Conference: Supporting the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research Annual Meeting to Increase Two-Year College Faculty Participation

This project aims to serve the national interest by supporting the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER), in particular by fostering the participation of two-year college faculty in the meeting and their continued growth and professional development in biology education research (BER). Although a substantial proportion of college biology students attend two-year colleges (often called community colleges or associate-granting institutions), there has been disproportionately little research conducted on how these students learn biology. A better understanding of how to support two-year students in their biology classes could lead to interventions that could allow more students to effectively learn biology, graduate, transfer to four-year colleges, and embark on STEM careers. Therefore, it is very important to support two-year college biology faculty in their efforts to enter and contribute to the field of biology education research. SABER is the premier professional society that focuses on all aspects of biology education research at the post-secondary level, and it runs an Annual Meeting where biology education researchers from all around the country come together to share findings and learn from each other. This Conference project intends for two-year college faculty to attend the SABER Annual Meeting, participate in a workshop there introducing them to elements involved in conducting biology education research, and, finally, support their ongoing research efforts through a series of online meetings. The goals of this project are to deepen two-year faculty interest in BER and sustain a two-year faculty community in BER. To deepen two-year faculty interest in BER, the project plans to provide funds for two-year faculty who are interested but new to BER to attend the SABER Annual Meeting as well as a pre-conference workshop focusing on BER methods, grant writing, and publication. As part of these conference activities, the faculty will be part of a "faculty learning community" (FLC) centered around BER. To sustain a community of practice in BER among these faculty, the project plans to first integrate these faculty into the SABER Annual Meeting by holding a mixer where the two-year faculty can find collaborators with four-year faculty. Next, the project hopes to sustain the connections these faculty have made by holding three FLC Zoom meetings, each focusing on a different aspect of conducting BER, that aims to encourage the faculty to continue the biology education research they have started. Altogether, the goal of these activities is to help two-year faculty start and become part of the BER community and conduct biology education research. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.