THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology
Sunday, June 22 to Friday, June 27, 2008
Overview
2008 Co-Directors:
Jo Handelsman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
William B. Wood, University of Colorado at Boulder
Location:
The Fluno Center for Executive
Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
601 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53715-1035
Overall Strategy
The goal of the Summer Institute for Undergraduate Education in Biology is
to transform biology education at research universities by improving
classroom education and attracting more diverse students to research. We
undertake to train a new generation of faculty by introducing them to a
scientific approach to teaching that reflects the way we function as
researchers. The target group is comprised of both new and experienced
instructors who teach courses that include introductory or survey biology,
introductory molecular biology/genetics, and introductory ecology/evolution
courses with high enrollments. We select from the applicant pool
approximately 18 pairs of faculty from 18 different research universities.
The Institute format is designed to model the scientific teaching principles
of active learning, assessment, and diversity. Activities include reflective
writing, planning, reading, researching, discussing teaching methods and
philosophy, interactive presentations, and developing effective teaching
materials that all of the participants teach and evaluate at their home
institutions in the ensuing academic year.
In addition to developing classroom teaching skills and materials, participants
learn how to teach seminars about mentoring and scientific teaching.
The mentoring seminar is directed toward graduate students and
postdocs who are supervising undergraduates in the research lab. The
scientific teaching workshops can be used to foster dialog about
teaching with faculty and instructional colleagues, to train TAs in
teaching, or to enrich the graduate curriculum in teaching. The
seminar materials are well-developed and tested, making them easy to present
with little preparation or time commitment.
The instructional materials and the mentoring and teaching seminar
materials are accompanied by assessment tools that participants
administer. The results of the initiatives from all of the campuses
are shared with the participants and published. Participants'
campuses provide financial support to their teams to facilitate the
implementation of these new teaching initiatives.
Participants are required to:
- Write a short teaching philosophy before arriving at the Summer
Institute
- Stay for the entire Summer Institute
- Participate in follow-up Summer Institute evaluation during and at
the end of the 2008-2009 academic year
- Teach one or more of the instructional materials developed at
the Summer Institute in introductory or survey biology, introductory
molecular biology/genetics, introductory ecology/evolution, or another
course they teach during the 2008-2009 academic year
- Coordinate, or recruit a colleague to coordinate, a seminar in
mentoring and a scientific teaching workshop for graduate students,
postdocs, or faculty, during the 2008-2009 academic year or the summer
of 2009
- Evaluate the instructional materials and the mentoring seminar and
scientific teaching workshop taught at their home institutions and report
their findings to the Summer Institute
Participants' campuses are required to:
- Provide funds for participants to travel to the Summer
Institute
- Provide a minimum of $5000 to each participating team to assist them
in implementing new teaching strategies and in conducting follow-up
activities in their classes
- Support and encourage the activities of the participants in their
departments and campus-wide
- Ensure that the activities associated with the Summer Institute are
treated favorably by tenure committees
The National Academies Summer Institute will provide:
- Lodging, food, and all other meeting expenses for participants
- Resources, experiences, instructors, and evaluators to help
participants develop and evaluate teaching skills and instructional materials
- Facilitators to work with the groups as needed, helping them hone
their modules, suggesting resources, and providing advice or expertise
- Internet access for all participants throughout the Summer
Institute
- An interactive Summer Institute website accessible to all participants
to communicate as they implement teaching materials
- Data about implementation at the end of the academic year
following the Summer Institute
Structure of the Summer Institute
Participants will:
- Engage in teaching and learning through interactive presentations,
mini-seminars, group work, and discussions
- Work in small, multi-university groups of approximately six participants
to develop instructional materials for one general biology topic area
(genetics, cell biology, ecology, evolution, etc.)
- Design and adapt instructional materials that integrate themes of
active learning, assessment, and diversity and that have clearly defined
learning goals
- Present instructional materials to the Summer Institute
participants for feedback and review, then revise and post them on
the interactive Summer Institute website
Tentative Agenda
Morning Sessions: Interactive presentations about teaching
and learning
Afternoon Sessions: Group time to reflect on topics
from the morning sessions, apply the day's topics to development of
instructional materials, teach the instructional materials to another
group for practice and review, and revise/submit the module to the
Summer Institute website.
