RCN-UBE: An Inclusive Community Transforming the Assessment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Learning in Undergraduate Programs

该项目旨在通过建立一个包容的教育工作者社区，致力于在大学水平的生物化学和分子生物学课程和课程中实施公平评估学生学习的最佳实践，从而为国家利益服务。在过去的十年里，人们越来越意识到系统评估学生学习成果的必要性和价值。评估不仅在课程结束时使用，而且在整个课程，模块，课程和课程中使用。在评估中产生的数据被教师、学术项目和机构用于评估学生的学习成果和教学效果，以及确定改进的领域。此外，由于评估工具受到开发和使用它们的人的观点的限制，因此在其设计和解释中引入各种观点是至关重要的。尽管它很重要，但很少有分子生命科学讲师接受过正式的评估培训。通过提供评估培训，该项目填补了空白，加强了国家在分子生命科学方面的高等教育项目。此外，通过以公平问题为中心的项目，该项目建立了一个包容性的从业者社区，更准确地反映了国家的人口结构。虽然许多教师理解并同意评估的重要性，但由于缺乏正式培训，特别是在分子生命科学方面，将其付诸实践可能具有挑战性。因此，有必要为生物化学和分子生物学教师提供专门的学科工具和培训。为了满足这一需求，并借鉴了一个非常成功的初步讲习班，该项目在五年的时间里提供了一系列评估讲习班。这些研讨会以基于证据的策略和通用考试设计为基础，旨在创建公平的评估工具、流程和实践。该系列研讨会侧重于三种类型的评估：总结性评估，形成性评估和替代评估，它使用非考试工具来衡量生物化学和分子生物学知识和/或技能的获取和应用。调查和参与者访谈将用于评估讲习班的有效性，社会网络分析将评估网络的增长和多样化。参与者将有机会反思向网络参与者提供培训和支持的方式，包括将历史上被边缘化的人群中的教师提升到国家分子生命科学教育工作者群体中的领导职位。关于社会包容性的讨论将由指导委员会的两名成员指导，并就STEM的公平和包容性进行培训。该网络的活动将作为发展一个更大的生物化学和分子生物学科学家-教育家社区的纽带，致力于评估学生在生物化学和分子生物学方面的成果。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 project aims to serve the national interest by building an inclusive community of educators committed to implementing best practices in the equitable assessment of student learning in college-level biochemistry and molecular biology courses and curricula. The last decade has seen an increasing awareness of the need for, and value of, systematic assessment of student learning outcomes. Assessment is used not only at the end of courses but throughout lessons, modules, courses, and curricula. The data generated in assessment are used by instructors, academic programs, and institutions for evaluating both student learning outcomes and teaching effectiveness, as well as for identifying areas of improvement. Furthermore, since assessment instruments are limited by the perspectives of the people who develop and use them, it is essential to bring a variety of perspectives into their design and interpretation. Despite its importance, few molecular life science instructors receive formal training in assessment. By delivering training in assessment, this project fills a gap, strengthening the nation’s higher education programs in the molecular life sciences. Moreover, by centering the project on issues of equity, the project builds an inclusive community of practitioners that more accurately reflects the demographics of the nation.While many faculty understand and agree with the importance of assessment, putting it into practice can be challenging because of a lack of formal training, particularly in the molecular life sciences. Therefore, discipline-specific tools and training for faculty in biochemistry and molecular biology are necessary. To meet this need - and drawing upon a highly successful preliminary workshop - this project offers a series of assessment workshops over the course of five years. These workshops are rooted in evidence-based strategies and universal exam design with the goal of creating equitable assessment tools, processes, and practices. The workshop series focuses on three types of assessment: summative, formative, and alternative assessment, which uses non-examination instruments to measure the acquisition and application of biochemistry and molecular biology knowledge and/or skills. Surveys and participant interviews will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops, and social network analysis will evaluate the growth and diversification of the network. Participants will be given opportunities to reflect on the ways in which training and support is given to network participants, including the promotion of instructors from historically marginalized populations into positions of leadership within the national community of molecular life science educators. Discussions of the community’s inclusivity will be guided by two members on our Steering Committee with training on equity and inclusion in STEM. The network’s activities will serve as a nexus for development of a larger community of biochemistry and molecular biology scientist-educators dedicated to the assessment of student outcomes in biochemistry and molecular biology. 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.