RESEARCH
Recent national reports have emphasized the need for biology education to help prepare all students to understand core biological concepts and apply their knowledge so that they can critically evaluate situations, creatively generate solutions, and make informed decisions about global issues troubling societies now and in the future.
My research addresses those needs by investigating student learning, specifically, how undergraduate students think about and learn concepts related to biological phenomena and the skills needed to understand, evaluate, conduct, and communicate science. Additionally, I develop, implement, and assess how novel activities can help students conquer difficult concepts and skills.
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In advising my graduate students, I help them develop their own research both within and outside my own research interests.
COMMUNICATING SCIENCE WITH THE PUBLIC
Equipping students with the skills to communicate their biological knowledge with the general public is a key skill for dispersing accurate biological knowledge and increasing science literacy of the American populace. In this project, I am working to develop science communication (SciComm) learning modules across the biology curriculum and assess the impact of that integration on student learning of concepts and skills.
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR CLASS
In order to take advantage of class time, students should come prepared. We are currently studying what students do to prepare for class given different resources.
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This is a collaborative project with the NIU's College of Education, Doane University (NE), North Dakota State University, and us in the Department of Biological Sciences.
KEY PUBLICATIONS
References, Summaries, and Links to Papers
A FRAMEWORK AND LESSON TO ENGAGE BIOLOGY STUDENTS IN COMMUNICATING SCIENCE WITH NON-EXPERTS
Wack, J.U, Jaeger, C., Yuan, S., Bergan-Roller, H.E.
in press
The American Biology Teacher
Takes principles from science communication research and brings them into a context to engage undergraduate biology students in the important scientific practice of SciComm. Includes the foundational framework, the lesson, and assessment of the lesson in an introductory cell biology lab.
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(link coming soon)
CHALLENGING ENDOCRINOLOGY STUDENTS WITH A CRITICAL THINKING WORKBOOK
Daemicke, A.K.*, Galt, N.J., Samonds, K.E., Bergan-Roller, H.E.
2020
Advances in Physiology Education. 44(1), 72-79
Description of the development and assessment of a workbook for high-level undergrads/grads on Endocrinology that emphasizes elements of critical thinking.
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https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00101.2019
SIMULATED COMPUTATIONAL MODEL LESSON IMPROVES SYSTEMS THINKING IN BIOLOGY STUDENTS
Bergan-Roller, H.E., Galt, N.J., Chizinski, C.J., Helikar, T., Dauer, J.T.
2018
BioScience
Evidence from pre/post concept maps and exam performance that introductory biology students learned about the mechanisms of cellular respiration with the simulated computational model lesson linked above (Bergan-Roller et al., 2017).
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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00219266.2018.1541001
DISCOVERING CELLULAR RESPIRATION WITH COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AND SIMULATIONS
Bergan-Roller, H.E., Galt, N.J., Dauer, J.T., Helikar, T.
2017
CourseSource
A peer-reviewed, published lesson plan that utilized simulations of a computational model to help introductory biology students learn the mechanisms of cellular respiration.
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REVEALING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT KNOWLEDGE OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION WITH CONCEPTUAL MODELS
Bergan-Roller, H.E., Galt, N.J., Helikar, T., Dauer, J.T.
2018
Journal of Biological Education
A description of common difficulties introductory biology students have when learning about the mechanisms of cellular respiration.
​https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00219266.2018.1541001
DISCOVERING PROKARYOTIC GENE REGULATION WITH SIMULATIONS OF THE TRP OPERON
Crowther, A., Bergan-Roller, H.E., Galt, N.J., Dauer, J.T., Helikar, T
2018
CourseSource
A lesson plan that utilized simulations of a computational model to help introductory biology students learn the mechanisms of gene regulation as exemplified by the trp operon system.
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