RCN-UBE: Preparing to Prepare the 21st Century Biology Student: Using Scientific Societies as Change Agents for the Introductory Biology Experience

俄克拉荷马大学和美国生物科学研究所将与主要的国家生物学会合作，阐明如何最好地培养生物学学生和具有科学素养的公民的共同愿景。这个名为“为21世纪的生物学学生做准备”的项目将在5年的时间里通过一系列的网络会议来动员本科生物学教育的顶尖教师。这些会议的主要目标是建立一个生物学入门经验的模型，建立一个在线交流网络，将生物学家、生物教育项目和积极从事本科生物学教育的生物学会联系起来，并帮助教师在他们所属的科学学会的帮助下改革他们的基础生物学课程。该项目有三个主要组成部分：1)小型面对面会议，以促进旨在生物入门体验的改革活动的创新；2)更大规模的面对面会议，以协调生物学导论的不同方法，并在整个科学学会中增加现有最佳实践的使用；3)建立一个连接科学学会及其成员的交流网络，以广泛促进生物教育中最佳实践和研究的创新和适应。该网络还将为教师在实施生物教育改革战略时提出的问题提供答案。数百名教授数千名学生的教师将参加面对面的会议，这些参与者将在他们的科学学会年度会议期间为他们的同事领导专业发展活动。该项目的智力价值来自于它将催化本科生物学教育的重大改进的可能性。该项目的更广泛的影响将来自于通过网络、通过参与的科学协会和参与的本国机构的教员广泛传播最佳实践。

The University of Oklahoma and the American Institute of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with key national biological societies, will articulate a shared vision of how best to prepare biology students and scientifically literate citizens. This project, entitled Preparing to Prepare the 21st Century Biology Student, will use a series of networking meetings over a five-year period to mobilize leading faculty in undergraduate biology education. Primary goals of these meetings will be to develop a model of introductory biology experiences, to develop an online communication network that connects biologists, biology education projects, and biological societies actively engaged in undergraduate biology education, and to help faculty reform their basic biology courses with the help of scientific societies to which the faculty belong. The project has three major components: 1) small face-to-face meetings to promote innovation in reform activities aimed at the Introductory Biology experience; 2) larger face-to-face meetings to coordinate disparate approaches in Introductory Biology and to increase the use of existing best practices throughout scientific societies; and 3) a communication network linking scientific societies and their members to promote widely both innovation and adaptation of best practices and research in biology education. The network also will provide answers to questions from instructors as they attempt to implement biological education reform strategies. Hundreds of faculty members who teach thousands of students will participate in the face-to-face meetings, and these participants will lead professional development activities for their colleagues during annual meetings of their scientific societies. The intellectual merit of the project arises from the likelihood that it will catalyze significant improvements in undergraduate biology education. The broader impacts of the project will result from a broad distribution of best practices through the network, by participating scientific societies, and by participating faculty at their home institutions.