Improving Biology Education for Non-Majors: Dissemination of the Workshop Biology Project

我们模仿进行为期三年的传播我们的NSF/FIPSE项目，“研讨会生物学非专业。“研讨会生物学是一个成功的非专业的生物学课程，在一个主要的研究型大学的背景下教授，解决了科学素养的严重问题，在一个世界上越来越多的生物问题。 该课程旨在培养学生对生物学概念，科学过程和批判性思维技能的理解，以帮助他们对重要的科学问题做出决定。 该项目在许多其他机构的科学教师中产生了极大的热情，他们清楚地向我们阐明了他们需要扩展合作，使用有效的模型，以改善他们解决教学问题的方法。 该项目的主要目标是通过帮助教师明确其教育目标并实施和评估旨在实现这些目标的学习经验，改善学生在其他机构的普通教育科学课程中的学习。 研讨会生物学项目提供了目标，教学策略和评估方法的模型，以及开发新方法的过程。 我们的项目为所有参与者提供了深入的合作，实验和反思，为他们自己的情况制定有效的教育实践。 在第一年和第二年，我们专注于区域机构，我们已经确定，谁代表不同的背景：两个和四年制机构与不同的使命（包括州立师范学院）和不同的学生群体比由俄勒冈州大学服务。 这些机构将帮助我们编写发展材料，我们将在第三年的讲习班和会议上向全国各地的其他机构分发这些材料。 我们将评估其他机构的变化程度和持续时间，参与者对传播过程的反应，以及他们新计划的有效性。

We ape conducting a three-year dissemination of our NSF/FIPSE project, "Workshop Biology for Non-Majors." Workshop Biology is a successful non-majors' biology course, taught in the context of a major research university, that addresses the serious problem of scientific literacy in a world with growing biological concerns. The course aims to develop students' understanding of biological concepts, scientific processes, and critical thinking skills to help them make decisions about important scientific issues. The project has generated a great deal of enthusiasm among science faculty at many other institutions, who have clearly articulated to us their need for extended collaboration, using effective models, in improving their approach to instructional problems. The project's primary goal is to improve student learning in general education science courses at other institutions, by helping instructors clarify their educational goals and implement and assess learning experiences designed to achieve these goals. The Workshop Biology project provides models for goals, teaching strategies, and assessment methods, as well as processes for developing new ones. Our project offers intensive collaboration, experimentation, and reflection by all participants, to develop effective educational practices for their own situations. In the first and second years we are focusing on regional institutions, whom we have already identified, and who represent diverse contexts: both two- and four-year institutions with different missions (including a state teacher's college) and different student populations than that served by the University of Oregon. These institutions will help us create development materials that we will disseminate, in workshops and conferences the third year, to other institutions around the country. We will assess the extent and duration of change at other institutions, the reactions of participants to the process of dissemination, and the effectiveness of their new programs.