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CONCURRENT SESSION
Teaching quantitative approaches in biology: What is the need; where do we stand; and, how can we move forward?
These talks will address three complementary aspects of the undergraduate quantitative biology education landscape. Dr. Lou Gross will introduce the national educational policy agenda and historical context of ongoing efforts to integrate mathematics and biology. As the outgoing director of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), and a biomath textbook author, Dr. Gross plays a leadership role in national efforts to increase the quantity and quality of mathematics in undergraduate biology education. Dr. Melissa Aikens will review the diverse approaches taken to teaching quantitative biology from the published literature and provide a practical overview of how learning theory can guide quantitative biology instructional design. Dr. Sam Donovan will introduce the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Project, an NSF funded effort to help faculty adapt existing quantitative resources into their classrooms. He will highlight opportunities for faculty to participate in mentoring networks that support the use of quantitative resources from discovery through classroom implementation.
TALK 1
Preparing "Fearless" Biologists: the Quantitative Component of Undergraduate Education
Louis Gross, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
This presentation will first summarize briefly the range of activities over the past several decades to enhance the quantitative conceptual and skill development for undergraduate life science students. These have included formal quantitative courses with emphasis on biological examples, as well as approaches that incorporate quantitative concepts within life science courses. We will consider a few case studies, including some with audience participation, to illustrate how biological examples can enhance insight about several different areas of mathematics. Finally we will have a brief "workshop" mode focused on quantitative aspects of the life science curriculum dependent upon the objectives and constraints of different types of educational institutions.
TALK 2
Teaching Quantitative Approaches in Biology: Where do We Stand?
Melissa Aikens, The University of Texas at Austin
National calls for undergraduate biology reform have highlighted the need for more quantitative training for biology students. Yet, there are few published studies that provide evidence of the efficacy of quantitative biology educational innovations to guide curriculum design. Furthermore, there are a number of unique challenges to incorporating quantitative skills into biology courses, including students’ expectations about the content of biology courses and the variance in mathematical backgrounds of students and instructors. So, how do we even begin to teach quantitative biology? Using a backward design framework, as a group we will discuss approaches that instructors can use to incorporate quantitative biology into their courses. First, we will consider quantitative biology goals for our students, including both quantitative skill and attitudinal outcomes. We will then discuss ways to assess whether our students are achieving these goals. Finally, we will share resources and teaching strategies that can be used to help students achieve the quantitative biology goals we set for them. Participants will leave this session with ideas and resources that will aid them in incorporating quantitative instruction into their own courses.
TALK 3
Addressing the “Last Mile” Problem in Quantitative Biology Education: QUBES Opportunities and Resources
Sam Donovan, University of Pittsburgh
The frequency and nature of quantitative reasoning employed in undergraduate biology education does not reflect modern disciplinary practices or employer expectations. This talk will introduce the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Project, an NSF funded effort to promote the use of quantitative approaches across the biology curriculum. Recognizing existing policy recommendations and existing rich collections of teaching resources QUBES was conceived to bridge the challenging “last mile” and promote effective classroom implementation of materials that address quantitative skills. The project uses Faculty Mentoring Networks - a learning community approach - to support faculty as they adopt and adapt high quality teaching materials and develop their own quantitative skills. As part of the session we will have some discussion of the needs of microbiologists with respect to teaching more quantitative biology and highlight specific resources and opportunities within QUBES to address those needs. |