Broadening Participation in Biology Education Research: Engaging Community College Students and Faculty
Open accessAbstract
Nearly half of all undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges (CCs), including the majority of U.S. students who represent groups underserved in the sciences. Yet only a small minority of studies published in discipline-based education research journals address CC biology students, faculty, courses, or authors. This marked underrepresentation of CC biology education research (BER) limits the availability of evidence that could be used to increase CC student success in biology programs. To address this issue, a diverse group of stakeholders convened at the Building Capacity for Biology Education Research at Community Colleges meeting to discuss how to increase the prevalence of CC BER and foster participation of CC faculty as BER collaborators and authors. The group identified characteristics of CCs that make them excellent environments for studying biology teaching and learning, including student diversity and institutional cultures that prioritize teaching, learning, and assessment. The group also identified constraints likely to impede BER at CCs: limited time, resources, support, and incentives, as well as misalignment between doing research and CC faculty identities as teachers. The meeting culminated with proposing strategies for faculty, administrators, journal editors, scientific societies, and funding agencies to better support CC BER.
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Over 40% of all undergraduates take their introductory courses in the community college context.
“where over 40% of all undergraduates—and a disproportionate percentage of students from MGS—actually take their introductory courses (62, 63).”
From Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (2020) · cites this paper as [62]
In “The Urgent Need for Community College Biology Education Research” (page unavailable), the paper says almost half of all undergraduates attend community colleges and reports disproportionately high enrollment for several underserved groups. It does not say that over 40% of all undergraduates take their introductory courses there; the enrollment figure cannot establish where those courses are taken. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA disproportionate percentage of students from MGS take their introductory courses in the community college context.
“where over 40% of all undergraduates—and a disproportionate percentage of students from MGS—actually take their introductory courses (62, 63).”
From Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (2020) · cites this paper as [62]
The section “The Urgent Need for Community College Biology Education Research” (page not provided) says community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduates but a majority of Latina/o, Native American, and Black undergraduates. That supports disproportionate enrollment among those groups; it does not establish where those students take their introductory courses. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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“There have been specific calls to amplify scholarship in biology education research at community colleges, and our findings here support the assertion that additional studies must be focused on community college students and transfer students (Schinske et al. , 2017).”
ResultSelf-citationThe CURE for Introductory, Large Enrollment, and Online Courses
Genet, K. S. (2021) · Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research · doi:10.18833/spur/4/3/14 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Hyson, A. R., Bonham, B., Hood, S., Deutschman, M. C., Seithers, L. C., Hull, K., & Jensen, M. S. (2021) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.21-02-0037 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Schinske et al. (2017) identified four characteristics that might facilitate biology educational research at CCs—a diverse student population, a culture of assessment, a workforce-preparation orientation, and a focus on pedagogy.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPrimus, C., Zimmerman, A. N., Terovolas, A., Block, K. F., Brown, C., Burton, M. D., Edwards, A., Etson, C. M., Flores, S. C., Fry, C. L., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2022.757816 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Ryker, K. D., Lukes, L., Klyce, A., Cheek, K. A., LaDue, N., & McNeal, P. (2024) · Journal of Geoscience Education · doi:10.1080/10899995.2024.2355821 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Biology educators, professional societies, and practitioner networks within community colleges
Holmberg, T. J., Gusky, S. B., Kiser, S., Karpakakunjaram, V., Seitz, H., Fletcher, L. A., Fields, L., Nenortas, A., Corless, A., & Marcos, K. (2021) · New Directions for Community Colleges · doi:10.1002/cc.20449 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citationCharacterizing Biology Education Research: Perspectives from Practitioners and Scholars in the Field
Hsu, J. L., Chen, A., Cruz-Hinojoza, E., Dinh-Dang, D., Roth-Johnson, E. A., Sato, B. K., & Lo, S. M. (2021) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00147-21 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“We echo existing calls for further work with community college and transfer students (34, 37, 38), particularly for studies that can bridge BER and other DBER fields.”
BackgroundMethodTeaching Interrupted: How COVID-19 Turned Thoughts into Practice
Deutschman, M. C., Hyson, A. R., Seithers, L. C., & Jensen, M. S. (2021) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2613 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“In addition, scholars and CC instructors involved with CAPER have observed that CC instructors are rarely given the time or support to participate in professional development or educational research (1, 3).”
Royse, E. A., Pullen, N., Cogswell, A., & Holt, E. A. (2024) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00011-24 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Assessment in Undergraduate Research
Singer, J. K., Weiler, D., Zimmerman, B., Fox, S. P., & Ambos, E. L. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108869508.021 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Understanding how professional development opportunities affect open educational resource sharing
Flowers, S., Hazlett, Z. S., Ramirez, M. L., Treibergs, K. A., Vinson, E. L., Smith, M. K., & Knight, J. (2024) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2024.1422383 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Shiroda, M., Uhl, J. D., Urban‐Lurain, M., & Haudek, K. C. (2021) · Journal of Science Education and Technology · doi:10.1007/s10956-021-09935-y · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“As an additional concern, TYCs and PUIs have a larger proportion of students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, including first-generation students, ESL speakers, and students of color (Schinske et al., 2017).”
BackgroundCentering the Experiences of Community College Students and Faculty in Biology Education Research
Alvares, S. M., Gonzalez, B., Hewlett, J., Kurushima, J. D., McFarland, J., Schinske, J. N., Tanner, K. D., & Vemu, S. (2022) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.22-07-0145 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationLeoni, D., Fleming, T., & McFarland, J. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0290958 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationStudent Perceptions on the Value of an Ideologically Aware Curriculum
Dunk, R. D. P., Adams, P. E., Beatty, A. E., & Ballen, C. J. (2025) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.24-05-0149 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…is primarily continuing-generation (74.6%), white (61.4%), and women (67.8%), a limitation that is shared among many biology education research studies conducted at R1 universities and in social science studies more broadly (Henrich et al. , 2010; Schinske et al. , 2017; Thompson et al. , 2020).”
InfluentialWise, S. B., Archie, T., & Laursen, S. L. (2022) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.21-09-0250 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“We embarked on this study to support a proposed PD project, recognizing that little research to date has focused on characterizing 2YC biology instructors or their instruction (Schinske et al., 2017; Lo et al., 2019).”
BackgroundMethodKo, M. E. (2023) · Innovative Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10755-023-09666-5 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Numerous statistics suggest that the student body at associate’s colleges is far more diverse not only along racial/ethnic lines, but also including nontraditional students, parent students, and veterans (Schinske et al., 2017).”
BackgroundCoté, L. E., Doren, S. V., Zamora, A. N., Salcido, J. J., Law, E. W., Munoz, G. O., Manocha, A., Flood, C. L., & Baranger, A. M. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0317403 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Community college biology students' understanding of Vision and Change core concepts
Courtney, N. A., Smith, M. K., & Esparza, D. (2025) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00211-24 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Efforts to increase research on CC students have included exploring CC faculty engagement strategies and biology student classroom experiences (6–8).”
Nenortas, A., & Fields, L. (2019) · The journal of college science teaching · doi:10.2505/4/jcst19_049_01_9 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationCotter, R. L., Kiser, S., Rasmussen, J. A., & Vemu, S. (2022) · New Directions for Community Colleges · doi:10.1002/cc.20534 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationGenné-Bacon, E. A., Fux, M., Bove, S. A., Payne, F., Xenakis, G., Coley, J. D., & Bascom‐Slack, C. (2024) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.23-05-0091 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…institutional differences in adoption barriers has led to increased efforts directed at community college faculty (Bangera and Brownell, 2014; Wolkow et al. , 2014; Hewlett, 2016; Schinske et al. , 2017; Hensel and Davidson, 2018 Hewlett, 2018; Hanauer et al. , 2022; Rosas Alquicira et al. , 2022).”
BackgroundUndergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference: A Meeting Report
Dolan, E. L., Borrero, M., Callis-Duehl, K. L., Musgrove, M. M. C., de Lima, J., Ero-Tolliver, I. A., Gerhart, L. M., Goodwin, E. C., Hamilton, L. R., Henry, M. A., et al. (2020) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.19-09-0188 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Yet, by most generous estimates, only 3% of research articles in undergraduate biology education include CC contexts (Schinske et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSelf-citationArchie, T., Wise, S. B., Robalino, J., Chmiel, M., & Laursen, S. L. (2024) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.24-02-0095 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
In-lecture quizzes improve online learning for university and community college students
Chan, J. C. K., Ahn, D., Szpunar, K. K., Assadipour, Z., & Gill, H. (2025) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-025-00234-5 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Despite the essential role that community college plays in post-secondary education, students at these institutions are pro-foundly underrepresented in educational research in general 66,67 and experimental research in particular 68 .”
Kiser, S., Andrews, C. M., Seidel, S. B., Fisher, M. R., Wright, N. A., & Theobald, E. J. (2022) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.21-09-0248 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Because community colleges host nearly half of all undergraduate students yet publish fewer than 1–3% of the studies in the biology education literature (Schinske et al. , 2017; Lo et al. , 2019), studies of the impacts of prereqs on students taking biology at community colleges are needed.”
Self-citationFisher, M. R., Cole, D. C., Oh, Y., & Vemu, S. (2020) · The journal of college science teaching · doi:10.1080/0047231x.2020.12290669 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Reaching Rural Students: CARE Principles to Promote Student Engagement in College Biology Courses
Birt, J. A., & Siegel, M. A. (2019) · The American Biology Teacher · doi:10.1525/abt.2020.82.1.11 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
A Compendium of Rationales and Techniques for Active Learning
Reiness, C. G. (2020) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.20-08-0177 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…a disproportionate fraction of the undergraduate students from low-income families and underserved racial and ethnic groups, community colleges are often overlooked in education research (Schinske et al. , 2017), and community college faculty do not seem to be the intended audience for this volume.”
BackgroundRollwagen‐Bollens, G., Kibota, T. T., & Crosby, C. (2022) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00102-22 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“For these interventions to be most effective at reducing academic disparities, educators and researchers should first develop an accurate picture of the social-psychological status of students considering the norms typical for the institution they attend, and then strategically target interventions that best align wit…”
BackgroundEquitable Instructor Assessment Changes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Lamb, T., Driessen, E. P., Beatty, A. E., Youngblood, R. M., Esco, A., Cotner, S. H., Creech, C., Drake, A. G., Fagbodun, S., Hobbs, K. S., et al. (2024) · The journal of college science teaching · doi:10.1080/0047231x.2024.2316387 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Lunch & Learn: Fostering Moments that Support Persistence for Community College STEM Students
Cosby, M. D., Dentel, S., & Sawtelle, V. (2025) · Community College Journal of Research and Practice · doi:10.1080/10668926.2024.2439335 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Grannum, J., Tamm, A., & Siiman, L. A. (2024) · International Conference on Computer and Applications (ICCA) · doi:10.1109/icca62237.2024.10927884 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Assessing Community College Biology Student Perceptions of Being Called on in Class
Alvares, S. M., Shlichta, J. G., McFarland, J., & Theobald, E. J. (2023) · CBE - Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.23-05-0068
“…no reason to believe that the link between participation, understanding, and outcomes would be qualitatively different for community college students, but because this population is significant and generally under-explored (Schinske et al ., 2017), it is worth further characterizing these linkages.”
BackgroundSelf-citationAn Interdisciplinary Approach to Language Activism from Community Colleges
de Cuba, C., Slocum, P., & Spinu, L. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197755259.003.0021 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Elliott, S. (2017) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1529 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationTheory on development of autonomous competence for secondary school students
Thuy, L. T. (2022) · International journal of social sciences · doi:10.21744/ijss.v5n1.1870
Key Measures for the Implementation of Undergraduate Research
Galli, D. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108869508.017
Annotations of LSE Research: Students Identify How to Support their Transfer from Community College
Abraham, J. K., & Price, R. (2025) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.24-07-0185
“Although approximately half of all undergraduate biology students enroll in at least some community college courses, the experiences of students in and transferring from community colleges remains understudied (Schinske et al. , 2017).”
Picture This: Enhancing Biology Education through Artistic Expression
Barnes, S. E., & Maxwell, M. R. (2026) · Integrative Organismal Biology · doi:10.1093/iob/obag029
Adams, J. R., Sheffield, S., Chaudhury, S. R., & Lasey, R. (2026) · ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition · doi:10.18260/1-2--60195
- Authors
- Schinske, J. N., Balke, V. L., Bangera, M. G., Bonney, K. M., Brownell, S. E., Carter, R. S., Curran-Everett, D., Dolan, E. L., Elliott, S. L., Fletcher, L., Gonzalez, B., Gorga, J. J., Hewlett, J. A., Kiser, S. L., McFarland, J. L., Misra, A., Nenortas, A., Ngeve, S. M., Pape-Lindstrom, P. A., Seidel, S. B., Tuthill, M. C., Yin, Y., & Corwin, L. A.
- Affiliations
- De Anza College (US)
- Delaware Technical Community College (US)
- Bellevue College (US)
- New York University (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Volunteer State Community College (US)
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206
- University of Georgia (US)
- St. Mary's College of Maryland (US)
- Austin Community College (US)
- Santa Fe College (US)
- Diablo Valley College (US)
- Finger Lakes Community College (US)
- Lane Community College (US)
- Edmonds Community College (US)
- Florida SouthWestern State College (US)
- Butler Community College (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Everett Community College (US)
- Pacific Lutheran University (US)
- Kapiolani Community College (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schinske, Jeffrey N.
- ORCID
- Venue
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Published
- 2017-06
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- mr1
- ISSN
- 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5459264
- OpenAlex
- W2609485949
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 25.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1534195)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Keywords
- community colleges, biology education research, underrepresentation in research, community college faculty, community college students, underserved students, research participation, stakeholder collaboration, student diversity
- MeSH terms
- Biology, Faculty, Humans, Research, Schools, Students, Capacity Building
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