It is well established that retaining PEERs in science is integral to addressing socioeconomic inequalities in the United States, ensuring that we include the best and brightest minds in the workforce, and minimizing the influence of bias in scientific research (Intemann, 2009). The term PEERs stands for “people excluded because of their ethnicity or race” and in the U.S. includes people who identify as Black or African American, Latinx or Hispanic, and people indigenous to the spaces comprising the United States and its territories (Asai, 2020). There are many efforts that we can make at the undergraduate level to positively influence PEER retention in science, including creating more inclusive undergraduate research experiences. In this post, we present four recommendations to help mentors create more inclusive research experiences for PEERs. We have developed these recommendations based on three studies that we have conducted, which identified negative aspects of undergraduate res...

Given the challenges we are facing this semester in light of the pandemic, rethinking our exams is essential for the success of our students. Stress, anxiety, and navigating a new modality creates a perfect storm that may derail many of our students and their ability to do well in our courses. This is the time to rethink the design of our assessments to ensure our students are engaged and learning the skills and knowledge we want them to learn. Recently, Josh Caulkins and Sarah Prosory examined several options for adjustments to your exams, some of which may take a small amount of time to implement but may have a big impact overall. Unpack Multiple Choice Question Exams We began with a poll: "What ways do you currently evaluate student learning in your course(s)?" Multiple choice was the leader with 89% of participants using them within their courses. A discussion followed describing the benefits and drawbacks of multiple choice questions (MCQ).  Concerns and Challenges Hig...