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Challenges of biology education for the 21st century - beyond bio2010 symposium, may 21, 2010
- 1. Challenge s of Undergraduate Biology Education for the 21st Century THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine National Research Council Jay Labov National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Washington, DC [email_address] http://nationalacademies.org AAAS Community College Forum Lessons Learned About Biotechnology Education February 17, 2011
- 11. NRC Board on Life Sciences (2003) Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists
- 12. NRC Board on Life Sciences (2009). A New Biology for the 21 st Century: Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution American Association for the Advancement of Science National Science Foundation (2010) Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education National Research Council (2002) Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools NRC Board on Life Sciences (2003 ) Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists
- 24. In a great irony, the academy itself may be the last obstacle to improving the quality of biology education for all students. Thus, raising the profile of science education within biology departments and ensuring that the academic culture values both faculty teaching and student learning should be everyone’s highest priorities, truly a cultural change on many campuses. C. Brewer, U MT, 2/2010
Editor's Notes
- SO WHY CHANGE AND WHY NOW? The 21 st century will be the century of biology – we are in the midst of a revolution in what we understand about life on earth, and in the tools we use to gain this understanding. And there are urgent challenges facing society that intersect with the life sciences and that are well described in the new NRC report – A New Biology for the 21 st Century. The last century has not only given us new tools and knowledge in the biological sciences – writ large. It has also given us new tools and insights about how people learn. It’s time to make sure our biology courses and curricula reflect the best of what our science has to offer, and that they reflect the best of what we know about how to connect teaching with learning. What Stands in the Way ? Perhaps the answer lies in how our disciplines are defined and our institutions of higher education are organized. Biology is a rather fragmented discipline with ever more subspecialties emerging every decade since the early 1900’s. Adding to this fragmentation is the fact that biologists do not come together regularly under the umbrella of one professional organization. We meet as molecular biologists or ecologists, or as microbiologists or physiologists in our professional home societies, but rarely do we come together with a common purpose at life scientists. And the way people pursue higher education is changing too – with more and more people starting in two-year colleges and pursuing some of their training with distance education methods. These students expect their education to be relevant and relate to real life. And the future research enterprise depends on them having a disposition for and experience in collaborating on interdisciplinary problems. These are all challenges for higher education in the coming years. With this backdrop, it really is astounding that the vision and change initiative brought 100’s of life scientists came together who represented a broad array of subdisciplines and types of institutions. And their singular focus was on what is needed to foster biological literacy and to prepare the next generation of life scientists and citizens.
- SO WHAT ABOUT STUDENT – CENTERED CLASSROOMS and learning outcomes ? We have made patchy progress on campuses to make courses more student-centered and to better link teaching with learning outcomes. And there is still much work to do in this arena. A clear message is that we need to do a better job of linking our teaching to student learning though carefully considered assessment. We are researchers after all – we have an opportunity to use classroom research methods and data to improve and enhance learning. Making this linkage is key to igniting a passion for learning biology in all of our students.
- Among the many voices represented are those of students. The students at the meeting had a lot to say about their education. They want to be challenged, and to learn how to think and communicate. They want real research experiences. And they want what they are learning to be relevant and connected to real life. And the action items listed in the report reflect their perspective.
- Truly a profound cultural change is needed to improve biology education on many campuses around the country. A clear message from the conference is that it is high time for institutions to walk the talk of valuing teaching and raising the profile of education within science departments. It is in the interest of the students, the departments, the campus, and the future of the academy.