Nancy Pelaez, a Purdue University associate professor of biological sciences, was part of a team that performed the first large-scale study of U.S. science faculty with education specialties. This new type of position exists within science departments and focuses on improving undergraduate and kindergarten through 12th-grade science education.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that 94 percent of the respondents had originally been trained in basic research and 43 percent had formal training in science education, such as a master’s, doctoral degree or graduate fellowship in science education or a K-12 teaching credential.

“Education training provides important skills and tools that someone trained in basic research may not possess, for instance techniques to evaluate students and reach those who are struggling with material,” said Pelaez, who founded the Purdue International Biology Education Research Group. “Those without that training may only look at test results as an assessment measure. A poor test result identifies a student who is having problems with the material, but it doesn’t tell the nature or reason for those problems. It also typically comes at a point where it will be difficult to intervene and re-engage the student. Those who have studied or had training in education in addition to their science background better know how to look at the whole process and ways to improve it.”

The study also found that faculty in these positions at master’s degree-granting institutions were more likely to have formal training in science education, at 60.9 percent, than those at doctoral degree-granting institutions, at 39.3 percent. Despite having a smaller percentage of faculty trained in science education, the study found that faculty at doctoral degree-granting institutions had higher success rates in obtaining funding for science education research and projects.

“This is an emerging field, and these discrepancies may be due to a lack of a critical mass of people with this training and expertise,” Pelaez said. “It may be that panels making funding decisions don’t understand the value of science education training. That will likely shift as more and more individuals obtain this expertise and sit on such panels.”

The National Science Foundation-funded study included 289 science faculty with education specialties from 45 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

“Science faculty with education specialties is a widespread and growing group,” Pelaez said. “It is clear science departments recognize the value in these positions in improving teaching and learning because such positions were found across the nation and within different types of institutions.”

Although this type of faculty is on the rise, there are only a handful of programs training them, Pelaez said.

“Some of the science faculty with education specialties may be seeking to educate themselves, but aren’t finding many opportunities to do so,” she said. “We need to increase the opportunities available. It doesn’t have to happen in a set, prescribed way, but it is important for them to obtain these skills. Knowing science is only one part of being a great teacher of science or researcher of science-education methods.”

Purdue offers doctoral degree programs to train graduate students in biology, chemistry and physics to do education work. In addition, Purdue’s International Biology Education Research Group collaborates with science faculty across the United States and internationally to provide opportunities for formal training in science education and holds weekly open meetings where any faculty member or student can come to learn more about science education, she said.

Pelaez is a member of a collaborative team of six co-authors who contributed equally to this research. In addition to Pelaez, the research team includes Seth Bush of California Polytechnic State University, James Rudd II of California State University, Michael Stevens of Utah Valley University, Kimberly Tanner of San Francisco State University and Kathy Williams of San Diego State University.

Pelaez also was part of a research team that performed a 2008 study of the characteristics and training of science faculty with education specialties in the California State University system. A paper detailing that study was published in the journal Science.

Media contact: Elizabeth Gardner, 765-494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu

Source: Nancy Pelaez, 765-496-3261, npelaez@purdue.edu

Related news release:
Turnover in science education faculty compounds K-12 efforts

ABSTRACT

Widespread Distribution and Unexpected Variation Among Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) Across the United States

Seth D. Bush, Nancy J. Pelaez, James A. Rudd II, Michael T. Stevens, Kimberly D. Tanner, and Kathy S. Williams

College and university science departments are increasingly taking an active role in improving science education. Perhaps as a result, a new type of specialized science faculty position within science departments is emerging – referred to here as science faculty with education specialties – where individual scientists focus their professional efforts on strengthening undergraduate science education, improving kindergarten- through 12th-grade science education, and conducting discipline-based education research. Numerous assertions, assumptions, and questions about SFES exist, yet no national studies have been published. Here, we present findings from a large-scale study of U.S. SFES, who are widespread and increasing in numbers. Contrary to many assumptions, SFES were indeed found across the nation, across science disciplines and, most notably, across primarily undergraduate, master of science-granting and Ph.D.-granting institutions. Data also reveal unexpected variations among SFES by institution type. Among respondent, SFES at master of science-granting institutions were almost twice as likely to have formal training in science education compared with other SFES. In addition, SFES at Ph.D.-granting institutions were much more likely to have obtained science education funding. Surprisingly, formal training in science education provided no advantage in obtaining science education funding. Our findings show that the SFES phenomenon is likely more complex and diverse than anticipated, with differences being more evident across institution types than across science disciplines. These findings raise questions about the origins of differences among SFES and are useful to science departments interested in hiring SFES, scientific trainees preparing for SFES careers, and agencies awarding science education funding.

*Article appeared in Purdue Today Monday, May 20th.

Dr. Esteban Fernandez-Juricic, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

What birds see, and what they make out of it?

How perception shapes behavior is a fundamental question given the variability in the sensory systems of vertebrates living in different environmental conditions. Among vertebrates, birds can be considered “visual machines”. Birds have lateral vision besides binocular vision and they can see more colors and process images faster than humans can. I will explain how the configuration of the avian visual system (e.g., visual acuity, color vision, etc.) influences their anti-predator behavior. This research has implications for understanding how predators and prey coevolved sensory adaptations to enhance detection. Additionally, this knowledge can be applied in the development of novel methods to attract and repel birds, which has practical implications for reducing the frequency of collisions between birds and airplanes (e.g., bird-strikes).

Bio: Dr. Fernández-Juricic got his undergraduate degree at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. He received his Ph.D. in animal ecology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), and the University of Minnesota (USA). Before his current position, he was an Assistant Professor at California State University Long Beach. He has published over 100 scientific papers and co-authored a book (A Primer of Conservation Behavior). He has been associate editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology and Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, and an editor of Animal Behaviour. His research interests include behavioral ecology, sensory ecology, and conservation biology.

Through photosynthesis, plants, algae and bacteria convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy stored in the membrane of special cells, a process similar to charging a battery, said William A. Cramer, the Henry Koffler Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and research team leader.

“The key to photosynthesis is the movement of electrical charge from a positive to a negative pole, just as in a battery,” Cramer said. “In this case, the electrical charge is in the form of electrons and protons passed along by amino acids and water molecules in a ‘bucket brigade’ through the cellular membrane. We identified and found the structure and orientation of the individual bucket carriers.”

His team looked at the pathway through the cytochrome complex, a group of eight proteins responsible for transporting two-thirds of the protons that energize the plant cell “battery.” The proteins are made up of different sequences of amino acids, including those that participate in the “bucket brigade” of proton transfer.

Cramer credits S. Saif Hasan, a graduate student in his research group who will receive his doctoral degree in May, with leading the project.

The team used X-ray crystallography to describe the molecular structure of the cytochrome complex isolated from cyanobacteria, the most primitive photosynthetic organism.

A paper detailing the National Institutes of Health-funded work was published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Although a mechanism for energy storage involving transfer of protons across biological membranes was the subject of the 1978 Nobel Prize in chemistry and advances had been made in its understanding, the amino acids involved and how they are connected for proton transfer in the photosynthetic protein complex was unknown, Cramer said.

In addition to Cramer and Hasan, team members include E. Yamashita of the Institute for Protein Chemistry in Osaka, Japan, and D. Baniulis of the Lithuanian Research Institute for Agriculture and Forestry.

Understanding details of the process of photosynthesis aids work toward the development of artificial photosynthesis, which could allow for the conversion of solar energy into alternative environmentally friendly sources of biofuels.

The findings also contribute to the understanding of membrane proteins, which regulate all traffic into and out of the cell and are important for drug delivery and structural biology.

Membrane proteins are fat-soluble, which makes them especially difficult to isolate and crystallize for examination, Cramer said.

“Membrane proteins dissolve only in fat, not water, and if you pull them out of the cell membrane they tend to congeal like grease on a frying pan dipped in cold water,” he said. “Scientists have only been able to determine the structure of relatively few of this group of proteins, and we have much more to learn.”

Writer: Elizabeth Gardner, 765-494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu

Source: William Cramer, 765-494-4956, waclab@purdue.edu

Related website:
Cramer research group

Top row (from left to right): Katey Einterz-Owen, Jennifer Ruby, Katerina Damjanoska, Richard Kuhn, Kathy Spindler, Julie Overbeck
Bottom row (from left to right): Bruce Kidd, Mark Effron, Herman Houin, Joe Ruhl

The Biological Sciences Alumni Advisory Committee met for the spring meeting April 19-20 to discuss “Enhancing the Value of a Biology Degree” which centered around both undergraduate and graduate student issues.  Thank you to our members for your loyalty and dedication!

BioDefense

Are we prepared for a biological weapons attack?   How does a biological weapon differ from other weapons of mass destruction?   In what form would a potential attack appear?   What would be the objective of a biological-weapon attack?   Is preparation mainly a scientific or a societal issue?   What can we do to prevent and prepare for a biological-weapon attack?   The speaker will share his experience of traveling to inspect the formerly secret virus laboratory, Vector, in Siberia.

Not that slimy at all – Daniel Suter’s daughter Leandra holding a sea slug

Large sea slugs as well as their large neurons shown live under the microscope, Zebrafish embryos, and an instructional video were part of the Suter lab outreach activity during the 2013 Purdue Spring Fest, April 13-14. The lab uses advanced microscopy techniques to investigate biochemical and biomechanical signals that regulate directional neuronal growth during normal nervous system development as well as during regeneration. Research in the Suter lab is currently supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

This is the fifth time the Suter lab participated in the Spring Fest activities organized by the Department of Biological Sciences. Other demonstrations included chick embryos by the Fekete lab, electrocardiogram measurements by Dr. Walls as well as a marine animal exhibit by Dr. Gedney.

Dr. Daisuke Kihara, Associate Professor of both Biological Sciences and Computer Science has been named University Faculty Scholars from the College of Science for 2013.

The University Faculty Scholar designation is to recognize faculty members who hold the rank of tenured associate professor or professors who have been in the rank for no more than five years at the time of the designation.  The term of appointment is five years.  University Faculty Scholars receive a discretionary allocation in accordance with University policy. These appointments will be effective July 1, 2013.

Dr. Michael Rossmann and Dr. Hao Wu

Dr. Hao Wu PhD ’92 is being honored as the 2013 Distinguished Science Alumni award for Biological Sciences on Friday, April 12th.  Dr. Wu is at the Harvard Medical School and became the Springer Family Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. Her research has made important contributions to elucidating the molecular mechanism of immune receptor signal transduction. Her pursuit of the macromolecular interactions in these pathways revealed the formation of high-order signaling assemblies, or “signalosomes”, which are critical for caspase activation, kinase auto-phosphorylation and other oligomerization-driven processes.  While at Purdue, she was a student of Professor Michael Rossman who will also be attending the award ceremony with Dr. Wu.  She has also been elected a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science.

We are thrilled to be honoring Dr. Wu for her wonderful achievements in the world of Science—congratulations!

Annwesa’s major advisor is Dr. Nancy Pelaez.

Cory’s major advisor is Dr. Daniel Suter.

Congratulations to Annwesa Dasgupta and Cory Weaver,  graduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences, who were selected to receive the Committee for the Education of Teaching Assistants (CETA) Teaching Award.

The CETA award is presented by the Committee for the Education of Teaching Assistants (CETA), and the Office of the Provost. Students selected for this award must have demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. In addition, recipients should have accomplishments in service/outreach and scholarly publications.

Winners will be presented this award on April 23^rd 2013 at the annual banquet for the Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching Excellence and each will receive an engraved plaque in recognition of their excellence in teaching.