From ILAP to iLabAP - Linking Investigative Biology Laboratories to the Mathematics Curriculum

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Interdisciplinary (99) In this project a collaborating cohort of mathematics and biology faculty are developing "Interdisciplinary Laboratory Activity Projects" (iLabAPs) for use in both biology and mathematics courses. The intellectual merit of this effort is grounded in its adaptation of a materials development trajectory conceived in "Project Inter-MATH: Interdisciplinary Lively Applications (ILAPs)," which began under the earlier Mathematics and Its Applications throughout the Curriculum Initiative. Each iLabAP consists of an investigative biology laboratory exercise performed in biology lab courses, linked to case studies employed in the mathematics courses in which biology majors are also enrolled. Specific sets of learning objectives with measurable outcomes are also developed by each iLabAP team and this development is informed by educational research. Data collection equipment and software are also being used in the investigative biology laboratories to introduce students to modern methods of data acquisition and analysis. The broader impacts of the project are being felt in its enhancement of participation and academic achievement in introductory mathematics and biology courses, especially among women who are underrepresented and underserved in STEM. The project is also increasing collaboration among the mathematics and all university science faculty, thus serving as a powerful model for the integrated use of inquiry-based interdisciplinary education.