We are proud to announce that SEPAL alumna, Aileen Castro, has a new position at MyoKardia as a Research Associate!
Castro received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a Physiology concentration from San Francisco State University. She has a prominent history of working in the hospital and health care industry, while also demonstrating substantial research experience.
We are proud to announce that SEPAL alumna, Kathryn Hussain, has recently been offered a tenure-track Biology Professor position at Madera Community College Center. She has accepted the position!
After receiving her MS Biology, Hussain has gone on to lecture BIOL230, Introductory Biology I; BIOL101, Human Biology; BIOL211, Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory at San Francisco State University.
ABSTRACT
Researchers have identified patterns of intuitive thinking that are commonly used to understand and reason about the biological world. These cognitive construals (anthropic, teleological, and essentialist thinking), while useful in everyday life, have also been associated with misconceptions about biological science. Although construal-based thinking is pervasive among students, we know little about the prevalence of construal-consistent language in the university science classroom. In the current research, we characterized the degree to which construal-consistent language is present in biology students’ learning environments. To do so, we coded transcripts of instructor’s speech in 90 undergraduate biology classes for the presence of construal-consistent language. Classes were drawn from two universities with very different student demographic profiles and represented 18 different courses aimed at nonmajors and lower- and upper-division biology majors. Results revealed construal-consistent language in all 90 sampled classes. Anthropic language was more frequent than teleological or essentialist language, and frequency of construal-consistent language was surprisingly consistent across instructor and course level. Moreover, results were surprisingly consistent across the two universities. These findings suggest that construal-consistent language is pervasive in the undergraduate classroom and highlight the need to understand how such language may facilitate and/or interfere with students learning biological science.
Click here to read more about this publication.
Betz, Nicole, et al. “Cognitive Construal-Consistent Instructor Language in the Undergraduate Biology Classroom.” CBE—Life Sciences Education 18.4 (2019): ar63.
Kimberly D. Tanner, along with thirty-seven faculty, staff and students featured, identifies the importance of teaching methods in classrooms and how this “Instructor Talk” greatly impacts the students’ capacity to retain knowledge lectured.
Tanner challenges the notion of only providing information for students that strictly follow the material of the lecture, insisting that it is also important to leave room for encouraging the student in order to better promote intellectual growth.
Click here to read more about it on the San Francisco State University website and here to read the published article!
Sahar Miry, an SFSU Biology alumna (BS Physiology) and Bio699 HHMI FEST participant focusing on diversity and inclusion, has recently secured a new professional position as a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF!
As a Clinical Research Coordinator Sahar’s role consists of coordinating single/multiple clinical research studies, managing and reporting on study results to investigators, managing databases and comprehensive datasets, overseeing data integrity, and participating in reviews of study protocols.
She decided to pursue this position because she plans to pursue a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. With this job, she would be working alongside the FDA and pharmacists as well, which would be a great way to really experience the field and all that it entails. It also is preparing her to be an even better PharmD applicant!
Instructor Talk—noncontent language used by instructors in classrooms—is a recently defined and promising variable for better understanding classroom dynamics. Having previously characterized the Instructor Talk framework within the context of a single course, we present here our results surrounding the applicability of the Instructor Talk framework to noncontent language used by instructors in novel course contexts. We analyzed Instructor Talk in eight additional biology courses in their entirety and in 61 biology courses using an emergent sampling strategy. We observed widespread use of Instructor Talk with variation in the amount and category type used. The vast majority of Instructor Talk could be characterized using the originally published Instructor Talk framework, suggesting the robustness of this framework. Additionally, a new form of Instructor Talk—Negatively Phrased Instructor Talk, language that may discourage students or distract from the learning process—was detected in these novel course contexts. Finally, the emergent sampling strategy described here may allow investigation of Instructor Talk in even larger numbers of courses across institutions and disciplines. Given its widespread use, potential influence on students in learning environments, and ability to be sampled, Instructor Talk may be a key variable to consider in future research on teaching and learning in higher education.
To read more on this, click the following link: https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.18-10-0215
To what extent have positions for science education specialists as change agents within science departments persisted and evolved over the past decade? We addressed this question by studying a population of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) first described in 2008. SFES are university science faculty who engage in undergraduate science education, K-12 science education, and/or research in science education. Compared to a decade ago, SFES are now more prevalent and more likely to be formally trained in science education. Many identify as discipline-based education researchers (DBER) but assert that their SFES and DBER roles are nonequivalent. SFES have garnered university administrator support through varied science education activities, and these insights into the evolving role of scientists in science education have implications for many stakeholders.
To learn more about this article, follow this link: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/6/eaav6403
Also see an SFSU press release about the article here: https://news.sfsu.edu/bold-thinkers/education-experts-are-changing-science-inside-out
About Dr. Melo Yap
She was a first-generation college student. Her interdisciplinary training in Biology, Education, and Ethnic Studies shaped her versatility in using concurrent methodologies to advance research on underrepresented groups in STEM fields. At UCLA, she studied the influences to the scientific thinking of women of color STEM majors in the community college via mixed methods approach of qualitative questionnaire and critical network theory. She is also an alum of SFSU [B.A. Black Studies (now Africana Studies) & B.S. Physiology]—a SEPAL student and MARC Scholar at Dr. Vance Vredenburg’s research lab. She got her M.S. in Biological Sciences at CSULA, building theoretical models of biological systems.
Metro College Success Program (METRO) was developed to help the next generation of students. It is this school within a school where it provides educational support through in-class academic support and tutoring. One of our very own will soon be a coordinator for STEM there. Our SEPAL Alum, Analisa Brown was recently offered a position at the Metro College Success Program (METRO). There she will be a coordinator for STEM.
Keep doing this work!
Interested on working on issues of inclusion, equity, and diversity in science education?
Want a paid internship for next year at SEPAL working with a diverse team of students, staff, and faculty?
CSU STEM VISTA Americorps Positions at SEPAL for 2019-2020!
Apply now!
For those who are graduating or have graduated, SEPAL has an exciting opportunity for a one-year, full-time paid position through the CSU STEM VISTA program.
Stop by the SEPAL Resource Center (HH 236) for more information ORSee attached brochure and links below for more information.
Please see the links below to learn more about each position and apply, and please reach out if you have any questions or need help with the application.
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=60087&fromSearch=true
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=60082&fromSearch=tru
We accept and review application materials on a rolling basis through mid-May but encourage candidates to submit as early as possible.
Application deadline is May 15, 2019.
©2025 SEPAL is made possible through funds from the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award (NCRRSEPAR25RR024307-01), National Science Foundation GK-12 Grant (DGE0337949), PFSMETE Start-Up Grant (DGE-0136879), SFSU Center for Math and Science Education, SFSU Institute for Civic and Community Engagement and through in-kind support from the SFSU Department of Biology and College of Science and Engineering.
