Data Blitz & Poster Presentations

Ava Stratton & Dr. Katie Moisse
McMaster University

Communicating scientific research is more important now than ever before. As vaccine hesitancy continues and climate denialism prevails, undergraduate science students need to understand science communication techniques and feel confident in researching and communicating their findings. This research studied the pre- and post-term reflections of McMaster undergraduate students enrolled in: SCICOMM 2A03- Foundations in Science Communication; LIFESCI/SCICOMM 3P03- Communicating Science for Public Audiences; and LIFESCI 4J03- Science Communication in the Media. These scaffolded courses introduce new research projects that build on the previous ones. Throughout each course we see students gain confidence in understanding and communicating research as the term progresses, though changes were not observed between the courses. Students also reported enjoying their group work and feeling minimal stress towards it. These results emphasize the value of in-person group work and how research projects can enhance students’ understanding of course material.

Shumaila Omar
Institute of Business Administration (IBA)

Paraphrasing is a crucial sub-skill in academic writing, involving complex cognitive processes that demonstrate comprehension by presenting information uniquely. Despite its importance, paraphrasing development is often neglected in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses, yet it is essential for preparing undergraduates for university-level writing. This study investigates the challenges undergraduates face in understanding and applying paraphrasing, which requires mastering vocabulary, constructing new sentences, and ensuring originality. Using a qualitative case study with think-aloud protocols, document analysis, interviews, and observations of eight undergraduates, the study found that both novice and fluent writers engage in cognitive strategies ; skimming, translating, and reorganizing but struggle with complex vocabulary and concepts. Cognitive stressors such as anxiety and cognitive load impact memory and paraphrasing effectiveness. The findings highlight paraphrasing as a multifaceted mental process influenced by linguistic limitations and cognitive demands. This research contributes to ESL education by emphasizing pedagogical approaches that support comprehension and build confidence, and it proposes a framework extending the theories of Flower and Hayes (1981) and Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) to explain linguistic choices in paraphrasing.

Harry Li, Aditi Agarwal, Olivia Kennedy, Lily Li, Vivianne Shen, Maha Siddique, Ryan Phan, Joshua P. Mitchell, Noori Akhtar-Danesh, Danielle Brewer-Deluce, Bruce Wainmain
McMaster University

Objective: Anatomy is widely regarded as a difficult subject, yet the specific reasons remain unclear. This study aims to explore areas of consensus and divergence among anatomy students’ (AS), teaching assistants’ (TA), and faculty’s (F) perceptions of anatomy difficulty.

Methods: Participants from Ontario’s ten Schools of Anatomy used Q-methodology to rank statements based on perceived influence on learning difficulty. By-person factor analysis with varimax rotation identified shared viewpoints.

Results: Four distinct groups emerged: those challenged by spatial reasoning (AS=6, F=6, TA=1), volume of content (AS=3, F=5, TA=1), limited resources (AS=5), and structure-function understanding (F=3). Notably, Group 3 consisted only of students and Group 4 only of faculty. No single statement was ranked consistently across all participants, indicating a lack of consensus.

Significance: The wide variation in perceptions highlights the need for targeted educational strategies to address group-specific challenges and improve curriculum delivery.

Gloria (Zuhe) Liu, Joshua Schlichting, & Lauren K. Fink
McMaster University

Social media has transformed science communication by increasing research visibility and public engagement. Therefore, identifying effective strategies to enhance audience interaction on social media becomes essential for many researchers. The self-reference effect (SRE) describes the tendency for individuals to better remember and engage with information related to themselves. This study investigates whether self-referencing (SR) language in social media captions and titles enhances engagement compared to other-referencing (OR) language. Over twelve weeks, 34 Instagram posts and 10 YouTube videos were created with captions randomly assigned to either SR condition (using second-person pronouns) or OR condition (using third-person pronouns). Engagement was measured using metrics such as likes and shares. Contrary to expectations, results showed no advantage of SR over OR captions. However, OR captions led to significantly higher shares. This study provides insights into SRE’s role in science communication, revealing its potential and limitations in building a social media presence for labs.

Lily Li, Ryan Phan, Aditi Agarwal, Olivia Kennedy, Harry Li, Vivianne Shen, Maha Siddique, Danielle Brewer-Deluce, Bruce Wainman
McMaster University

Despite anatomy’s importance in health education, the literature remains unclear about anatomy’s determinants of difficulty. Consequently, educators cannot address learning challenges. This scoping review explores the unique challenges identified by researchers in anatomy education and assesses whether these factors contribute to its difficulty. This study was carried out per PRISMA-ScR guidelines, using the Joanna Briggs Institute directives. A literature search was conducted on Web of Science, ERIC, EMBASE, and EMCARE databases and grey literature from inception to January 2025. Using Covidence, eight independent reviewers performed title, abstract, full-text screening, and data extraction. Database search produced 3612 eligible articles for review. After preliminary title and abstract screening, around 150 articles remained. Ongoing data extraction is focused on identifying factors related to challenges in learning anatomy, and relevant performance metrics. Preliminary results suggest that several factors including: curricular design, complex shapes, structure-function relationships, among others play a role in anatomy learning difficulty.

Ava Stratton & Dr. Katie Moisse
McMaster University

Shumaila Omar
Institute of Business Administration (IBA)

Harry Li, Aditi Agarwal, Olivia Kennedy, Lily Li, Vivianne Shen, Maha Siddique, Ryan Phan, Joshua P. Mitchell, Noori Akhtar-Danesh, Danielle Brewer-Deluce, Bruce Wainmain
McMaster University

Gloria (Zuhe) Liu, Joshua Schlichting, & Lauren K. Fink
McMaster University

Lily Li, Ryan Phan, Aditi Agarwal, Olivia Kennedy, Harry Li, Vivianne Shen, Maha Siddique, Danielle Brewer-Deluce, Bruce Wainman
McMaster University

Mubariz Maqsood, Darren Bridgewater, Tooba Abid, Aya Selman, Nidhi Malhotra, Kate Mitas, & Areej Siddiqui
McMaster University

Maria Luisa Flores Urpe & Iván Encalada Diaz
National University of San Marcos

Raeesah Mohammed, Nishaad Sheth, & Michael Wong
McMaster University

Nazia Pathan & Darren Bridgewater
McMaster University

Alyssandra Mammoliti, Aditya Kalra, Jada Gibson, Joseph Lawton, Raeesah Mohammed, Veronica Grignano, Farah Hasan, Bruce Wainman, Yasmeen Mezil
McMaster University

Riya Hansi & Ana Tomljenovic-Berube
McMaster University

Asif Jamal, Sahib Dhanoa, Bonnie Wen, Keisha Wanniarachchige, Aftab Taiyab, & Darren Bridgewater
McMaster University