TABLE 1.
Survey questions. Survey questions that were given to students during the first and last week of their course. All questions were presented with Six-point Likert scale responses from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” with “I don't know” as a neutral option, except for Sex Question 5 and Sexuality Question 4, which were presented with a range of possible proportions
| Question | Sex Questions: After having taken the course, students will better recognize that sex is more complex than a simple binary, that the behaviors associated with the sex categories of “male” and “female” vary across animal species, and that many animals exist as more than one sex in their lifetimes. | Intended Response: The intended response is in the direction of a more nuanced perspective that is less influenced by cisheteronormative assumptions. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The sex of an animal can be categorized as either male or female. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 2 | In any given pair of a male and a female, the male will have higher levels of testosterone than the female. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 3 | In any given pair of a male and a female, the female will have higher levels of estrogen than the male. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 4 | Two males of different species will have more in common with each other than a male and a female of different species. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 5 | Excluding insects, what proportion of animal species exist as more than one sex during their life? | Towards a greater proportion |
| Sexuality Questions: After having taken the course, fewer students will apply western cisheteronormative assumptions to animal behaviors than they did before taking the course. | ||
| 1 | Heterosexual behaviors, defined as mating with another animal of a different sex, are inherently more evolutionarily advantageous than homosexual behaviors. By “evolutionarily advantageous” we mean the animal will have higher fitness or produce more offspring. By “homosexual behaviors” we mean mating with another animal of the same sex | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 2 | Species that stay the same sex throughout their entire lives have more evolutionary advantage (have higher fitness or will produce more offspring) than species that change sexes throughout their entire lives. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 3 | Homosexual behaviors are not evolutionarily advantageous. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 4 | What proportion of sexual animal species exhibit homosexual behaviors? | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 5 | Monogamous species have a greater evolutionary advantage over nonmonogamous species. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 6 | All animals are cared for by their parents when they are young. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 7 | Any animal would be better off if it were raised by their biological parents than by other members of the same species. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 8 | Any nonhuman animal that is raised by their biological parents is better off than another animal that isn't raised by their biological parents. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 9 | In animals, males are more likely to cheat on their partner than females. By “cheating” we mean mating with an animal outside of a pair-bond. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 10 | Polygyny (1 male mating with multiple females) is always more evolutionarily advantageous than polyandry (1 female mating with multiple males). | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 11 | More aggressive males produce more offspring than less aggressive males. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| Normativity Questions: After taking the course, students will better recognize the influence of the impact of cultural normativity on scientific studies, and the role that language plays in shaping those norms. | ||
| 1 | The language that we use affects our ability to understand the natural world. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 2 | Our cultural biases limit our ability to understand the natural world. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 3 | Sex and gender mean the same thing. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 4 | It is important to distinguish between sex and gender when talking about biology. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 5 | The scientific understanding of sex includes social norms, behaviors, and roles associated with being a particular sex. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 6 | The scientific understanding of gender includes norms, behaviors, and roles associated with a particular gender. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 7 | LGBTQ+ identities and associated behaviors are natural in a biological sense. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 8 | The behaviors associated with LGBTQ+ identities are exclusive to humans, and are not represented in the animal world. | Towards Strongly Disagree |
| 9 | Studying the natural world influences my understanding of myself and other humans. | Towards Strongly Agree |
| Belonging in the Course (Belonging C1): After taking the course, students will have a higher sense of belonging in the course. BIO 331 is the course code for the animal behavior course at ASU. | ||
| 1.1 | I feel comfortable in BIO 331 | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 1.2 | I am a part of BIO 331 | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 1.3 | I am committed to BIO 331 | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 1.4 | I am supported by BIO 331 | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 1.5 | I am accepted in BIO 331 | Towards Strongly Agree |
| Belonging in Biology (Belonging C2): After taking the course, students will have a higher sense of belonging in the field of biology. | ||
| 2.1 | I feel comfortable in the Biology community | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 2.2 | I am a part of the Biology community | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 2.3 | I am committed to the Biology community | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 2.4 | I am supported by the Biology community | Towards Strongly Agree |
| 2.5 | I am accepted by the Biology community | Towards Strongly Agree |