NSF Award
0957359
Planning will be supported for a Research Coordination Network for undergraduate biology education centered on two effective teaching approaches: case studies and problem based learning (PBL). Using these approaches, students collaboratively analyze a scenario (the case or problem) that presents a biological issue within a realistic setting. Students then conduct investigations and report their findings. With cases or PBL, undergraduate students learn as much content as with traditional methods while developing superior skills of question formulation and data analysis. <br/>A core planning group of 7 experts on Case Studies and PBL will meet three times to identify existing resources, areas to be developed, and questions to be answered by the proposed Case Studies and PBL Network. Additional stakeholders will be invited to the second meeting to provide perspectives from different types of institutions, subdisciplines of biology, levels of faculty (including future faculty), geographical regions, and underrepresented groups. <br/>Initial planning has identified two important goals for the Network. The first is rigorous research on learning and teaching with cases and PBL. The second is development of faculty and curricula, especially as they address new dimensions of undergraduate biology education, e.g., quantitative biology, bioinformatics, and cyberlearning. Additional planning supported by this project will result in a full RCN-UBE proposal to support the Case Studies and PBL Network. <br/>This project is supported jointly by the Biological Sciences Directorate and the Division of Undergraduate Education.
