RCN-UBE Incubator: Networking Systems Biologists with Community College Educator

这个RCN-UBE项目旨在使社区大学教育工作者和系统生物学家联网，以促进社区大学学生的生物数据素养。生物数据的数量、速度和种类都急剧增加。因此，现在和未来的生物学职业高度依赖于定量技能，如复杂的数学建模、“大数据”分析和计算机模拟。这对教育的启示是，所有生物学学生都需要培养生物数据素养的教育经历。然而，由于与不断增加的数据量、速度和种类进行交互所需的技能性质迅速发展，许多STEM教育工作者缺乏当代数据素养技能。更少的人接受过如何在课堂上使用数据的培训，让学生能够使用数据，并帮助他们培养数据素养技能。这种缺乏培训的情况在社区大学教师中更为明显，他们不经常与开发和使用这些技能的研究人员互动。该项目试点的方法有可能显著改善本科STEM教学和学习，不仅通过提高教师对系统生物学方法的舒适度，而且通过网络参与者在他们的入门课程中直接让不同的本科生参与尖端方法。这种方法可以作为研究机构和主要本科院校之间未来合作的模式，以寻求增加少数民族的招聘、参与、保留和STEM道路上的成功。该项目将汇集系统生物学家和社区学院教师，利用这两个群体的专业知识，从事专业学习经验。社区学院的教师将参与为期一周的定量生物学技能深度学习，由网络中的定量生物学研究人员提供支持。然后，整个网络将创建课程资源，让学生参与数据素养模块，以补充基于课堂的本科研究，并帮助学生建立解释在真实研究背景下建立的大型多维数据集的技能。该网络将合作在社区大学课程中实施这些资源，为广泛的学生提供服务，包括传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的人群。该项目将通过增加定量生物学研究方法的成果和学习来改善社区大学生的准备工作，并通过加强本科教师对定量生物学研究方法的教学来改善本科生物学学习环境。此外，项目成果将产生当代定量生物学研究的教学策略和课程资源，并扩大研究机构的本科生物学教师和科学家网络，使学生参与以课堂为基础的定量生物学研究。该项目由生物基础设施司生物科学理事会和本科教育司教育和人力资源理事会共同资助，作为其应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》（http://visionandchange/finalreport/）所提出的挑战的努力的一部分。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RCN-UBE project seeks to network community college educators and systems biologists to promote biological data literacy amongst community college students. The volume, velocity, and variety of biological data has increased dramatically. As a result, current and future careers in biology are now highly dependent on quantitative skills such as sophisticated mathematical modeling, “big data” analysis, and computer simulation. The implication for education is that all biology students need educational experiences that build biological data literacy. However, due to the rapidly evolving nature of skills needed to interact with increased volume, velocity and variety of data, many STEM educators lack contemporary data literacy skills. Even fewer have training on how to use data in the classroom in a way that is accessible to students and helps them build data literacy skills. This lack of training is more pronounced for community college faculty who do not regularly interact with researchers who develop and use these skills. This project pilots an approach that has the potential to significantly improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning not only by increasing faculty comfort with systems biology approaches, but also by network participants directly engaging diverse undergraduates in cutting-edge methods in their introductory courses. This approach could serve as a model for future collaborations between research institutes and primarily undergraduate institutions that seek to increase minority recruitment, engagement, retention, and success along STEM pathways.This project will bring together systems biologists and community college faculty to engage in professional learning experiences that draw on the expertise of both populations. Community college faculty will engage in a week of deep learning of quantitative biology skills supported by the members of the network who are quantitative biology researchers. The full network will then create curricular resources that engage students in data literacy modules to complement classroom based undergraduate research and assist students in building the skills to interpret large multidimensional datasets founded in authentic research contexts. The network will partner to implement these resources in community college courses that serve a broad range of students including populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. The project will improve the preparation of community college students by increasing achievement and learning of quantitative biology research methods and improve undergraduate biology learning environments by enhancing undergraduate faculty teaching of quantitative biology research methods. Further the project outcomes will generate instructional strategies and curricular resources founded in contemporary quantitative biology research and an expanded network of undergraduate biology faculty and scientists at research institutes engaging students in classroom-based quantitative biology research.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).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.