Joel K Abraham- Ph.D.
- Professor at California State University, Fullerton
Joel K Abraham
- Ph.D.
- Professor at California State University, Fullerton
About
31
Publications
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490
Citations
Current institution
Additional affiliations
June 2010 - August 2010
July 2011 - August 2020
Education
August 2001 - May 2008
August 1996 - May 2000
Publications
Publications (31)
Despite the impact of genetics on daily life, biology undergraduates understand some key genetics concepts poorly. One concept requiring attention is dominance, which many students understand as a fixed property of an allele or trait and regularly conflate with frequency in a population or selective advantage. We present the Dominance Concept Inven...
Early emergence of plant seedlings can offer strong competitive advantages over later-germi-nating neighbors through the preemption of limiting resources. This phenomenon may have contributed to the persistent dominance of European annual grasses over native perennial grasses in California grasslands, since the former species typically germinate ea...
Although evolutionary theory is considered to be a unifying foundation for biological education, misconceptions about basic
evolutionary processes such as natural selection inhibit student understanding. Even after instruction, students harbor misconceptions
about natural selection, suggesting that traditional teaching methods are insufficient for...
Undergraduates commonly harbor alternate conceptions about evolutionary biology; these alternate conceptions often persist, even after intensive instruction, and may influence acceptance of evolution. We interviewed undergraduates to explore their alternate conceptions about macroevolutionary patterns and designed a 2-h lesson plan to present evide...
Active learning approaches to biology teaching, including simulation-based activities, are known to enhance student learning, especially of higher-order skills; nonetheless, there are still many open questions about what features of an activity promote optimal learning. Here we designed three versions of a simulation-based tutorial called Understan...
Graphing is a core STEM skill and especially important with the renewed emphasis on teaching science through authentic science practices. Yet there is a lack of research on undergraduate student graphing competencies and how those competencies develop, in part because of a paucity of valid assessments of graph construction. Building assessments of...
Urban landscaping conversions can alter decomposition processes and soil respiration, making it difficult to forecast regional CO2 emissions. Here we explore rates of initial mass loss and net nitrogen (N) mineralization in natural and four common urban land covers (waterwise, waterwise with mulch, shrub, and lawn) from sites across seven colleges...
The term "achievement gap" has a negative and racialized history, and using the term reinforces a deficit mindset that is ingrained in U.S. educational systems. In this essay, we review the literature that demonstrates why "achievement gap" reflects deficit thinking. We explain why biology education researchers should avoid using the phrase and als...
Graphing is an important practice for scientists and in K-16 science curricula. Graphs can be constructed using an array of software packages as well as by hand, with pen-and-paper. However, we have an incomplete understanding of how students' graphing practice vary by graphing environment; differences could affect how best to teach and assess grap...
The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The name of “Susan Maruca” is now corrected in the author group.
Graphing is one practice used by scientists to explore and analyze quantitative data sets to test hypotheses, make inferences, and communicate findings. Graphing in the context of biology often brings knowledge of statistics and biological inquiry together with knowledge of representations and visual processing to make meaning. We analyzed 26 under...
Background
This research builds on a previous study that looked at the effectiveness of a simulation-based module for teaching students about the process of evolution by natural selection. While the previous study showed that the module was successful in teaching how natural selection works, the research uncovered some weaknesses in the design. In...
Background
Evolution is a difficult subject for students, with well-documented confusion about natural selection, tree thinking, and genetic drift among other topics. Here we investigate the effect of a simulation-based module about the conservation of black-footed ferrets, a module designed with pedagogical approaches that have been demonstrated t...
Background/Question/Methods
Water availability changes across seasons and latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in California; much of the state regularly experiences soil water deficit. Many plants respond to soil water deficit by allocating resources differently, thereby affecting functional traits such as specific leaf area or seed mass. Seed...
Understanding genetic drift is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of biology, yet it is difficult to learn because it combines the conceptual challenges of both evolution and randomness. To help assess strategies for teaching genetic drift, we have developed and evaluated the Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI), a concept inventory that measures...
Background/Question/Methods
Biology instruction at the secondary and undergraduate level is undergoing rapid change. Some of these changes are in response to a growing recognition that students are not leaving their coursework in biology with the conceptual understanding, skill set, or habits of mind that we associate with proficiency in biology....
Background/Question/Methods
As instructional technology transforms biology instruction it also offers new opportunities to assess student academic behaviors. For instance, the higher-order thinking and procedural skills necessary for success in the sciences are rarely assessed through current paper-based tests, while data on student behavior out...
Background/Question/Methods
Undergraduate students commonly exhibit confusions and misunderstandings about fundamental topics in biology, even after instruction. In ecology, topics that require interpretation of mathematical equations or graphical representations, such as competition theory, are often particularly difficult for students. We have...
Background/Question/Methods
Students often harbor deeply held beliefs about fundamental concepts in biology that are inconsistent with current knowledge. Even after instruction, these misconceptions can continue to create confusion, and may impede future learning. In a few topics, such as natural selection, there have been many studies on the ide...
Early emergence of plant seedlings can offer strong competitive advantages over later-germinating neighbors through the preemption
of limiting resources. This phenomenon may have contributed to the persistent dominance of European annual grasses over native
perennial grasses in California grasslands, since the former species typically germinate ear...
Background/Question/Methods In the U.S., many students have strong reactions to evolution, and often these reactions (either pro or con) are not based on scientific evidence. Although there are many published labs and research studies on teaching the mechanisms behind evolution (especially natural selection and drift), there is a scarcity of lab ma...
