Advancing the Introductory Biology Experience

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With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest of supporting improved teaching and learning in Introductory Biology courses. This project intends to support a 3-day conference to bring together key decision-makers, stakeholders, and undergraduate introductory biology instructors. It aims to foster collaborative relationships and take actions necessary to advance the introductory biology experience for all undergraduate students. Results from a recent survey found that even among National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) membership, adoption of policies and practices that promote three-dimensional learning are severely lacking. In addition, precollege students taking introductory biology (e.g. Advanced Placement) courses are more likely to be exposed to contemporary pedagogies than current undergraduates, suggesting a disconnect between college-readiness and college reality. The proposed conference seeks to identify ways to mitigate these issues and advance the introductory biology curriculum by focusing on a shared vision of the undergraduate introductory biology experience. This conference will purposefully include instructors from all settings, institutions, relevant organizations, and other stakeholders to create collaborations that will serve multiple purposes. The conference is intended to generate Research-Practice Partnerships to strengthen the introductory biology experience for all students by fostering new partnerships, leveraging resources, and creating shared experiences among practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders. The project will incorporate specific strategies that have been demonstrated to promote learning, self-confidence, and interest in the sciences, especially among those students who are underrepresented in the sciences. These include High-Impact Practices (Association of American Colleges and Universities) as well as the integration of content and skills and interventions to deal with misconceptions. The project leadership team represents collaboration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Oklahoma, the NABT, and Northwestern Connecticut Community College. In addition, the project includes representatives of several additional stakeholder efforts in biology education, such as the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE) and the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER). The NABT Introductory Biology Task Force, a group with roots in the Introductory Biology Project RCN-UBE, serves as the conference organizing committee. It includes stakeholders from additional institutions of higher education, a school district, and the Educational Testing Service. The conference will place participants into working groups based on pre-conference survey data. The groups will be given guidance for creating action plans with the overall goal of increasing successful implementation of standards that improve science practice skills in introductory biology. The project aims to engage 60 participants in the three-day conference hosted at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Conference Center. It is expected that this work will result in a more unified vision for the Introductory Biology curriculum of the future, a strategic plan for implementing and designing this curriculum in any classroom and the formation of networks and collaborations among instructors, researchers, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, this project intends to implement a project that articulates a shared vision of biology education for the future, to outline a research-based model of Introductory Biology experiences focusing on how best to prepare biology students to meet that future, and to build a permanent communication network that connects and increases the number of individuals, projects, and organizations actively engaged in the reform of the Introductory Biology course. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.