Allowing students to voluntarily ask and answer questions in front of the whole class are common teaching practices used in college science courses. However, few studies have examined college science students’ perceptions of these practices, the extent to which students choose to engage in these practices, and what discourages students from participating. In this study, we surveyed 417 undergraduates at a research-intensive institution about their experiences asking and answering questions in large-enrollment college science courses. Specifically, students answered questions about to what extent they perceive voluntarily asking and answering questions in large-enrollment science courses is helpful to them and why. They also answered questions about to what extent they engage in asking and answering questions in large-enrollment college science courses and what factors could discourage them from participating. Using binary logistic regression, we examined whether there were differences among students of different demographic groups regarding their opinions about asking and answering questions. We found that overwhelmingly students reported that other students voluntarily asking and answering instructor questions is helpful to them. Notably, compared to continuing generation students, first-generation students were more likely to perceive other students asking questions to be helpful. Despite perceiving asking and answering questions to be helpful, over half of students reported that they never ask or answer questions in large-enrollment college science courses during a semester, and women were more likely than men to report never asking questions. We identified fear of negative evaluation, or students’ sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated, as a primary factor influencing their decision to answer instructor questions. This work adds to a growing body of literature on student participation in large-enrollment college science courses and begins to uncover underlying factors influencing student participation.

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Allowing students to ask and answer questions is a common practice employed by college science instructors. However, recent literature has identified that women participate in whole-class discussions less often than men. One hypothesized reason for this gender gap is that women may be less comfortable participating.

Supporting InformationData S1. Root colonization data used for genome-wide association mapping. All metrics reflect percent of root length colonized with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Mean Colonization Rate (LS Mean) is the least squares mean of root colonization for each line (genotype) when corrected for spatial gradients in the greenhouse. Maximum Colonization is the highest colonization rate of the four biological replicates of each line. Range of Colonization represents the difference in colonization rate between the biological replicate with the highest colonization rate and the lowest colonization rate for each line. The Inclusion in GWAS column indicates the lines that were included in genome-wide association analysis, after 27 lines were excluded due to high residual heterozygosity.

The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (refuge), Boynton Beach, Florida, contains approximately 147,000 acres southeast of Lake Okeechobee. Water quality in the interior portion of the refuge is strongly influenced by rainfall, resulting in slightly acidic waters with low dissolved ions. Desmids, a unique, ornate group of green algae loosely associated with submerged vascular plants, were photo-documented for the first time in samples from the refuge. The canal system surrounding the refuge contains a high level of ions from agricultural runoff, and intrusion of this water into the refuge interior during high canal water levels may have altered some of the desmid population. A transect from the canal to the interior was sampled every 3 months, and the species present were photographed, identified, and catalogued. Approximately 260 unique taxa from 29 genera were encountered. The interior of the refuge had the greatest diversity of desmids; however, the areas of the refuge adjacent to the canals still contained a rich population of desmids. We postulate that the diversity of desmids indicates that the pristine portions of the refuge may be an important refugium for desmids, particularly for those species restricted to the subtropical parts of the United States. This collection of taxa, identified to species with most specimens, will allow a more detailed examination of water quality issues when co-located water quality data are collected.