Teaching Quantification Skills in the Biology and Mathematics Curricula

Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar VA

Investigators

Abstract

Interdisciplinary (99) This cross-disciplinary project integrates mathematics and biology in the undergraduate curriculum at Sweet Briar College (SBC). The overall goal of this initiative is to improve the quantification skills of SBC students using applications in the life sciences. Quantification skills are defined as the ability to look at an unfamiliar problem, determine the type of data necessary to address the problem, select the appropriate mathematical tools, and draw conclusions on the adequacy of the results. The objectives for the initiative are to: 1. Strengthen the quantification skills of biology students. 2. Expose mathematics students to the usefulness and applicability of mathematical knowledge and highlight career opportunities in the life sciences. 3. Introduce students to interdisciplinary research, emphasizing collaboration with researchers from different fields. 4. Improve the overall oral and writing skills of mathematics and biology students with specific emphasis on interdisciplinary content. These objectives are achieved by: 1) Developing a new course, Quantification Skills for Biomathematics, focusing on applications of mathematics to biology, and 2) Enriching the mathematics and biology curricula by developing and implementing additional educational modules that are used as biomathematical projects in existing courses. The focus is on the biological applications of common mathematical tools, rather than underlying mathematical theories. Students experience the usefulness of complex mathematical techniques as applied to biological problems. Modules are adapted from: 1) existing texts and programs; 2) results from our research, and 3) data from our collaborators at the Center for Biomathematical Technology at the University of Virginia.