Education Share Fair Roundtables – Life Discovery Conference

What is the Education Share Fair Roundtable?

The Education Share Fair will be a central event of the Life Discovery – Doing Science Education conference!

We know there is a lot of wisdom among our participants!! The Education Share Fair is designed for educators to share teaching ideas and resources at any stage of development to receive peer feedback.

Participants will have the opportunity to provide peer feedback on fresh, preliminary ideas or discover extensions on successful, developed ones. Presentations may highlight ideas for lessons and curriculum design, modern technologies and new applications of traditional techniques; creative tools or classroom space design! Discussions can cover issues related but not restricted to core concepts, teaching methodology, misconceptions, assessments or educational extensions.

Each presentation will be at a roundtable with up to 7-9 other participants. All presenters are strongly encouraged to incorporate feedback and publish teaching ideas and classroom-ready scientific resources such as photo collections, figures and charts, case studies, simulations, and datasets etc. in the LifeDiscoveryEd Digital Library as a record of conference proceedings. Submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Roundtable Discussion Descriptions

Building 3 Classroom 2

Friday March 18, 2016 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Table #A1

Beyond Four Walls: Community Partnerships in Biology Education

Sarah Haines, Towson University

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science

Description: The purpose of this session is to share the highlights of three upper level biology courses that all contain significant course components and student assignments that are completed off campus in partnership with local informal education institutions; namely, Irvine Nature Center and the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The objective for the session is for participants to hear methods used to connect formal biology science education teaching and learning with opportunities to apply that learning in informal educational settings, and to begin to formulate ideas on integrating informal educational experiences into their own courses. The session information will be disseminated through a standard PowerPoint presentation, along with supplemental printed material.

Table #A2

Substance or Just Flash? Assessing the Efficacy of a Mobile App for Genetics & Evolution Education

Juliet Noor , Duke University

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Evolution, Ecosystems — Natural Selection, Heredity, Heredity — Inheritance of Traits, Heredity — Variation of Traits

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Constructing explanations for science, Developing and using models, Engaging in argument from evidence, Using mathematics and computational thinking

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution, Information flow, exchange, and storage

Competencies: Use modeling and simulation, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Our mobile device app (free iPhone and Android, $4 iPad versions; Android version can be freely emulated in Windows) provides several methods for students to practice concepts in genetics and evolution with which they often struggle. At the roundtable, I will seek feedback on how to assess 1) whether the app improves student performance more than just assigning problems on paper or via pdf and 2) whether students are more likely to engage with these problems in app format rather than if just assigned as a pdf. I also seek feedback on how to improve it to better meet these goals for both high school and college students.

Learning objectives addressed in the app:

(Predict the outcome of Mendelian genetic crosses)

•Determine whether a phenotype is the result of a dominant or recessive allele and whether the locus is autosomal or recessive from a family pedigree (iPad version only)
•Infer phased parental allele combinations, determine gene order, and calculate recombination fractions from offspring genotype information
•Determine whether a locus is associated with a phenotype given genotype and phenotype frequencies (iPad version only)
•Contrast spread of dominant vs. recessive advantageous mutations (or loss of dominant vs. recessive detrimental mutations)
•Calculate or verify predicted equilibrium allele frequencies under heterozygote advantage and heterozygote disadvantage
•Contrast effects of genetic drift with varying population sizes Identify likelihood of eventual fixation of allele via genetic drift and observe that it is predicted by starting allele frequency
•Explore spread/loss of rare beneficial allele in finite population, varying dominance
•Explore effect of inbreeding on speed of loss of detrimental recessive mutation
•Define key terms from genetics and evolution (these terms and their definitions are customizable by the user)

Table #A3

Implementation of the MUET Curriculum: Assessing Novices’ Tree-Thinking Abilities

Yi Kong, The University of Texas at El Paso, Dr Jeffrey Olimpo

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged, Assess Learning/Adapt Teaching

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution

Competencies: Use modeling and simulation

Description: Research suggests that novices exhibit significant difficulty in comprehending and evaluating the relationships present in evolutionary trees. In response to this concern, various curricula have been developed to promote student reasoning in this area (e.g., Davenport et al., 2015; Eddy et al., 2013). However, these curricula often do not reflect how evolutionary trees are utilized by scientists, a factor that may lead students to develop incomplete tree-thinking skills. To address this need, we developed a series of modules based on the Model of the Use of Evolutionary Trees (MUET) (Kong et al., 2015; http://bilbo.bio.purdue.edu/~npelaez/TreeThinking), a conceptual framework that characterizes biologists tree thinking. The MUET curriculum incorporates and expands upon existent materials (e.g., Baldauf, 2003; Eddy et al., 2013; McLennan, 2010) and is designed to facilitate students ability to reason about evolutionary trees as experts would. Specifically, MUET modules focus on the following five elements: a) the important role that evolutionary trees play in modern biology; b) the features and characteristics represented in an evolutionary tree; c) the types of reasoning biologists use to make meaning of evolutionary trees; d) construction of evolutionary trees using data sources collected from organisms; and e) the ability to distinguish evolutionary trees from other tree-shaped diagrams. The MUET assessment, which was developed to assess students tree-thinking abilities, will be validated and utilized to determine the effectiveness of the MUET curriculum during the Spring 2016 semester.

Table #A4

Got Milkweed? Evaluating Our Response to the Monarch Population Decline

Emily Mohl, St. Olaf College

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Evolution, Ecosystems — Adaption

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Engaging in argument from evidence, Using mathematics and computational thinking

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: In this distributed research project, participating schools each conduct a field study that contributes to a larger dataset to address questions about local adaptation in milkweed plants, the food source for monarch butterflies. Students can learn how scientists investigate the causes for the decline of monarch populations and use the data they have gathered to develop proposals about how to best manage the response.

Background: Monarch butterflies are remarkable for their annual migration to overwintering grounds in Mexico followed by breeding during the summers in North America. However, their populations have been declining dramatically. Although there are many hypothesized factors that may contribute to the decline, models suggest that the loss of milkweed plants, the only food source for specialized monarch larvae, is likely to the primary cause for the decline of monarch populations (Flockhart et al 2015). In response, many people and agencies are planting milkweed to help create new breeding habitat for monarchs (http://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/).

Evolutionary theory and evidence tell us that population size and connectivity, factors which have been changing rapidly in milkweeds, can strongly impact the way a population evolves. Schools will collect common milkweed and test for local adaptation of common milkweed plants collected from different regions. This will help us to determine whether there are some populations that consistently outperform others, or whether milkweeds tend to perform better in the region from which they are collected. We hope this information will be able to inform conservation efforts by helping to predict the impacts of translocating milkweed seeds or plants across different spatial scales. This may also be important as climate change models predict monarch distributions to shift northward into Canada, where milkweed may not currently exist.

Read about the research and learn how to participate at http://erenweb.org/milkweed-adaptations/

Table #A5

Effective Science Pedagogy for underrepresented minority populations

Brandon Noel, Bethune-Cookman University

Topic: Assess Learning/Adapt Teaching

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Information flow, exchange, and storage

Competencies: Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: I have been teaching a non-major environmental science course at a minority-serving institution and continue to struggle reaching my students. I continue to experiment with pedagogical approaches, but this semester I have chosen to assess student retention of material from previous classes using technology on smart phones in an effort to better prepare students for examinations. I use a free platform that is easy to download, and students are able to answer quiz questions based on the previous lecture directly on their phone and be provided with immediate feedback. The software is called Socrative, which provides a report from each quiz for all students to the instructor. In addition this technology, students are also using an online platform for all of their homework to supplement lectures. These resources are being used in an effort to facilitate learning and keep students engaged throughout lectures and the entirety of the semester.

Table #A6

What is a species? Giraffe case study

April Conkey, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division, Other (please specify)

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems — Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity, Heredity — Variation of Traits

Competencies: Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: We often talk about species but students may not have a good understanding of the process by which species delineation is determined. This understanding is particularly important for discussing threatened and endangered species and efforts to manage and conserve populations. Thus, I use the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) as a case study which is lumped as one species and categorized as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species yet some populations are threatened or endangered. I ask students Is there evidence to recognize these populations as separate species? Should this be done to change their conservation status on the Red List and raise awareness of threatened populations? In the activity, students review the scientific method, evolution and speciation, genetic analysis, hybridization, and phylogenetic trees, and detail the process of applying the biological species concept to a real world case study. It includes two class lectures (introduction and summary), a journal article reading assignment with guiding questions, opportunity for group discussion, and practice writing a short justification essay.

Student Learning Objectives are:

Identify the parts and written format of a species name

Recognize and relate the importance of using species names in scientific identification

Distinguish between a set of populations that have allopatric, parapatric, or sympatric distribution

Explain the major factors that may have led to reproductive isolation in the giraffe

Use the biological species concept, genetic evidence and reproductive isolation events to defend your position on whether the giraffe should be split into multiple species or left as one species

Use your species determination to recommend and justify changing the giraffe’s IUCN Red List conservation status or keeping it in the Least Concern category

Table #A7

Using Citizen Science to Promote Biodiversity and Ecology Education through Innovative Teaching Practices

Melissa Caspary, Georgia Gwinnett College

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Constructing explanations for science, Developing and using models, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Using mathematics and computational thinking

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: In this session we will discuss different citizen science tools that can assist with inquiry-based educational strategies for teaching biodiversity and ecology in undergraduate and high school. Active learning in the science classroom is enabled by these citizen science data sets that provide a basis for the application of the scientific method. Students contribute to the collection of real-world data and develop a knowledge and personal connection to the analysis subject. They are in turn encouraged to ask questions, formulate hypotheses, analyze data, and report findings through the connection to real-world data. Citizen science platforms can engage underrepresented populations in organismal and environmental biology, because they involve a type of active learning that encourages participation based on individual strengths and variable modes of communication. This session will highlight research opportunities for students that emphasize scientific inquiry and develop investigative skills in the natural world. We will review collaborative platforms for encouraging science and discuss projects to optimize science curriculum objectives while sparking student interest.

Table #A8

Antibiotic resistance in your backyard

Andrew Martin, University of Colorado

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Evolution

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: Purpose: to understand the origin, evolution, and consequences of antibiotic resistance

Specific learning objectives: collect, manipulate and analyze data for the purpose of making data-based inferences; make claims from inferences; describe the evolution of antibiotic resistance using the principles of evolution; collect and assay a water sample for the presence of antibiotic resistant and non-resistant bacteria. See http://stripe.colorado.edu/~am/Site/Ab_Resistance.html

Table #A9

Toxoplasma gondii: A case study for quickly modifying a lesson plan using current events

Shelley McCabe, Humber College

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution

Description: The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate one way to engage students by using provocative current events stories to illustrate biology concepts. Having to completely re-write lesson plans every semester is time prohibitive. Participants in this presentation will see how to use a modular approach to lesson planning that allows for the core lesson plan to remain the same, while new headline examples can be inserted with minimal expense of time. The recent headline about the 5000 % increase in the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, will be used as a case study to demonstrate how to modify a lesson plan on evolution to incorporate current events.

Round 2

Table #B1 (Cancelled) / SEE REPLACEMENT BELOW

Engaging different learning styles through creative curriculum design

Annissa Furr, Kaplan University

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Use modeling and simulation, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: It is well known in academia that students respond best to a variety of learning styles. From visual to aural to verbal, learning styles among students are as unique as the individual student. Variables such as the student’s major can also drive the learning styles of students. Often, assignments only address one specific learning style, while others are left out of the curriculum entirely. In traditional classrooms, it has been difficult, or nearly impossible, to engage different learning styles using a typical curriculum design. The Science Department in the School of General Education at Kaplan University has worked to design assignment choices that allow students to demonstrate their strengths and provide a stronger sense of ownership over assignments. Participants will engage in a basic discussion of learning styles followed by a dynamic discussion of methods to incorporate learning style considerations in curriculum development. This will create a more effective learning environment, and provide instructors with additional resources to ensure active and engaged learning.

This approach can be applied to all learning environments in all subjects, in both traditional classrooms and online. Using advancements in technology, educators can bring new life to old assignments, and allow students to better connect with the topics and fields they study.

Table #B1 (NEW)

Undergraduate Research Training – Trends Over 10 Years

Sally O’Connor, National Science Foundation BIO/DBI

Intended audience: Undergraduate Lower and Upper Division

Description: Learn about the undergraduate research programs funded by the National Science Foundation and trends that have emerged over the last 10 years.

Table #B2

Encyclopedia of Life: Biodiversity, Interdependence, and Science Practices Activities for High School

Amy Lorenz, Encyclopedia of Life / Harvard University

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems — Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Adaption, Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans

Description: The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online biodiversity resource whose mission is to provide global access to information about all known life on earth. The EOL Learning + Education Team of Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology has developed an online platform and activities to explore the biodiversity of places around the world.

This platform has applications to engage students with the same organisms in multiple ways including interactive food webs, species trait cards, games, and statistics. On this site, we also share educational materials developed for one of our current projects: Okaloosa SCIENCE, a collaborative place-based STEM initiative for the Okaloosa County, FL School District.

The current K-12 curriculum focuses on interdependence, ecosystems, adaptations, classification, and science practices. Although these activities have been created for a specific place, we continue to modify these for larger audiences. The goal is for educators everywhere to use our place-specific lesson plans to explore their local ecosystems.

Having created many lessons for grades 3-8, we have begun developing high school materials. In this roundtable, middle school activities will be shared briefly to exemplify tested materials. Relevant EOL online resources will also be demonstrated as they connect to lessons. Next, draft high school lessons will be shared for feedback from participants. In particular, we seek feedback on highlighting Nature of Science principles and integrating data into lessons.

Objectives: Participants will become familiar with EOL’s educational materials and online platform as demonstrated through high school activities. They will understand how EOL connects to NGSS standards, and be encouraged to provide feedback.

Methodology and Materials: This presentation requires Internet access and a monitor to share online resources. Printed materials and lesson plans will be provided for participants.

Relevant URLs:

EOL Homepage: eol.org

EOL Education page: education.eol.org

EOL Lessons (all): http://eol.org/info/ed_resources

Okaloosa SCIENCE activities: http://education.eol.org/ecosystems/ecolessons.php?proj_id=4&sys_id=21

Table #B3

BioBlitz as a way of understanding Biology

Concepcion Rodriguez-Fourquet, University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division, Other (please specify)

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans, Ecosystems — Natural Selection

Competencies: Asking questions for science, Using mathematics and computational thinking

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution, Structure and Function, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: The BioBlitz is an event design to identify the biodiversity of a particular place. The participants (students, parents, teachers, school or university employees) spend time collecting and identifying organisms with the help of biologist specialized in different areas. This year, the UPRB BioBlitz will celebrate its 10th BioBlitz. In our school the participants are mainly Biology students, some high school students and employees of the university. They participate in different activities such as conferences, collection and identification of organisms in the field and identification in the laboratory.

The objectives of the BioBlitz are: to engaged students to be in contact with nature and help them appreciate the biodiversity of our campus and the science that is associated to the observation and identification of species; to engage students in conversations with scientists as this will allow them to think critically about career choices in Biology and to enable students to continue to learn outside the classroom.

The BioBlitz is organized by students, either the science club or interested students. The students work around four areas: inviting scientist, fund raising, logistic with university facilities and administration and data entry and management. Usually the meeting for the organization of the event will start in January and the the BioBlitz will be held in April around Earth Day. For the BioBlitz to happen we use three laboratories and three classrooms, a common area for the inauguration later becomes the sleeping area. We use microscopes, stereoscopes, microbiology materials, binoculars, books, key to the identification of species among others.

Students have expressed that the BioBlitz have helped them see Biology as a practical science; that they can see the nature differently; and that they see scientists more accessible than what they thought.

Table #B4

Applying Critical Thinking: Digital Herbaria as Tools for Bio-conservation Science

Denny Fernandez-del-Viso, University of Puerto Rico at Humacao

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Upper Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Information flow, exchange, and storage, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: The purpose of this module is to show students a valuable resource to conduct ecological and bio-conservation research, and to use critical thinking to evaluate the use of herbaria information for this kind of research. After using the module students will be aware on the advantages of using herbaria (as well as museum collections) as sources of data to conduct research. They will also evaluate the premise and limitations on the use of the data, to answer questions and reach conclusions about ecological or conservation issues. Students will use several skills: use of herbarium databases, data extraction and processing, graph creation and interpretation, critical thinking, and reaching well based conclusions. Printed materials will be provided, in the meantime you can review a draft of the module here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0K-TrpZLpFgWU1Ia2h1cXFvU0E/view?usp=sharing

Table #B5

Using an on-campus field facility (TSU-wetland) in ecology instruction

Dafeng Hui, Tennessee State University

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Structure and Function

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: The purpose of this discuss is to call attention of using on- and off-campus field experimental facilities in biology instruction by using TSU-wetland as an example. As demonstrated by some cognitive apprenticeship (student learning) models, learning and doing are inseparable, and students learn in deep and enduring ways when they are actively engaged in authentic problems. Thus, real-world project-based learning needs to be implemented. However, one of the significant challenges we face today in teaching is the disconnection between theory and practice. We propose to develop TSU Wetland as an out-door lab to promote undergraduate student research in biology, ecology, plant physiology, biogeochemical cycling, water quality, and wetland hydrology. Water quality sensors have been purchased and will be installed to monitor the dynamics of soil temperature, pH, conductivity and nutrient concentrations in the wetland. A series of lab modules and course projects will be developed and implemented in several ecology and biology courses. Students will be able to conduct independent and collaborative research at the wetland that will improve their understanding of the scientific method and better develop their research skills (this project is sponsored by the NSF).

Table #B6

K-12 & Community College Partnerships: Building Bridges from Education to Careers

Amrita Madabushi, Baltimore City Community College

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Heredity, Heredity — Inheritance of Traits, Heredity — Variation of Traits, Structures and Processes

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Structure and Function

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science

Description: The constantly changing face of biology education in 21st century has promoted early introduction of scientific careers in K-12 education. Advancing this cause, Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) recently took center stage by providing the only Biotechnology & Forensics Summer Center for the state of Maryland (June 22-27, 2015). The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the success of this summer program in revolutionizing learning experiences for K-12 students and raising awareness of scientific careers.

The learning objectives of this presentation would be focused on K-12 & higher education institution partnership and how that is changing and bringing in new approach to learning for K-12.

Methodology: In our presentation we will be highlighting a recent outreach program at Baltimore City Community college. The program was conducted under the auspices of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), and sponsored by the Natural and Physical Sciences Department (NPS), BCCC. We would like to share our exciting experience on contributing and advancing K-12 education. From the entire state of Maryland, 14 Gifted & Talented students (rising 8th and 9th graders) were served at our summer program. The students learned new topics every day, relevant to careers in biotechnology and forensics as well as aligned with K-12 curriculum. These diverse topics included organic macromolecules, pH, chromatography, blood, DNA, forensic procedures, and solving forensic mysteries. The students experienced hands-on activities and experiments every day that strengthened the scientific concepts they learned. The program gave outstanding opportunities for the students to learn advanced concepts and techniques in biotechnology & forensics. Our presentation highlights a unique Community College- K-12 educational partnership that has the potential to revolutionize the learning experience of K-12 students while introducing and raising awareness of diverse scientific careers.

Table #B7

Using Mathematical Models to Connect Mathematical and Biological Thinking Across Boundaries of Both

Douglas Norton, Villanova University

Topic: Dynamic Teaching/Active Learning, Other Resource Type

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Structure and Function, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Use modeling and simulation, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: We discuss the introduction of mathematical models early in the undergraduate biology curriculum. Cohen states in [1]: Although mathematics has long been intertwined with the biological sciences, an explosive synergy between biology and mathematics seems poised to enrich and extend both fields greatly in the coming decades. Tools from differential equations can describe predator-prey interactions, the spread of infectious disease, and Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics. Tools from graph theory can describe gene expression, nerve signaling, food webs, and phylogeny. Boolean networks can describe gene regulation and cell differentiation. Probabilistic models, Markov chains, and matrices lend themselves to many contexts. All of these topics are accessible to students after a Calculus course. As Hoskinson states in [2], Biological problems in the twenty-first century are complex and require mathematical insight, often resulting in mathematical models of biological systems. The introduction of a course in Mathematical Modeling for the Life Sciences can provide a survey of biological topics that lend themselves to mathematical analysis as well as a survey of mathematical topics that may apply across some parts of the biological spectrum. Along with the tools, such a course can provide an understanding of some elements of modeling: assumptions, verification, finding values for parameters, feedback and iteration of model improvements. These possibilities match the theme of the conference in the connections made: between the disciplines, between the approaches to the questions in the disciplines, and between the ways of thinking about the questions in the disciplines. The goal is to have students think both mathematically and biologically, relegating neither discipline to being servant to the other but discovering Cohen’s explosive synergy between biology and mathematics as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

[1] http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020439.

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2931681/pdf/cbe333.pdf.

Table #B8

A K-5 outreach program bringing together future teachers and future scientists to make science accessible to all

Kerry Cresawn, James Madison University

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division, Other (please specify)

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Ecosystems — Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Social Interactions and Group Behavior, Structures and Processes — Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function

Description: As the benefits of service learning emerge and as higher education institutions are calling for more engagement, there is a growing interest among science faculty to engage in outreach. In addition to the time required to develop these programs, other obstacles for science faculty include lack of experience with younger and more diverse audiences and hesitation of teachers to invite those without experience into their classroom leading to a difficulty forming mutually respected partnerships. Biology Backpack is a K-5 traveling science outreach program designed to address these challenges. To address the challenges of the cognitive and demographic gap, which scientists are not prepared for and the concern by teachers of devoting instruction time to outreach, this program incorporates a future teacher/future scientists partnership designed to develop mutual respect, skills for, and an interest in pursuing successful outreach relationships as science professionals and teachers. In addition, the enrichment experiences use inquiry, differentiation, and other best practices to teach the life science foundations on which student performance is measured making the experiences accessible to all students and serves as a practical model for teachers to follow. The 5 activities we designed and will describe emphasize the process of science; biological systems ranging from cells to organisms to ecosystems; and structure/function relationships. We will describe the structure of the program, outcomes from year 1 of visiting 62 classes, and current assessment approaches designed to evaluate the impact of this program on 1) the skills for and attitudes of the future teachers and scientists about scientists in the classroom-based outreach and 2) the attitudes and conceptual understandings of the students for the concepts addressed. We further plan to use the evidence from the assessment to design and disseminate an easy to adapt a biologist in the classroom guide to interested biology and teacher-preparation programs.

Table #B9

Teaching Scientific Method and Data Analysis Through Primary Literature and HHMI’s The Biology of Skin Color

Melissa Csikari, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Topic: Hands On/Minds Engaged

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Next Generation Science Standards

Concepts: Evolution, Heredity — Inheritance of Traits, Heredity — Variation of Traits, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Constructing explanations for science, Engaging in argument from evidence

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Concepts: Evolution

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: In HHMI’s The Biology of Skin Color Dr. Nina Jablonski explains that the variation in skin color that evolved since our human ancestors migrated out of Africa can be explained by the tradeoff between protection from UV and the need for some UV absorption for the production of vitamin D.

The content connects to key concepts in biology, human biogeography, genetics, and anatomy and physiology. Chemistry and biochemistry classes will appreciate the focus on the effects of UV radiation on DNA, folate degradation, and vitamin D synthesis. Students will use the data from several pieces of primary literature used in the making of the film to practice claim, evidence, reasoning and gain a better understanding of how researchers use the scientific method to answer questions from evidence and base their findings on basic science that spans different disciplines.