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  • A young man wearing white headphones sits at a desk, focused on his laptop. He is dressed in a teal t-shirt and resting his head on one hand while typing with the other.

    Lost in translation no longer

    By Patrick Golden

    A dynamic eTextbook feature from Pearson becomes a game-changer for non-native English-speaking students at Eastern Florida State College.

    The challenge

    Eastern Florida State College (EFSC), with its enrollment of more than 18,000, supports an increasingly diverse student body, including many learners who are native to countries where English is not the primary language.

    These students face a dual challenge: becoming proficient in English while navigating the rigors of demanding coursework. The language barrier can be especially acute in science-focused disciplines, such as biology, because layers of opaque terminology can get in the way of comprehension and engagement.

    Discouraged, overwhelmed, and often feeling too embarrassed to seek help, these students risk underachieving, and, in some cases, dropping courses enroute to abandoning their academic and professional dreams.

    The solution

    Integrated within its eTexbooks, the Pearson translation tool provides rapid access to accurate, trustworthy translations in more than 130 languages.

    At EFSC, this tool reversed the academic trajectories of two struggling non-native English-speaking students who were using Campbell Biology while pursuing careers in healthcare delivery. It also provided an aha moment for their instructor, who had been unaware that a solution to his students’ challenges had been hiding in plain sight.

    The story

    Dr. Andrew Dutra, associate professor of biology and discipline manager for general biology, biomedical/biotechnology at EFSC used to struggle to support students still honing their English skills.

    He knows the challenges collegiate-level biology courses present for his students, and how a lack of English proficiency can render the courses impossible to navigate.

    “Biology is its own language,” says Dutra, a New England native who melded his childhood fascination with the living world with his knack for teaching to forge a rewarding career as a higher education instructor. “There’s a lot of technical terminology, especially when it comes to the classification of organisms or biochemical processes.”

    On the occasions when Dutra encountered non-native English-speaking students who struggled with English, an effective solution was difficult to find. Widely available tools, such as Google Translate, delivered hit-or-miss results.

    A turning point finally arrived when Dutra sought to support a particular struggling student. A mother of two young children, the student had returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. Dutra observed her to be bright, articulate, and diligent. However, her assessments and test scores didn’t reflect the effort she poured into her work. The language barrier proved to be the culprit. A native Arabic speaker, she struggled with the English text, especially the peculiar biology vocabulary.

    Dutra first turned to Google to translate his General Biology lab manual into Arabic, but the student reported the translation was more confusing than the regular English text.

    Determined to find a solution, Dutra reached out to his Pearson representative, who suggested he try the translation tool available in the eTextbook.

    Dutra had been unaware of the feature and quickly introduced it to his student. Together, they selected the English text from the eTextbook and applied the Arabic translation.

    “It changed everything,” says Dutra. “Within seconds, the entire page or chapter she was reviewing translated into her language. You could see the relief wash over her. Her shoulders relaxed, and she said, ‘I understand this now.’”

    Unlike the unreliable online resources Dutra had tried, Pearson’s translation was accurate and dependable. He asked the student to use the tool to review previously covered material. She soon returned with higher-level questions that reflected how the content had finally clicked with her. She was more engaged and confident moving forward.

    “This was a student I feared might not make it through the course,” says Dutra. “She did a complete turnaround and became one of the top performers. This tool was like a godsend for her. She thought she’d have to abandon her nursing dreams, but now she’s well on her way.”

    The student continued to find success with the tool, employing it in Anatomy & Physiology I & II, which Dutra teaches. She even proactively mentions the tool to other students.

    The wins didn’t stop there. Another one of Dutra’s students, a native Thai speaker who wanted to attend medical school, faced a similar a struggle. Dutra noticed something was amiss when the student needed five or six hours to complete a straightforward multiple-choice quiz. Again, language issues proved to be the culprit.

    Dutra reports that the student had resorted to holding her iPhone over the eText on her iPad to snap pictures and translate it into Thai via Google Translate. The results were disappointing.

    This time, Dutra knew exactly what do to.

    “When I introduced her to the Pearson translation tool, she almost started weeping,” he recalls. “She told me, ‘I was about to visit my advisor and switch my major to humanities or something else, but now I think I can do it.’”

    And do it she has — rapidly becoming one of Dutra’s top performers, just as his Arabic student had.

    Dutra now mentions the translation tool to his students at the start of each course.

    Its convenience complements its accuracy.

    “It’s fully integrated into the courseware,” he explains. “Neither the student nor I must go outside the platform. With a couple of clicks, it translates exactly what they need. Plus, it’s coming from a trusted source, so I don’t have to worry about putting something into Google Translate, crossing my fingers, and hoping for the best.”

  • Author and professor Greg Podgorski and his book, Biological Science, 8th Edition

    Meet Greg Podgorski, author on Biological Science

    By Greg Podgorski
    What course(s) do/did you teach?

    Greg: General Biology – Majors; General Biology – Nonmajors; Genetics; Developmental Biology; Microbiology

    What is a challenge that you’re currently facing in the classroom? How did/do you try to overcome this challenge?

    Greg: Helping students who struggle to understand biology. Additionally, increasing course structure.

    What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the past few years regarding teaching biology?

    Greg: The importance of focusing on clearly articulated learning objectives.

    What is one best practice that you use that you think works well and you would want to share with others, whether it's in a classroom setting, working in groups, or working one-on-one with a new teaching technology?

    Greg: Creating a course structure that encourages understanding biology for most students.

    What are you most proud of in your career?

    Greg: Hearing from students who have gone on to careers in biology, medicine, and related fields who have told me of the importance of courses I’ve taught.

    In your opinion, what is higher education going to look like in the next two to three years?

    Greg: Generative AI is likely to be transformative in positive and negative ways that are difficult to predict precisely.

    The 8th Edition of Biological Science is being released this year. What excites you the most about this revision?

    Greg: The suite of new features, particularly “Biology in Numbers,” coupled with the solid core of a text that illustrates what we know about biology and how that knowledge was gained.

  • Author and Professor Kim Quillin with her book, Biological Science, 8th Edition

    Meet Kim Quillin, author on Biological Science

    By Greg Podgorski
    What course(s) do/did you teach and where?

    Kim: I designed, coordinate, and teach Biology 202: Introduction to Biology: Evolution and Ecology at Salisbury University in Maryland.

    What is a challenge that you’re currently facing in the classroom? How did/do you try to overcome this challenge?

    Kim: Some students are thriving in college but others are struggling in diverse ways: mental health challenges such as depression, social anxiety, and climate anxiety; social injustice; financial insecurity and food insecurity; working long hours at jobs; navigating college as first-generation students and transfer students; neurodiversity challenges, and so on, some experiencing a high level of intersectionality of marginalized identities.

    To address these challenges I employ many evidence-based inclusive practices in the structure and culture of my course to promote a sense of empathy and community. I try to center diversity (in its many dimensions) and equity in our educational mission to help students to feel a sense of belonging, support, agency, and clarity-of-mission in our learning space. I also try to get to know the students well enough (fortunate with small class sizes) to help connect them to appropriate supports.

    What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the past few years regarding teaching biology?

    Kim: The affective domain (feelings, attitudes, emotions) is so important to student success, equity, and retention in STEM.

    In my classroom and in Biological Science, we weave together attention to the affective, metacognitive, and cognitive domains. For example:

    • The Insider Tip Videos of peer learners and Making Models exercises and videos provide tips on tough science concepts and skills while encouraging growth mindset, value, interest, and self-efficacy.
    • Formative and summative assessment questions applying concepts and skills to societal challenges and solutions, including End-of-Chapter Case Studies and Human Angle questions (with photos showing diverse scientists at work in career contexts) promote interest, value, science identity, and self-efficacy.
    • Reflect questions and supporting BioSkills promote value and self-efficacy in practicing metacognitive skills.
    • Biology in Numbers problems and videos promote interest in math and growth mindset.

    In essence, it helps to support the students holistically, as thinking, feeling humans.

    What is one best practice that you use that you think works well and you would want to share with others, whether it's in a classroom setting, working in groups, or working one-on-one with a new teaching technology?

    Kim: Since teaching and learning requires a systems-thinking approach, it is difficult to mention just one best practice without connecting it to others in synergy.

    One structural best practice that I recommend is a transparent and genuine focus on learning outcomes (focusing on both concepts and skills), transparent alignment of assessment to each outcome, and transparent alignment of homework and classwork to the outcomes.

    This inclusive approach keeps instructors and classwork on task, removes guesswork from the course experience for students, and thus helps students genuinely focus on their learning, especially when multiple attempts and demonstrating achievement of outcomes are built into the learning system.

    What are you most proud of in your career? 

    Kim: In terms of my classroom teaching, in the last four years I have had a leadership opportunity to rebuild the introductory biology curriculum for majors at Salisbury University from the ground up. This has been a career capstone opportunity/challenge where I could synthesize 20 years of personal experience and best practices from the science education and social justice communities.

    My team employed a backwards designed, flipped course organization with high structure. We centered the curriculum on:

    • The Vision and Change (AAAS, 2011) core concepts and competencies,
    • Standards-based grading with transparent and centered learning outcomes and multiple attempts to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes on case-based exams focused on health and environmental sustainability,
    • Team-based active learning,
    • A course-based undergraduate research experience (SUPP),
    • Inclusion of counter-stereotypical scientist role models and science-allied career options,
    • Metacognition, value-affirmation, and growth mindset training,
    • A biophilic method of supporting engagement, mental health, sustainability, and social justice,
    • And a number of built-in methods of collecting evidence of efficacy.

    While we continue to use evidence to improve the courses every semester, the transformation has been invigorating because students are engaged in an active community of learning.

    In your opinion, what is higher education going to look like in the next two to three years?

    Kim: According to the Journal of Higher Education, the undergraduate study body will continue to diversify over the next decade. This diversity is good for science, but in order to retain diverse students in our science programs we must collectively pivot to more inclusive practices, especially in our larger “gateway” courses for STEM majors where opportunity gaps tend to be deeper.

    Fortunately, there is abundant evidence of numerous effective inclusive practices that help not only historically marginalized students but others as well. The main challenge is effecting broad and rapid institutional transformation on a national level.

    The 8th edition of Biological Science is being released this year. What excites you the most about this revision?

    Kim: At this time of climate crisis, biodiversity crisis, social justice reckoning, and other social challenges, it is more appropriate than ever to help students connect their biology learning to societal solutions, to envision themselves as potential scientists, and to see a link between their biology learning and solutions in their communities and society at large. Thus, it was a joy in this edition to encourage inclusion, value, and self-efficacy.  

    For example, we updated the language and examples throughout the book to be more inclusive, narrowing the gap between the historical culture of Western science (heavily European/white/male) and the current culture of scientists and science students. The new Human Angle feature shows diverse scientist at work in a variety of contexts to help students imagine themselves in biology careers; the Insider Tip videos provide a relatable peer perspective and tips to help conquer challenging learning tasks; and revisions to text and questions help students see how their learning applies to solving current societal challenges. 

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