Characterizing and comparing cognitive skills assessed by introductory biology and physics indicate that (a) both course sequences assess primarily lower-order cognitive skills, (b) the distribution of items across cognitive skill levels differs significantly, and (c) there is no strong relationship between student performance and cognitive skill level.

This essay highlights recommendations to make academic biology more inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals. These recommendations are drawn from the literature and the collective experience of the 26-member author team.

The development of visual literacy is examined through the lenses of disciplinary discourse and cognitive load, and the need for examining discrete elements of representations independently to reduce the cognitive load of learners is rationalized.

This study investigated the performance of women and men across introductory science courses, stereotype threat endorsement, and the utility of a values-affirmation writing task in reducing achievement gaps. Data analysis revealed no achievement gap, little stereotype threat endorsement, and no impact of the values-affirmation writing task on performance.