CREST: Connecting Researchers, Educators and Students

连接研究人员、教育者和学生(CREST)计划(http://cbm.msoe.edu/crest))旨在促进基于物理和计算机的分子结构模型的使用，以加强学生的学习，向学生介绍科学研究，并确定这些额外因素对学习环境的影响。3D打印的蛋白质模型和附带的学习材料都是由学生和教职员工团队在咨询研究人员后制作的，研究人员的工作在材料中有描述，或者是基于对适当的初级文献的阅读。目前的项目正在通过讲习班和网上材料向其他机构传播CREST办法。该项目还增加了有关从CREST演变而来的学习成果的信息，因为它侧重于对该计划对三所大型院校(威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校、石溪大学和罗切斯特理工学院)学生学习的影响进行严格评估，同时在全国范围内测试可伸缩性和传播的新范式。这一扩展项目的一个新组成部分是与威斯康星医学院合作，为未来的教师提供以学生为中心的积极教学培训。这一提议的智力价值在于，它响应了最近改革本科教育的呼吁，使学生积极参与科学话语和实践，以及领导团队的力量和经验。该项目的更广泛影响是它正在收集有关物理模型和可视化在帮助学生了解生化和分子过程的重要性以及它们在代谢和制药过程中的重要性的信息。

The Connecting Researchers, Educators and Students (CREST) program (http://cbm.msoe.edu/crest) is designed to advance use of physical and computer based models of molecular structures to enhance student learning, introduce students to science research and to determine the impact of these additions to the learning environment. Both the 3-D printed protein models and the accompanying learning materials are produced by teams of students and faculty in consultation with researchers whose work is described in the materials or based on a reading of the appropriate primary literature. This current project is disseminating the CREST approach to other institutions through workshops and web-based materials. The project also adds to the information concerning the learning outcomes evolving from CREST since it focuses on the rigorous assessment of the impact of the program on student learning at three large institutions (UW-Madison, Stony Brook University and Rochester Institute of Technology), while simultaneously testing new paradigms of scalability and dissemination across the nation. A new component of this expansion project involves partnering with the Medical College of Wisconsin to offer training to future faculty in student-centered, active pedagogy.The intellectual merit of this proposal is that it responds to recent calls to transform undergraduate education so that students actively engage in science discourse and practice and the strength and experience of the leadership team.The broader impact of this project is the information it is gathering on the importance of physical models and visualization in helping students understand biochemical and molecular processes and their importance in metabolic and pharmaceutical processes.