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Implementing Vision & Change - Innovations to the Undergraduate Life Science Curriculum

Implementing Vision & Change - Innovations to the Undergraduate Life Science Curriculum. April Hill University of Richmond. Why Change? What’s the Urgency?. STEM Pipeline --- Leaking Badly. Why Change? What’s the Urgency?. Loss of students post-freshman Biology

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Implementing Vision & Change - Innovations to the Undergraduate Life Science Curriculum

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  1. Implementing Vision & Change - Innovations to the Undergraduate Life Science Curriculum April Hill University of Richmond

  2. Why Change? What’s the Urgency? STEM Pipeline --- Leaking Badly

  3. Why Change? What’s the Urgency? • Loss of students post-freshman Biology • 80% underrepresented • 60% for all others • US needs 1 million new STEM degrees for the next decade to maintain global leadership (PCAST, 2012) • 1 Trillion dollars (est) has been spent on educational reform with little full-scale change

  4. Vision and Change Report (V&C) Focus on Faculty and Departments • Design Programs Based on Learning Outcomes • Innovative, Student-Centered Pedagogy • Integration of Authentic Research Experiences • Assessment of Student Success • Professional Development at All Institutional Levels • Resources and Tools

  5. Implementation of V&C • Core Concepts • EVOLUTION • STRUCTURE & FUNCTION • INFORMATION FLOW, EXCHANGE AND STORAGE • PATHWAYS AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF ENERGY AND MATTER • SYSTEMS

  6. Implementation of V&C • Core Concepts • Competencies • ABILITY TO APPLY THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE • ABILITY TO USE QUANTITATIVE REASONING • ABILITY TO USE MODELING AND SIMULATION • ABILITY TO TAP INTO THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF SCIENCE • ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES

  7. Implementation of V&C • Core Concepts • Competencies • Student-Centered, Inquiry-Based Learning • ENGAGE STUDENTS AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS • USE MULTIPLE MODES OF INSTRUCTION

  8. Implementation of V&C • Core Concepts • Competencies • Student-Centered, Inquiry-Based Learning • Institutional Support • SUPPORT FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT • FACULTY RECOGNITION • STUDENT ENGAGEMENT • INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT

  9. Implementation of V&C • Core Concepts • Competencies • Student-Centered, Inquiry-Based Learning • Institutional Support • National Biology Community Engagement

  10. PULSE: Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education

  11. How to get the Nation’s Biology Community to Engage in V&C? • PULSE • 40 Leadership Fellows; with leadership experience in driving educational change • Growing community of 1000+ stakeholders • Driving Vision and Change at the Department level • PULSE is an Inclusive National Effort • Anyone can join (Students, faculty, administrators) • PULSE is backed by Give it a PULSE! Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education

  12. How does PULSE work? • Representation of Leadership Fellows • Liberal arts colleges • Comprehensive universities • Research universities • Community colleges • Role of Leadership Fellows • Produce roadmaps for Departmental change • Engage community for feedback • Refine strategies for change

  13. How can you get involved? • Join the PULSE Community (www.pulsecommunity.org) • Participate and Communicate

  14. PULSE Leadership Fellows Working Groups • Raising the PULSE – Public awareness campaign

  15. Works in Progress LOCAL IMPACT MAP

  16. PULSEAcademia ShiladSen (Macalester College)

  17. PULSE Leadership Fellows Working Groups • Raising the PULSE – Public awareness campaign • Taking the PULSE – Assessment rubric and recognition/accreditation framework

  18. Inquiry based courses • Student centered • Learning goals rather than voluminous content • Real world examples • Frequent feedback on student progress • Scientifically based course design to enhance the learning environment • Passionately engaged faculty, students, and administration A “model” department

  19. 1) Departmental self assessment What will the rubrics be used for? Where is my department on the path to adopting V & C? Applicable to all institution types. 2) Recognition / certification / accreditation? Longer term. Why is this important?

  20. PULSE Leadership Fellows Working Groups • Raising the PULSE – Public awareness campaign • Taking the PULSE – Assessment rubric and recognition/accreditation framework • Faculty Networks – Developing resources for faculty development www.pulsecommunity.org

  21. PULSE Leadership Fellows Working Groups • Raising the PULSE – Public awareness campaign • Taking the PULSE – Assessment rubric and recognition/accreditation framework • Faculty Networks – Developing resources for faculty development • PULSE Ambassadors – Training PULSE members to work as departmental facilitators

  22. Vision & Change at UR

  23. Vision & Change at UR • Revision of first-year life science courses • Students learn how modern scientists derive important and answerable questions • Students learn to design, execute and evaluate experiments (requires strong quantitative reasoning) • Students learn to communicate to scientists • Students learn to find and use information in scientific databases. • Students will demonstrate knowledge about a real-world biological question or problem.

  24. Pedagogical Approach • Student-engaged • Inquiry-driven • Outcome-oriented

  25. Integrated Quantitative Science (IQS)

  26. PKAL- FIDL: http://www.nimbios.org/ifiles/KeckPKAL_IDL.pdf

  27. Vision and Change Report (V&C) Focus on Faculty and Departments • Design Programs Based on Learning Outcomes • Innovative, Student-Centered Pedagogy • Integration of Authentic Research Experiences • Assessment of Student Success • Professional Development at All Institutional Levels • Resources and Tools

  28. An Integrated Science Curriculum for First Year Students

  29. IQS-1 • THEME: Antibiotic Resistance • Mathematical models of disease spread • Agent-based simulation models to study disease transmission/ antibiotic resistance • Conformational flexibility of antibiotic molecule: computer-aided molecular visualization & simulation /VSEPR, VB, MO, energetic analysis • Semester-long project: Are bacteria present in marine sponges that are resistant to antibiotics and producers of novel antimicrobial compounds?

  30. IQS-2 • THEME: Signaling • Understanding signaling in the immune system upon activation by an inflammatory response • Use of genetic algorithm techniques to generate potential solutions to the traveling salesperson problem • Kinetics of drug binding to wild type and multidrug resistant strains of HIV-1 protease: experimental & computational project • MRI (rotational motion). Gyroscopic motion angular velocity, cross product, angular momentum, torque. Resonance, relaxation

  31. Lessons learned • Allow the idea to come from the faculty and to allow • us to define what we need to make it work. • Allow ample time for both development and • implementation • Focus on group unity and community building activities • Ultimate faculty development

  32. Challenges • “Full” integration of the material • Team teaching with 5 faculty members from • different disciplines • Small departments- development/early • implementation stages • Computer science • Student selection

  33. JCST, 2012

  34. IQS Students Took More Science Courses

  35. IQS Students: more courses, more research

  36. IQS outcomes

  37. IQS outcomes

  38. IQS outcomes

  39. Enrollment trends for HHMI/NSF- defined underrepresented students in STEM

  40. Acknowledgments

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