, A., Hobson, E. A., Karatayev, V. A., Killion, A., Madamanchi, A., Marraffini, M. L., Mccombs, A. L., Samyono, W., Shiu, S. H., Watanabe, K. H., & White, E. R. (2023). Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists. BioScience, 73(5), 364-375. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad015

Cuddington, K, Abbott, KC, Adler, FR, Aydeniz, M, Dale, R, Gross, LJ, Hastings, A, Hobson, EA, Karatayev, VA, Killion, A, Madamanchi, A, Marraffini, ML, Mccombs, AL, Samyono, W, Shiu, SH, Watanabe, KH & White, ER 2023, 'Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists', BioScience, vol. 73, no. 5, pp. 364-375. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad015

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abstract = "New graduate students in biology programs may lack the quantitative skills necessary for their research and professional careers. The acquisition of these skills may be impeded by teaching and mentoring experiences that decrease rather than increase students' beliefs in their ability to learn and apply quantitative approaches. In this opinion piece, we argue that revising instructional experiences to ensure that both student confidence and quantitative skills are enhanced may improve both educational outcomes and professional success. A few studies suggest that explicitly addressing productive failure in an instructional setting and ensuring effective mentoring may be the most effective routes to simultaneously increasing both quantitative self-efficacy and quantitative skills. However, there is little work that specifically addresses graduate student needs, and more research is required to reach evidence-backed conclusions.",

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Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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