biocore guide: a tool to interpret the core concepts of vision and change for general biology majors...
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BioCore Guide: A tool to interpret the
core concepts of Vision and Change for general biology majors
Sara E. BrownellSchool of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
Alison Crowe, Scott Freeman, and Mary Pat WenderothDepartment of Biology
University of Washington
Imagine a “typical” biology faculty member assigned to an undergraduate curriculum committee.
Goal of committee: Articulate a set of learning outcomes for graduating biology majors
Where to begin?
2011 AAAS report
Product of >500 biology faculty nationwide
Outlined a set of core biological concepts
Core biological concepts:
EVOLUTION
INFORMATION FLOW
STRUCTURE FUNCTION
TRANSFORMATIONS OF ENERGY AND MATTER
SYSTEMS
From Vision and Change (AAAS 2011):
EVOLUTION
From Vision and Change (AAAS 2011):
EVOLUTION
Need more specific guidelines on core concepts
Sub-discipline specific efforts to delineate core concepts
of Vision and Change
Most biology departments are general biology departments
We set out to delineate the core concepts for graduating general biology major
(not a specialist in a sub-discipline)
No current guidelines exist for general biology
Core concepts: Evolution, Information Flow, Structure Function,
Transformations of Energy and Matter, and SystemsVision
and Change (2011)
Principles: Common features of core concepts that
cross sub-disciplinary boundaries
Statements: Sub-discipline specific interpretation of
core concepts for general biology majors
Eco/EvoPhysMol/Cell
BioCore Guide(2014)
Questions:Specific questions
based onstatements
Assess student understanding
Core concepts: Evolution, Information Flow, Structure Function,
Transformations of Energy and Matter, and Systems
Principles: Common features of core concepts that
cross sub-disciplinary boundaries
Statements: Sub-discipline specific interpretation of
core concepts for general biology majors
Vision and
Change (2011)
BioCore Guide(2014)
Eco/EvoPhysMol/Cell
Questions:Specific questions
based onstatements
BioMaps general biologyprogrammatic
assessment(~2015)
Core concepts: Evolution, Information Flow, Structure Function,
Transformations of Energy and Matter, and Systems
Principles: Common features of core concepts that
cross sub-disciplinary boundaries
Statements: Sub-discipline specific interpretation of
core concepts for general biology majors
Vision and
Change (2011)
BioCore Guide(2014)
Eco/EvoPhysMol/Cell
Questions:Specific questions
based onstatements
BioMaps general biologyprogrammatic
assessment(~2015)
1.Process of creating BioCore Guide2.How departments can use BioCore Guide3.Your own copy of BioCore Guide
BioCore Guide(2014)
Process for creating BioCore GuideIterative grassroots process
Systematically collected and incorporated feedback
~25 faculty
Phase 1: Began with “typical” faculty input
to promote buy-in
Iteratively revised 6 times
Phase 2: Elicited feedback from 200 biologists at 100
institutions nationally
EVOLUTION
INFORMATION FLOW
STRUCTURE FUNCTION
TRANSFORMATIONS OF ENERGY AND MATTER
SYSTEMS
BioCore Guideis the product of over 240 biologists
90% agreement among 184 faculty that statements are scientifically accurate and important for a biology major to know
How can biology departments
use the BioCore Guide?
•Set learning goals for individual classes
•Identify holes in the current curriculum
•Use in advising students
•Modify for use at own institution
•Use as a conversation starter
Let’s take a look at the BioCore Guide
EVOLUTION
Core concept
How to read the BioCore Guide
EVOLUTION
Three major sub-disciplines of biology
How to read the BioCore Guide
EVOLUTION
Overarching Principles
How to read the BioCore Guide
EVOLUTION
Statement
How to read the BioCore Guide
EVOLUTION
Mol/Cell statements
How to read the BioCore Guide
Core concepts: Evolution, Information Flow, Structure Function,
Transformations of Energy and Matter, and SystemsVision
and Change (2011)
Principles: Common features of core concepts that
cross sub-disciplinary boundaries
Statements: Sub-discipline specific interpretation of
core concepts for general biology majors
Eco/EvoPhysMol/Cell
BioCore Guide(2014)
Questions:Specific questions
based onstatements
Assess student understanding
Questions?