Hastings College senior Alena John received national recognition for her educational research, taking home the second-place cash prize at the undergraduate biology education research poster competition at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) conference in St. Louis, Missouri, earlier this fall.
John, a biology major with an art minor from Glendale, Arizona, designed a senior seminar project focused on student visual literacy across the Hastings College biology curriculum. Working with Dr. Anna Hiatt, assistant professor of biology, she conducted a qualitative analysis of lecture materials and exams collected from biology faculty.
John categorized visualizations (e.g., realistic images, diagrams, charts) and used a new learning assessment protocol to align them with key science process skills, such as using models and constructing explanations. Her detailed findings confirmed that nearly all courses use visualizations to help teach and assess skills in modeling biological processes, providing important validation for the department’s learning outcomes.
“Alena’s work provides incredibly helpful, data-driven insights for our department, validating how we approach our program learning goals,” Hiatt said. “The project is a strong example of how students can apply high-level research methodology to improve our understanding of teaching and learning.”
John further integrated her skills by working with associate professor of biology Dr. Rhesa Ledbetter on illustrating a new microbiology lab manual.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.