Fostering Resilience in the Biology Classroom: Q&A with Lisa Limeri

August 23, 2026 - 23:33

What makes a student keep going when a class gets hard? That is the core question driving Dr. Lisa Limeri, a new assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at URI. Her work focuses less on the facts of biology and more on the mindsets that help students succeed in science courses.

Limeri is interested in academic resilience, which is not just about being tough. It is about how students interpret setbacks, like a poor exam grade or a confusing lab, and what strategies they use to recover. Her research looks at the specific classroom environments that either build up or tear down a student's willingness to try again.

She argues that resilience is not a fixed personality trait. Instead, it is a skill that can be taught and supported. The way a professor gives feedback, the structure of group work, and the message a syllabus sends about failure all play a role. If a course treats a wrong answer as a dead end, students may shut down. But if it frames mistakes as part of the scientific process, students are more likely to engage deeply.

Limeri also examines how different student backgrounds affect their experience of struggle. A student who is the first in their family to attend college might interpret a low grade very differently than a student whose parents are professors. The goal is to create classrooms where all students feel they belong and can recover from difficulty, not just the ones who arrive with confidence. Her work suggests that small changes in teaching can have a big impact on who sticks with science and who walks away.