This study applies the intended-enacted-experienced curriculum model to map the Vision and Change... more This study applies the intended-enacted-experienced curriculum model to map the Vision and Change core competencies across undergraduate biology courses. A five-department pilot of a curriculum mapping survey is followed by a deep dive of 10 courses to provide a rich snapshot of current core competency teaching and assessment practices.
Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guid... more Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guide undergraduate biology education: 1) evolution; 2) structure and function; 3) information flow, ex-change, and storage; 4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and 5) systems. We have taken these general recommendations and created a Vision and Change BioCore Guide—a set of general principles and specific statements that expand upon the core concepts, creating a framework that biology departments can use to align with the goals of Vision and Change. We used a grassroots approach to generate the BioCore Guide, beginning with faculty ideas as the basis for an iterative process that incorporated feedback from more than 240 biologists and biology educators at a diverse range of academic institutions throughout the United States. The final validation step in this process demonstrated strong national consensus, with more than 90 % of respondents agreeing with the importance and ...
Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guid... more Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guide undergraduate biology education: 1) evolution; 2) structure and function; 3) information flow, exchange, and storage; 4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and 5) systems. We have taken these general recommendations and created a Vision and Change BioCore Guide—a set of general principles and specific statements that expand upon the core concepts, creating a framework that biology departments can use to align with the goals of Vision and Change. We used a grassroots approach to generate the BioCore Guide, beginning with faculty ideas as the basis for an iterative process that incorporated feedback from more than 240 biologists and biology educators at a diverse range of academic institutions throughout the United States. The final validation step in this process demonstrated strong national consensus, with more than 90% of respondents agreeing with the importance and sc...
We developed the Blooming Biology Tool (BBT), an assessment tool based on Bloom’s Taxon-omy, to a... more We developed the Blooming Biology Tool (BBT), an assessment tool based on Bloom’s Taxon-omy, to assist science faculty in better aligning their assessments with their teaching activities and to help students enhance their study skills and metacognition. The work presented here shows how assessment tools, such as the BBT, can be used to guide and enhance teaching and student learning in a discipline-specific manner in postsecondary education. The BBT was first designed and extensively tested for a study in which we ranked almost 600 science questions from college life science exams and standardized tests. The BBT was then implemented in three different collegiate settings. Implementation of the BBT helped us to adjust our teaching to better enhance our students ’ current mastery of the material, design questions at higher cognitive skills levels, and assist students in studying for college-level exams and in writing study questions at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. From this work...
Aberrant expression of developmentally silenced genes, characteristic of tumor cells and regenera... more Aberrant expression of developmentally silenced genes, characteristic of tumor cells and regenerating tissue, is highly correlated with increased cell proliferation. By modeling this process in vitro in synthetic nuclei, we find that DNA replication leads to deregulation of established developmental expression patterns. Chromatin assembly in the presence of adult mouse liver nuclear extract mediates developmental stage-specific silencing of the tumor marker gene alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Replication of silenced AFP chromatin in synthetic nuclei depletes sequence-specific transcription repressors, thereby disrupting developmentally regulated repression. Hepatoma-derived factors can target partial derepression of AFP, but full transcription activation requires DNA replication. Thus, unscheduled entry into S phase directly mediates activation of a developmentally silenced gene by (i) depleting developmental stage-specific transcription repressors and (ii) facilitating binding of transac...
It is commonly accepted that memorization and recall (knowledge-level skills) are lower order cog... more It is commonly accepted that memorization and recall (knowledge-level skills) are lower order cognitive skills that require only a minimum level of understanding, whereas the application of knowledge and critical thinking (application, analysis, synthesis & evaluation-level skills) are higher order cognitive skills that require deep conceptual understanding 1 . In our Biology department we have begun introducing students to Bloom’s taxonomy 2 during the introductory series to help students recognize the different levels of thinking they will need to master to succeed in the curriculum. To aid students in identifying the levels that are most challenging for them, we are piloting a program that provides students with their individual “Bloom’s score” after each exam. The Bloom’s score indicates how well they performed on questions requiring different levels of Bloom’s. We created the Bloom’s-based Learning Activities for Students (BLASt) 3 , a complementary student-directed tool design...
Biology as a discipline has expanded dramatically. As we begin to acknowledge that we cannot poss... more Biology as a discipline has expanded dramatically. As we begin to acknowledge that we cannot possibly teach everything in an undergraduate biology curriculum, we struggle to come to consensus about what is most important to teach. The report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education (AAAS, 2011) offers a set of five core concepts that are intended to provide structure for an undergraduate biology education: (1) evolution, (2) structure and function, (3) information flow, exchange, and storage, (4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter, and (5) systems. We have taken these general concepts and interpreted what they mean for the three major sub-disciplines of biology: molecular/cellular biology, physiology, and ecology/evolution. Using a grassroots approach of soliciting input from faculty at a diverse range of institutions nationally, we have incorporated the feedback of over 240 faculty members to create a set of general principles and specific statements that...
ABSTRACTTo excel in modern STEM careers, biology majors need a range of transferrable skills, yet... more ABSTRACTTo excel in modern STEM careers, biology majors need a range of transferrable skills, yet skill development is often a relatively underdeveloped facet of the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we have elaborated the Vision and Change core competency framework into a resource called the BioSkills Guide, a set of measurable learning outcomes that can be more readily interpreted and implemented by faculty. Over 600 college biology educators representing over 250 institutions, including 73 community colleges, contributed to the development and validation of the guide. Our grassroots approach during the development phase engaged over 200 educators over the course of five iterative rounds of review and revision. We then gathered evidence of the BioSkills Guide’s content validity using a national survey of over 400 educators. Across the 77 outcomes in the final draft, rates of respondent support for outcomes were high (73.5% - 99.5%). Our national sample included college biology educa...
The Vision and Change report provides a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that un... more The Vision and Change report provides a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that undergraduate biology students should master by graduation. While identifying these concepts was an important first step, departments also need ways to measure the extent to which students understand these concepts. Here, we present the General Biology–Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science (GenBio-MAPS) assessment as a tool to measure student understanding of the core concepts at key time points in a biology degree program. Data from more than 5000 students at 20 institutions reveal that this instrument distinguishes students at different stages of the curriculum, with an upward trend of increased performance at later time points. Despite this trend, we identify several concepts that advanced students find challenging. Linear mixed-effects models reveal that gender, race/ethnicity, English-language status, and first-generation status predict overall performance and that differen...
The primary measure used to determine relative effectiveness of in-class activities has been stud... more The primary measure used to determine relative effectiveness of in-class activities has been student performance on pre/posttests. However, in today's active-learning classrooms, learning is a social activity, requiring students to interact and learn from their peers. To develop effective active-learning exercises that engage students, it is important to gain a more holistic view of the student experience in an active-learning classroom. We have taken a mixed-methods approach to iteratively develop and validate a 16-item survey to measure multiple facets of the student experience during active-learning exercises. The instrument, which we call Assessing Student Perspective of Engagement in Class Tool (ASPECT), was administered to a large introductory biology class, and student responses were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The 16 items loaded onto three factors that cumulatively explained 52% of the variation in student response: 1) value of activity, 2) personal effort...
This study applies the intended-enacted-experienced curriculum model to map the Vision and Change... more This study applies the intended-enacted-experienced curriculum model to map the Vision and Change core competencies across undergraduate biology courses. A five-department pilot of a curriculum mapping survey is followed by a deep dive of 10 courses to provide a rich snapshot of current core competency teaching and assessment practices.
Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guid... more Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guide undergraduate biology education: 1) evolution; 2) structure and function; 3) information flow, ex-change, and storage; 4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and 5) systems. We have taken these general recommendations and created a Vision and Change BioCore Guide—a set of general principles and specific statements that expand upon the core concepts, creating a framework that biology departments can use to align with the goals of Vision and Change. We used a grassroots approach to generate the BioCore Guide, beginning with faculty ideas as the basis for an iterative process that incorporated feedback from more than 240 biologists and biology educators at a diverse range of academic institutions throughout the United States. The final validation step in this process demonstrated strong national consensus, with more than 90 % of respondents agreeing with the importance and ...
Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guid... more Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education outlined five core concepts intended to guide undergraduate biology education: 1) evolution; 2) structure and function; 3) information flow, exchange, and storage; 4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and 5) systems. We have taken these general recommendations and created a Vision and Change BioCore Guide—a set of general principles and specific statements that expand upon the core concepts, creating a framework that biology departments can use to align with the goals of Vision and Change. We used a grassroots approach to generate the BioCore Guide, beginning with faculty ideas as the basis for an iterative process that incorporated feedback from more than 240 biologists and biology educators at a diverse range of academic institutions throughout the United States. The final validation step in this process demonstrated strong national consensus, with more than 90% of respondents agreeing with the importance and sc...
We developed the Blooming Biology Tool (BBT), an assessment tool based on Bloom’s Taxon-omy, to a... more We developed the Blooming Biology Tool (BBT), an assessment tool based on Bloom’s Taxon-omy, to assist science faculty in better aligning their assessments with their teaching activities and to help students enhance their study skills and metacognition. The work presented here shows how assessment tools, such as the BBT, can be used to guide and enhance teaching and student learning in a discipline-specific manner in postsecondary education. The BBT was first designed and extensively tested for a study in which we ranked almost 600 science questions from college life science exams and standardized tests. The BBT was then implemented in three different collegiate settings. Implementation of the BBT helped us to adjust our teaching to better enhance our students ’ current mastery of the material, design questions at higher cognitive skills levels, and assist students in studying for college-level exams and in writing study questions at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. From this work...
Aberrant expression of developmentally silenced genes, characteristic of tumor cells and regenera... more Aberrant expression of developmentally silenced genes, characteristic of tumor cells and regenerating tissue, is highly correlated with increased cell proliferation. By modeling this process in vitro in synthetic nuclei, we find that DNA replication leads to deregulation of established developmental expression patterns. Chromatin assembly in the presence of adult mouse liver nuclear extract mediates developmental stage-specific silencing of the tumor marker gene alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Replication of silenced AFP chromatin in synthetic nuclei depletes sequence-specific transcription repressors, thereby disrupting developmentally regulated repression. Hepatoma-derived factors can target partial derepression of AFP, but full transcription activation requires DNA replication. Thus, unscheduled entry into S phase directly mediates activation of a developmentally silenced gene by (i) depleting developmental stage-specific transcription repressors and (ii) facilitating binding of transac...
It is commonly accepted that memorization and recall (knowledge-level skills) are lower order cog... more It is commonly accepted that memorization and recall (knowledge-level skills) are lower order cognitive skills that require only a minimum level of understanding, whereas the application of knowledge and critical thinking (application, analysis, synthesis & evaluation-level skills) are higher order cognitive skills that require deep conceptual understanding 1 . In our Biology department we have begun introducing students to Bloom’s taxonomy 2 during the introductory series to help students recognize the different levels of thinking they will need to master to succeed in the curriculum. To aid students in identifying the levels that are most challenging for them, we are piloting a program that provides students with their individual “Bloom’s score” after each exam. The Bloom’s score indicates how well they performed on questions requiring different levels of Bloom’s. We created the Bloom’s-based Learning Activities for Students (BLASt) 3 , a complementary student-directed tool design...
Biology as a discipline has expanded dramatically. As we begin to acknowledge that we cannot poss... more Biology as a discipline has expanded dramatically. As we begin to acknowledge that we cannot possibly teach everything in an undergraduate biology curriculum, we struggle to come to consensus about what is most important to teach. The report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education (AAAS, 2011) offers a set of five core concepts that are intended to provide structure for an undergraduate biology education: (1) evolution, (2) structure and function, (3) information flow, exchange, and storage, (4) pathways and transformations of energy and matter, and (5) systems. We have taken these general concepts and interpreted what they mean for the three major sub-disciplines of biology: molecular/cellular biology, physiology, and ecology/evolution. Using a grassroots approach of soliciting input from faculty at a diverse range of institutions nationally, we have incorporated the feedback of over 240 faculty members to create a set of general principles and specific statements that...
ABSTRACTTo excel in modern STEM careers, biology majors need a range of transferrable skills, yet... more ABSTRACTTo excel in modern STEM careers, biology majors need a range of transferrable skills, yet skill development is often a relatively underdeveloped facet of the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we have elaborated the Vision and Change core competency framework into a resource called the BioSkills Guide, a set of measurable learning outcomes that can be more readily interpreted and implemented by faculty. Over 600 college biology educators representing over 250 institutions, including 73 community colleges, contributed to the development and validation of the guide. Our grassroots approach during the development phase engaged over 200 educators over the course of five iterative rounds of review and revision. We then gathered evidence of the BioSkills Guide’s content validity using a national survey of over 400 educators. Across the 77 outcomes in the final draft, rates of respondent support for outcomes were high (73.5% - 99.5%). Our national sample included college biology educa...
The Vision and Change report provides a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that un... more The Vision and Change report provides a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that undergraduate biology students should master by graduation. While identifying these concepts was an important first step, departments also need ways to measure the extent to which students understand these concepts. Here, we present the General Biology–Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science (GenBio-MAPS) assessment as a tool to measure student understanding of the core concepts at key time points in a biology degree program. Data from more than 5000 students at 20 institutions reveal that this instrument distinguishes students at different stages of the curriculum, with an upward trend of increased performance at later time points. Despite this trend, we identify several concepts that advanced students find challenging. Linear mixed-effects models reveal that gender, race/ethnicity, English-language status, and first-generation status predict overall performance and that differen...
The primary measure used to determine relative effectiveness of in-class activities has been stud... more The primary measure used to determine relative effectiveness of in-class activities has been student performance on pre/posttests. However, in today's active-learning classrooms, learning is a social activity, requiring students to interact and learn from their peers. To develop effective active-learning exercises that engage students, it is important to gain a more holistic view of the student experience in an active-learning classroom. We have taken a mixed-methods approach to iteratively develop and validate a 16-item survey to measure multiple facets of the student experience during active-learning exercises. The instrument, which we call Assessing Student Perspective of Engagement in Class Tool (ASPECT), was administered to a large introductory biology class, and student responses were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The 16 items loaded onto three factors that cumulatively explained 52% of the variation in student response: 1) value of activity, 2) personal effort...
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