By Ronica Stromberg
Anum Khushal's research on using quantitative reasoning in undergraduate biology classes earned her a scholarship to present at a Northern European summer school August 19-24, 2024.
The fourth-year doctoral student from Pakistan has been analyzing interview responses of undergraduate biology instructors about the ways and reasons why, in their classes, they include quantitative reasoning, the use of math and information to solve problems in daily life.
Khushal has been working with professors Joe Dauer in the School of Natural Resources and Brian Couch in the School of Biological Sciences to determine not only how and why instructors are using quantitative reasoning in biology classes but also what this means for student learning.
She applied for the European Science Education Research Association summer school in Tartu, Estonia. The association typically selects 40 to 50 doctoral candidates, who have completed their coursework and comprehensive exam, for summer school. This year, the association chose 47 students from 18 countries, with three coming from the United States.
Khushal and one other student received the added honor of full-ride travel scholarships from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
"I felt it was an honor for me because I am not from the United States, being Pakistani," Khushal said. “I was representing the United States, and I was not only representing the United States, I was representing my university and my research group at that international platform."
At the summer school, she presented her research to seven other doctoral students and two experienced researchers in a small group before presenting to the whole group. She received constructive feedback, gave it to others and took part in workshops and discussions. She said her peers gave her good reviews on her data collection and analysis and her research mentors told her she chose a good topic to work on.
Read more about Anum at https://snr.unl.edu/aboutus/what/newstory.aspx?fid=1184