Keynote Address: My Students Are Smarter Than Me!
Introduced by David Usher
A. Malcolm Campbell and Laurie J. Heyer Davidson College
"
Today’s students face new pressures from the rapidly changing science and from a
globally competitive market. If students only study in their majors, then their options will
be limited. Biology has matured to the point where math and computer science are
needed to make sense of the vast datasets. If a student seeks a research career, he or
she had better pursue an education that enhances his or her quantitative skills. Since
our students’ needs are changing, what must we do as their teachers to keep up with
the changing demands? How can we retool ourselves and our courses? Do we need
new courses? Should we team teach more? Can we tweak what we have and honestly
meet the needs of our students? This presentation will offer some answers and invite an
honest discussion from the audience.
Keynote address:
Introduction: Joe Watkins
Mary Ann Horn, Program Director, National Science Foundation, Division
of Mathematical Sciences
Abstract not received
WHITE PAPER 1: INCORPORATING BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS INTO
MATHEMATICS COURSES
Lester Caudill and Kathy Hoke, University of Richmond
Bio2010, Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research
Biologists, published in 2003 by the National Research Council, has underscored the
need for new and explicit connections between undergraduate mathematics and biology
curricula, to train a new generation of future scientists on the power in combining the
two. Currently, a small number of schools have attempted to address this need. These
efforts generally fall into one of three categories: (i) Incorporating biological problems
and examples into existing mathematics courses, (ii) incorporating mathematical
techniques into existing biology courses, or (iii) creating new “hybrid” mathematical
biology (or biomathematics) courses from scratch. In this presentation, we report on
several efforts from both categories (i) and (iii), and identify opportunities for further
work.
WHITE PAPER 2: BIOLOGY/MATHEMATICS INTERDISCIPLINARY
MAJORS AND MINORS.
David C. Usher and John A. Pelesko, University of Delaware
Bio2010, Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists,
published in 2003 by National Research Council, strongly recommended changing life
science curricula to emphasize the physical, chemical and quantitative sciences. The
spectrum of approaches towards meeting the goals of Bio2010 ranges from a highly
biological to a highly mathematical focus. In the former, new quantitative learning
modules are being embedded into biology courses and new biology courses are being
developed that emphasize quantitative analysis of biological systems. In the later,
mathematicians are being trained to apply their knowledge to biological problems. In
this presentation we document the approaches taken at different Universities and
Colleges that have produced new interdisciplinary curricula integrating biology and
mathematics.
WHITE PAPER 3: INCORPORATING MATHEMATICS INTO BIOLOGY
Karen Nelson, University of Maryland
With contributions from Stephan Aley (UTEP), Jeff Knisley (Eastern Tennessee State
University), Bob Kosinski (Clemson University), Jennifer Nelson (Canisius College), and
Ethel Stanley (BioQUEST Beloit College)
To obtain a deeper understanding of biological phenomena, students need to be
immersed in quantitative approaches throughout the biology curriculum. A plethora of
materials have been developed to integrate mathematical material into biology courses,
but these materials have never been gathered in one place and cataloged. In fact it
seems likely that many mathematically-inclined instructors have found it easier to
design their own material rather than wading through what is available online. While doit-yourself may be possible for some, many of us are better served by exploring existing
resources, choosing one, and modifying it to fit our situation. Even if we create our own,
there is much to be gained by seeing other approaches to the topic.
Active members of our committee went though several steps to work out a preliminary
database. The white paper contains a list of resources identified by our committee so
far (8 major online series of math/biology modules, miscellaneous modules, and online
databases). We describe the type of information that we believe would be useful to
instructors evaluating online resources (such as level, length, and usability), and our
preliminary attempts to include these categories in a database. At the workshop, we
plan to ask for input/feedback concerning the usefulness of our evaluation criteria and
the completeness of our math and biology keyword list.
Invited Talks (4) [20 minutes each with discussion at the end.] The speakers will be
chosen from those submitting abstracts
BlastEd: An exemplar for Interdisciplinary Learning and Curriculum Development
Author: Randall Pruim (Calvin College) BlastEd is an educational website that explores
BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), a computational tool for comparing
genetic sequences. By providing (1) the relevant background information on genetics
and algorithms, and (2) a Java applet that illustrates key elements of the BLAST
algorithm, biology students are introduced to important issues in computational thinking
and computer science students are introduced to a real-world biological application.
Finally, BlastEd provides a model for how to teach natural scientists about computing
and how to teach computer scientists about science. The initial work on BlastEd was
done in June 2007 during a 1-week workshop jointly sponsored as a Professional
Enhancement Program (PREP) of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the
SC07 Education Program, and the National Computational Science Institute (NCSI). At
the workshop mathematics, biology, and computer science educators learned from one
another and worked in interdisciplinary teams to produce undergraduate educational
materials. In addition to producing version 1 of BlastEd, this project provided valuable
insights into both the importance of and the challenges of such interdisciplinary
collaborative efforts.
Fri, 6/27/08 8:31 AM
2.
Title: Mathematical Biology at a small undergraduate college: major, courses and
research Authors: Lisette de Pillis (Dept. of Mathematics) and Steve Adolph (Dept. of
Biology), Harvey Mudd College Abstract: We will describe our program in mathematical
biology at Harvey Mudd College. We established an undergraduate major in
mathematical biology in 2002 and our first majors graduated in 2003. Students in this
major can choose a variety of electives depending on their interests in mathematics and
in biology, and have two academic advisors (one from math, one from bio).
Mathematical biology majors have gone on to do a variety of things after they graduate.
We teach a capstone course in mathematical biology that is required for these majors
and is also taken by students from other majors. This course is co-taught by a
mathematician and a biologist, and focuses on modeling. We include diverse biological
topics and mathematical approaches. The course also features guest speakers who
describe their research. Finally, we will describe some of the faculty and student
research projects that involve some combination of mathematics and biology. These
projects have involved students and faculty from a variety of disciplines in addition to
mathematics and biology.
Thu, 6/12/08 4:27 PM
3.
Bori Mazzag: Bifurcations in the Ricker model This presentation will illustrate how
various mathematical topics are covered in Math 361: Introduction to Mathematical
Modeling. This course is taught primarily to upper division mathematics students at
Humboldt State University and it focuses on discrete an continuous dynamical systems
with applications mainly from biology. I will briefly describe the course content and
organization to provide a background, and then show how bifurcations in discrete
systems are introduced in this course through a detailed discussion of Ricker's model.
The poster will discuss the lecture on this topic and the corresponding two-hour long
computer lab. During the lab students use Matlab scripts to answer specific questions,
run numerical experiments and explore a given topic (in this case, bifurcations and
chaos) in further detail. The talk will close with a summary of successes and limitations
of the course in its current format.
Mon, 6/9/08 4:47 PM
4
A Freshman Based Approach to Integration of Mathematics, Science and Computation
Within a Biological Science Department James K. Peterson Department of Biological
and Mathematical Sciences Clemson University petersj@clemson.edu Since Spring
2006, a calculus course for biologists has been offered at Clemson University which has
been taken by 250 students. We have developed the course using the following point of
view: 1. All mathematical concepts are tied to real biological need. 2. Mathematics is
subordinate to the biology in the sense that the entire course builds the mathematical
knowledge needed to study interesting nonlinear biological models. We emphasize that
to add more interesting biology requires more difficult mathematics and concomitant
intellectual resources. 3. Nonlinear models begin with the logistics equation and
progress to Predator - Prey, disease models and a six variable Cancer model. We
stress how we must abstract out of biological complexity the variables necessary to
build models and how we can be wrong. Our approach is thus replaces second
semester engineering calculus with a specially designed course just for biologists and a
custom written textbook (www.lulu.com/GneuralGnome). This course is also part of a
Quantitative Emphasis minor at Clemson University in Biology and a followup course at
the junior level is being prepared and offered in Fall 2008. In this talk, we will frankly
discuss the difficulties in 1. choosing our material for this course and why it has been
successful. 2. training mathematics colleagues to teach this course. 3. getting two
separate deparments to be equally focused on this sort of development. The
development of this course is a crucial part in the implementation of concurrent training
in mathematics, science and computation within a biological sciences department. We
will discuss how we plan to move from our successes with the calculus replacement
course to a full integration within the undergraduate degree program that includes long
term undergraduate research projects under one professor's direction. We will finish
with our plans for the future.
Workshops
Problems and Cases: Integrating Mathematics and Biology
John Pelesko, University of Delaware Patricia A. Marsteller, Emory University
Quantitative analysis is an essential tool for 21st century science. The need to develop
the quantitative skills of college students, particularly those interested in the biological
and biomedical sciences has been the focus of numerous reports since the 90’s. For
example, the Bio 2010 report recommends that every biology student learn to apply
probability, statistics, discrete mathematics, linear algebra, calculus, and differential
equations to the study of biology. On the other hand, pedagogical research suggests
that active learning techniques are especially useful in the teaching of science and
mathematics. Techniques such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Investigative
Case Based Learning (ICBL) have proven especially useful in enhancing critical thinking
in both biology and mathematics classrooms. In this workshop we will illustrate several
examples of PBL units or ICBL cases designed for introductory and advanced biology
and introductory and advanced mathematics courses. We will illustrate how these
methods can be applied in large and small classes. We will provide resource sites with
existing case materials that participants might adopt and adapt. We hope to engage
participants in discussions of key biological, mathematical and computational concepts
that are now covered by existing materials. Finally, we will establish a working group to
develop materials in these key areas.
Using Models and Simulations in the classroom from a mathematical
biological perspective
Prasad Dhurjati and Gilberto Schleiniger, University of Delaware
The integration of mathematics and biology in the classroom is illustrated via a practical
problem in population dynamics. The concentrations of different species in a bioreactor
are tracked. The steps are: 1. Description of the biological system to be studied, and
definition of the goals and expectations of the study 2. Mathematical modeling: a.
Choice of variables b. Identification of essential features of the system and translation to
a mathematical language (a system of differential equations in the population problem
to be discussed) c. Identification of the parameters in the mathematical model d.
Accounting for the assumptions made in modeling 3. Analysis and simulation of the
resulting mathematical model 4. Model validation: Comparison of the predictions
obtained from the model with qualitative or quantitative information on the real system 5.
Revision of the assumptions and model refinement: Repeat steps 2 – 5. The teaching
style we find most appropriate for this kind of integration is a hands on PBL approach.
Students are distributed in groups and encouraged to actively work on all steps 1 – 5
above. We will use mathematical analysis, Matlab and Simulink as the tools for solving
the equations and simulating the system processes. But, the approach described to
integrate biology and mathematics in the classroom is not dependent on the particular
tools used to numerically solve the resulting mathematical system.
Setting goals and assessing programs and courses
Dave Usher & Lou Rossi, University of Delaware
In this workshop we will explore programmatic and course assessment to support
effective instruction and curriculum design. Assessment is nothing less than the
application of rigorous critical thinking and the scientific method applied to instruction.
Assessment plays a special role in the development of quantitative concepts, methods
and skills used in the biological sciences. Based on department goals, participants will
be asked to assess their department needs. In the case of biology and mathematics, the
needs may be asymmetric. Biology majors need strong quantitative skills, which must
be developed in biology and/or mathematics courses. Math majors need to discover
mathematical structure through abstraction of a variety of application domains.
Typically, these domains draw heavily from physics and engineering disciplines.
However, the life sciences offer an alternative domain for abstraction and discovery of
mathematical structure. Participants in this workshop will define goals, develop testable
objectives and design assessment tools specific for their own institutions. At the
program level, this requires a close relationship between mathematics and biology
departments. We will demonstrate the importance of curriculum mapping methods to
persuade colleagues to participate in a coherent instructional strategy. However, crossdisciplinary instruction at a large research institution presents unique challenges. Often
a learning objective required in one program is taught in courses offered in a different
department. As a case study, we will illustrate activities helping biology majors learn
calculus at the University of Delaware.
Visualization: Learning to See Mathematically via Image Analysis,
Networks, Generative Models
John R. Jungck*1, Rama Viswanathan2, Anton Weisstein3, and Noppadon Khiripet4
Department of Biology 1, Departments of Chemistry and Computer Science 2, Beloit
College, 700 College Street, Beloit, WI 53511; Department of Biology 3, Truman
State University, Kirksville, MO; NECTEC 4, Bangkok, Thailand
Compared with Data, and Fractals Images are iconic, symbolic, and memorable.
Thus, most biologists have a rich visual vocabulary and memory. However, most
students are not aware that every image if full of data that can be used to test
hypotheses. The use of contemporary technology of simple digital cameras for macro
and micro-photography lend themselves to extensive use of image analysis. We will
draw upon a variety of biological images from different scales to illustrate the power of
quantitative, geometric, and topological tools for easy analysis of hypotheses. These
have been used with both nonmajor and biology majors. Examples will include: a spatial
statistical and graph theoretic polygonal cells in squamous epithelia to detect metastatic
clustering (Ka-me’: Voronoi Image Analyzer); network analysis of yeast microarray data
to identify metabolic sub-nets (BioGrapher); fractal dimensional analysis of dendritic
bacterial colonies grown on hard agar to test self-avoidance searching (Fractal
Dimension); image analysis of infected leaves to examine distribution of sites of
infection (Image J); , measurements of gastropods used to generate model univalve
mollusk (MacRaup); and, measurements of campus trees used to generate a three
dimensional model tree which can be examined for such things as miminal self-shading
of photosynthesizing laves (3D FractaL Tree – a Lindenmayer system). These are easy
activities to include in a variety of biology classes to help provide alternatives to
representing everything as a scatterplot or histogram in enabling students to better
appreciate the richness of visual data in testing hypotheses. Most of the software
demonstrated is freely available through a Creative Commons license through the
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium (www.bioquest.org).
Talk
Implementing Practices that Lead to Institutional Transformation: Faculty
Development
Implementing Practices that Lead to Institutional Transformation: Faculty Development
Katerina Thompson, University of Maryland and Joe Watkins, University of Arizona
Institutions play a critical role in supporting faculty efforts to increase the
interdisciplinary emphasis of undergraduate courses and curricula. This session
provides some examples of formal and informal institutional mechanisms that facilitate
faculty involvement in course and curriculum revision, from professional development to
strategies to encourage more interaction between faculty from different disciplines. We
will present examples from both research universities and primarily undergraduate
institutions. This will be followed by small group breakout discussions in which
participants will share examples from their respective institutions, discuss challenges to
institutional change, and suggest strategies to facilitate change.
Posters
Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research
Jason Miller (Mathematics) and Timothy Walston (Biology)
Abstract = Biomathematics training at Truman State University has relied on year-long
interdisciplinary undergraduate research projects as its primary vehicle for transforming
faculty and students. Each project engages an interdisciplinary quartet of faculty and
students, and each year the quartets together form an intentional mathematical biology
community. These research projects have transformed the way many faculty pursue
their research interests. In parallel, faculty have developed and offered interdisciplinary
courses that form the heart of a new interdisciplinary minor in mathematical biology. Our
long term goal is to continue such curricular transformation at Truman so that
biomathematics infuses courses in agricultural science, biology, computer science,
mathematics and statistics at the introductory levels.
Integrating Mathematical Concepts Across the Biology Curriculum - Remediation
Efforts, Introductory Biology Sequence, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics
Initiatives
A. M. Findley, S. Saydam, J. Bhattacharjee and D. Magoun Departments of Biology
and Mathematics & Physics University of Louisiana at Monroe ULM
Biology and Mathematics faculty have formed a working group to devise a concerted
plan to integrate mathematics into a variety of biology curricular offerings. To date our
efforts have centered on: the redesign and assessment of the college
algebra/trigonometry sequence and the life sciences calculus courses to include
modular content and hybrid delivery methods to facilitate the remediation of the
quantitative skills of ill-prepared beginning students; the introduction of a team-taught
module on probability and statistics as an integral part of the discussion of genetics in
the introductory biology sequence; upper-division courses in biostatistics that include
Bayesian inferences, estimation techniques, hypothesis testing, goodness of fit,
analysis of variance, linear and multiple regression techniques, logistic regression,
longitudinal data analysis, nonparametric methods, and principle components;
incorporation of these statistical methods into ecology-based courses to assist in the
quantitative treatment of species-area relationships, the disturbance-diversity
hypothesis, modeling of ecosystem productivity and restoration models, and design of
refuges and refuge complexes (SLOSS hypothesis); and, new course development in
genome annotation and bioinformatics. Further development efforts include a
quantitative biology seminar series, hiring of faculty with mathematical biology
expertise, and the development of an interdisciplinary mathematical concentration
within the Department of Mathematics and Physics. Joint departmental sponsorship of
undergraduate research projects in biomathematics and computer science has also
been initiated. Finally, an interdisciplinary, team-taught capstone course in
mathematical biology is also planned.
DNA statistical analysis at an elementary level
Seier, E. and Joplin, K. East Tennessee State University
In Symbiosis I, an introductory integrated, Biology and Statistics course for freshmen,
the introduction of DNA as a sequence of nucleotides opens the door for posing
probability exercises that are elementary, but relate to questions of interest in
Bioinformatics. The students practice probability and statistical concepts, get acquainted
with sources of data about DNA and, as a product of analysis exercises, learn some
aspects of genomic analysis. The idea is to learn concepts in both disciplines (Biology
and Statistics) at the freshman level but at the same time becoming familiar with current
data sources and the language of bioinformatics. Some of the topics covered are: ·
Where to look for DNA data? · Nucleotide frequency, are the 4 nucleotides present
equally frequent in sequences? · The GC content. · Independence and conditional
probabilities in nucleotide sequences. · Transition matrices and graphs to represent
them. · Calculating the probability of a given sequence including repeats. · Palindromes
and restriction enzymes. · Comparing sequences for similarities and constructing
phylogenetic trees. The poster will display part of the teaching material.
An early introduction of statistical inference in Symbiosis I at ETSU
Seier, E., Joplin, K. and Knisley, J. East Tennessee State University seier@etsu.edu
The scientific method is discussed at the very beginning of the first semester of
SYMBIOSIS, an introductory integrated, Biology and Statistics course. A statistical topic
naturally associated to the scientific method is hypotheses testing. Traditionally, this
topic is presented in introductory statistics courses at the end of the semester after
normal approximations to the sampling distributions of the sample mean and the sample
proportion have been studied. In order to cover statistical inference at the beginning of
the semester, the following strategy was used: • Randomization tests and bootstrapping
were used to do inference about population means, medians and variances of
quantitative variables. These methods were first motivated with hands-on activities and
then applied using programs written in R that mimic the activities. • For categorical
variables, the Binomial distribution was used to find the p-value when testing statistical
hypotheses for a proportion. Later in the semester traditional topics such as t-test were
also covered; by then the students had already an understanding of the vocabulary and
concepts related to both estimation and test of hypothesis including the notion of power.
The poster will display part of the teaching material used with the students including
programs in R and user friendly applets in Netlogo.
Genetics, a good excuse to talk about probability
Seier, E. and Joplin, K. East Tennessee State University
One of the modules in Symbiosis I, an introductory integrated, Biology and Statistics
course was ‘Mendelian Genetics and Probability’. Probability tools and statistical tests
were used to examine Mendel’s data and gain an understanding of Mendelian genetics.
A coin model and hands-on activities with chips with sides of different colors are used to
explain genotypes and phenotypes and to calculate their probabilities considering
dominant and recessive alleles and all possible combinations of heterozygous and
homozygous parents. Punnett’s squares and probability trees are introduced
simultaneously to analyze different situations. The question ‘Does Mendel data
contradict the coin model?’ is posed and it constitutes the motivation to develop the chisquare distribution and the goodness of fit test from scratch. The issue of independence
and testing for independence is also introduced using Mendel’s data. Other topics of
probability such as conditional probability, Bayes Rule, Binomial and Poisson
distributions are discussed in the context of genetics applications. The poster will
display part of the teaching material.
Math and Biology in Trinity University’s New Scientific Computing Minor
Mark Brodl
Educating 21st-century science students so that they can easily traverse traditional
biology-math-computer science disciplines presents significant challenges. For both
faculty and students in biology, quantitative skills are often insufficient, while for both
faculty and students in mathematics (and computer science) biological understanding
and insights can be limiting. Trinity University’s 2004 HHMI grant has helped us to
address this issue through building a minor in scientific computing that features three
new math and computer science classes with attached investigative laboratory sections.
The labs provide both a training ground and a data source. The lectures introduce
students to mathematical concepts and build critical quantitative skills. The courses are
staffed by collaborating faculty in math/computer science and biology. Students begin
the minor with a basic computer science course and basic calculus. They then enroll in
CSCI 2121 – Introduction to Scientific Computing, followed by MATH 1310 –
Mathematical Models in the Life Sciences and MATH 3311 – Probabilistic Models in the
Life Sciences. The minor culminates with a one-credit, student-generated research
project that uses modeling tools. This project is done in conjunction with an upper-level
biology course that the student selects from a menu of options, with the biologist
teaching the course and a math faculty member serving as co-advisers. Syllabi for the
courses are presented along with some details of the MATH 3311 course.
MathBench Biology Modules: Using interactive web-based modules to infuse
mathematics into the undergraduate biology curriculum
Karen Nelson, Kaci Thompson, Bill Fagan, University of Maryland
This poster will provide an update on the MathBench Biology Modules initiative at the
Univerisyt of Maryland. We have recently received a grant to extend our modules to a
nearby community college which supplies approximately 30% of our undergraduate
biology majors. These transfer students often struggle in their first semesters at the
University, and we hope that by providing them with the same mathematical
underpinnings that they would receive here in undergraduate courses, we can ease the
transition. We are currently evaluating our modules to determine where additional
material is required, both to make them more generalizeable, and to “plug holes” that
may be a problem for a student body that, on the whole, begins at a lower level of
mathematical proficiency compared to our native undergraduates. The MathBench
Biology Modules attempt to bridge the gap between math and biology for all
undergraduate biology majors, using online interactive activities which enhance
mathematical education. These interactive web-based modules cover a variety of topics
but focus repeatedly on a core set of skills and concepts. Each module steps the
students through a set of mathematical tools, using highly intuitive explanations, and
then provides a mathematically-informed discussion of biological applications.
Undergraduate biology majors at the University of Maryland encounter more than 25
such modules spread over their first 5 fundamental biology courses. New this year:
modules for microbiology, including serial dilution, bacterial growth, and SIR models.
Quantitative Biology Initiatives at William and Mary
George Gilchrist William and Mary
The departments of Biology, Mathematics, and Applied Science actively promote
quantitative biology at the College of William and Mary. Funding initiatives from HHMI
and NSF support faculty and students both in terms of coursework and in enhancing
research experiences. We offer a series of courses including a two semester Calculus
for the Life Sciences, a 300 level Introduction to Mathematical Biology and an advanced
seminar course on topics in Mathematical Biology. Applied Sciences sponsors a new
Quantitative Biology minor, incorporating several existing and new courses from
Mathematics, Biology, and Applied Science. W&M is one of the leading universities in
the depth and extent of undergraduate research opportunities. Through our NSF
BioMath initiative, we have mentored more than 20 William and Mary undergraduates
and 10 local Community College students (many from underrepresented groups) in
research projects over the last three years. Several of these projects have resulted in
publications (including Science and the Proceedings of the Royal Society) and
presentations at national and international conferences. Our graduates have gone on to
research positions with NIH or entered graduate or professional schools in BioMath and
the Life Sciences. Faculty in the mathematics department are engaged in outreach
projects to enhance mathematics teaching at the K-12 level. This summer we are
working with a group of 25 middle school mathematics teachers exploring topics
including energy in its various incarnations, Boyle’s law, bio-chemical processes and
codon counting.
The Introductory Life Sciences Mathematics Sequence
Dwight Duffus,
Mathematics and Computer Sciences Department
Emory University
Mathematical, computational and statistical methods are of ever growing
importance in the life sciences. We introduce the basic quantitative tools
required in modern life science research, adhering to the recommendations of
BIO 2010 [NRC] and Math & Bio 2010 [MAA]. Courses emphasize
modeling change in biological systems via discrete dynamics,
continuous differential equations, and stochastic processes, and
organizing and analyzing data in information-intensive application areas
such as molecular evolution and genetics. Researchers in the biological sciences and
health science professionals must be discerning readers of the research literature. In
particular, critical evaluation of the construction of, and conclusions drawn from,
statistical studies is indispensable. This requires an understanding of probability theory,
as the underpinning of inferential statistics, and exposure to a variety of statistical
methods used to establish confidence and test hypotheses. Over the last six years we
have designed and taught a two course sequence designed to address these needs.
We address the challenges of finding appropriate resources and adapting the course to
students with diverse preparation. We also present some examples from the two
course sequence. Poster and handout available at:
http://www.mathcs.emory.edu/math4bio
Preparing Future faculty to Integrate Biology and Mathematics
Pat Marsteller, Holly Carpetenter , Andrei Olifer, Jacob Kagey, Terrance Wright
As we enter the 21st Century scholarship in all disciplines requires a new spirit of
collaboration and cooperation. Clarion calls for the engaged academy challenge the
sciences, to integrate across disciplines and engage with their communities to create
new partnerships for societal transformation. For such an academy to emerge, graduate
and postdoctoral education must change to better prepare the professoriate of the
future.
Emory’s Science 2020 plan calls for the integration of quantitative skills in the
undergraduate science curriculum. Our HHMI grant has already supported the
development of a Life Science Calculus series and a Probability and Statistics course,
specifically designed for life science majors. We have also supported the integration of
problems and cases that are quantitative into numerous biology and chemistry courses.
We have a University wide strategic theme to develop computational and life sciences
research programs.
This poster briefly outlines some of the recent course developments, strategies for
collaborating across disciplines to create these initiatives and future plans. We share
our experiences, engaging graduate students, postdocs and new faculty members in
integrating mathematics and biology. We address faculty concerns with integrating
quantitative skills such as reducing coverage of disciplinary material, dealing with
student resistance, and variable student background and preparation. Involving
graduate and postdoctoral fellows allays the concern about the time involvement in
developing and implementing new curricular materials.
We will outline several workshops and seminars designed to prepare future faculty to
become reflective practioners and to develop new curriculum materials with faculty.
Examples include PBL units for beginning and advanced biology courses, new courses
such as math for neuroscience, informatics, new course units for our two part Life
Science Calculus, Probability and Statistics series and a computational techniques in
biomedical imaging.
Interdisciplinary Curriculum Reform in the Biological Sciences
Kaci Thompson
College of Chemical and Life Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park
A major curriculum redesign effort over the past 5 years has brought
together teams of faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to
infuse all levels of our undergraduate curriculum with current research
approaches and increased emphasis on building interdisciplinary connections.
To date, these efforts have involved 68 faculty from seven departments, five
postdoctoral fellows, and 28 graduate students and have resulted in
revisions to 33 different courses in biology, biochemistry, chemistry,
mathematics and physics. Several of these efforts have the explicit goal of
infusing more quantitative rigor into courses for biological sciences
majors. Four initiatives are highlighted: (1) MathBench web-based modules
that supplement instruction in five fundamental biology courses, (2) a new
introductory biology course that integrates physics, chemistry, math, and
evolution to help students understand how organisms function, (3) a
two-semester calculus sequence designed for biological science majors and
(4) revision of the existing two-semester introductory physics sequence to
incorporate best pedagogical practices and highlight biologically relevant
examples and applications.
PBL Lessons Integrating Biology and Mathematics
Jordan D. Rose & Patricia A. Marsteller
Emory College Center for Science Education, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Emory University’s PRISM program is a National Science Foundation Graduate K-12
Teaching Fellowship (GK-12) award that is transforming K-16 science education. Since
2003, PRISM has offered graduate students yearlong fellowships to partner with local
teachers in order to engage secondary school students in science and math through
problem-based learning (PBL). The graduate-teacher teams develop and implement
engaging lessons that connect and integrate science disciplines and highlight science in
the real world. As the program prepares future faculty members to become engaging
college instructors, the K-12 students are guided to become life-long problem-solvers,
questioners, investigators, and critical thinkers through PBL. This poster showcases
some examples of how PBL has been used to integrate biological and mathematical
concepts and skills.