Collaborative Research: Integrating Interdisciplinary Approaches into Biology Textbooks

该项目汇集了跨学科领域的研究，为生物学和生物学教育创造了一种新的方法。该项目借鉴了人文学科甚至学术界以外的理论工作，以改变我们对生活世界知识的思考方式。目前，生物学教育仍然依赖于生物学事实的记忆。这些事实往往被简化和狭隘地发展在一个学科。通过将当前科学和技术文献中的知识整合到生物学课程中，本科生将学习终身从事科学和研究的额外技能。开发的课程旨在改变所有人如何看待他们的能力和道德责任，以了解和充分参与科学。因此，这项研究有可能通过使用参与式学习方式来影响对生物学感兴趣和投资的人。这种教学干预将有助于科学的好处在全社会更均匀地分配。决策者、教育工作者、家长和学生将对项目成果感兴趣。该项目分为三个部分。第一部分通过分析当前的生物教科书，确定干预点，为项目提供了基础和理论依据。该项目的第二部分从生物学教育中通常代表性不足的跨学科学术和非学术来源中挑选生物学，身体和环境主题的研究。该项目的最后部分将这些知识纳入教育模块，在课堂和公共论坛上进行测试。为了实现其潜力，并允许未来扩展到K-12和更大的公众群体，其结果将通过开放获取广泛提供给教育工作者和非专业人士。这个项目也可以作为一个模式，如何更多的跨学科研究可以成功地进行跨典型的划分之间的人文和科学。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持的评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This project brings together research from interdisciplinary fields to create a novel approach to biology and biology education. This project draws from theoretical work across the humanities and even outside of the academy to change the way we think about knowledge about our living worlds. Currently biology education continues to rely on memorization of biological facts. Those facts are often simplified and narrowly developed in one discipline. By integrating knowledge from current science and technology literature into biology curriculum, undergraduate students will learn additional skills for engaging in science and research throughout their lives. The developed curriculum aims to shift how all people think about their competence and ethical responsibility to understand and fully participate in science. This study therefore has the potential to impact who becomes interested and invested in biology by using participatory ways of learning. This pedagogical intervention will contribute to the benefits of science to be more evenly distributed throughout society. The project outcomes will be of interest to policy makers, educators, parents and students. The project is broken into three parts. The first part provides the basis and rationale for the project by analyzing current biology textbooks identifying points for intervention. Part two of the project culls research on the subject matter of biology, bodies and environments, from interdisciplinary academic and non-academic sources that are typically underrepresented in biology education. The final part of the project integrates these knowledges into education modules to be tested in classes and public forums. To realize its potential and allow for future expansion to K-12 and larger segments of the public, the results will be made broadly accessible to educators and laypersons through open access. This project may also serve as a model for how more interdisciplinary research can be successfully conducted across typical divisions between the humanities and sciences.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.