Conference: Dream Catcher or Dream Killer: The Impact of Gateway Courses on Transfer Students in the Biological Sciences; U.C-Davis; Summer/Fall, 2017

这次为期两天的会议将启动一个由社区学院和加州大学(UC)的教育利益相关者组成的网络，以制定和实施支持和准备生物转学学生的共同愿景。与新生Start学生相比，生物转学学生在表现和职业发展轨迹上的差距是一个必须解决的关键问题，特别是考虑到加州社区大学的代表不足和服务不足的学生比例很高。拟议中的会议是该地区第一次由来自这些机构的教育工作者和顾问会面并讨论课程设置和对其课程和计划的期望、学生面临的挑战和潜在的解决方案。这对于生物学来说尤其重要，因为专业的数量非常多，学生的多样性，以及发现和技术的变革性和快速变化的步伐，以及与其他STEM领域的许多跨学科联系。这一努力的结果可能会影响每年数以千计的转学学生，并代表着为加州及其他地区产生可扩展、协作和可持续的教学模式的初步努力。大会将包括55-60名来自加州大学和社区学院的平等代表。加州大学戴维斯分校是北加州理想的中心位置，方圆100英里内有超过32所社区学院。将从每个机构中确定并邀请两到四名成员(包括教师、顾问、转学协调员、管理人员)，以确保所有利益相关者对问题和认同的多方面看法。具体目标包括：1)在加州大学和社区学院之间建立更有效的沟通渠道，以形成共同的愿景；2)收集关于生物课程与必修课之间错位的信息；3)开始努力更好地支持转学学生的成功学习进程；4)讨论快速变化的研究和技术速度如何影响课程和要求；以及5)讨论教学干预和新的教学方法，以打破多年来困扰转学学生的“沉没或游泳”的教学模式。该项目由生物科学局和本科教育司教育和人力资源局联合资助，作为他们应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》(http://visionandchange/finalreport/).)中提出的挑战的努力的一部分

This two day conference will launch a network of educational stakeholders from community colleges and the University of California (UC) to develop and implement a shared vision for the support and preparation of biology transfer students. The disparity in performance and career trajectories of biology transfer students compared to freshman start students is a critical problem that must be addressed, particularly in light of the high percentage of underrepresented and underserved students attending California community colleges. The proposed conference is the first of its kind in the region for educators and advisors from these institutions to meet and discuss the curriculum and expectations of their courses and programs, challenges students face, and potential solutions. This is particularly important for biology given the very large number of majors, student diversity, and the transformative and fast pace of changes in discoveries and technology with numerous interdisciplinary ties to other STEM fields. The results of this effort have the potential to impact thousands of transfer students a year and represents an initial effort to generate a scalable, collaborative, and sustainable instructional model for California and beyond. The conference will include 55-60 individuals with equal representation from the UC and the community colleges. UC Davis campus is an ideal central location in Northern California with over 32 community colleges within a 100-mile radius. Two to four members from each institution will be identified and invited (including faculty, advisors, transfer coordinators, administrators) to insure a multifaceted view of the issues and buy-in from all stakeholders. The specific objectives include the following: 1) to establish more effective lines of communication between the UCs and community colleges in order to develop a shared vision; 2) to gather information about misalignments between the biology curriculum and prerequisites; 3) to initiate efforts toward better supporting successful learning progression for transfer students; 4) to discuss how the rapidly changing pace of research and technology is impacting curricula and requirements; and 5) to discuss instructional interventions and new teaching methods that could break the "sink or swim" instructional model that has plagued transfer students for many years. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences 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/).