Louis S. Nadelson

Trust in Science and Scientists and the Acceptance of Evolution

BackgroundAccepting the concept of evolution is important for the advancement of biological science and has many implications for daily life. However, a large portion of the general public does not currently accept biological evolution. Therefore, it is important to understand what factors are associated with a decline in the acceptance of evolution. Of particular interest for us is the relationship of individuals’ sense of trust in science in relationship to evolution acceptance.MethodsUsing the Trust in Science and Scientists and Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance we surveyed 159 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Additionally, we also asked the students questions regarding their religious commitment and political orientation. To analyze the data we calculated correlations, regressions, and conducted a path analysis.ResultsWe found that lower levels of trust in science and scientists, stronger religious commitment, and more conservative political orientations were associated with a decrease in the acceptance of evolution in an undergraduate sample. We also found that the results shifted as the contexts for evolution changed.ConclusionWhile religious commitment has been previously studied, when combined with levels of both trust in science and scientists and political orientation we gain new insight into how different factors combine to influence evolution acceptance, particularly as the evolution context changes. By understanding how these factors are linked to acceptance of evolution, we may be able to start developing strategies for increasing the acceptance of evolution that are consistent with a range of worldviews.

Am I a STEM professional? Documenting STEM student professional identity development

Post-secondary education is expected to substantially contribute to the cognitive growth and professional achievement of students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, there is limited understanding of how students studying STEM develop a professional identity. We used the lens of self-authorship to develop a model for STEM student professional identity development. We applied the model to frame our assessment of the relationship between the level of STEM students’ perceptions of their professional identities and their educational experiences, learning preferences, and comfort with faculty interactions. We found a misalignment between students’ perception of themselves as professionals and the expectations for their actions in professional situations. We also found that students engaged in learning activities similar to the activities of STEM professionals communicated higher levels of professional identity development. We provide implications for our research and directions for ongoing investigations.

Evidence‐Based Practice Article Reviews Using CASP Tools: A Method for Teaching EBP

This column shares the best evidence-based strategies and innovative ideas on how to fa-cilitate the learning of EBP principles and processes by clinicians as well as nursing andinterprofessional students. Guidelines for submission are available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1741-6787Excellent evidenced-based practice (EBP) is based on nurses’ability to critically appraise information and determine the rel-evance and usefulness of that information for practice (Porter&O’Halloran,2012).Knowinghowtodoacriticalevidencere-viewisimportanttothesuccessofimplementinganyevidence-based innovation (Ryan, Coughlan, & Cronin, 2007). Consid-ering the importance of critical appraisal skills, faculty whoare teaching research or EBP undergraduate nursing coursesneed to use teaching strategies that will promote students’ de-velopment of superior skills in analyzing research evidence.Research suggests that learning about EBP occurs best whenintegrated into multiple areas of the nursing students’ educa-tionratherthanonlyduringaresearchorEBPcourse(Christie,Hamill, & Power, 2012). There are many ways to foster stu-dents’criticalappraisalskills(Winters&Echeverri,2012).Oneway to improve students’ abilities in this area is through per-forming research appraisals and submitting the work as for-malpapers(MelnykandFineout-Overholt,2011).Suchassign-ments do give students the opportunity to critically appraiseevidence.There is, however, a substantial time commitment for stu-dents to write article reviews and for faculty members to pro-vide quality feedback. In addition, individual student criti-cal appraisal assignments often do not help students engagein collaborative learning or feel supported within the class-room. Such independent learning may decrease motivationandachievement(Zumbrunn,McKim,Buhs,&Hawley,2014).One strategy that addresses these issues is a group approachto quantitative and qualitative article critical appraisals. Thisstrategy helps foster learning about EBP and team collabora-tion at the same time. The strategy may be used in a variety ofundergraduate nursing courses and should not be limited toonly a research or EBP course.Using this approach, the faculty teaching clinical courseschoose either a quantitative or qualitative research article re-lated to the course content. Students receive a link to the PDFversion of the article that will be reviewed. In addition, facultymembers provide students with a critical appraisal tool, theCritical Appraisal Skills Programme tool, also known as CASPtool,asaguideforcriticalappraisalofthearticle.Thestudents’responsibilityistoreadandcriticallyappraisetheselectedarti-cle and plan on presenting their critical appraisal during classusing the form provided.Although there are many critical appraisal tools that maybe used as guides, the CASP tools are succinct and effectivelycover the areas needed for critical appraisal of evidence. Spe-cific CASP checklists have been developed for reviews of ran-domized controlled trials, systematic reviews, qualitative, casecontrol,diagnostic,cohort,economicdesigns,andclinicalpre-diction rule. Each is free to download and use under the “Cre-ative Commons License” according to the CASP UK website(2013).Questions on the Qualitative CASP Checklist, for example,focus on three broad areas: Are the results of the review valid,whataretheresults,andwilltheresultshelplocally?Toanswerthese three general questions, 10 subcategories of analysis areincluded on the qualitative checklist. These comprise assess-mentsrelatedtotheaimoftheresearch,suitablemethodology,recruitment fitting, the data collection being appropriate andadequate,therelationshipbetweenresearcherandparticipantswell considered, the work ethical, findings clear, and the valueoftheresearch.Responsesforeachofthe10subcategoriescanbe “yes,” “can’t tell,” or “no.”During a class session, undergraduate students are orga-nized into small groups and assigned to review the same ar-ticle using the CASP tool. Depending on the length of the

Learning for You and Learning for Me: Mentoring As Professional Development for Mentor Teachers

Professional development (PD) opportunities for teachers most commonly take place outside the classroom and are typically designed to address specific components of teachers’ instruction or curriculum. However, there are other activities that take place within the classroom that may have a profound impact on the PD of a teacher. We sought to gain a deeper understanding of the influence that placing a teacher in a mentor role can have on their PD and practice. Thus, we researched the influence of mentor teachers’ work with university-level STEM education majors by engaging in teaching a limited series of STEM inquiry-based lessons in the mentors’ classrooms. Surveys of the mentor teachers indicated that there were many positive benefits for mentors, including gaining new ideas, increased reflection on their practice, increased engagement of students, and in some cases shifts in practice.