Improving Quantitative Skills of Life Science Majors at Cal State Los Angeles

提高加州州立大学洛杉矶分校生命科学专业学生的定量技能

• 批准号: 8091299
• 负责人: James P Henderson
• 金额: $ 26.33万
• 依托单位: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-07-05 至 2013-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8091299
• 关键词: Active Learning; Area; Awareness; Biochemistry; Bioinformatics; Biological; Biological Sciences; Biology; Bioterrorism; Calculi; California; Chemistry; Collaborations; Communication; Complex; Computational Biology; Computers; Data; Data Analyses; Development; Discipline; Educational Curriculum; Educational process of instructing; Educational workshop; Faculty; Foundations; Future; Goals; Institutes; Institution; Laboratories; Life; Los Angeles; Mathematical Biology; Mathematics; Medicine; Mentors; Minor; Natural Sciences; Online Systems; Physics; Positioning Attribute; Probability; Recurrence; Research; Research Institute; Resources; Science; Scientist; Social Sciences; Students; Technology; Terrorism; Training; Universities; War; Wireless Technology; Work; base; career; college; computer program; computer science; design; graduate student; improved; interest; laptop; lectures; programs; skills; success; tool; working group

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): California State University, Los Angeles proposes to engage in a five-year project for curricular change that will improve the quantitative skills of its biology and biochemistry undergraduates, and prepare them for careers in life science. Students graduating over the next ten years will have the opportunity to make a strong impact on the growing fields of personalized medicine, genetically modified crops, and the war on bioterrorism. The challenge is that biological data are being gathered and characterized at an increasingly rapid pace and the tools for data analysis are complex. For future biologists to contribute to these exciting new fields, a change in the traditional life science curriculum is required. The Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences is program director of the project, and will oversee activities of a working group of faculty from the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science. To help equip our students with the skills necessary for their success, we have formulated the following specific goals: (1) improve quantitative skills of life science undergraduate students, (2) integrate the biology and quantitative sciences curricula (physics, math, chemistry, and computer science), (3) prepare students for graduate programs and careers in bioinformatics. To strive toward these goals we propose to accomplish the following specific aims during the project duration: (1) modify the mathematics curriculum for the Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, (2) introduce quantitative teaching modules into biology courses, (3) offer a minor in Bioinformatics for students with cross-disciplinary interests, and (4) create a campus-based Center for Interdisciplinary Quantitative Analysis. Our rationale is that meaningful collaboration between life scientists and quantitative scientists can occur only if there is substantive communication, at a high level, between them. By applying new pedagogical approaches, such as the scientific teaching approach, we expect that students will improve their quantitative skills and better understand the connections between the scientific disciplines.

描述（由申请人提供）：洛杉矶的加州州立大学提议进行一项为期五年的课程改革项目，该项目将提高生物学和生物化学本科生的定量技能，并为他们在生命科学领域的职业生涯做好准备。未来十年毕业的学生将有机会对个性化医疗，转基因作物和生物恐怖主义战争等日益增长的领域产生重大影响。面临的挑战是，生物数据的收集和定性速度越来越快，数据分析工具也很复杂。为了让未来的生物学家为这些令人兴奋的新领域做出贡献，需要改变传统的生命科学课程。自然和社会科学学院院长是该项目的项目主任，并将监督来自生物科学，化学和生物化学，物理，数学和计算机科学系的教师工作组的活动。为了帮助我们的学生掌握成功所需的技能，我们制定了以下具体目标：（1）提高生命科学本科生的定量技能，（2）整合生物学和定量科学课程（物理，数学，化学和计算机科学），（3）为学生准备研究生课程和生物信息学职业生涯。 为了实现这些目标，我们建议在项目期间实现以下具体目标：（1）修改生物学理学学士学位的数学课程，（2）将定量教学模块引入生物学课程，（3）为具有跨学科兴趣的学生提供生物信息学辅修课程，以及（4）创建一个基于校园的跨学科定量分析中心。 我们的理由是，只有在生命科学家和定量科学家之间进行高级别的实质性交流，他们之间才能进行有意义的合作。通过应用新的教学方法，如科学教学方法，我们希望学生将提高他们的定量技能，更好地理解科学学科之间的联系。